2015 FGS National Conference Call for Presentations

The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) announces a Call for Presentations for the FGS 2015 Conference being held February 11-14, 2015, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The 2015 conference will be held at the same time as the RootsTech 2015 Conference. This innovative blending of the established tradition of FGS’s stellar conferences, focused on genealogical society management, records, and methodology, with RootsTech’s famed conferences, centered on family history, technology, and storytelling, will provide speakers the opportunity to participate in an exciting, once in a lifetime event. A separate Call for Presentations will be announced soon for the RootsTech 2015 Conference.

The conference theme "Connect. Explore. Refresh." defines the elements FGS conference attendees will see and experience in 2015. The FGS program committee seeks original, relevant, and engaging lecture proposals that will impact, inspire, and motivate genealogists of all experience levels and skill-sets to form connections with other family historians, the larger genealogical community, and within their own personal research.

Categories for submissions include, but are not limited to:

• Back to Basics
• Tried and True Methods
• Answering Difficult Questions with Leading Questions
• The 21^st Century Genealogical Society for Today and Tomorrow
• Genealogical Society Leaders and Visionaries
• Modern Access to Vintage Resources
• A Retro Look at Organization and Planning
• The Most Useful Hidden Records in Plain Sight
• Connecting to the Past with Military Commemorations - i.e. War of 1812, Civil War
• 20th Century Migration - i.e. Dust Bowl, WW2 movements, etc. 
• Wagon Trains, Railroads, and Modern Transportation
• Ethnic Groups in the West - i.e. African Americans, Native Americans, Chinese, Japanese, and Greek
• Missionaries and Settlers
• Compiling Singular Records into Lively Stories

The FGS 2015 Conference schedule will commence with a Focus on Societies Day on Wednesday, February 11, 2015, followed by the three-day annual conference event. The FGS program committee seeks proposals for the Focus on Societies Day and the annual conference. Submissions for sponsored talks from societies, businesses, and organizations within the family history community are greatly encouraged.

Submissions

Speaker submissions and deadlines for the FGS 2015 Conference will be very different from previous years, as FGS now utilizes an online submission system. Interested speakers must submit all lecture proposals using the online forms. The Call for Presentations opens on May 1, 2014 and will close on May 31, 2014.

Camera-ready handout materials are due for all lecture presentations on October 1, 2014.

Questions concerning the Call for Presentations should be sent to program2015@fgs.org.

Compensation
Selected speakers receive an honorarium, travel compensation, and conference registration as well as per diem and hotel nights based on the number of lectures presented. Speakers receive compensation according to the FGS Conference Speaker Policy at http://www.fgs.org/cpage.php?pt=44.

Sponsored speakers’ costs are compensated by the sponsoring organization. Sponsored speakers will abide by all speaker deadlines and syllabus requirements. Sponsored speakers will receive complimentary FGS conference registration and electronic syllabus materials.

Click here to download a copy of the Call for Papers or to submit your proposals.

FGS Call for Award Nominations

2013 Award of Merit given to Cynthia Grostick
Photo Credit: Jane Haldeman

Not only is the month of April National Volunteer Month, but this week is National Volunteer Week. Without volunteers genealogical societies could not possibly function without the efforts of those who "go that extra mile."

And in that spirit, FGS is excited to announce its call for award nominations. Each year, the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) recognizes and thanks genealogical and historical organizations as well as individuals who make significant contributions to family history. The FGS awards program honors the award winners’ activities and products, highlights their efforts, and provides examples and ideas on how others can accomplish similar goals.

FGS awards are given to societies and members of societies for outstanding or notable service to the genealogical community. Other awards may be presented throughout the year and announced in FGS publications.

Do you know a person in your genealogical or historical society, library, or archives who has gone above and beyond to benefit the genealogical community on the local, state or national level? Is there a volunteer or group you feel needs special recognition? Has your society or another society produced a publication, done indexing, cleaned up a cemetery or spearheaded a worthy cause? Has your society's newsletter or website grown due to the efforts of specific people? Do you know a society or individual who has organized a fantastic effort to digitize records or advance an organization in today's world of technology?

The Federation invites you to nominate individuals or societies to receive these awards of recognition. You know the societies and the people that do the fantastic work. You know the activities and projects that an individual or society has successfully undertaken. These are the people, societies, and activities that FGS is looking for in order to recognize them and offer our gratitude with these awards.

Please consider those who you know for an FGS award. The deadline for submission of awards is June 15, 2014. FGS especially encourages its member societies to recognize their great volunteers. FGS Delegates should make their society boards aware of this opportunity.

Also, check the FGS awards page after May 1st to see some exciting additions to the lineup of FGS award categories.

For more information about the specific awards categories and a link to the awards nomination submission form, please visit: www.fgs.org/awards/awards.

Thank You,

Paula Stuart-Warren

FGS Director and Awards Committee Chair

Successful 2014 Webinar Series Launch

We successfully launched our 2014 Webinar Series with Jen Baldwin's presentation, 

FGS Successful 2014 Webinar Series Launch

"Capturing the Community: Using Twitter to Connect, Engage and Educate in Genealogy," on Monday, March 31, 2014.

Jen did an outstanding job of explaining how both individual researchers and genealogical societies can leverage the power of this popular social media platform for their genealogical pursuits. 

Jen also demonstrated how easy it is to use Twitter; showed additional add-on tools for Twitter; and gave examples of both individuals and societies successfully using Twitter for genealogy.

Did you miss the launch? Watch the recording of her presentation and the following Q&A on our website now. 

Along with this webinar, don't miss our informative War of 1812 Webinar Series with J. Mark Lowe, CG, FUGA, and Craig Scott, MA, CG. It is only available for viewing until April 27, 2014.