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.