If you are in the Sacramento, California area this weekend, or even if you are not (see below), I'd invite you to join me and the Sacramento Genealogical Society for a full day of genealogy methodology and technology. I will be presenting two brand new classes and major updates to two other classes:

• Timelines and Chronologies: Secrets of Genealogical Success
• Googling Around with Google and Other Fun Technology
• The Latest in Digital Imaging for Genealogists
• What's New in Legacy 8

Pre-registration is required (just mail it in by Tuesday, April 1). Here's the registration information. Held at the Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church at 11427 Fair Oaks Blvd in Fair Oaks, California, this group puts on one of the finest (if not the very best) seminars in the country every year. I'm so looking forward to Saturday! Oh, and if you have one of my books, bring it with you for the book signing at lunch.

If you are not in the area, I'd still invite you to join me as my "Googling Around with Google and other Fun Technology" class will be broadcast to both the live audience and to a live webinar audience. Click here to register.

If you will be in the San Diego, California area next week, please join me, Karen Clifford, and the San Diego Genealogical Society for their fall full-day seminar. Here's what we will be teaching:

• Digital Imaging Essentials (by Geoff)
• Timelines and Chronologies (by Geoff)
• Slow Down and Pick up Speed (Genealogists' research cycle - pathway to success by Karen)
• Digging Deeper: Using Essentials Pre-1850 Records (by Karen)

You have two ways to register:

1. Online here. Click the "Regsiter" button and follow the instructions.
2. Visit http://casdgs.org, click on Meetings and Events > Registration Forms > September 21, 2013 Seminar. Print the form, fill it out, attach a check, and mail it.

The event will be held at the Marina Village in the Mission Bay area. Your $40 registration fee ($45 for non-members) includes—coffee/tea and pastries when you arrive for check-in. We will also have a wonderful buffet lunch catered by Ranch Events, featuring Baron of Beef and Roasted Chicken as the main entrees. We will also have a great selection of Opportunity Drawing prizes that have been donated by generous San Diego area merchants. As an added bonus—parking is free!

Our upcoming webinar, "Direct Your Research with City Directories" with Maureen Taylor has been rescheduled from its original date of Wednesday, July 31 to Friday, August 2, 2013 at 2pm Eastern U.S. Please update your calendars, or register here for the free event.

It's no fault of Maureen's. While looking over my personal schedule I noticed I was supposed to be teaching a class on Legacy Family Tree 8 at the annual Conference on Family History & Genealogy at BYU at the same time. I thought about teaching the class and hosting the webinar concurrently, but decided against it. :)

By the way, I'm really looking forward to learning more about city directories. Ages ago, I published the popular uscitydirectories.com website (voted one of FamilyTree Magazine's best 101 websites back in 2004). A city directory helped me break down my Joshua Brown brick wall. I wrote about it here.

I'll see you all next week for a special Webinar Friday!

If you will be in the North Orange County, California area on Saturday, July 13, 2013, I invite you to join me for a full day genealogy technology seminar. Hosted by the Genealogical Society of North Orange County, I will be presenting the following classes:

• Research Guidance: GenSmarts, FamilySearch, and Legacy
• Organizing, Planning, and Sharing Using Legacy Family Tree 8
• Mapping Your Ancestors Electronically
• Cemeteries Go Digital
• plus question/answer time and door prizes

The seminar will be held from 9am-4pm at the Fullerton Public Library and Conference Center at 353 W. Commonwealth Ave in Fullerton. We'll also have Pegi and Sarah from Legacy Customer Service there with seminar-special pricing on our Legacy software, webinar CDs, books, magnabrites, and more.

Registration is required. Click here for the form. For more information, call 714-319-5994 or go to www.gsnocc.org. Pre-registration ends July 6.

If you will be in the Boise, Idaho area this Saturday, June 15, please join me at the Idaho State Archives as I will present Organizing, Planning, and Sharing with Legacy Family Tree. The class is part of the "Dead Relative Collectors" meeting which will be held from 10:30-11:30am in the conference room at 2205 Old Penitentiary Road.

Funny story - we've lived in Middleton, Idaho (the new headquarters of our Legacy Family Tree Webinar series!) for nearly six months now so we're finally getting settled. This week I started looking for a local genealogy society meeting to attend. I contacted the President of the Idaho Genealogical Society who mentioned the "Dead Relative Collectors" group which meets the third Saturday of the month. They just happened to be looking for a speaker for this Saturday. So not only will I get to speak on my favorite topic, but I'll get to meet other Idahoan genealogists!

Hope to see some of you there!

If you are headed to Las Vegas, Nevada for this week's National Genealogical Society's conference, stop by our booth (#514) in the vendor hall - we'd love to meet you! Bring your ideas and questions, or just chat with us - we love talking genealogy! We'll also have special seminar-pricing on our Legacy Family Tree software and other products.

Megan Smolenyak book signing

On Friday, May 10 from 12-2pm, join us as our booth for a book signing with one of genealogy's finest - Megan Smolenyak. She will be signing her books:

• Who Do You Think You Are: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History
• Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing

And although I won't be able to be there in person, I should have some of my signed Digital Imaging Essentials books too!

Megan is also one of our featured speakers on this year's Legacy Genealogy Cruise to the Panama Canal. Also, watch her archived webinars here.

Mark your calendars for two great events in Utah and California. This weekend, February 22-23 we will be at the St. George Family History Expo in St. George Utah. The following weekend, Geoff Rasmussen (that's me!) will present an all-day genealogy technology seminar in Hemet, California. Here's the details....

February 22-23 in St. George, Utah

Visit with the Legacy developers in booths 114 and 213 (vendor hall is free and open to the public!). Bring your suggestions and comments, and take advantage of seminar-special pricing on Legacy Family Tree products. Additionally, Legacy's Geoff Rasmussen will teach the following classes in-person:

• Organizing, Researching, Mapping, Sourcing, and Sharing with Legacy Family Tree
• Use Legacy Family Tree to Create Shareable CDs, Books, Charts and More
• Legacy Family Tree for Your Mobile Device Plus Other Tips & Tricks
• Cemeteries Go Digital
• Mapping Your Ancestors Electronically
• Digital Images for Genealogists and Technologists

Visit www.fhexpos.com for registration and more information.

March 2 in Hemet, California

Join me and the Hemet-San Jacinto Genealogical Society for an all-day genealogy technology seminar. Registrations postmarked by February 23 (this Saturday) will receive the discounted price.

• 34 pages of handout materials in glorious color!
• You'll learn how to view your genealogy files on a USB drive
• You'll learn how to measure the distance between two towns or cities and do a proximity search for all the churches and courthouses within an area you determine
• You'll learn how to get 1 gigabyte of free space on the Internet to store your photos and up to 20 gigabytes for only $5 per year
• You'll learn how to store all your photos, obits, vital record images, maps and much more on your computer so that you can find them in seconds
• and much more...
• Lots of door prizes
• Both Legacy's Geoff Rasmussen and Legacy's founder, Dave Berdan, will be there

Here's the flyer and registration info.

We hope to see you at one of these events. If not, we'll see you online.

Join us in warm Mesa, Arizona this weekend for the annual Arizona Family History Expo! Visit our booth, chat with the Legacy developers, attend our classes, and take advantage of our special conference pricing in the free exhibit hall. The conference is held at the Mesa Convention Center at 263 N. Center Street. Click here for more information or to register.

Free exhibit hall hours

Visit us in booths 24 and 34. Meet the Legacy developers, bring your questions or suggestions, and pick up Legacy products at conference-only pricing. The exhibit hall is free and open to the public.

• Friday, January 18 - 12pm-7:20pm
• Saturday, January 10 - 9am-4pm

Legacy Family Tree (and other) classes

All taught by Legacy's Geoff Rasmussen:

• Friday, 3:50pm: Organizing, Researching, Mapping, Sourcing, and Sharing with Legacy Family Tree
• Friday, 6:00pm: Use Legacy Family Tree to Create Shareable CDs, Books, Charts, and More
• Friday, 7:20pm: Legacy Family Tree for Your Mobile Device Plus Other Tips & Tricks
• Saturday, 11:20am: Cemeteries Go Digital
• Saturday, 1:30pm: Mapping Your Ancestors Electronically: Using Software and the Internet

Hope to see you there!

If you are considering one genealogy conference to attend in 2013, RootsTech should be high on your list. Held in Salt Lake City March 21-23, 2013, it is the largest genealogy conference in the United States, and is held just down the road from the Family History Library. As a member of the program committee, I was honored to participate in selecting the speakers and classes. Here's the official announcement:

SALT LAKE CITY-RootsTech, the largest family history conference in the United States in only two years, has announced the opening of its early bird registration for RootsTech 2013. The conference uniquely focuses on helping individuals at all skill levels to use the latest resources and technology to find, organize, preserve, and share their family's connections and history. The conference will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, March 21-23, 2013. For more information, go to RootsTech.org.

RootsTech 2013 will have content for young and old alike, regardless of expertise. World-class speakers from all over the country will address the latest topics and challenges, and there will be an exciting exhibitor hall with hands-on labs and demonstrations from 100+ product and service providers. Attendees can choose from over 250 classes to learn how to start their family history, solve personal research problems, and find better solutions for connecting with their family.

Conference Costs

• Full 3-Day Pass $149 (Ends December 31, 2012)
• Full One-Day Only Pass $89
• Student 3-Day Pass $39 (School ID required)
• Getting Started 3-Day Pass $39 (Early Bird)
• Getting Started One-Day Pass $19 (Selection of fundamental classes)
• Developer Day Pass $89 (Full-day technology program for developers)

Beginners

Those who are new to family history can attend a full track of Getting Started classes and labs to:

• Learn the basics of starting your family history.
• Discover 10 activities you can do to get started.
• Get hands-on experience with family history tools.
• Additional classes for LDS Church members: Learn the importance of family history, the basics to start your family tree, and how to qualify your ancestors' names for temple work 

Experienced Genealogists

Attend hands-on workshops and interactive classes to:

• Expand your skills and knowledge to accelerate your research.
• Help influence the future of genealogy.
• Learn and share new ways to adapt technologies to genealogy.
• Help leading-edge technology providers better understand your needs.
• Participate in panels, product demos, and many networking opportunities. 

Developers

Developer Day (Friday, March 22, 2013) sessions are specifically designed to help participants:

• Explore the latest development techniques using:
  • Cloud computing
  • Mobile apps
  • Social networking
  • Geo-mapping
• Learn practical software development skills from industry leaders and pioneers.
• Create solutions to difficult problems in a rapidly-growing market segment.
• Access sponsors, vendors, and exhibitors that provide tools and services to enable innovations

About RootsTech

RootsTech is a unique conference focused on helping individuals learn and use the latest technology to get started or accelerate their efforts to find, organize, preserve and share their family's connections and history. The first annual conference was held in 2011, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hosted by FamilySearch and sponsored by leading genealogical organizations, the conference includes hands-on demonstrations and forums to provide a highly interactive environment and accelerate learning. Content is geared to young and old, beginner to advanced levels.