Unlocking Doors to the Past Alberta Genealogical Society Conference

Acknowledgements and Praise

2011-04-22T14:20:00.001-07:00

A week later....someone asked if I (Shannon) am rested up yet....well, no, not quite. Work still needs to be done, correspondence (Adele is working vigorously on that) tallying the numbers, typing out the comments, making lists for the next conference and on and on.

A record number of attendees were at the Conference this year, that is absolutely fantastic and more than we had ever hoped for!

It takes a village of volunteers to raise a Conference....

Kudos to Norma who did the time taking task of accepting and processing registration forms, Sheila, who along with Norma kept the Registration table at the Conference running smooth.

Judy who took such great care of our vendors, Laura who took the idea of having a 50/50 and ran with it, doing all the things required by law to make it happen and happen correctly. Thank you to her volunteers, selling those 50/50's like I have never seen done before!

Thanks to Craig who took care of organizing the tours.

Our Vendor Assistants ( a new concept which went over very well) Deb, Bruce and Peter, your help was appreciated very much by the Vendors, (and us too!). It helped that sales could still be made while the Speaker/Vendor was presenting and that they also had the chance to mingle a bit more than they might otherwise been able.

John - thank you for your technical support, and Sandra, thank you for always being there for us as our advisor . Thank you (to you and John) for taking on the audio visual matters . Fred, thank you for your work in setting up the webinars -with your help we were worry free about this concept that was completely foreign to us.

Thank you to all the volunteers who stepped up on the weekend to help with matters we needed assistance with.

Thank you to the Edmonton Branch of the AGS for the wonderful gift of the Conference name tags. To all the Branches, AGS members, Vendors and businesses that donated door prizes...WOW ! Thank you! Thank you to our Sponsors....the Provincial Archives of Alberta, the Archives Society of Alberta and Ancestry.ca who helped us be able to afford special details that we have not been able to provide before.

We also thank Corey and Wayne, our very significant others, who supported us throughout the whole planning process as well as on the weekend of the Conference. Thank you to my daughter Kristen, who prepared the Conference advertising graphics, I think this really caught people's attention and helped stir interest.

Thank you to Bonita for being our Treasurer and to Linda at the office, for posting payments and assisting with office matters that need attention.

Thank you to the Speakers who took it easy on us, knowing it was our first time and didn't walk into this knowing everything right off the bat.

Thank you to Lyn who took good care of Colleen Fitzpatrick.

Thank you to the Chateau Louis staff for their hands on service and good food.

A personal note from Shannon, a truly big Thank You to my friend Adele. I won't go into all the details in this blog, but all in all....I couldn't have asked for anyone better to help co-chair this event!

My apologies if I didn't mention somebody..... yes, my head is still swimming!

AGS 2011 Conference--the day after

2011-04-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

WOW! What a weekend that was !

The presenters were very much appreciated by all !
A huge thank you to:
Dave Obee http://www.daveobee.com/
Lisa Louise Cooke http://genealogygems.tv/
Pat Ryan http://patryangenealogy.blogspot.com/
Colleen Fitzpatrick http://www.forensicgenealogy.info/
Lyn Meehan <"http://www.lynmeehan.ca/
Geoff Rasmussen of Millennia Corp http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/
Deanna Bullock
and our own AGS members Lianne Kruger, Susan Haga and John Althouse.

142 Comment cards were received, thank you to our attendees for taking the time to fill these out. It assists greatly in planning future Conferences.

More to come.....

U of A Tour 10:00 am Friday April 15, 2011

2011-04-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

If you plan on attending the Rutherford Library tour, please meet in the Atrium where the old and the new buildings meet on the ground floor.

Rutherford Library is north of St. Stephens College

Maps of the University are located at
http://www.campusmap.ualberta.ca/index.cfm?campus=1§or=5&feature=47

Everyone is invited!

2011-03-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

It has been asked a few times, and though we should put out the word.

One does not have to be a member of the Alberta Genealogical Society in order to attend the Conference!

The Conference is open to all who wish to attend and we look forward to seeing you there!

2011-03-21T13:16:00.001-07:00

This week finds us working on the Syllabus.

If you would like to advertise your business/company in our Syllabus and we haven't emailed you yet, please contact us by email to agsconference2011@shaw.ca to receive the package.
Thank you!

2011-03-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

How can it be March already?
The Conference is less than 6 weeks away!
Hard to imagine isn't it ? Especially with all this snow on the ground.
Let's hope the snow is gone by mid April!

It's impossible to have a Conference without volunteers helping to get it complete.

If you would like to help out before the Conference or during, we would love to hear from you! Please email Shannon at agsconference2011@shaw.ca

If you haven't registered for the Conference yet, we encourage you to get it sent in at your earliest opportunity.

We look forward to seeing you at the Conference!

Registration package online

2011-02-11T20:44:00.000-08:00

The AGS Conference "Unlocking Doors to the Past" Registration form and information is online at

http://abgensoc.ca/

The forms will also be mailed out in Relatively Speaking next week.

Be sure to check out the Speakers Biographies available at the Alberta Genealogical Society website.

Registration package on its way!

2011-02-10T19:20:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for your patience!

We ran into a few last minute glitches, however the Registration package will be mailed out next week in the Relatively Speaking mail out.

The Registration package and Speakers Biographies will be online at the AGS website soon
http://abgensoc.ca/

Conference Update

2011-01-19T10:15:00.000-08:00

I am sure everyone is anticipating the release of the Registration form! We are working very hard to get it complete. A few speakers have not yet confirmed, and hoping this will get done over the next week or so.
Stay tuned!

Speakers

2010-11-12T14:30:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for your suggestions of speakers.
As of November 10, 2010 we have all the speakers we need to fill all the spots for April 16 & 17, 2011.

Update

2010-10-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

Adele and I spent a couple of days together setting out the Speakers and topics.

The Registration package is expected to be online and downloadable before the end of the year.

Once the Registration package is released, you will want to be sure to register early! We have some excellent speakers with awesome topics !!!

2010-09-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

As of September 30, 2010, we have confirmed the following speakers......

Colleen Fitzpatrick
Dave Obee
Lisa Louise Cooke
Pat Ryan
Lyn Meehan

Tentative:

Geoff Rasmussen
Deanna Bullock

Do you have suggestions for speakers?
We would like some local people, which helps keep our costs down......
Perhaps you personally might be someone who can provide a talk on a subject that would go over well!!!!
Feel free to contact me!!!!
Shannon agsconference2011@shaw.ca or agsconference2011@gmail.com

Tours ~ April 15, 2011

2010-09-28T07:35:00.001-07:00

Our helpful AGS and Edmonton Branch member Craig, who joined our Conference Planning team just recently has made arrangements with the following places so that there will be tours available on the Friday (April 15, 2011) prior to the Conference.

As has been in the past, the rules will remain the same:

1. You must be registered for the Conference to participate in the tours
2. You must register for the tours you wish to take
3. There is limited space for each of the tours
4. Space will be allocated on a 'first come first served basis
5. One will need to arrange their own transportation to and from the tours

Tour registration will be enclosed in the Conference Registration package.

Please, no early birds.

We hope to have the registration package uploaded to the AGS website before the end of the year. Notices will be sent out via Clandigger and to each Branch. Keep checking this Blogspot and the AGS website for the latest details.

Provincial Archives of Alberta
8555 Roper Road Edmonton, AB

City of Edmonton Archives Prince of Wales Armouries 2nd Floor
10440 - 108 Avenue Edmonton AB

Bonnie Doon Family History Centre
9010-85 Street Edmonton AB

Edmonton Public Library
7 Sir Winston Churchill Square Edmonton AB

Rutherford Library University of Alberta Campus

***The above places listed will provide tours at no charge***

Ukrainian Canadian Archives & Museum of Alberta
9543 - 110 Avenue Edmonton
***Ukrainian Canadian Archives & Museum of Alberta requests a fee of $5.00 per person

Speakers confirmed....and tentative

2010-06-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

As of today, we have confirmed the following speakers......
Dave Obee
Lisa Louise Cooke
Pat Ryan
Lyn Meehan

Tentative:
Colleen Fitzpatrick
Geoff Rasmussen
Deanna Bullock

Do you have suggestions for speakers?
We would like some local people, which helps keep our costs down......
Perhaps you personally might be someone who can provide a talk on a subject that would go over well!!!!
Feel free to contact me!!!!
Shannon agsconference2011@shaw.ca or agsconference2011@gmail.com

Theme for our 2011 Conference ....

2010-06-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

After much discussion............
The theme for our Conference to be held April 16 & 17, 2011 is

"Unlocking Doors to the Past"

AGS Conference Theme.....

2010-06-15T14:03:00.000-07:00

We are working on a theme.......and having difficulty making a decision.
Any thoughts?

What's YOUR Ancestor's Story??

Researching: Keys to the Past;

Genealogy: Thinking O-U-T-S-I-D-E the box!

Use These Keys to Open the Doors of Your Past