TxSGS Family History Conference 2023: Texans Do Genealogy Conferences Right!

2023 TxSGS Family History Conference | Who Is That Mystery DNA Match? | Diane Henriks

Those Texans Sure Know How to Throw a Genealogy Conference!

Those Texans sure know how to throw a party! TxSGS definitely held up to one of Texas’ well-known sayings, “Everything’s bigger in Texas”! What a fantastic, fun filled, 2-day, live event of top-tier genealogical education that was! The genealogical presentations, on a wide variety of topics and by so many well-known speakers, were top notch! They also had some fantastic hosts, sponsors, and exhibitors for the event! But wait, that wasn’t, nor is, all there is to their outstanding genealogical event of the year! They kicked off their event 5 days earlier with pre-conference fun! Using the Whova all-in-one event management platform, which was my first time ever experiencing it. With this platform, the event hosts were able to set up some pretty cool features that dramatically enhanced their program, from challenges, games, networking, photo galleries, expo hall, and more! The coolest part, the majority stay up forever, so you can continue networking!  And it’s nowhere near being over! TxSGS Live had 10 live sessions with Q&As, but that was nowhere near the only part of the event! There are still the other 36 pre-recorded, just for this event, sessions that start today, 2 days after the live portion, and available until February 10th! So, this event is really a 14 week-long, fun-filled, fantastic, all-in-one event! I am so honored to have been able to speak for them! If I hadn’t, I may never have known how amazing this event is!

What Did We Get to Do in the Whova Platform and at This Event?

• Create a profile
  • Add our affiliations
  • Add our education
  • Add our interests
  • Add our locations
  • Add a bio
  • Upload a resume
  • Add our social links
  • Add our personal webpage links
  • Add our other online presence links
• Create our own agenda
• Add notes to our personalized note section, for networking, presentations, and more
• View the event agenda and join sessions
• View the speakers and bios
• View all the attendees for networking and/or making new genealogy friends
  • By in common categories (interests, location, and more)
  • By event categories (hosts, attendees, speakers, vendors, sponsors, and more)
  • By whose profiles you have bookmarked
• Create or join community topic boards to learn, give advice and tips, network, make new friends, and more!
• Network, network, network!!!!
• Privately message anyone attending the conference, again to network and make new genealogy friends
• Add photos to the photo gallery
• Join the virtual expo hall
• Join challenges and contests to win prizes
  • Answer session polls
  • Create a poll in the community boards
  • Answer polls in the community boards
  • Post an ice breaker
  • Say hi to other attendees
  • Create a profile
  • Create your personal agenda
  • Suggest/create meet-ups, either in-person or virtually, through Zoom or their platform
  • Join meet-ups
  • Share articles
  • Recommend other conferences
  • Post replies to message and community board comments
  • Post questions in the Q&As to presentations
  • Add topic or social groups/community boards
• Get access to resources
• And so much more!

Which Sessions Were at the Live Portion of the Event?

• Finding Females: Still Haven’t Found that Maiden Name?, Craig R. Scott
• Using Google Earth Web to Tell Your Family History Migration Stories, Colleen Robledo Greene
• Problem-Solving Strategies for US/Mexico Borderland Genealogy, Henrietta Martinez Christmas
• Are you a Genealogy Spelunker or Caver? Exploring the Deep Recesses of the Family Tree, Jean Wilcox Hibben
• Financing Wars – 18th & 19th Century Federal Tax Records DO Exist!, Diane L. Richard
• Patching the Holes, and Bridging the Gaps, J. Mark Lowe
• Spies Among Us: Tracing WWI Era Ancestors through FBI and American Protective League Records, Debra Dudek
• Boost Your Genealogy with Haplogroup Insights from FTDNA’s Time Tree, Jim Brewster
• In Their Own Words: Genealogy in the Slave Narratives, Renate Yarborough Sanders
• Write As You Research! An Efficient Way to Solve Tough Problems, Jill Morelli

And, since unlike many other events where presentations overlap and these did not, I got to watch them all! 

All the Presentations/Tracks for This Event

Sadly, I have to say that I most likely will not have time to watch all the other 36 presentations by well-known speakers, including my own (“Who Is That Mystery DNA Match?), as I’m not sure I have that kind of time. I will, however, carefully choose what seems to be the most useful to me.
 
If you missed this fantastic event, there is always next year, and trust me, you do not want to miss out on this opportunity!