Choosing Lecture Sessions at Jamboree

As I mentioned in my 18 May blog, The Southern California Genealogical Society's annual Jamboree is coming up next week.  Prior to attending I always try and review the schedule of lectures and decide which presentations I want to attend.  I will sometimes change my mind once I get to the conference; but at least I have a foundation from which to operate. 

In reviewing the presentations by time slots, I will often find two presentations during the same time period that interest me.  I will mark them both and review them again later in an attempt to resolve the conflict.  The deciding factor is usually the lecturer.  I will read the short write up on the lecturers and that often helps me finalize my decision.  

The two "brick walls" that I am currently working on are in Ireland and Germany.  Interestingly, I only saw one lecture on each county; so will be attending both of them.  

I always like to keep up to date with new developments at Ancestry.com, Family Tree Maker, and Family Search.  However, unless I make a change or they add it on Sunday as a "By Popular Demand Session" I won't be attending any Ancestry or FTM sessions--fewer offerings this year, I think.  

I noticed lots of sessions relating to the use of Google for genealogical research and several DNA presentation, in addition to Thursday being dedicated to DNA topics.   

I developed a habit at one of the first Jamborees I attended of keeping a "To Do" list as I attend the sessions.  Rather than taking lots of supplemental notes, I try to follow the syllabus. However, any time the speaker mentions something that triggers the thought, "I need to do that", I write it down. Hopefully, the list will be less than a page in length.  That list then takes priority once I return from the conference.  

I am really looking forward to attending Joe Mozingo's Saturday breakfast presentation.  Joe is an L.A. Times writer who wrote a series in the Times of researching his Mozingo heritage, which traced back to a black slave, Spencer Mozingo.  When I learned of this, I contacted Joe because my gggrandmother is a Mozingo, who also traces back to Spencer.  Joe subsequently wrote a book, which I read, about his adventures, within this country and Africa, tracing his ancestry. Should be an interesting session.  

If you have any interest at all in genealogy and have never attended Jamboree, you owe it to yourself to go!  Check out the details at: http://genealogyjamboree.com.