NGS 2009 Conference Recap for May 12

The conference didn't start until May 13, but I had a full day yesterday. I made my own walking tour of Raleigh in the morning. Then I volunteered from 12-5 behind the registration desk. My job was to move the conference swag bags and 600+-page printed syllabi to various places for the people processing registrations for guests. Not rocket science, but it was fun. I met a Facebook friend in person and made some new acquaintances as well. The North Carolina host committee is so dang nice!

In the evening was the Association of Professional Genealogists Round Table. We met the board members present. Then we had brief introductions. The Lone Star Chapter was well represented. Woot! After intros, we broke into groups and discussed hypothetical issues/challenges genealogists face in their jobs. We then came together as a whole class again and compared answers.

Post Round Table, those present from the three Pro-Gen groups met to say hi. There were about 10-12 people there. Pro Gen 1 had the biggest contingent. I would love to provide a URL for those who don't know what Pro Gen is, but there isn't one. I did mention last night that a lot of people land on my blog when searching for information about Pro Gen. My suggestion for a basic web page that explains Pro Gen and tells you how to sign up was well-received, so hopefully that will come about soon.

In this casual Pro Gen discussion, we also talked about what to do after Pro Gen. Class #1 is in the final phase. There were suggestions on what to study next. Greenwood's book was thrown out there by Craig Scott as an idea. Hopefully, some Pro Gen-ers read this and continue the discussion online regarding what to do next.

Yesterday was an 18-hour day. I went to bed knowing I had to volunteer the next morning at 7:15am, but it was ok. This is fun.

[Edit: Mark Tucker was kind enough to provide a link that explains Pro Gen. Thanks, Mark!]