New York State Family History Conference, Part 1: All the Feels

When I first heard that the New York State Family History Conference (NYSFHC) was going to be in Tarrytown, NY in 2018, I said to myself, “I’m going!” and I kept a sharp eye out for details to be released. After all, it is within driving distance from my house – all I would have to pay is the conference fee!

Finally, the conference arrived on September 13 – 15. I didn’t sign up for any pre-conference workshops or tours, but I was okay with that.

The Venue

NYSFHC, put on by the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, was held at the Doubletree Hotel in Tarrytown, right along the Hudson River (and I did not take time to take in the views, but I’ve seen the river plenty of times). For those who attended NYSFHC and stayed in the hotel, I’m sure it was super-convenient. The hotel had its own restaurant, but it seemed to me (the one time I ate there) that it was not used to handling a conference crowd. There were no other restaurants located conveniently nearby; having food trucks would have been fantastic!

The space that the conference was held in was sufficient. Classrooms were (usually) not too crowded, though for the smaller rooms you had to get there early enough to ensure you had a seat. A couple of rooms were either too cold or too warm, but this Goldilocks was prepared by wearing a blazer! The main exhibit hall was a bit crowded at times, but there was always the option of checking out the exhibitors/vendors out in the hallway.

Old Friends/New Friends

You’ll read in other blogs that the unique part of a conference experience is interacting and networking with others in person. That is so true!

I was feeling a little shy when I first arrived, but then I reached the exhibit hall and saw Jen Baldwin at the FindmyPast booth right away. She recognized me immediately from when we met at the Global Family Reunion and greeted me with a hug! Once again, the FindmyPast booth was a great place for home base.

Jen Baldwin at the Findmypast booth. Author’s collection.

Another touchstone was the OldMaps booth, where fellow Virtual Genealogical Association member Sara Campbell was handing out VGA ribbons for our badges. Little did I know, I’d actually met Sara two years before at a New England geneabloggers meet-up! At NYSFHC, I was tasked with taking a VGA group picture (which turned out to be two), and Sara helped redirect members outside of the exhibit hall for the pictures.

Meeting some of the other VGA members (Susan Schuler, Kim Cotton, Gail Gannotti, Carol Poulos, Karen Ramon, Ellen Healy, Jo Henn, Eva Kujawa from Sweden, and Marian B. Wood, who I’d heard speak a few months before) was awesome! Contrary to the conference being New York-based, these folks were from all over the world! And here we were, virtual members meeting together in person.

Virtual Genealogical Association meet-ups. Author’s collection.

But of course, I was most excited to meet up with my peeps from #genchat – complete with the #genchat selfie sign, created by Jenna Mills! There were a few people I knew would be there, based on Twitter feedback (like Jen & some VGA folks), and others that I was pleasantly surprised to see, like Molly Charboneau (who I met at the 2014 Genealogy Event) and Michael Cassara (aka @digiroots). Ironically Friday night was also a #genchat night, so meeting at the conference was a nice reminder to everyone that #genchat was still around!

Jen Baldwin, and me with Jen! Author’s collection.

Jo Henn. Author’s collection.

Molly Charboneau and Michael Cassara. Author’s collection.

Susan Schuler and Kim Cotton. Author’s collection.

Diahan Southard and Marian Wood. Author’s collection.

A Word About Badges & Ribbons

Now, I know that at conferences, you get ribbons to put at the bottom of your badge, but I didn’t know much about how you got them or why. I did have #genchat ribbons to give out to the #genchat folks, and I knew I was entitled to a VGA ribbon. I picked up a few that I knew I qualified for. (One guy I spoke to thought that I was a professional since I had “so many ribbons.”) What I didn’t know was I could actually get a lot more!

I found out from Jen via Twitter that “Ribbons are essentially free marketing… of course we all want our logos carried around by attendees and on social media. So in most cases, it’s a free for all. Each attendee can choose to be a part or not.” I guess if you’re in doubt whether or not you can have a ribbon, just ask!