RootsTech 2025. I’ve been trying to document big things in my life, so here’s how it looked:
Delivered four one-hour presentations. All were well-attended.
Attended several presentations that were part of the Advanced Skills track that I helped to create.
Participated in a FamilySearch focus group.
Provided mentoring and cheerleading for several budding pro-genealogists.
Met people in person that I only previously knew via email and zoom. (Favorite comment: “Wow! You have a lot of long hair!” Maybe it’s always tied up while I work…)
Enjoyed having sweet Jane’s calm personality by my side during a really intense day.
Hugged, ate, and chatted with so many good genealogy friends that I only see at this conference.
The past few years I have really been trying to say YES to opportunities, especially when they push me outside of my comfort zone. This has opened doors and created relationships that are very rewarding. It was a good week.
There are many ribbons you can add to your conference pass. I usually only use these two because they represent two things I worked hard to achieve: BYU Family History Graduate and my Accredited Genealogist credential.The Speakers Dinner with Angela McGhie. She is so smart and a really good educator. I want to be more like her, and I appreciate my friendship with her.I’ve worked on a few small projects with Kelly Richardson, and currently I’m helping her with some WW2 projects for the Marine Corps. She is smart and fun and a good connector of people.I present Jenny and the Jeffs/Geoffs. The three of us are friends through Scandinavian research. As a group, we presented an introduction to Scandinavian research. Both men are smart and generous. It’s always great to have an excuse to see these two.These ladies are my nerd group. We meet each month virtually to discuss scholarly genealogy articles. Over the years we have become good friends, and I love the support I find from these kind and smart women.This panel discussion was fun! We talked about the two different professional genealogy credentials. I represented ICAPGen (the AG credential), Angela represented BCG (the CG credential). Eva and Dawne (in the middle) are both dual-credentialed–they have both!Quinton was my boss during my Ancestry days. Our small team worked to aquire record groups for their website 20+ years ago. He’s still there, quietly killing it. It’s so fun to chat and catch up each year. Danielle and I go way back! We worked together at a small research firm in SLC, right when I graduated from BYU. We bonded for life! She’s kind of a big deal at FamilySearch.Two ladies from two different parts of my life. Both are amazing! I met Sunny Morton while teaching at a BYU conference lots of years ago. We remain friends. She does amazing things! She’s inspiring! Suzanne and I have been living life together since our BYU days. She now runs the Center for Family History at BYU. My daughter Jane! She thought she came to see the Woodhalls as the keynote speakers on the final day of the conference. But she turned into my handler when I needed it most.
I’m just about to walk out the door to head to Utah for RootsTech 2025. If you are going to be there, please come say hi! Here’s what I will be teaching. You may notice Read more…
I have a daughter named Lucy. She’s 17. She’s really social and smart, and she’s involved in lots of different things at school. She’s definitely my busiest and most-involved kid. For the purpose of this Read more…
It’s been a minute since I’ve taken time for an update because I’ve been swamped with preparations for RootsTech. This year it will be held March 6-8 in Salt Lake City with an online viewing Read more…
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