RootsTech Recap Day 1

I'm just wrapping up Day 1 of RootsTech. I've been here since Monday evening as I was completing my annual trip to the Family History Library and the Media dinner for RootsTech ambassadors last night.

It's been a day of DNA lectures all day, which comes in handy as more and more people are buying DNA kits looking for their elusive ancestors and finding out more about who they are.

Here's a list of the lectures I attended:

Real World Examples of the Frustrations of Endogamy - Lara Diamond

How Close Are We Really? Evaluating Shared DNA - Paul Woodbury

Introduction to Autosomal DNA Chromosome Mapping by Tim Janzen

AncestryDNA got in on the fun and were giving out buttons. You had to find your match to win a prize. So far I have not found my exact match.

At the end of the day we wrapped up with the opening session with an address by Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch (who I had the pleasure of meeting with last night). It was a nice heart warming message that everyone deserves to be remembered. Everyone has a story to tell. There was also a panel discussion about the innovations that experts in the field would like to/expect to see around records access and DNA.

Finally the Exhibit Hall opened to review the vendor booths. I took a quick walk through to survey the different businesses. I will be back later this week to check out in further detail when it's not as crowded.

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