A light breakfast buffet was available before the formal start of classes at 9:30am. In both the morning and afternoon there were four separate lectures offered four times each to small groups. The keynote was delivered as all enjoyed the provided hot lunch. This year's keynote speaker was Shannon Combs-Bennett, a staff genealogist at the Colonial Dames of the 17th Century, an expert on DNA for genealogy, and a widely sought genealogy speaker. She titled her talk: "What Your Chromosomes Can Tell You".
Door prizes worth over $1100 were provided by leading companies in Genealogy Research such as Ancestry, Fold3, Newspapers.com, Family Tree DNA, My Heritage, and 23 & Me, and included subscriptions to online resources, DNA testing, and genealogical supplies.
9:00 am Registration/Social
9:30 am Welcome/Overview
9:45 – 11:45 am RESEARCH RESOURCES
- Court Records (Kate Fallon)
- Researching in Your PJs: Internet Resources (Bill Schwetke)
- African American Research and Resource (Stephannie Addison)
- Resources to Use When No Vital Records (Cyndi Messick)
12:00 – 1:15 pm FREE HOT LUNCH
Presentation: “What Your Chromosomes Can Tell You”
Speaker: Shannon Combs-Bennett (link to her blog)
1:15 – 1:25 pm DRAWING FOR DOOR PRIZES - must preregister to win
1:30 – 3:30 pm RESEARCH APPLICATIONS
- DAR Requirements & Resources (Beverly Alexander)
- SAR Requirements & Resources (Dave Cook, VASSAR Asst Registrar)
- Organizing Your Research (Cat Schwetke)
- DNA: Painting Your DNA (Bill Schwetke)