ROOTS & BRANCHES

Your “Roots & Branches” columnist may be finished promoting PaGE but he’s not done with genealogy conferences in general.

That’s because there’s a major hybrid event in a month and half that is a great opportunity.

It’s the second annual East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference from Oct. 6–8, to be held in person at the Maritime Conference Center in Linthicum Heights, Maryland, and virtually on the Whova event platform.

In a segment of the family history world that tilts toward the West, the East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference provides a venue in the eastern U.S. that focuses entirely on genetic genealogy. It is sponsored by the conference committee and mitoYDNA.org.

Whether going in person or online, registrants benefit from the Maritime center’s state-of-the-art technology at linking up both segments of a hybrid conference, which is a trick such events often do not pull off well. Those who come in-person also benefit from Maritime’s buffet lunches and refreshment breaks.

The intended audience will include genealogists familiar with DNA as a research tool, beginners who want to learn how to apply DNA to their family research, and professionals who want to improve their skills in specific areas of genetic genealogy.

The schedule of major experts in the DNA genealogy field is a veritable all-star team, including Jim Bartlett, Kelli Bergheimer, Blaine Bettinger, Katherine Borges, Kevin Borland, Greg Clarke, Janine Cloud, Nicole Dyer, Diana Elder, Roberta Estes, Mags Gaulden, Nathan Dylan Goodwin, Dana Leeds, Michelle Leonard, Adina Newman, Michelle Patient, Jonny Perl, Judy Russell, Diahan Southard, Jerome Spears, Dr. Miguel Vilar, Dr. Penny Walters, Rob Warthen, and Jennifer Wiebe.

The conference begins with virtual sessions on the evening of Oct. 6 (Friday), with the in-person program kicking off on the morning of Oct. 7 through the afternoon of Oct. 8. Some speakers will be appearing in-person and others virtually but registrants will have the opportunity to view the presentations either live or through recordings posted about a week after the conference.

This real time access to sessions in-person and online is included with the conference registration fee, as are the recordings, which will be available to registrants until Dec. 31.

Registration price for the virtual conference is $175. The in-person conference (with the lunches and break refreshments and snacks) is $225.

Hotel rooms at the Maritime are $158 a night plus tax and include some meals in addition to the conference lunches. There are many other hotels in the area (which are listed on the conference website’s venue page) for those who do not wish to stay at the conference hotel.

For further information and to register please go to: https://ecggc.org/