MEET OUR PROGRAM CHAIRS

Allison Ryall has a strong professional background in events marketing, promotions, and planning. She recently moved to the Portland, Maine area from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Allison has spent 7 years of her career as the Senior Director of Marketing and Promotions for a cluster of six radio stations in Pittsburgh and previously worked as the Special Event Coordinator for a large community event in Pittsburgh. She has extensive experience in her own genealogical pursuits and has worked on friends and families ancestry. She has completed the NGS Home Study Course (with honors) and is currently enrolled in the Family History Certificate Program from Brigham Young University. She has also started the process for certification as a genealogist, a process that she will likely hold off on until she completes her university work at the University of Southern Maine. Currently Allison is pursuing two undergraduate degrees, one in History with a minor in Sociology and the other in Russian Studies. Following completion of her undergraduate studies, Allison plans on working towards her Ph.D. in History.

Christine L. Sweet-Hart, CG, SM has fourteen years experience researching in Eastern Massachusetts repositories, including NARA New England Region, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Massachusetts Archives, Boston Public Library, Massachusetts Board of Vital Records & Statistics, family history centers, courthouses, registries of deeds, city/town halls, church offices, cemeteries, and historical societies. She has published articles on sources and methodology at http://www.genealogytoday.com/, is Newsletter Editor and Board member for the Massachusetts Genealogical Council, and is former Chapter Representative for the Greater Boston Association of Professional Genealogists. She has prior non-genealogical experience working in public health administration as project, compliance, and operations manager.

SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS

NEW ENGLAND CONNECTions 2007 has an exciting list of speakers planned. More than 45 speakers will participate in the Hartford conference and will discuss a wide range of topics in tracks devoted to New England Research, Ethnic Genealogy, Technology, Skills and Methodology, Federal Records at the National Archives, Records and Sources, Writing and Documents, and Genealogical Techniques.

Some speaker highlights are:

Beau Sharbrough will be the keynote speaker for the opening session on Thursday afternoon. Beau will speak on "Genealogy in 2020 - A Report From The Future". In 2020, you won't use your web browser to look up your pedigree charts, linked to all the sources already. That will be ancient history. In 2020, you'll attend a family reunion and have dinner with the animated holograms of your ancestors. Don't leave your ancestors asking you "How did you get so much of my life wrong?"

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak will be speaking at Friday's Luncheon on "Cases That Made My Brain Hurt". How could brothers also be uncle and nephew? How could a soldier killed in Korea be alive 55 years later? How could the 1853 death of a toddler in Scotland help solve a Civil War history-mystery? Come and hear!

For the dinner banquet on Friday evening Patricia Law Hatcher, FASG will be giving an entertaining lecture entitled "Pat Tells All: Who Did What For Whom". Come learn the hidden secrets of genealogical successes.

Marcia Melnyk will be speaking at Saturday's Luncheon on "It's A Small World After All: Genealogy in the Global Perspective". Utilizing the Internet has become an everyday practice for many of today's researchers. Are you using the Internet to its best advantage? What might you be missing? Learn some of the ways to make information come to you, find relatives, and otherwise broaden your research to encompass the world.

For the dinner banquet on Saturday evening, Henry Z. "Hank" Jones, Jr., FASG will sharing his genealogical experiences by speaking on "How Psychic Roots Became An Unsolved Mystery". Hank will share his adventures behind the NBC-TV dramatization of his ground-breaking bestseller (now in it's 6th printing) and will relate even more amazing serendipitous experiences contributed by genealogists worldwide for his new sequel More Psychic Roots.

WHY ATTEND NEW ENGLAND CONNECTions 2007?

Good question! How about: “to benefit from world class genealogical lectures and events at a most affordable price.” NEW ENGLAND CONNECTions 2007 will build on the “liked best” features of past NERGC conferences, providing participants with an opportunity to “CONNECT” to wealth of genealogical information through lectures, workshops, vendors, the Ancestors Roadshow, and the Society Fair at a conference with a New England focus hosted by a team of friendly, dedicated volunteers. And at $99, (until January 15, 2007) NERGC’s conference registration fee remains of the best bargains on the entire genealogy conference circuit. Watch for registration and hotel information coming soon!

WHAT DO FOLKS LIKE BEST ABOUT NERGC?

Each of the eight New England Regional Genealogical Conferences held so far has met NERGC’s objective of providing a quality conference at reasonable cost. The most recent conference, held in Portland, Maine in 2005, was attended by over 700 genealogists from over twenty states. Here are some of the things attendees at the Portland conference liked best:

“New England emphasis”
“regional focus helped my research”
“affordable”
“excellent quality of speakers”
“Ancestors Road Show”
“vendor booths, society groups”
“Interaction with speakers, vendors and attendees”
“NERGC volunteers and organizers”
“congeniality and level of dedication”
“friendliness, togetherness, great staff/friendly participants”
“camaraderie and chance to network”