Jamboree | Genealogy Gems

Family History & DNA Jamboree Event: Featured Speakers

by Lisa Cooke | Feb 28, 2013 | 01 What's New, Conferences, DNA

The Southern California Genealogical Society is known to dish out the best time a family historian can have at a conference. Its Jamborees offer some of the most engaging learning experiences around. Need proof? Look no further than this year’s one-day themed pre-Jamboree event, “Family History and DNA: Genetic Genealogy in 2013” on Thursday, June 6, with featured speakers Spencer Wells and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Spencer Wells is a PhD and a professional adventurer: an Explorer-in-Residence with the National Geographic Society. He leads the Genographic Project, which collects and analyzes DNA samples from around the world. He’ll talk about how these samples are helping provide a richer view of the human story, and how everyday folks like us are contributing to “citizen science,” harnessing the power of the crowd to learn more about the history of human populations.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been a previous guest on The Genealogy Gems Podcast: check out our interview in Episode 133. This genealogy documentary guru (the brains behind the PBS series Finding Your Roots, African American Lives, Faces of America and Oprah’s Roots) will provide your lunchtime edu-tainment. He’s famous for combining DNA research with traditional genealogy investigation–with fascinating results. You’ll love his inspiring stories about how DNA helps us understand our deep roots and connect with far-flung kin.

Learn more about this one-day pre-Jamboree event–and the rest of the Jamboree that will follow–at the SCGS website.

Following in Family History Footsteps: Young Genealogist Scholarship Available

by Lisa Cooke | Feb 7, 2013 | 01 What's New, Conferences

Do you know any young genealogists who would love to go to the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree? Encourage them to apply for a 0 cash award and free conference registration.

The Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Grant Committee is now accepting applications for its 2013 Student Genealogy Grant. As they did last year, the SCGS Jamboree will provide the grant recipient with free three-day registration. Genealogists between the ages of 18 and 25 who have attended school in the last 12 months are eligible to apply. The recipient must attend the 2013 SCGS Jamboree in Burbank, California to receive the award.

I can tell you from personal experience that Jamboree is one of the family history world’s most fun educational experiences! It’s a perfect place for a young person to further his or her genealogical learning and make personal and professional connections that can last a lifetime

Complete details and application materials are available at The Family Curator. The application deadline is 18 March 2013 midnight PST. I hope you’ll forward this post to any young people who should apply!