I did not have time to write a more researched post so I decided to report on the conference where I presented this weekend. Sevier County Public Library system holds a genealogy conference each fall. This year Mark Lowe was the scheduled speaker but last minute changes were made when Mark was unable to attend. Ann Blomquist and I did many of the sessions and Art Bohanan (aka "Milo") who is a forensic investigator and works with Dr. Bass at UT Knoxville's famed "Body Farm"did one of Mark's sessions. Three ladies were already scheduled to do a session on growing up in the Smokies as Preacher's Kids. Their time slot was altered slightly but they shared some interesting memories. Conference attendees seemed to love the presentations. Many said they learned a great deal. My extended DNA talk was the most advanced topic presented. After talking with several of them the day before I gave it, I knew my talk was perfect for the audience. I did go home and put a few extra slides in, mainly because a few things were not mentioned on Friday. Some were beginners with DNA, just deciding where to test or if it was for them. Some tested with all three companies. No one admitted to understanding the results or what to do with them. Before the end of the day, several downloaded GenomeMate Pro or were going to upload to GEDmatch. One even uploaded data to Promethease to secure a health report. In all it was an interesting day. One person came up to me after the conference and asked if I ever slept. I just kind of laughed. As I was chatting with a genealogist later that evening, the person told me I was in danger of being in a league with a prominent genealogist when people started asking me that question. I laughed, knowing that I'll never be in a league with that genealogist. If the condition is genetic, however, I do know on which segment of which chromosome it originated.
One quick note: The Cumberland Gap Genealogy Jamboree is coming again this June. I will be speaking on Saturday.
No comments:
Post a Comment