NGS Opens Registration for the Thirty-Third Family History Conference, Charleston, South Carolina, 11-14 May 2011

Where the Past is Still Present

(1 December, 2010) -- America's fascination with ancestry is increasing because of the recent television series "Faces of America" on PBS and "Who Do You Think You Are" on NBC. The National Genealogical Society is pleased to announce that registration opens today for next year's conference, which will be held at the Charleston Area Convention Center, 5001 Coliseum Drive, North Charleston, SC 29418, 11-14 May 2011. The Society selected Charleston because of its significance in American history. In addition to attending the NGS 2011 Family History Conference, participants will have an opportunity to tour Charleston's historic buildings, churches and homes as well as its many museums and research facilities. The National Genealogical Society anticipates 2,000 genealogists from around the country will attend next year's event. Read more.

April 2011 will mark the 150th Anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War at nearby Ft. Sumter, so the four day family history conference will feature talks on both Revolutionary War and Civil War records.  More than seventy-five nationally recognized speakers will provide over one hundred and eighty lectures on a wide variety of topics including research in South Carolina and the surrounding states, migration patterns, religious records, research methodology, and problem solving. The conference program will also include lectures about researching various ethnic groups including Germans, Cherokee, African Americans, Huguenots, Irish, Scots, and Scots-Irish.

Special Saturday workshops include an all day beginner's workshop, "Genealogy 101: Getting Started with Family History" and a "Kids' Kamp" for children and young adults ages eight through sixteen.

An exhibit area with more than one hundred exhibitors will be open and free to the public Wednesday through Saturday including the latest in genealogical software, online research providers and DNA testing services.

Founded in 1903, the National Genealogical Society is dedicated to genealogy education, high research standards, and the preservation of genealogical records.  The Arlington, VA-based nonprofit is the premier national society for everyone, from the beginner to the most advanced family historian, seeking excellence in publications, educational offerings, research guidance, and opportunities to interact with other genealogists.  Please visit the NGS Pressroom for further information.

. . . . . . .

For press information:

Jan Alpert

jalpert@ngsgenealogy.org

http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/

843-837-2177

NGS Opens Registration for the Thirty-Third Family History Conference, Charleston, South Carolina, 11-14 May 2011

Getting There

The NGS 2011 Family History Conference will be held in Charleston, South Carolina from 11-14 May 2011. We hope you will join us there!

In this posting you will find information on how to get to the venue by air and by road. Hope you have already made your hotel reservations and stay tuned to the blog for more information about the conference program and other activities.

By Air

Charleston International Airport is located approximately 13 miles northwest of downtown Charleston. Charleston International Airport is centrally located in the Charleston metropolitan area in North Charleston. The airport is situated adjacent to Charleston Air Force Base and uses the airfield facilities at the Air Force Base jointly with the USAF.

Currently, the Charleston International Airport is served by Continental, Delta, Northwest, US Airways, United Express, American Eagle, and beginning March 13, 2011 Southwest Airlines.  Over 120 flights with approximately 5,000 inbound and 5,000 outbound seats come through the terminal each day. The majority of planes serving our area are regional jets seating 75-100 people, which enables the Charleston area to offer more direct flights from a wider selection of cities.

Charleston offers non-stop & direct flight service from Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Manchester, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York, Newark, Norfolk, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.  Southwest will have direct service from Nashville, Houston, Baltimore and Denver.

Nancy Mettes of Damar Travel, the official conference travel agent, will work with you to provide an economical travel plan. Tell Nancy you want to make your reservation for the NGS Family History Conference in Charleston, South Carolina, and be sure to mention if you are a senior citizen. Contact: 800-999-6101 or nancy.mettes@damartravel.com.

By Car

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Getting There

Save the date, 11-14 May 2011, Charleston, South Carolina

In 2007 the NGS Board of Directors began looking for a conference location for 2011 in which we could commemorate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. Charleston was selected because it is a charming city, rich in history, and the first shot of the war was fired at nearby Ft. Sumter 12 April 1861. Come early to enjoy the sites in and around Charleston.

Whether next year will be your first NGS conference or your tenth, there will be many new lectures and programs to increase your family history research skills. A four page pre- conference flyer is available as a PDF at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/conference_info and includes contact information for the area hotels as well as a listing of research facilities in Charleston. The flyer also briefly describes the evening social activities.

Program highlights will include tracks on military records, ethnic research, church records, immigration and migration, methodology and an emphasis on research in the southeast.  The Board for Certification of Genealogists will again sponsor the Skillbuilding Track presented by nationally known experts in the field of genealogy. Each day will include two tracks about technological advances in genealogy covering subscription databases, software, Internet resources and more. This year we are also offering a Family History & Genealogy Track which will help you flesh out and record the stories about your ancestors.  Once again, the conference will also have an Exhibit Area with more than 100 vendors including FamilySearch and Ancestry.

The Military Track will begin with a lecture on Revolutionary War records and continue into the twentieth century, with an emphasis on both Union and Confederate records. Our ethnic track will include a series of lectures on both African American and Native American research as well as Irish, Scot-Irish and German research.

If this is your first conference, we will have a Family History Skills Track with a focus on the essential record groups and how to use them.  You can attend any of the lectures that interest you and move from track to track throughout the day.

The NGS 2011 Family History Conference will be held at the Charleston Area Convention Center, 5001 Coliseum Drive, North Charleston, South Carolina, which is located near the Charleston Airport. The convention center is surrounding by a several hotels in a campus environment. The Embassy Suites hotel is the main conference hotel and is connected to the convention center. However, the Embassy Suites is a smaller hotel, so many of the attendees will be staying at the other nearby hotels including the Hilton Garden Inn, Holiday Inn, Residence Inn, Hampton Inn and newly renovated Crowne Plaza. The Charleston Visitors and Convention Bureau will be providing trolley service between the hotels mentioned above and the convention center. We encourage you to make your hotel reservations early, because we are expecting a large attendance due to the recent television shows and the increased interest in family history. Some of the hotel facilities are suites hotels and most of the facilities include a microwave and refrigerator. Please check the conference website for the details: http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/conference_info.

The conference registration brochure will be available online about 1 December 2010 at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/conference_info. Several of the social events have limited space, so to ensure a space we encourage you to register early. After that date you will be able to register online at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/attendee_registration or print the registration brochure and fax or mail in your registration and payment. If you need help registering for the conference, e-mail registration@ngsgenealogy.org. The conference registration brochure will be printed and mailed to NGS members with the NGS Quarterly early in January. The early bird registration will be available until 22 March 2011.

We hope to see you in Charleston.



-Janet A. Alpert

Save the date, 11-14 May 2011, Charleston, South Carolina

Display Booths at the 2011 NGS Family History Conference

Display Booths

Not able to attend the conference, but still want to advertise and promote your company?

NGS is excited to offer a new opportunity to its exhibitors. At just $60 for NGS organizational subscribers and $120 for non-subscribing orgranizations, you can display your company’s literature and other promotional materials on a table in the exhibit hall. The name of your company will be advertised on a 7"*44" identification sign at no additional charge.

For more information contact Erin Wood at ewood@ngsgenealogy.org.

To reserve a place for your material, please mail your payment to the National Genealogical Society at 3108 Columbia Pike, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22204.
Please note that display booth exhibitors will be responsible for having materials shipped and set-up at their assigned booth.

Display Booths at the 2011 NGS Family History Conference

Accommodations for NGS 2011 in Charleston

Hope you have started making hotel reservations for the NGS 2011 Family History Conference in Charleston to be held 11-14 May. Our headquarters hotel is the Embassy Suites, that is adjacent to the North Charleston Convention Center. Their sales manager called me yesterday to let us know that the room block for NGS at the Embassy Suites is now sold out! We are nine months out from the conference and we thank you all in advance for planning to attend.

For those who have not made their reservations yet, do not worry! The National Genealogical Society has set up room blocks at five more hotels all within 1.2 miles of the convention center. A free trolley will run between the hotels and the convention center, Wednesday through Saturday. For more information on the conference hotels, click here.

To give you a better idea of where the hotels are located relative to the Nother Charleston Convention Center which will be home to the 2011 NGS Family History Conference, I have embedded a google map below with all six hotels identified by blue markers.


View 2011 Charleston Conference Hotels in a larger map

Accommodations for NGS 2011 in Charleston

Welcome to NGS 2011 Family History Conference, 11-14 May

Hello and welcome to the home of the NGS 2011 official conference blog. We are thrilled that you will be joining us in Charleston, South Carolina and hope to make this an interactive and fun experience leading up to the event. Only YOU know what your burning conference related questions are, so contact NGS at conference@ngsgenealogy.org and we will get you the most complete answers possible in as timely a manner as possible.

The South Carolina Geneallogical Society (http://www.scgen.org/) is very excited to be working with the National Genealogical Society in building a fantastic conference experience for all levels of genealogists, from beginner to professional. Stay tuned for updates on presenters, vendors, sponsors, registration, accommodations, local sites, and much more.

Stay posted!

-NGS Staff

Welcome to NGS 2011 Family History Conference, 11-14 May