For the 29th year in a row, we are now in the midst of the Salt Lake Christmas Tour. It’s cold outside, but the attendees are having great success. Our ratio of professional researchers working with the attendees is at an all time high this year, with one pro for every five attendees.
Monday night, Crista Cowan, the barefoot genealogist from Ancestry.com, joined us for dinner and spoke on using DNA to advance our research. She kept me either laughing or crying for her entire dinner lecture. Then last night Anna Swayne (again from Ancestry) came by and entertained us with an in-depth lecture on DNA use. She answered all kinds of questions for the group. She’s coming by early Thursday morning to do the AncestryDNA tests for our group at the special holiday price of $89.95… That’s an amazing deal – and a wonderful thing for our Canadian attendees, who have a problem getting the test kits through the mail.
Every morning we have breakfast together, share the days news, and pass out gifts. It’s kinda’ become a tradition that at least one gag gift gets given to either Bill Balter, myself (Leland), or Donna Phillips (mother hen). Last year someone gave Donna a bikini. Bill made the presentation, but we were never sure who actually purchased the thing. I got Superman briefs one year. Bill didn’t make it this year, but he was certainly here in spirit when Thomas MacEntee presented Donna with her own pair of Big Momma Undies. Then she modeled them for us (over her clothes of course.) The photo tells it all.
Want to join in the fun? Plan on coming with us next year – to the 30th Annual Salt Lake Christmas Tour. You might want to sign up early (the new registration materials will be on the site before this Christmas), as we are limited to only 60 rooms in the hotel next year (due to a convention in town that’s taken up most rooms). See www.saltlakechristmastour.com
