The following is from Caroline M. Pointer, Director, Federation of Genealogical Societies, FGS Marketing & Publicity Chair:
In partnership with the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) and findmypast.com,
the Texas State Genealogical Society (TSGS) announces a Call for Exhibit Hall
Presentations to be held during the FGS 2014 Conference, 28-30 August 2014, in San
Antonio, Texas.
As part of the educational and outreach missions of both FGS and TSGS, the exhibit
hall will be free and open to the public. During that time, approximately twenty half-hour
presentations will be offered on the exhibit hall education stage. These 30-minute
presentations will be geared towards educating and motivating all attendees, but with a
special focus on beginners or the casually curious. The challenge for presenters will be
to excite and convert participants in a short period of time.
The deadline for submission of exhibit hall proposals is Sunday, 18 May 2014.
The categories of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Basic and introductory genealogical instruction
- Storytelling and interviewing
- Preserving for future generations
- DNA and family medical history
- Technology, software and social media
- Benefits of joining a local genealogy society
- Online pitfalls
As there will also be a separate vendor presentation stage, vendor specific topics or
sponsors are outside the scope of this call for presentations.
Submission Requirements
Presentations will be 30 minutes long. Send proposals in Microsoft Word, RTF or similar
format. File names should include your last name, first initial, and proposal topic.
(Example: SmithR – TechStrategies). Please submit one file per proposed topic. Each
proposal document should include:
- Speaker(s) name.
- Speaker(s) contact information, including mailing address, phone, email and
website, if applicable. - Prior speaking experience.
- Speaker(s) biography.
- Presentation outline/summary (1 page or less)
Send proposals, as an email attachment, with “FGS 2014 Call for Exhibit Hall
Presentations” in the subject line, to 2014program@fgs.org no later than Sunday, 18
May 2014.
Invitations to speak will be extended by 1 July 2014. The deadline for acceptance and submission of signed speaker contracts is 15 July 2014.
Compensation
Due to the structure and location of the presentations, speakers will be compensated for
their time only at a rate of $75 per 30-minute presentation.
Society Sponsored Presentations
Societies are encouraged to submit proposals for sponsored talks. The sponsoring
organization will cover its speaker’s compensation. Sponsored speakers will abide by all
speaker deadlines.
Additional Information
Handouts and other reference material will not be compiled in the printed syllabus
distributed to conference participants. However, syllabus materials will be made
available online and via the FGS mobile app. These materials will be limited to two
pages per session. Syllabus format guidelines will be sent to all speakers upon receipt
of their signed contract. The deadline for submissions of syllabus materials is 25
July 2014.
About the Texas State Genealogical Society (TSGS)
The Texas State Genealogical Society (TSGS) was founded in 1960, in Fort Worth,
Texas, and is incorporated under the laws of the State of Texas as an educational and
literary corporation. The purpose of TSGS is to promote, assist, develop, and conserve
the genealogical and historical resources of Texas and to cooperate with local, regional,
and state wide groups in promoting an awareness of the need to preserve family
heritage. To learn more, visit http://www.txsgs.org/.
About the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS)
The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) was founded in 1976 and represents
the members of hundreds of genealogical societies. FGS links the genealogical
community by helping genealogical societies strengthen and grow through resources
available online, FGS Forum magazine (filled with articles pertaining to society
management and genealogical news), and Society Strategy Series papers, covering
topics about effectively operating a genealogical society. FGS also links the
genealogical community through its annual conference — four days of excellent lectures,
including one full day devoted to society management topics. To learn more visit
http://www.fgs.org.
About findmypast.com
Findmypast.com is a leading global family history website, offering more than 1.8 billion
records from 875 AD to the present day. Findmypast offers family historians
comprehensive collections of newspapers, periodicals, military, census, migration,
parish, work and education records, as well as the original comprehensive birth,
marriage and death records from the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland.
