The day started off with an absolutely inspiring opening session. Photographer and storyteller, Brandon Stanton, founder of the Humans of New York photoblog was with us. He told the crowd how he went from being a failed trader in Chicago to now having millions of people reading his books and blogs, and viewing his photography. It was a truly inspiring session.
The day was sponsored by MyHeritage. They made several announcements this week, including that MyHeritage has a new initiative called DNA Quest – aimed at helping adoptees and their birth families reunite through DNA testing. As part of DNA Quest, they are giving out 15,000 MyHeritage DNA kits — worth more than one million dollars — for free, complete with free shipping, to eligible participants. I will post their news release as a separate blog.
The day continued with dozens are wonderful classes, as few of which could be live streamed. On a personal note, I had the opportunity to have lunch with Josh Grayson, a talented young man who just happens to be a concert pianist, speaks numerous languages, and has the ability to read various old Gothic scripts and printed fonts. When he mentioned that he could read Rashi script, I realized that I’d found someone with unusual talent. Most folks haven’t even heard of it… He is just getting started offering his tranlation and research talents.
The 2nd full RootsTech day ended with a the BYU Ballroom dance team and Synthesis, an award-winning jazz band from BYU. They wowed conference attendees with their stunning performances as they danced to 1940s era music, celebrating the greatest generation.
