The following News Release was received from Bob Velke today:
Wholly Genes, Inc., of Columbia, Maryland, is proud to announce the 2009 Genealogy Conference and “Land Cruise,” 26-30 August 2009.
Prompted by economic conditions, the company has broken from the tradition of its annual conference on a cruise ship and is hosting this year’s event in the pastoral setting of an historic hotel in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, about 2 hours west of Washington D.C. This setting provides a very inexpensive venue for the genealogy presentations while its proximity to Washington D.C. offers the opportunity to follow those preparatory lectures with an all-day research trip to the extraordinary research repositories of the nation’s capital.
As in previous years, the focus of the conference is on providing first-class genealogical speakers on topics that will interest all researchers. To that end, this years speaker list includes some of the most respected and knowledgeable professional genealogists in the world, including:
- John Philip Colletta, Ph.D. – a popular speaker, prolific author, and expert on research at the Library of Congress, among many other topics.
- Marie Varrelman Melchiori, CG, CGL – a full-time researcher for 30 years, an expert on the National Archives, military records, and other topics.
- Patricia O’Brien Shawker, CG – the Director of the National Institute on Genealogical Research, author, and an expert on research at the DAR Library and National Archives, among other topics.
- Craig Roberts Scott, CG – publisher, professional researcher for more than 23 years, and an expert on a wide variety of record types and resources, including colonial, Civil War, federal records, migration, military, Quaker, and government publications.
The four-day conference will start with a day and a half of lectures about methodology, repositories, records, and finding aids in D.C. (including NARA, the Library of Congress, and the DAR), followed by a full-day research trip to Washington D.C. (the “land cruise” part), and then another day and a half of presentations, among other activities.
The company will also offer a series of presentations about its flagship product, The Master Genealogist (TMG), but, in another break from tradition, those software presentations will be concentrated on the last day of the conference, allowing researchers the choice to register for a three- or four-day conference, according to their interest.
“Our annual conference is very popular so we’re happy to be able to continue the tradition with a format that is extremely cost-effective,” said Bob Velke, President of Wholly Genes, Inc. “We’re looking forward to another great opportunity to learn to be better researchers while enjoying the company of others who are doing the same,” he said. The event has been sold out for each of the last four years and is limited this year to just 200 attendees so the company expects it to fill up quickly.
At under $400 per person (for double occupancy), including meals and all conference events, the event is less than half the price of last year’s conference and a fraction of the cost of a typical genealogy conference. There’s even free wireless internet and free parking.
Click here for more information about the 2009 Genealogy Conference and “Land Cruise” to Washington D.C.
About the company:
Wholly Genes Software is a privately held corporation founded in 1993 with the goal of providing professional-caliber software tools to family
historians. Its flagship product, The Master Genealogist, is among the highest rated family history project managers and is in use in more than
30 countries around the world.