During the past few months, I have had the privilege of working with some of the finest individuals on the planet. These are quality people who have been innovators, self-starters, and have executed with precision under some of the most strenuous timelines imaginable. I have also had the privilege of experiencing the excitement of many technology users and technology creators as they prepare for this new and exciting event.
From the moment I started working on RootsTech in July of 2010, I made it very clear that I needed a successor for 2012. I wanted this to feel like a community effort, and not as a conference owned by a single individual. I also knew that RootsTech 2011 would set the stage for an even more amazing conference in 2012. I would never recommend putting on a conference in eight months, let alone completely design a new conference as well in that time frame. Nevertheless, I thrive on a challenge, and felt it was an excellent opportunity that would finally help me accomplish what I have been trying to do since I came to FamilySearch: Create unity.
On many occasions I have been encouraged and urged to continue to chair RootsTech. While I appreciate the many wonderful compliments, my convictions about chairing only for 2011 have not changed. RootsTech is about community. I am a member of that community, both as a student of Computer Science, and a certified and accredited genealogist. I hope to participate in future years as a community member. It's your conference, my conference, our conference.
For nearly the past four years I have worked as a community manager. I have always felt that it was my role to serve the technological and genealogical communities by helping them come together. In line with that belief, I agreed to help breathe life into RootsTech, and then step into the community of those who ultimately own RootsTech. It is my hope that both technology users and technology creators will feel ownership of this conference.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this great event. It will be an experience that I will never forget. I cannot claim credit for the success of RootsTech. The success belongs to the outstanding band of committee chairs and members who worked so hard to pull this off. The success belongs to the hundreds of volunteers who offered their time and talents to help support this event. The success belongs to the speakers who prepared and presented over a hundred innovative and collaborative classes. And finally, the success belongs to each and every one of you who chose to participate in RootsTech 2011.
While RootsTech 2011 won’t go down in history as the most perfectly planned and executed conference, I believe that it will go forward as the conference that helped build the future of family history and genealogy into something magnificent.
