NGS Conference Opening Session and Drawing

You won't want to miss the opening session of the National Genealogical Society’s 32nd Family History Conference, “Follow Your Ancestral Trail,” in Salt Lake City, Utah. Be sure you're at the Salt Palace Convention Center on Wednesday morning, 28 April 2010, at 8:00 am. The keynote address is the premier of a video tour that provides a behind-the-scenes look at the world-famous Granite Mountain Records Vault.

In addition, you may be the lucky winner of a seven-night stay at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel at Temple Square, courtesy of the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel, which is right next door to the Family History Library. All full-conference registrants will be entered in this drawing, but the winner must be present at the opening session to claim the prize.

The opening session at this year’s conference will be held on Wednesday morning, 28 April 2010, at 8:00 am. The keynote address is the premier of a video tour that provides a behind-the-scenes look at the world-famous Granite Mountain Records Vault. FamilySearch stores microfilmed and digital genealogical information at this archival facility located in the mountains outside Salt Lake City. This secure facility was designed to protect the collection of genealogical records from decay, natural disasters, and manmade calamities. The vault includes 65,000 square feet of space carved 700 feet into the side of a solid granite mountain. The climate in the facility is carefully controlled to maintain optimal storage conditions for the records, which represent 100 countries and 170 different languages. The Granite Mountain Records Vault currently stores approximately 3.5 billion images on 2.4 million rolls of microfilm, plus nearly a petabyte of digital data. And there is still room for growth as FamilySearch continues to preserve and share the records of the world. The vault is not open to the public, so conference attendees will be treated to something they cannot see in person.

Following the video, Jay L. Verkler, president and CEO of FamilySearch and managing director of the Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, will continue the tour with an exploration of trends and resources that will enable these and other records to be viewed worldwide.

Register for the conference today! NGS members get top discounts, so this is a great time to join. Registration details and the conference program can be found online at www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/attendee_registration.