By Guest Blogger – Heather McTavish Taylor
The last time that the Toronto Branch of The Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) hosted the annual conference was in 2016. Eight years seems like a lifetime, especially with all of the changes the world has experienced since the pandemic. I remember that 2016 conference quite vividly, it was the first genealogy-focused conference that I attended. And, it marked the beginning of my now ongoing relationship with the OGS. It obviously made an impression!
I joined the OGS in 2016, because of the Conference. I had retired early from my corporate job in 2013 and had a growing, insatiable passion for genealogy, with dreams of starting my own business doing what I had come to love. I had seen advertising for previous OGS conferences but none were close enough for me to attend. I wanted to dip my toe in the water, not dive in head first! When I heard about the 2016 conference being in Toronto, I knew it was my chance to check out not only the conference by the OGS in general. What could attendance and membership do for me?
As a first timer and participating alone (I have not been able to convince anyone in my family that genealogy is fun), I signed up for one of the tours on the Friday before conference and for one day of sessions during the conference. The tour took the group to the Toronto Reference Library and the Toronto Archives, giving us a tour of both and time to do a little of our own research. I found this invaluable as it helped me to understand the library and archive systems and procedures. The key lesson for me was learning to use the finding aids before you go into an archive so that you can access exactly what you need when you get there! Attending that tour, in a group, was exactly what I needed – my toes were dipped and I was able to swim in the shallow end. I have returned several times since then and now I am confident in my ability to “swim in the deep end”.
It was after this first conference experience, that I decided to become a member of the OGS. And the following year, I decided to apply to become a member of the Board of Directors. And so began my five-year run on the Board, first as Director-at-Large and then as President and Past-President. Today, I am still actively involved with the OGS on several projects that continue to be meaningful to me (Editor of Families, Chair of Conference Advisory, Co-Chair of the Scottish SIG).
And, it all started back with my attendance at Conference 2016! I am super excited about returning to the Delta Airport for Conference 2024 in June, it feels like I have come full-circle. I have planned to make the most of the weekend this time with a full four days of indulging in genealogy and family history. I have signed up for the AI and Genealogy mini-conference on Thursday, two workshops on Friday including one from Blaine Bettinger and one from Jonny Perl. I have also signed up for Diahan Southard’s workshop on the weekend and will be volunteering throughout the weekend, wherever I am needed. I can tell you that I am bursting with excitement to meet all of the speakers informally over the course of conference in the connection corner. And, I am also eager to meet my fellow volunteers and other genealogy-obsessed friends, in person! Having spent the last four years on Zoom, it will be refreshing to meet people face to face again!
I hope to see many of you there. If you are unsure about whether the conference or the OGS is for you, start small! Attend one thing, check it out, decide if it’s for you. Try a tour, a workshop or a day of sessions. You don’t have to jump in all the way, but I can tell you that the water is warm…
