discuss Mailing List: Early-Bird Conference Discount Ends Thursday!

[Jay Sage, Conference Co-Chair (Jay]

Even if you have already registered, please forward this message to others who you think might be interested in attending the conference.

Early-Bird Discount Ends Thursday

Early-bird registration for the full Conference at the discounted price of $325 ends at 11:59 pm CDT (GMT-5), Thursday, May 9, 2019. If you plan to register for the conference, you should do so promptly to save $50 per registration.

You can decide later about the extra Conference activities, such as Computer Workshops, Breakfasts with the Experts, SIG Luncheons, the Gala Banquet, the Reception at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and the Cemetery Tours.

Hotel Reservations

Many people took advantage of the opportunity that we announced five months ago to reserve rooms at the Conference hotel at a special rate. Now that more than 500 people have already registered for the Conference, the Hilton has reached capacity. (Since some people are releasing rooms—which, until July 8, return to our pool—it is worth checking back with the Hilton from time to time to see if rooms have become available.)

To help people find other convenient places to stay at special Conference rates, we have begun to open up Overflow Hotels. Currently, there are two—the Marriott and the Westin—both of which have small blocks of rooms for the Conference. As the Hilton did several times as our block filled up, the other hotels have been adding rooms. So if you find that you cannot get a room at the Conference rate, try again.

We are very confident that everyone who attends the Conference will be able to find a suitable hotel room. If you would like to share a room, contact the Roommate Coordinator at roommates [at] iajgs2019.org.

Program Schedule

The Program and Schedule for the Conference was first announced a couple of weeks ago. A number of further adjustments have been required since then, but the schedule is now almost completely settled, so you can make your plans.

Program Overview

The main Conference will start Sunday morning at 10:15 with the first of some 184 lecture presentations among more than 300 activities. Sunday will include the popular SHARE Fair, and the Exhibit Hall will open.

On Sunday afternoon at 2:45, our Keynote Speaker, Daniel Goldmark, Director of the Center for Popular Music Studies at Case Western Reserve University, will describe how Jews contributed to the evolution of rock and roll. That will prepare us for the Sunday evening reception at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, just a few blocks from the hotel. The “Rock Hall” will be open exclusively for us, and heavy (kosher) hors d’oeuvres will be served.

In addition to the lectures, there will be nine SIG luncheons during the week and 11 “Breakfasts with the Experts” that provide the opportunity to sit down in a small group (maximum 25) with top experts in many facets of Jewish genealogy.

The program on Sunday through Wednesday will kick off with workshops for beginners (and those who feel that their skills need some refreshing). They will be led by certified genealogist Dr. Rhoda Miller, Ed.D., who will provide suggestions on how to get started, where to find resources, and how to organize what you are doing. Dr. Miller will also cover how to get the most out of the Conference for those attending their first one.

There are over 35 “Birds of a Feather” (BOF) meetings along with additional SIG meetings. Eleven computer workshops will be offered, limited to 25 attendees each. Participants will need to bring a laptop computer with Internet access.

Evening sessions will include the annual JewishGen gathering, which will introduce some major changes coming at that organization. Subsequent evenings will feature the Pamela Weisberger Memorial Lecture, the ever popular Jewpardy! game show night, and the Gala Banquet, featuring Michael Krasny, well known to NPR and KQED-FM San Francisco listeners. Krasny, a native Clevelander, will discuss the evolution of Jewish humor, the subject of his most recent book Let There Be Laughter.

Audio Recordings with Slides

With such a full program—as many as nine simultaneous activities—you might have a hard time attending all the sessions you would like to. We have a solution for that problem! As at previous conferences in the U.S., the superb Fleetwood audio recordings will be offered. Almost all sessions are recorded, and most of the recordings have a high quality audio track synchronized with a video track showing images of the presenters’ slides.

The full package of audio recordings can be pre-ordered on the online registration form at a substantial discount.

Ken Bravo and Jay Sage
Conference Co-Chairs