Jamming to Jamboree

Yesterday, I spent a good portion of time driving to southern California. Not that that is one of my favorite go-to spots; I tend to avoid that part of the country. However, there are some occurrences that will draw me in, despite my inclination to head in the opposite direction.

One of those exceptions is the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree—their annual event featuring the double-header of a conference plus the add-on "DNA Day."

While most people may be using today as their travel day to the conference (which officially starts on Friday afternoon, but keeps expanding to satisfy their supporters' genealogical education wish list), I find this day's offerings to be the main draw of the extended weekend.

When it comes to the world of genealogy, my continuing education focus has been the realm of genetic genealogy. The plus to this weekend's events is the draw of the many recognized speakers featured in sessions here—in some cases, traveling internationally to offer their presentations. The DNA Day, in particular, does not disappoint.

Featured this year will be Debbie Kennett, an Honorary Research Associate in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College London. For a long time, I've known her as the blogger behind Cruwys News—a great source of information for those wishing to improve their grasp on how to apply genetics to genealogy. Besides that, she is known as the author of two books and co-founder of the ISOGG Wiki. You can be sure I'll be absorbing her every word during this opening day's sessions.

Perhaps some might think, "What's there to learn about DNA?" After all, once you grasp the basics, other than those intent on a profession as a geneticist, there might not be a need to delve into the topic further, at least for genealogical purposes. However, the more I am exposed to that cadre of genealogists who have grabbed onto the world of DNA testing to blast through their research brick walls, the more I see the possibilities they see. I want to be able to apply those concepts in my own work.

There will, of course, be much more than just genetic genealogy in the offerings this weekend, and you can be sure I'll be sharing some of my observations as I go through the remainder of the weekend. But the featured high note of this event, for me, will always be the lead-in to the conference, that separate DNA Day on the Thursday before Jamboree starts.