Sunday, June 12, 2011

IGHR 2011, at Samford Begins

Conference Bag for IGHR 2011

The long awaited week at Samford has begun!  I arrived today after a flight from Baltimore, Thurgood Marshall International Airport.  This time I ran into several familiar faces at the boarding gate---some from the same class that I took last year, and others were familiar faces from the Drury Inn where I stayed last year as well as this year.

At the airport I ran into friend and genealogy colleague Selma Stewart from Hampton VA, and we were fortunate to catch a ride from the airport with genealogist Shamele Jordon.  She rented a car, was picking up another fellow genealogist when she graciously gave us a ride as well.

On route, while our photo was being taken, from the front seat, with Shamele's I-Pad,  I took my cell phone to capture the same moment from the back seat.

A photo of a photo being taken

How wonderful to see old friends and new checking in for another week of classes.

Crystal Simmons of Chicago & Selma Stewart of Newport News, Virginia, checking in on Sunday 

The cool temperatures inside the library welcomed attendees, as all lined up to receive the Institute materials prepared for everyone.

I was fascinated to see that many folks are busy capturing their experiences on film or with digital cameras. Some are busy tweeting on the Twitter group "#IGHR and others are busy posting on Facebook and yes, some of us are blogging! I am excited that there will even be a bloggers meet-up tomorrow afternoon, after classes end.

Angela McGhee of Chicago captures a friendly moment with her digital camera


Conference Bags Prepared for IGHR Participants

Though lines seemed long, they moved swiftly.  The air-conditioned library made the wait a pleasant one, as faces old and new arrived and checked in.

New Arrivals Checking in at Samford Library

After a pleasant dinner and orientation, the week begins!   I am taking the Mapping class and tomorrow we even have a field trip to the Birmingham Public Library on the first day!

Glad to be back, and ready to learn new things.

3 comments:

Sheri Fenley said...

Wish I could have been there this year. Learn something new for me too!

Professor Dru said...

Thanks for the thorough report, Angela.

Kathleen Brandt, Professional Genealogist said...

Sounds like you have been before. Are these courses more intense than a conference? Want to schedule a training for next year (not just conferences) and trying to narrow my choices.