Once again, I was a presenter at the AAHGS National Conference. Held virtually again, the theme of the 2023 Conference was "Hiding in Plain Sight: Recovering the Erased Stories of Our Ancestors in the United States and the Caribbean". My presentation was entitled "Using RootsMagic 9 To Record Your Family Tree". While this was basically a Technology talk on using the newest version of the RootsMagic genealogy software program, I tied into the Conference theme by using Elizabeth Shown Mills' principle of cluster research known as the Friends, Associates and Neighbors (FAN) club to demonstrate how to document formerly enslaved ancestors as "associates" within the software.
On a personal note, I was honored to have been asked to serve as the AAHGS National Awards Committee Chair. The Committee received some great submissions, and were able to provide the plaques or the certificates remotely before the Conference thanks to the outstanding support of National President LaJoy Mosby. And I was thrilled to travel to New York City to personally present the Society's highest honor, the James Dent Walker Award, to Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., on the set of his award-winning show, Finding Your Roots.