The Samford IHGR Experience

Today  after a pleasant flight from Baltimore to Birmingham Alabama, and I had a chance to meet new and old genea-friends. I am in Birmingham Alabama attending the Samford University Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research all week long.  This is my first time attending and my brief interaction with friends old and new has me excited about the rest of the week! After checking in, at the hotel, I took the shuttle bus provided by the university to the campus to check in and officially register.  As we left the shuttle and approached the library, I could see that a line was already forming outside of the building to get inside.

And a few others were gathering outside of the library door.  I must also mention that it was incredibly hot and humid outside. Temperature over 90 and heat index over 100!

Once inside the everyone politely stood in line to get to the registration desk.

Though the lines were long, no one seemed to complain. Perhaps that was because we were glad to get out of the heat and get inside a nice cool library.

The library staff was warm, gracious and friendly and made everyone feel welcome.  It was one of the smoothest check-in procedures that I have ever experienced.

It was clear right away that they were prepared for us.  Glancing at the conference bags (above) one can see that they have the registration process down to a science, and that made everything go so well.

I am excited about the week, and they have 10 tracks running concurrently, and they are all full.  It appears that the weeks promises to be as exciting as it was meeting new people.

As the days pass, I shall try to share more about this institute and how it unfolds.