NGS Conference in the States and Family History Fair
16-19 May 2007 in Richmond, Virginia

The 2007 Conference in the States promises to be one of our best yet. With more than one hundred educational sessions on all aspects of genealogical research, workshops, and networking social events, there is everything for the beginner to the most advanced genealogical researcher.

Archivist of the United States Professor Allen Weinstein will be making opening remarks at the opening session on Wednesday, 16th May, to be followed by a presentation by Crandall Shifflet.

For a complete program listing please visit http://www.eshow2000.com/ngs/2007/conf_program.cfm.
For further information please go to the NGS Web site at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org or register right now at http://www.eshow2000.com/ngs/2007/registration.cfm.
Conference Web site: http://www.eshow2000.com/ngs/2007/
Conference Blogspot: http://ngsrichmond2007.blogspot.com/
Conference Questions: lund@ngsgenealogy.org
Registration Questions: conference@ngsgenealogy.org

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Updated Hotel Information for the Conference in the States and Family History Fair
By Jan Alpert, NGS President

If you have not yet registered for the NGS Conference in Richmond or made your hotel reservations, you need to know that the Marriott Hotel, 500 East Broad Street and Quality Inn and Suites, 201 East Cary Street are SOLD OUT!

There are still rooms at the Omni Hotel, 100 South 12th Street, 800-THE-OMNI, and The Crowne Plaza, 555 East Canal Street, 877-227-6963. Check the registration brochure, sent by mail to members, or for the applicable room rates.

Although the Crowne Plaza and Omni are seven and eight blocks from the Convention Center respectively, each hotel has a shuttle available in the downtown area, on a first-come, first-served basis.

NGS is also concerned about the lack of hotel rooms close to the Richmond Convention Center. Large conferences have a two to three year lead time. At the time we signed the contracts, Richmond was planning a Performing Arts Center across from the Marriott and a new Hilton Hotel. When the Performing Arts Center was cancelled due to insufficient funding, the hotel was put on hold. Our contracts did not allow us to cancel without a very large penalty because there are sufficient hotel rooms in the downtown area, just not across the street.

There are also rooms available at the Radisson Hotel, 301 W. Franklin Street,
888-201-1718. NGS did not include the Radisson in its registration package because the hotel was undergoing renovations, but we have been told the renovations will be completed in April. The Radisson has competitive rates and is also 8 blocks west of the Richmond Convention Center.

There are two other historic hotels in the area. The Commonwealth Park Suites Hotel, 901 Bank Street, 888-343-7301, near the Capitol, is about 6 blocks from the Convention Center. The Jefferson Hotel, 101 W. Franklin Street, 800-424-8014, about a mile from the Richmond Convention Center, was built in1895 and has a Mobil Five Star rating.

For those of you planning to drive to Richmond, the parking at the Richmond Convention Center is $6 per day. This is the multi-story parking garage that is accessible off of 3rd Street. (Higher Parking Rates apply for the Marriott Parking Garage).

NGS is considering running an additional private shuttle bus between the Quality Inn, Crowne Plaza, and Omni Hotels and the Richmond Convention Center in the morning and late afternoon. However, we need a substantial number of registrants at these hotels to justify the shuttle bus expense. If you plan on staying at one of these hotels, will not have a car, and are interested in using a shuttle bus, please e-mail Illyce MacDonald at NGS at macdonald@ngsgenealogy.org.