SUBMISSION DEADLINE: April 11, 2025
The Texas State Genealogical Society (TxSGS) announces a Call for Presentations for their 2025 TxSGS Family History Conference, Deep in the Heart: Discovering Family Roots. This virtual event includes TxSGS Live! on November 7-8, a Society Leadership Forum on November 6, plus an On-Demand program of pre-recorded sessions available to registrants for up to 90 days. The deadline for submissions is midnight Ccntral Time, Friday, April 11, 2025.
If you feel passionate about your area of expertise and would like to teach and inspire other genealogists, this is the venue for you. We are looking for dynamic, enthusiastic presenters. The TxSGS conference averages over 250 attendees with a range of backgrounds and interests.
The addition of the Society Leadership Forum in 2025 encourages speakers to consider offering programming ideas, marketing, communications, and leadership concepts designated for the leaders of genealogical societies.
Submissions offering intermediate and advanced level lectures that delve deep into records and include unique and experienced use of sources are encouraged for consideration, however, topics geared toward beginners are also welcome.
Submission Ideas
The areas of interest may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- DNA Research and Technology
- Ethnic Research topics (African American, Hispanic, German, Czech, and others)
- Methodology and Problem-Solving Techniques
- Migration (coming to America or crossing the growing United States)
- Organizing and Preserving Your Research
- Record Analysis and Skill Building
- Records and Repositories (land, probate, tax, court, and other records)
- Research in Texas and surrounding states
- Writing, Storytelling, and Publishing
- Society Management (membership, marketing, leadership and other topics)
- Genealogical basics for beginners (how to or getting started)
Submission Requirements
Presentations should be 45-50 minutes.
Speakers who wish to submit lectures may submit proposals electronically. Each submitted proposal requires the following information:
- Speaker’s full name, mailing address, telephone, and email address
- Speaker’s biography, not to exceed 75 words
- Presentation title, not to exceed 14 words
- Lecture summary for program listing, not to exceed 75 words
- Brief but comprehensive lecture outline addressing the main points you plan to cover in this presentation, not to exceed one page or 300 words
- The emphasis of content identification tagged for the presentation
- Identification of the appropriate audience level: beginner, intermediate, advanced, or all. If more than one level is supported, enter in “other” as “beginner-intermediate,” etc.
- Speaker’s recent lecture experience, offering a sampling (maximum of 10 presentations) offered during 2024, including the type (online or in person and the name of the group to whom you presented)
Presenters may submit proposals for up to three (3) lectures.
Please do not submit lecture proposals presented at or to be presented at conferences or Texas societies between May 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025, or lectures available online.
Submission Process
Proposals should be submitted via the online SUBMISSION FORM. This is our preferred method of proposal submission. (Firefox or Chrome browsers work best.) If you do not see “Thank you for your submission” when completing and submitting the form, you have not answered all of the questions and probably need to review your submission.
Submissions may also be emailed to conference@txsgs.org using “2025 Call for Presentations” as the subject line. If emailed, speakers should submit proposals in Microsoft Word format. File names should begin with your last name, then your first name, and then the lecture title. (For example, Davis-Sandra-HidingInPlainSight.docx.) If you submit a proposal using the online submission form, please do not also email your submission.
Additional Requirements for Selected Presenters
Selected presenters will also be required to provide the following information and materials for marketing purposes and for the syllabus:
- Photo
- Long biography
- PDF handout for each lecture.
Specific guidelines for the above media items will be sent out with your notification of acceptance.
Deliverables
Selected speakers should submit a 2- to 4-page handout by September 15, 2025. The handout and speaker biography will be included in the conference syllabus distributed to conference attendees. Syllabus materials should not contain advertisements of individuals or firms other than Texas State Genealogical Society without approval from TxSGS. Speakers should not sell or promote any product or service during the presentation without TxSGS approval.
Proposal & Syllabus Timeline
- April 11, 2025: Presentation proposal deadline.
- May 9, 2025: Notifications of acceptance sent out to speakers.
- May 23, 2025: Deadline for speakers to accept invitation to speak.
- September 15, 2025: Syllabus materials due.
Compensation Package
- Conference speakers will receive an honorarium of $250 for each one-hour lecture.
- Selected speakers will receive a complementary registration to the 2025 TxSGS Family History Conference.
Questions?
If you have questions, please contact the 2025 TxSGS Family History Conference Committee at conference@txsgs.org.