It's the Final Countdown (to 2017): A Year in Review

It's hard to believe that December 31st has finally arrived and it's the last day of 2017. I don't know about all of you but I feel that 2017 was a rollercoaster of a year.

Here's some highlights for what happened in 2017 for the Shamrock Genealogist:

1. DNA tested paternal uncle and father at AncestryDNA. Bonus was my maternal grandmother tested on her own at MyHeritage.
2. Attended two genealogy conferences, RootsTech and NERGC, which were both firsts for me. 
3. Had proposals chosen to give lectures at Ontario Genealogy Society (OGS) Conference and Michigan in Perspective Local History Conference in 2018. 
4. Was accepted to be a social media ambassador for RootsTech 2018 (which resulted in free registration for RootsTech!)
5. Assisted with social media publicity for OGS 2018 
6. Bought the domain rights for this web site
7. Visited the New England Genealogical History Society library (twice!) and the California State Archives
8. Started a Facebook page for my blog
9. Started meeting with other companies to do affiliate work
10. Interviewed on Extreme Genes podcast
11. Assisted my non-profit team NextGen Genealogy Network with launching new campaign "NextGenInAction"and raising $500 on Giving Tuesday to put towards new initatives
12. Met lots of genealogy friends - can't wait to meet more and my online friends in person

Whew! That's a lot but I expect there will be more to come for 2018. Here are some of my genealogy goals for the new year:

1. Continue to blog frequently - target once a week

2. Blog more about ancestors and research techniques

3. Explore new archives 

4. Continue to submit proposals for upcoming conferences (including virtual) and webinars

5. Keep up with my research log to make my annual trip to the Family History Library and other repositories more successful

6. Keep up with email correspondence from DNA cousins (I know I'm one of the bad ones that doesn't respond as timely as I should)

7. Fulfill more requests on Find A Grave and Billion Graves 

8. Look at different avenues to teach genealogy tips (perhaps a YouTube channel)

9. Continue education through conferences, webinars, etc. 

10. Keep moving towards my goal of becoming a genealogist full time

What are your genealogy goals for 2018?