The Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International will hold its 13th Genealogical/Cultural Conference at the Sheraton Westport Chalet Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri. The dates are Wednesday October 26 through Saturday October 29, 2011.

Beginning Genealogy and “local resource” sessions will be offered on Thursday October 27. The number of those presentations will range from 7 to 9. A total of 24 presentations will be offered on Friday and Saturday, with 3 simultaneous sessions offered over 4 time slots each day.

The city of St. Louis had one of the earliest concentrations of Czech immigrants in the USA and so they also had some of the earliest Czech organizations established in the USA. St. Louis was also home to a settlement of both Catholic Slovaks and Lutheran Slovaks, with the latter group still active in St. Lucas Lutheran church in South St. Louis.

Topics appropriate to this conference are numerous. Shown below is a list of potential subject matter:

Computers in Genealogy (family tree programs, family web sites, etc.)
Genealogy (ethnic specific, US, European, traditional, on-line)
History of ethnic settlements, religious groups, churches, fraternal organizations
Immigration history, Emigration history (push-pull factors), Military history
Austro-Hungarian Empire history, 20th century history, prehistoric history
Language (conversational, meanings / origins of surnames and place names, transcription)
Folk art, Folk music, Folklore, Folk dance
Modes of Transportation (in homeland, passenger ships, trains, steam boats, etc.)
Ethnic press, newspapers, periodicals, newsletters
Research institutions, Collections, museums
Geography
DNA studies
Traditions (holidays, life-cycle, etc.)
Cooking / baking
Other
The information we require from speaker candidates includes: a title and one page summary for each presentation, and a speaker bio of no more than one page. We encourage speaker candidates located outside of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area to submit more than one paper, because of the costs of travel and lodging to bring in speakers.

Speakers selected for the conference will receive a complimentary admission, that includes the Friday and Saturday lunches, and a free vendor table. A travel allowance and lodging will be provided to out of area speakers based on their individual situation.

If you require a speaking honorarium, please clearly state your requirements. The CGSI puts on a very high quality program, while attempting to maintain a reasonable registration rate for the public.

If you have an interest in speaking or know someone who would be an appropriate speaker in St. Louis, please forward this information to them or contact Paul Makousky at, ConferenceChair@cgsi.org or by US mail at 8582 Timberwood Road, Woodbury, MN 55125-7620.

Papers are due by April 30, 2010 and shall be mailed to Paul Makousky at the address above.