#OGSConf2017 Opening

Many attendees who had taken advantage of morning and afternoon concurrent workshop sessions, and exploring the marketplace, were present for the Friday evening opening events and presentations streamed live. They were hosted by acting conference chair Heather Oakley and OGS President Patti Mordasewicz.
Following acknowledgements of the sponsors there were brief welcoming remarks by Society Honorary Patron Peter Milliken.
Special guest was Guy Berthiaume, Librarian and Archivist of Canada, who started his presentation with a lively video about LAC. He emphasized that today's genealogy is not yesterday's thanks to technology and partnerships. I hope to post a full text of his talk in the coming days.
Award of merit presentations were made to the City of Ottawa Archives, Sandra and Rick Roberts, and Louise St Denis.
The keynote speaker, introduced past president Allen Campbell, was Dave Obee, west coast genealogist and Editor-in-Chief of the Victoria Times Colonist. He discussed and illustrated with examples from his own ancestry the importance of WHY our ancestors came to Canada, not just when and how. I'll hope to write more about that presentation later.
The evening ended with a reception.
Follow the conference on twitter and other social media through #OGSConf2017