My choice this year is Course 3: Research in the South, Part I. J. Mark Lowe is the coordinator. Details of the course can be found here http://www4.samford.edu/schools/ighr/IGHR_Course03.html. On my maternal side, I have ancestors in the following southern states: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee and Kentucky. I think this will greatly benefit my research in those states.
My first Samford course was Course 4: Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis with Elizabeth Shown Mills (http://www4.samford.edu/schools/ighr/IGHR_Course04.html). It was a fantastic experience. I learned so much about methodology and evidence analysis. Ms. Mills encourages squeezing all the information you can from a source and she certainly demonstrates through her case studies just how to do that. It was an eye-opener!
Last year, I was in Course 5: Writing and Publishing for Genealogists with Thomas W. Jones. Since one of my goals is to write my family histories, this was a must for me. I enjoyed all the lectures, especially the one on numbering your genealogy. I also have many German ancestors on my Dad's side, so I enjoyed seeing how the numbering worked when you included ancestors that were "across the pond."
Besides the excellent lectures by renowned genealogists, the camaraderie among the students can't be beat. And who can be upset about spending a week dedicated to genealogy? It has become my favorite week of the year!
Debra A. Hoffman, "IGHR Samford - Registration Opens Tuesday, January 17th," Ancestral Leaves, posted 15 January 2014 (http://ancestralleaves.blogspot.com : viewed [date]). [Please feel free to link to the specific post if you prefer.]
