First, a new genealogy conference planned for July 14-18 in Dearborn, Mich., was cancelled in mid-June because it didn't have enough registrants. Just six weeks later, the National Genealogy Society (NGS) announced it was officially taking the 10-year-old genealogy-technology group GENTECH under its wing — and axing the 2003 GENTECH conference in Phoenix because of budgetary concerns.

A newcomer to the national conference scene, the International Roots Conference had only 300 people signed up to attend — about 1,700 fewer than its organizers expected, according to their attorney, David Miller. The business that planned the conference, My Conference Planners, had more than $300,000 debt and closed its doors just weeks before the conference. Registrants and others who paid money to the conference did not receive refunds, Miller says. Registrants paid $60 per day or $199 for five days ($230 if registered after May 1), plus additional fees for special events and meals.