===================================================================== GENEALOGY GOULASH "GOOD DEEDS SHOULD BE REWARDED," by Paula Stuart-Warren, CG ===================================================================== Most genealogical and historical societies have volunteers whose dedication year after year keeps the organization running. These are the folks who have indexed, transcribed, or written articles about records that help the rest of us. It may be the person who steps up to the plate whenever a volunteer is needed. Is it time for them to receive some public recognition? AWARDS FOR SERVICE Genealogical and historical societies worldwide present awards for service. Some have a committee that identify and choose the winners; others request nominations for consideration. In some cases the nominees must be a society member, but others are presented to non- members. Some awards are awarded posthumously. Others are given to the individuals, organizations, libraries, historical societies, and archives that continue to serve. DO YOU WANT TO NOMINATE SOMEONE OR SOME ORGANIZATION? Look at the genealogical and historical societies of which you are a member. Does its publication list award winners and ask for nominees? Check the websites of other local, state, and national level societies. For example, the sites of the Missouri State Genealogical Association (http://mosga.missouri.org/Awards.html) and the Indiana Genealogical Society (http://www.indgensoc.org/awards.html) detail awards and request submissions. Not all societies include awards on their site. If you can't find information, contact the society via e-mail or regular mail. The basic format is that once awards are submitted an awards committee reviews those and makes the final decisions. There are times when an individual member or two do recognize all that a specific member has done for an organization. However the society's current board members may not know the full extent of the contributions of a long-time volunteer. THE FEDERATION OF GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES FGS has several categories of awards for individuals and organizations. Full details are on the FGS website http://www.fgs.org/fgs-awards.htm. That site states these awards "recognize and thank individuals and organizations who make significant contributions" and that "they illustrate the many things that can, and need, to be done, and provide examples and ideas on how we can accomplish similar goals." The winners of some awards are listed on the website and all award winners are announced in the FGS publication, "FORUM." Announcements requesting nominations appear periodically in "FORUM." A few of these rewards require that the nominees be a member of one of the FGS member societies. Some of the awards are announced at the annual FGS Conference http://www.fgs.org/2006conf/FGS-2006.htm at the opening session and the conference banquet. Other awards are presented throughout the year. The nominating process is truly easy-- just use the online form. Some types of FGS awards recognize pioneers in the field, outstanding service to FGS or a member society, exceptional contributions to the field of genealogy and family history, and in the case of the "Rabbi Malcolm H. Stern Humanitarian Award," it is "presented to recognize the lifetime contributions of a rare individual whose positive personal influence and example have fostered unity in the genealogical community, provided leadership to its individual members, and helped make family history a vital force in the community at large." A SPECIAL FGS AWARD One special award for volunteers is "The Ruth C. Bishop Volunteer Hall of Honor Award." It recognizes the generous spirit and work ethic of genealogical society volunteers, both present and past. Ruth Bishop, a special friend of FGS, personally presents the prestigious Living Volunteer Award to the recipient at the annual FGS conference banquet. The Award itself is breathtaking. The 2006 Living Volunteer Award winner also receives airfare, hotel, conference registration, and a banquet ticket for the 2006 FGS/NEHGS Conference in Boston. A cash award of $1,000.00 is awarded to the nominating society of the Living Volunteer winner. Additionally, posthumous awards are presented annually with certificates given to the nominating member society and to the family of the posthumous award winners. Each member society of FGS may nominate one person per category each year. The deadline for nominations for the 2006 Ruth C. Bishop Award is April 17, 2006. Please suggest that your organization take this opportunity to recognize members of your society for the important contributions they make. Nominations may be submitted year-round for the FGS other award categories. THE NATIONAL GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY NGS also honors individuals and organizations. The NGS website http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/awards.cfm includes awards and competitions sections detailing the awards and the deadline for each and online submission forms. Some of these require membership in NGS, but others do not. "The NGS Awards program recognizes excellence, scholarship, and achievements in the field of genealogy . . ." The "NGS Newsmagazine" has periodic notices requesting submissions of the names and qualifications of possible award nominees. NGS also has competition awards for excellence in the areas of writing, librarianship, volunteerism, pioneers in the field, and other contributions to genealogy and history. The "Rubincam Youth Award" honors noted genealogist Milton Rubincam for his many years of service to NGS and to genealogy by encouraging the participation of young people in the field of genealogy. The "NGS Genealogical Newsletter Competition" is an "effort by the National Genealogical Society to recognize the hard work, long hours and creativity that editors devote to their newsletters as well as to provide suggestions for possible improvement." The newsletters in the competition are from genealogical and historical societies and family associations. A SPECIAL NGS AWARD The annual "Filby Prize for Genealogical Librarianship" recognizes individuals who give exemplary service in genealogy and local history. It is currently sponsored by ProQuest. Among the criteria for this award are significant contributions to patron access to information, preservation of historical records, and other activities that advance genealogy and local history. It honors librarians whose "primary focus is genealogy and local history and is employed in a public, academic, or special library." This is a great way to thank those who serve us at the places we research. You might consider working with this special librarian's employer and the area genealogical society on this nomination. The winner receives a $1,000.00 award which is presented at the NGS annual conference (http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/2006Chicago.cfm) banquet, which this year is in Chicago. Full details are on the NGS website. CLOSING NOTES Regular readers of this column may remember that I am a big advocate of joining societies and of doing volunteer work for our societies. Often as I read the reason why a particular person or organization was rewarded, I felt a bit guilty. In their lifetime or with today's limited organizational budgets, how could they fit in so much good work that benefits the rest of us? I strongly believe that we need to recognize others. Some of the nicest people I know are those I met when doing a volunteer job for one of the societies to which I belong. I benefit almost daily from the publications, websites, databases, and record preservation efforts of genealogical societies, archives, historical societies, and other places. I hope you feel that it is time to nominate an individual or organization for one of the many awards in genealogy. Take care in the nomination, follow the directions, and make sure the accomplishments of the nominee are evident to the judges. ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright 1998-2006, MyFamily.com,Inc. and its subsidiaries. Reprinted by permission, "Ancestry Daily News"