Celebrating Our Volunteers

During National Volunteer Week, we celebrate our many volunteers at the California Genealogical Society and Library. Here is a message from CGS president, Jeff Vaillant:

The California Genealogical Society has no paid staff. Our volunteers ARE our society. I appreciate the willingness of members who DO the necessary jobs needed to effectively run the society, and who freely share their genealogical expertise. Thanks to all of the members of the California Genealogical Society – we wouldn't be as strong as we are without you!

In addition, our member volunteers equip, maintain, staff and operate a genealogical library. Our founders, if they could time-travel forward from 1898, would be astounded at the collection we have amassed in a century, thanks to the generosity, in time and money, of our members. The CGS continues, in the twenty-first century, to place the highest value on real books in the digital age. To run a library without any paid staff is a remarkable accomplishment.

Member volunteers contribute their time and energy to a large menu of projects, services, and educational opportunities the CGS provides. Some work behind the scenes to keep our computers in repair and our digital presence up-to-date. Our research team is in the library every Tuesday to handle look-ups and research requests and help produce our publications. Indexers, archivists, librarians, catalogers, writers, editors, photographers, designers, film-editors, videographers, archivists, bookkeepers, receptionists, speakers, teachers, book repairers – all these, and more, are words that describe the actions our volunteers perform every year.

One of our challenges is finding the right person to do the right job. We are extremely fortunate to have Linda Okazaki as our Volunteer Coordinator. Her enthusiasm and knowledge enhances our volunteer corps.

It is my experience with volunteer organizations that there is a core of people who carry the load. We are blessed with a number of members who have stepped forward to do the work. Thank you for all you do for the California Genealogical Society.

—Jeffrey Vaillant, President, 2012

Copyright © 2012 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library