FGS 2016 Genealogy Conference News

by Kim Cotton, FGS delegate

Want to know what happened at this year's Federation of Genealogical Society’s conference in Springfield, Illinois?

Awards and certificates of appreciation were handed out to various volunteers and society members. Highlights include a new award category for service, named the “Lou D. Szucs Service Award” after the well-respected genealogist and first recipient, who has mentored many with a generous spirit.

Judy G. Russell, JD, CG℠ , CGL℠ was awarded the Director’s Award for her efforts for Preserve the Pensions. Judy is a cheerleader for worthy causes within genealogy and the California Genealogical Society should be proud that we’re hosting her for our fall 2017 seminar.

Due to a generous anonymous donation matched by Ancestry.com, the Preserve the Pensions campaign has reached its goal. If you’re unfamiliar, the Preserve the Pensions campaign aims to digitize the pension records from veterans of the War of 1812.  Many of our members donated independently to this worthy genealogy cause. Everyone in the genealogical community should be proud, as the resulting digitization efforts will provide an illuminating collection of documents, freely accessible, that would have been lost to future generations if not for our actions today.

Want to attend a future FGS conference?  The locations have been finalized and I encourage you to pencil them into your travel calendar. FGS conferences are open to the public and members of all member societies. If you are a board member or part of the committee leadership at a genealogy society, then you are invited to attend Focus On Societies Day, dedicated to society business topics, as well as other special conference events. Since many national speakers attend, the classes are amazing and provide an excellent alternative or addition to the National Genealogical Society (NGS) conference in any given year.

Here are the upcoming locations:

• FGS 2017 National Conference - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• FGS 2018 National Conference - Ft. Wayne, Indiana
• FGS 2019 National Conference - Washington, D.C.
• FGS 2020 National Conference - Kansas City, Missouri

For more information about the conference dates and venues, or if you’re looking for ideas on society management, then definitely browse their resource-packed website.

You’re all caught up now, but if you have a question for your FGS delegate, email me.  

Hope to see you around the library or at the next genealogy conference!

   

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