Category Archives: Outstanding Volunteers

Kathleen Ochs Named One of WSGS’s Outstanding Volunteers in 2025

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2025 award recipients and learn why they received they received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Kathleen Ochs of Colville, Washington who was selected by the Northeast Washington Genealogical Society as its recipients of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Kathy is currently our treasurer, an office she has held since 2022. Prior to that, she served as our librarian. She has been and is still our liaison with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where she volunteers at the FamilySearch Center. Kathy has taught several classes for us and helps plan and present our all-day annual seminar. She is always willing to help wherever it is needed. She is truly a very valuable asset to our society and an inspiration for all of us.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award” in the subject line

Kimberly Nichols Named One of WSGS’s Outstanding Volunteers in 2025

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2025 award recipients and learn why they received they received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Kimberly Nichols of Shohomish, Washington who was selected by the Eastside Genealogical Society as its recipients of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Kimberly joined EGS in 1990 and has been an active volunteer in a variety of roles over the years. She started and led three special interest groups, the most recent being the Genealogy Book SIG earlier this year. She served simultaneously for many years as webmaster and newsletter editor. She is currently vice president, serving as a valuable right hand to our president who lives out of state. Kimberly developed and organized our first “What’s In Your Attic?” heirloom sharing event last fall and is doing so again in 2025. She also collected, organized, and found homes for over 200 genealogy books belonging to two members who had passed away.

Kimberly is a hard-working, organized, thorough, and dependable volunteer. She definitely lives her belief that the more you get involved in any group you belong to, the more you get out of it. She is a pleasure to work with and consistently brings good ideas to the table.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award” in the subject line

Bob and Micki McMath Named Two of WSGS’s Outstanding Volunteers in 2025

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2025 award recipients and learn why they received they received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Bob and Micki McMath of Shelton, Washington who was selected by the Mason County Genealogical Society as its recipients of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Bob and Micki are new members of our society and the amount of work they have accomplished in just six months is astounding.  Not only have they contributed financially to our little group, but they have single-handedly taken on the scanning of a community member’s very large photo album, measuring two feet by one-and-one-half feet! The community member approached our society asking if we could digitize the album for her son as soon as possible, as she had a terminal condition. The project was just too daunting for the rest of us, but Bob and Micki graciously invited the lady into their home where they set up two scanning stations and worked tirelessly with her each week, four-hour sessions at a time, to make headway on this massive project.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award” in the subject line.

Donna McLain Named One of WSGS’s Outstanding Volunteers in 2025

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2025 award recipients and learn why they received they received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Donna McLain of Longview, Washington who was selected by the Lower Columbia Genealogical Society as its recipient of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Donna has been a member of LCGS for many years, and during her tenure she has served as a member of the society’s board, as a greeter at in-person meetings and two terms as secretary.  Her secretarial skills are outstanding, and her minutes are presented in a very businesslike and detailed manner.  She has also been an active participant on the program committee, and she recommends presentations of interest. Donna is a great asset to our society, as she consistently offers thought-provoking input to all board discussions, and she is always willing to see a project through to its completion

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award” in the subject line.

Michele Norton Mattoon Named One of WSGS’s Outstanding Volunteers in 2025

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2025 award recipients and learn why they received they received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Michele Norton Mattoon of Seattle, Washington who was selected by the South King County Genealogical Society as its recipient of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Michele has been treasurer of SKCGS for several years, performing all the duties of the office very efficiently.  In addition, she has taken on side projects of sorting and cataloging newspaper obituary clippings and digitizing miscellaneous society records. These are projects she has quietly completed for the posterity of the society.

Michele’s dedication behind the scenes is greatly appreciated by the society.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award” in the subject line.

Tina Lawson Named One of WSGS’s Outstanding Volunteers in 2025

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2025 award recipients and learn why they received they received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Tina Lawson of Auburn, Washington who was selected by the South King County Genealogical Society as its recipient of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Tina has made a quiet impact since she joined our society, volunteering to solve problems as we moved from mostly in-person meetings to a mostly online group during COVID. She took our Google workspace, and made it work for both the board, our members, and eventually, our website. She even figured out how to keep our website constantly updated, teaching all responsible parties how to edit the shared calendar, spreadsheet, or PDF document, which show up on SKCGS.org. She figured out how to include our blog posts and index in the website.

Tina also quietly created a publicity team who worked together seamlessly, sharing information about our meetings and our mission widely. She also volunteered to lead the bylaws team, which brought us into compliance with the new Washington State non-profit law.

As a board member, Tina helped each of us use our online tools effectively, and used her experience both in business and in other non-profits to help us develop plans, surveys, and programs, raising our success and enthusiasm greatly.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award” in the subject line.

LeeRoy Kind Named One of WSGS’s Outstanding Volunteers in 2025

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2025 award recipients and learn why they received they received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing LeeRoy Kind of Marysville, Washington who was selected by the StillaguamishValley Genealogical Society as its recipient of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

LeeRoy spearheaded the Weller’s Funeral Home Card Project for SVGS. This project required the digitization of 4,000 3×5 cards. These cards span funerals from the 1880’s to the 1980’s and contain valuable family data which had not been publicly available until now. He also indexed the cards in preparation for loading them onto our website.

When the project stalled, LeeRoy stepped up and completed it on his own. LeeRoy’s willingness to work from home, as well as during his volunteer shifts at the library, has been instrumental in completing this project. We continue to be grateful for his diligent work ethic.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award” in the subject line.

Bill Grant Named One of WSGS’s Outstanding Volunteers in 2025

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2025 award recipients and learn why they received they received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing the late Bill Grant of Arlington, Washington who was selected by the Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society as its recipient of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Bill began as a volunteer with SVGS in 2017 and continued supporting the society until his death earlier this year.  He served as a volunteer librarian, working every Saturday afternoon.  He also served as Education Chair  for several years.  He had deep roots in New England and Nova Scotia and was a great resource for people looking to research those areas.  He was a member of the monthly New England Research Group where his knowledge was especially appreciated.  He counted Benjamin Franklin and five other signers of the Declaration of Independence in his “family tree.”

Bill’s cheerful smile and helpful attitude will be missed by all.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org.

Ann Eklund Named One of WSGS’s Outstanding Volunteers in 2025

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2025 award recipients and learn why they received they received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Ann Eklund of Bainbridge Island, Washington who was selected by the Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society as its recipient of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Since joining BIGS in 2021, Ann has consistently been a vital and willing contributor. For several years, Ann has infused our special events—from Antiques Roadshow and BIGS at the Beach to the Winter Holiday Celebration and our milestone 20th Anniversary Party—with her unique “magic.” Drawing on her background as an educator and school administrator, Ann has masterfully organized volunteers, cultivated genuine connections among members, and thoughtfully critiqued each event, creating a blueprint for the next time around. Her efforts are always delivered with a warm smile and an open and positive attitude.

Ann was elected to the BIGS Board in 2024, where she has continued her work with our special events, creating a committee charter and yearly workplan. Her skills in organizational and team management are valuable assets, greatly appreciated by her fellow board members.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award” in the subject line.

Jim DeLucia Named One of WSGS’s Outstanding Volunteers in 2025

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2025 award recipients and learn why they received they received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Jim DeLucia of Ferndale, Washington who was selected by the Whatcom Genealogical Society as its recipient of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Jim is recognized for his outstanding contributions to WGS since 2018. As head of Research-Reviews, he assists global researchers from Canada, Switzerland, England, and the U.S., connecting people with their heritage. Jim also serves as the editor of the monthly newsletter, keeps society publications updated, and manages commun­ications as the primary email contact, fostering collaboration. Jim’s work with the Web Team has improved the website, increasing membership.

Jim maintains 4,373 files on his home computer and has converted research publications into accessible CD formats, preserving historical data. He curates the society’s library of old items and helps craft outreach letters. An active member of the “Missing in America” project for six years, Jim exemplifies dedication and service. Jim’s contributions significantly benefit the society and community, making him a deserving nominee for this volunteer award.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award” in the subject line.