Society Award Nominations Now Open

by Roxanne Lowe

Nominations for the Washington State Genealogical Society’s Outstanding Communication Award and Outstanding Project Award are now being accepted. Deadline for both awards is April 1, 2018.

WSGS President Ginny Majewski presenting Outstanding Communication Award to Mary Simonsen from the Whitman County Gen Soc, 2017

Outstanding Communication: This award honors the society that makes the best use of any form of communication, including websites, social media, newsletters, lectures, videos, podcasts, etc. to convey valuable information and/or training to its members or the public.

Nominations will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• General look and feel
• Readability and attractiveness
• Overall publication make-up
• Writing and editing quality
• Variety of information and originality
• Reflects local flavor of Society
• Contains information on local resources
• Current, frequent usage or viewership
• Of general genealogical interest to a broad audience

More information, including the nomination form for the Outstanding Communication Award, is available HERE.

 

WSGS’s Interim Recognition Chair Roxanne Lowe presents the 2017 Outstanding Project plaque to Cathy Cook from the Grays Harbor Genealogical Society.

Outstanding Project Award: The award is given to local genealogical society that completes an exceptional genealogical or historical project in the past year.

The project may be either one-time or ongoing, a single program or a series of programs, but must have been completed by December 31, 2017. Nominations for the Outstanding Project Award should include a description of the project, goals and objectives, and a summary of the reasons for the nomination. A history of the project should also be provided, including timelines, major milestones, and roles of participants. The deadline to nominate your local project is April 1, 2018.

Nominations will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Number of society members participating in the project.
  • Number of society members and/or general public benefiting from the project.
  • Support of local society and/or WSGS goals.
  • Quality and usefulness of the project.
  • Extent of publicity used to promote the project.
  • Success of the project in meetings its goals and objectives.

More information, including the Nomination Form, for the Outstanding Project Award is available HERE. Questions should be directed to Roxanne Lowe, Interim Chair, WSGS Recognition Committee.

Oweta Floyd Awarded 2017 Outstanding Volunteer Honor

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 500 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 2017 award recipients and learn why they received the 2017 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Oweta Floyd

Today we’re introducing Oweta Homer Floyd of Spokane, Washington, who was nominated by the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society (EWGS). She was recognized for her attention to detail and dedication to the financial well-being of the society.

Although both Ms. Floyd and her husband Doug have not been members of EWGS very long, both are committed volunteers. Ms. Floyd has been the treasurer for three years and kept the financial books and records necessary for the society. A stickler for accuracy, she made it easy to audit her books, and each month presented the treasurer’s report to the board and general meetings. As head of the budget committee, she opened her home for the committee to meet. She posted the budget on the EWGS website and printed several copies for those without computers. She has also kept members abiding with the bylaws, making sure they vote on the budget and any changes to the budget.

Ms. Floyd’s dedication and commitment in maintaining the financial health of EWGS demonstrate she richly deserved being a recipient of a 2017 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Roxanne Lowe, Interim Recognition Chair, at Roxanne@thekeeffes.com.

Eastside Genealogical Society February Meeting

by Charles Hansen

 

The Eastside Genealogical Society will meet on Thursday, February 8, 2018 in the Bellevue Regional Library (Room 1), 1111 – 110th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004 at 7 pm, with doors opening at 6:30 pm for networking.

 

Topic: “What I Wish I Had Known . . .” – This session is an interactive exchange of ideas, experience and recommendations by society members. The audience will share their experiences and lessons learned in researching their ancestors, citing their sources, the importance of locating original documentation, the confusion with multiple marriages, the importance of location, the need for continuous learning, researching extended family, the importance of law, the importance of technology and public or private sharing of our efforts  Come learn from experienced genealogists sharing their adventures.

 

Speaker: Janet O’Conor Camarata is active in the South King County Genealogical Society as Technology User Group leader and publicity chairman and in the Eastside Genealogical Society as presenter and program chairman of the German Interest Group. She is also an instructor in a six-week course in genealogy and technology at Pierce College. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and a graduate of the University of Washington Genealogy and Family History program.  She is an experienced instructor who taught at the University of Phoenix and in The Boeing Company.

 

See our website for FREE genealogical help and other Special Interest Group meetings. Visitors are always welcome at all meetings. Here    or here

 

Puget Sound Genealogical Society February Meeting

by Charles Hansen

Puget Sound Genealogical Society

Tuesday Feb 6 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
at Kitsap Regional Library 1301 Sylvan Way, Bremerton
NATURALIZATION & SHIP PASSENGER LISTS
with Laura Sparr: Learn about passenger lists, the European
ports of departure, changing immigration laws, and where
to find records.
Registration required:  call (360) 475-9172
Jackie Horton, Publicity Chairperson

 

Wednesday Nostalgia

by Charles Hansen

Raise your hand if you know what a “plank road” was? 

“In days past, heavy rain could literally stop traffic in its tracks. The plank road was a tremendous improvement over unreliable, rutted and muddy dirt roads. Wooden planks were laid wide enough to accommodate a large wagon or rig but when two met going in opposite directions, it was up to them to resolve the problem of who had to make way for whom. Meaning, who had to go off into the mud! A plank road was usually a toll road. The cost for a 1-horse cart was 25 cents; a two horse cart was 40 cents. A horse and rider were 13 cents.” 

Monday Mystery

by Charles Hansen

According to a report recently on the front page of our newspaper (The Spokesman Review), “Washington drivers logged more than  60 billion miles on public roadways in 2016. If that sounds like a lot, that’s because it is.” Reporter Nicholas Deshais continued that “Washington drivers drove more than 4 1/2 times the total distance that the Voyager 1 spacecraft has traveled since 1977… which is only 13 billion miles.”

How many of those miles did YOU contribute?? And where were we all going and so often?? Ah, that’s the mystery.

Genealogy 101 workshop in Shelton

by Roxanne Lowe

Looking to begin your genealogical journey and live near Shelton? Sue Sheldon, president of the Mason County Genealogical Society, will be leading a workshop to help you get started tracing your family history. Wednesday, Feb. 7, 5:00 – 7:00 at the Shelton Library. Experienced researchers are also invited! For more information, visit the Shelton Timberland Library page.

Cathy Cook Awarded 2017 Outstanding Volunteer Honor

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 500 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 2017 award recipients and learn why they received the 2017 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Catherine “Cathy” Cook

Today we’re introducing Catherine Crabtree Cook of Hoquiam, Washington, who was nominated by the Grays Harbor Genealogical Society (GHGS). She was recognized for her dedication and commitment to preserving records related to Grays Harbor County.

Cathy has worked diligently for many years to preserve obituaries and death notices for individuals with Grays Harbor County ties. When she began this project, she organized small work parties at her home to tape obituaries to index cards that she had carefully trimmed and dated from the local newspaper. Today, Cathy oversees an obituary collection that is scanned, indexed, archived and available on the Grays Harbor Genealogical Society’s website. To date, the index includes more than 80,000 individuals.

Cathy’s efforts to make the collection as complete and accurate as possible have allowed researchers from all over the world the ability to request a copy of their ancestor’s obituary. For her commitment and dedication to this project and the Grays Harbor Genealogical Society, she richly deserved being a recipient of a 2017 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Roxanne Lowe, Interim Recognition Chair, at Roxanne@thekeeffes.com.