Time to Thank Some Special StLGS Volunteers

In a typical year, the St. Louis Genealogical Society office in Maplewood hums with activity three mornings a week as volunteers work together to process thousands of genealogical records, answer research questions, plan programs and events, prepare publications, maintain the website, and keep the day-to-day activities of the society flowing smoothly. Although the office is "officially" only open from 9 a.m. until noon, there are usually volunteers arriving early and almost always people are staying late. In addition, many work from home on "off days" or come into the office whenever they have something to do. In a typical year, we thank our volunteers with a brunch or small party and then with recognition at our annual Family History Conference in the spring. But this year has not been typical!

StLGS Celebrates Its Volunteers; Plus, Early Registration Expires Soon!

Without its many volunteers, St. Louis Genealogical Society would not be able to accomplish any of its goals. We are the largest local genealogical society in the United States and there is not a single paid staff member! Although "thank you" is heard all the time around our office, once a year the society says a special thank you to those who have given outstanding service during the previous year. Award winners must be members of the society, not a recipient in the last two years, and not currently on the board of directors. Usually the award winners are recognized at the annual Family History Conference, but we did not have one this year because of the NGS conference in May. Instead, StLGS volunteer coordinator, Marilyn Brennan, organized a thank you luncheon on Thursday, 20 June, at the StLGS office.

Those who regularly work at the office or at home on special projects were invited to a delicious lunch of salads, sandwiches, fruit, and cake. Afterwards, StLGS president, Kay Weber, honored the men and women chosen for this year's awards.

 This year's honorees were as follows:

• Appreciation: Ray Barbeau, Steve Butler, Mary Cornell, Joe Gildehaus, Ann Hodges, Mark Madras, and Buddy Van Arsdale 
• Achievement: Jean Marie Meyer, April Webb, Ken Webb
• Special Achievement: Ted Steele
• Special Awards: Bob Goode and Joyce Mercer

Ted Steele received the Special Achievement Award for the projects he has spearheaded to organize the society's archives and to sort out and update all the cemetery information on the StLGS website. Ted's efforts have led to dozens of web pages being corrected and modified, which will be uploaded to the site very soon.

Bob Goode and Joyce Mercer received their Special Awards for the time and effort each puts into their jobs at the office. Bob tirelessly works to keep the StLGS website running and current. He helps to maintain the office computer network and is a teacher and lecturer for the society. Joyce answers the phone, handles the front desk, helps with event registrations and sales, and generously shares her knowledge of rural cemeteries.

Congratulations to all our 2019 award winners! (For more photos, check out the StLGS Facebook group.)

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Reminder: Just one week left to get the early registration discount rates for three major genealogy events! All prices go up on 1 July!

1. Saturday, 13 July: Summer Speaker Series featuring Dr. John Colletta, including four lectures plus lunch. Registration booklet and more details on our website.
2. Monday through Thursday, 15–18 July: Summer Writing Institute; four days of intensive workshops, including morning snacks and lunch each day. Learn more about the Institute and how to register on our website. If you register early for both of the above events, you save $15.
3. Sunday through Sunday, 27 October–3 November: Salt Lake City Research Trip. Just a few rooms remain for our annual trip to the world's largest genealogy library. Save $100 and take part in all pre-trip preparations if you register by 30 June. More information and a four-page registration flyer are on the StLGS website.
   

Highlights of the NGS Conference

Thanks to all who helped to make this a wonderful conference week! What an exciting, albeit exhausting time it was for everyone who attended the National Genealogical Society's (NGS) 2019 Family History Conference in St. Charles! However, it would not have been a successful conference without the help of the experienced NGS staff and the more than one hundred StLGS volunteers who worked behind the scenes to keep things moving smoothly.

As the local host society, the week began for about seventy St. Louis Genealogical Society volunteers on Monday, 6 May with preliminary instructions, a tour around the St. Charles Convention Center, and then two hours of assembly line bag filling. Each of the 2,000+ conference bags needed to have copies of several bookmarks, flyers, booklets, and a conference program inserted. Then the bags needed to be boxed and toted to the registration area. By 1 p.m., all was ready for the following day, when pre-conference events began.

Tuesday was busy with Librarians' Day, African American and Irish workshops, and three different all-day trips. Registration opened for those already on site and continued all day and into the early evening. Volunteers were on hand to help participants download and understand how to use the conference app and to set up the society's sales area in the Exhibit Hall. The Society Showcase, featuring sixteen local genealogy and history groups, took place during the afternoon.

From Wednesday until Saturday, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. (and later for those attending special events), days were filled with lectures, meals, shopping in the Exhibit Hall, meeting new friends, and re-acquainting with old ones. In spite of the cool, rainy weather that dominated the end of the week, people enjoyed the food trucks that arrived each day and the chance to ride the free shuttles into the city of St. Charles to take in the shops and restaurants on Main Street.

(Thanks to Marsha Clark and Laura Mackinson for the photos.)

Special Awards for our Volunteers

St. Louis Genealogical Society was acknowledged by NGS at the Opening Session on Wednesday with an Award of Honor "in recognition of the society's dedication and sustained service in support of the 2019 NGS conference." StLGS committee chairs received Certificates of Appreciation at that time as well. Those honorees were local host co-chairs, Viki Fagyal and Kay Weber; Exhibit Hall co-chairs, Bob Cejka and Bob Goode; hospitality co-chairs Karen Goode and Rich Stanton; local publicity chair, Ann Hodges; registration co-chairs Diane Broniec and Barbara Larson; social media chair, Laura Mackinson; and volunteer chair, Marilyn Brennan.

The chair of the entire conference was long-time StLGS volunteer and former president, Ann Carter Fleming, CG, CGL, FNGS, who, very deservedly, received a special award at the NGS banquet on Friday evening. Ann, who has chaired more than six conferences for NGS and numerous events for StLGS, is the 2019 recipient of the Shirley Langdon Wilcox Award for Exemplary Volunteerism, which "recognizes a volunteer whose generosity of spirit and time has greatly benefited the National Genealogical Society and the genealogical community in general over a period of years."

Congratulations and many thanks from all of us to our award winners for their dedication and hard work!