12th New England Regional Genealogical Conference
Woven in History - The Fabric of New England
17-21 April 2013
Radisson Hotel & Conference Center
Manchester, NH
THE DONNA HOLT SIEMIATKOSKI VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Donna Holt Siemiatkoski Genealogy Volunteer of the Year Award is presented annually to an individual who has provided outstanding volunteer service to the New England Regional Genealogical Conference or its member societies, and as such to the field of genealogy, over and above the job to which they were elected or appointed to do. Donna was a founder of the Descendants of the Founders of Ancient Windsor and served as its first President. She served on the Board of Governors of the Connecticut Society of Genealogists, and was their representative to the Federation of Genealogical Societies. She was instrumental in the formation of the Connecticut Professional Genealogists Council. As a delegate to NERGC, Donna encouraged members of New England's genealogical community to work together for the common good. Following her death, in August 2001, NERGC established an award to recognize a person who best personifies Donna's spirit of volunteerism.
Past Recipients
2003: Rev. Dr. Robert L. Rafford
2011: Melinde Lutz Byrne
Melinde Lutz Byrne has done much for genealogy in New England. Since attending her first genealogical conference in Hartford in 1983, she has been deeply involved in genealogy and has become a member of many genealogical groups and recognized internationally as a professional genealogist, researcher, author, innovator, and organizer. Melinde is a member of the National Genealogical Society, the American Canadian Genealogical Society, the Association of Professional Genealogists, and the New Hampshire Society of Genealogists of which she is past President. She is Vice President of the Massachusetts Genealogical Council. In 1993 she was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists, a scholarly honor society limited to no more than fifty living members, elected for life, based on the quality and quantity of their published works. Melinde is past editor of the quarterlies of four state journals and currently edits the New Hampshire Genealogical Record and co-edits the National Genealogical Society Quarterly. She is the author of over one hundred articles in peer-reviewed journals and popular magazines and the author or editor of over thirty books. In 1993 she received the American Society of Genealogists' prestigious Donald Lines Jacobus Award for genealogical publishing excellence for editorial work on The Ancestry of Emily Jane Angell, a book that also won the Connecticut Society of Genealogists' Literary Awards Grand Prize. She has taught in-house library classes and continuing education classes on Internet genealogy and is currently Director of the Genealogical Research Program and Instructor, Forensic Research at Boston University's Center for Professional Education. Melinde has spoken at national and regional conferences since 1987 on such subjects as "Tracing Living Persons: Public Records of Private Lives." She has served on the NERGC Board as a Director and as Vice President, was Co-Chair of the conference held in Portland, Maine in 2005, and Tri-Chair of the successful 2009 conference held in Manchester, New Hampshire. Melinde Lutz Burne has left her mark on New England genealogy and on thousands of novice and veteran researchers who have benefited by her leadership. She has set the standard for genealogists everywhere.
2009: Thomas F. Howard
Thomas F. Howard has performed outstanding volunteer services to NERGC, Inc., in serving multiple terms on the Executive Board and as President, as well as fulfilling, in outstanding fashion, the duties of Co-Chair of the 2007 New England Regional Genealogical Conference in Hartford, Connecticut. Tom devoted countless hours to the site selection and contract negotiations necessary in the years before NERGC 2007. Under his guidance and patient stewardship, “Hartford” was an unqualified success. He was AV/Signage Chair for the 2000 conference in Providence and the 2003 conference in Falmouth. We further recognize his significant volunteer contributions to the field of genealogy by working tirelessly for continued open access to public records in Connecticut and for being at the forefront of improving communications between town and city registrars of vital statistics and Connecticut genealogists. Representing the interests of genealogists everywhere, in 2001 he proposed and chaired a “Genealogical Coalition” of Connecticut genealogical societies which monitors proposed legislation on vital records access and related issues and sends alerts to member societies. He was also a founding member of the Town Clerks and Genealogists Action Group, which has paved the way for improved and uniform procedures related to vital records access in Connecticut. Tom Howard is a professional genealogist, lecturer, writer, teacher, and conference planner. He has taught genealogy classes, NARA workshops, and lectured at regional and national conferences on innovative teaching strategies. His genealogical lecture topics include class yearbooks, hidden town hall treasures, and New England World War I records. Tom served as Corresponding Secretary of the Connecticut Professional Genealogists Council in 2001 and 2002, Program Chair in 2003, and President in 2004 and 2005. He has served on the Board of the Connecticut Society of Genealogists from 2004-2006 and 2008- and served as Vice President in 2007-2008. He is former president of the East Granby Historical Society. Thomas F. Howard is a hard working and dedicated individual who is a great asset to the New England genealogical community.
2006: Cherry Fletcher Bamberg
Since joining the editorial staff of Rhode Island Roots and subsequently becoming its chief editor, Cherry has steadily improved the quality of the publication to the point where today it is among the finest journals published by a genealogical society. As a result of her leadership, authors regularly submit quality articles, and there is currently nearly a one year backlog of finished articles ready for publication. Since Cherry took over as editor, every issue of the journal has gone out on time and as a result the society’s membership has grown steadily. Cherry’s impeccable research on Rhode Island families is well-known in the genealogical community. She transcribed and reunited all three sections of diary written by Captain Samuel Tillinghast of Warwick, Rhode Island from 1757-1766, which was published in 2000 by RIGS. She made the diary considerably more usable by researching each person named, identifying any relationship to Captain Tillinghast, and preparing copious footnotes and a full index, further enhancing its accessibility. She has also edited a book on the papers of Elder John Gorton of the Six Principle Baptist Church of East Greenwich. Her meticulous research into the people mentioned in these papers from the years 1753-1792 is contained in over 1,200 footnotes. Cherry has written numerous articles that have been published in Rhode Island Roots and the NEHGS Register. She is a frequent lecturer on various genealogical subjects. Her work to strengthen and grow the Rhode Island Genealogical Society and genealogy in Rhode Island exemplify the very best in volunteer service.
2005: Cheryl Willis Patten
Cheryl's efforts on behalf of the Maine Genealogical Society, the New England Regional Genealogical Conference, and genealogy in general have been prodigious. Over a period of many years, she has time and again gone beyond the call of duty to promote and otherwise advocate for genealogical concerns in the state of Maine. She has served as MGS recording secretary for several years, creating an archive of past minutes and other items including all past journals. She has chaired the Society's Nominating Committee several times. She has virtually single handedly organized several MGS conferences, fostered communication among board members, visited the chapters, and encouraged the formation of a new chapter (Penobscot Genealogical Society in Bangor). It is also largely due to Cheryl’s efforts that MGS has re-joined the folds of NERGC. Cheryl was the driving force to have The Length & Breadth of Maine reissued in 2004. She secured MGS backing, took orders from members, collected funds, and packaged and mailed the volumes to all who ordered copies. She sold and distributed additional copies to benefit the Taconnett Falls Chapter’s genealogical research library. Cheryl has dedicated many years in the service of the Maine Old Cemetery Association, serving as president, archivist, and program chair and is currently membership secretary. She has organized numerous conferences for MOCA, traveled the state speaking about MOCA and its goals, and has personally taken responsibility for clearing several old cemeteries of brush and debris. She prepared MOCA and MGS exhibits for and staffed the MOCA table at NERGC and has taken the MGS display to local genealogical conferences. Cheryl served Society Fair Chair for the 2005 NERGC Conference, handling all communications with participants and organizing the workforce for the event. Cheryl Patten's life has been dedicated to promoting genealogy in Maine and in every aspect of her career she has symbolized the ideal volunteer.
Marcia Melnyk lucidly and enthusiastically shares her tremendous genealogical knowledge and expertise with beginners and experts alike. She has presented her extraordinary lectures to many organizations. Her books include, The Genealogist’s Handbook for New England Research, Fourth Edition, The Weekend Genealogist, and The Genealogist’s Question and Answer Book. She has also written many articles on genealogy. Marcia served as a volunteer at the Lynnfield, Massachusetts Family History Center (LDS) for four years, as a volunteer manuscripts cataloger for the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and continues to volunteer at the National Archives in Waltham, Massachusetts. She was a founding member of the Italian Genealogical Society of America and has served as its president since June 1997 and as editor of the newsletter for the past seven years. She is a life member of the Lawrence History Center, has served as Chairperson of the Rowley Cultural Council for nearly 10 years, and has trained interviewers to record residents’ memories of the Town of Rowley for a Rowley Historical Society project. Serving first as a delegate to NERGC from the Italian Genealogical Society of America, Marcia went on to serve on the NERGC Executive Board and was Treasurer at the time of the Providence Conference. She was in charge of registration for the Cromwell, Connecticut; Portland, Maine; and Falmouth, Massachusetts Conferences. In order to help benefit NERGC, Marcia also provided lectures without honorarium at the Cromwell, Portland, and Falmouth Conferences. Marcia Melnyk has made outstanding contributions to the field of genealogy through lectures, writing, and participation in and devotion to the organizations in which she has been involved. Beyond that, her many, many services to NERGC truly exemplify the best in outstanding volunteer service on behalf of New England’s genealogical community.
2003: Rev. Dr. Robert L. Rafford
In his capacity as President of the Connecticut Professional Genealogists Council, Bob has continued the effort begun by CPGC's first president, Donna Holt Siemiatkoski, of working to implement legislation on behalf of the Connecticut State Library and Connecticut's genealogical community. He was instrumental in helping secure passage of the Historic Documents Preservation Grant Program bill that has resulted in funding for document preservation in Connecticut towns through the State Library's Office of Public Records Administrator. Bob has also worked tirelessly for continued open access to public records in the state and has been at the forefront of improving communications between town and city registrars of vital statistics and Connecticut genealogists. He is a member of the Town Clerks/Genealogist Action Group that has paved the way for improved and uniform procedures related to vital records access, and he drafted the access guidelines that have since been disseminated to all the town clerks, registrars of vital statistics, and genealogical societies in Connecticut. Bob is a truly outstanding volunteer who is tuned to events, gives much of himself to the betterment of the field genealogy, and who is always primed to act for the benefit of the genealogical community as a whole.
From the inception of the American-Portuguese Genealogical and Historical Society in 1977 to her death in 2001, Cecilia performed a myriad of tasks associated with her position. She handled the American-Portuguese Genealogical and Historical Society’s world-wide correspondence and edited its quarterly newsletter, the Bulletin Board. She secured the Society’s tax-exempt status and articles of incorporation, prepared the voluminous applications for grants, and enlisted volunteers to help with fundraisers. But going above and beyond her responsibilities, she initiated an annual genealogy workshop and worked diligently to introduce genealogy into the Taunton, Massachusetts Public Schools. Childless herself (she never married), the APGHS was her child.
Copyright 2012 New England Regional Genealogy Consortium, Inc.