Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized almost 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 2016 award recipients and learn why they received the 2016 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Claire Bardwell

Today we’re introducing Claire Bardwell of Colville, Washington, who was nominated by the Northeast Washington Genealogical Society (NeWGS). She was recognized for her significant contributions to the society beginning in 1986 with her involvement in indexing birth, marriage and death records of Stevens and Ferry counties.

Since 1986, Mrs. Bardwell has helped with the annual clean-up of the Evergreen Cemetery, been involved in courthouse research through the years, taught classes on using land records, participated in numerous indexing projects. She has also served on the board of directors of NeWGS in several different capacities.

Mrs. Bardwell’s most recent contributions have been in the extraction and indexing of local courthouse records adding more than 4,000 entries to NeWGS’s databases.

Mrs. Bardwell is a respected and valuable, long-time member of the NeWGS, and her contributions prove that she richly deserved being a recipient of a 2016 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, Recognition Chair, at Roxanne@thekeeffes.com.