Category Archives: Outstanding Volunteers

Hank LuBean Named One of 2022’s Outstanding Volunteers

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 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Hank LuBean of East Wenatchee, Washington, who was nominated by the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS).

Hank LuBean

As WAGS’ technology chair, Hank had set up a digitizing system in 2018/19 for the society, creating a state-of-the-art digitizing station, and programming and building a website and database to archive digitized items. These very successful projects garnered Hank the WAGS Outstanding Volunteer designation in 2019.

Then WAGS got word that EasyNet Sites, our web provider, was going out of business. Hank suggested we create and maintain our own website, and volunteered to take on the task. He had previous experience making websites for family and some smaller groups around town, but WAGS was a bigger challenge, needing to include ordering merchandise; creating and tracking memberships and receiving payments; creating specialized pages for historical photos and large databases; the previous digitized archive and other databases; and a specialized search engine. Hank’s perseverance and commitment to making documents available to others has resulted in an attractive and functional new website. An important part of his approach is training others to be able to navigate the site and edit and revise.

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.”

Tina Lawson Named One of 2022’s Outstanding Volunteers

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 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Tina Lawson of Auburn, Washington, who was nominated by the South King County Genealogical Society (SKCGS).

Tina joined SKCGS in February 2020, just in time to help us pivot to an online-only world. Soon after accepting the publicity team leader role, she began to actively administer the society’s Google Workspace, which was previously mostly unused. By creating a shared calendar, shared drives for each team, and improving the team email lists, she greatly facilitated the work of the board. Then she created an internal website, The Hub, for board volunteer use, along with hundreds of hours of private volunteer training.

SKCGS would not have been able to thrive without her invaluable support to the board and other volunteers. She has quietly given each of the members hours of her time, not just giving resources such as The Hub, but also individual help and training. “The Magic Show” (collaborative, participatory meetings) could not have existed without the support of the board and Tina’s technical and personal expertise.

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.”

LeeRoy Kind Named One of 2022’s Outstanding Volunteers

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 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing LeeRoy Kind of Marysville, Washington, who was nominated by the Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society (SVGS).

LeeRoy Kind

As a volunteer, LeeRoy enjoys training patrons: 1) how to do research on their own and, 2) how to use the SVGS library. He became a volunteer in 2009, and served as parking lot attendant coordinator and speaker monitor for the Northwest Genealogy Conference. In his earliest days with SVGS, he digitized obituaries and entered data from area newspapers for SVGS’s online Death Index. More currently, he has been the driving force behind the Weller Funeral Home Card Digitization Project.

In LeeRoy’s opinion, one of the most important things to remember when doing research is that we’re not going to find everything we’re looking for the first time we type a name into a database. It’s “…a continual search.”

LeeRoy was born in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota and moved with his job at Hewlett- Packard from Detroit to California and finally to Marysville, Washington where he has lived since 1982.

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.”

Flynn Kennedy Named One of 2022’s Outstanding Volunteers

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 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Flynn Kennedy of Marysville, Washington, who was nominated by the Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society (SVGS).

Flynn Kennedy

In 2011, Flynn became a volunteer librarian with SVGS. She worked with the Northwest Genealogy Conference for three years as a Jackie-of-all-Trades, serving in a variety of roles. Her current projects include creating a four-generation history for a patron who is related to Noah Webster, transcribing a 33-page application for a claim against the U.S. Southern Claims Commission, and attempting to solve a family history mystery in Vermont in the 1830’s.

In Flynn’s opinion, the three most important things to remember when trying to break through a brick wall are “… collaboration, collaboration, collaboration.”

Flynn was born in Toledo, Ohio and moved to Seattle on September 28, 1980. She earned a B.A. from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio (during the Punic Wars) and earned a Post Graduate Certificate in Genealogy Research from Boston University in 2014.  

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.”

Andrea Hoskins Named One of 2022’s Outstanding Volunteers

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 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Andrea Hoskins of Bainbridge Island, Washington, who was nominated by the Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society (BIGS).

Within a short time of joining BIGS in 2018, Andy Hoskins volunteered to serve as newsletter editor, where she helped redesign its content and appearance. She also volunteered to lead the Writers Workshop SIG.

Andrea Hoskins

Andy’s true gifts became obvious when she agreed to serve as president (beginning her term in April 2020) just as the COVID pandemic arrived. Andy has demonstrated effective leadership, adaptability, creativity, and quiet problem-solving, all while effectively conducting the day-to-day business of the organization in extraordinary times. She led the board to clarify major areas of focus and to revise the society bylaws to better define board position responsibilities with an eye toward increasing participation of current and future members.

Andy brings a quiet leadership – leading by example and vision – offering ideas and possibilities for the future of the organization. BIGS looks forward to Andy’s excellent leadership as BIGS continues to evolve post- pandemic.

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.”

Diane Gundersen Named One of 2022’s Outstanding Volunteers

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 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Carolyn Gundersen of Peshastin, Washington, who was nominated by the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS).

Diane is one of WAGS’s Outstanding Volunteers for 2022 for her work restructuring the WAGS library. She joined WAGS about five years ago. Not long after, she volunteered in the WAGS library, working one day a month and editing indexes a few hours a week from home. As her interest grew, so did her time commitment, and soon she found herself a member at-large on the WAGS Board, moving up to the head librarian position in 2019.

Diane Gundersen

With board approval, Diane began to look for ways to make the library a more welcoming place for patrons to do their research, and a more efficient place for volunteers to do their work. With courage, boundless energy and considerable organizational skills, she first studied what jobs were being done where in our library and made plans to move or replace existing furniture with more modern accoutrements. She is boldly going forward with removing old paper resources that are now online. Under her leadership, WAGS is consolidating their North Central Washington resources into one area.

Diane is revitalizing WAGS’ 50-year-old library, creating a bright, versatile space that will serve us for the next half-century and beyond.

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.”

Library Relocation & Refocus Team Named One of 2022’s Outstanding Teams

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 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing the Library Relocation and Refocus Team that was nominated by the Seattle Genealogical Society (SGS). The team was comprised of Kathi McGinnes and Rob Sexton.

The Board of Directors of the SGS determined in 2020 that a combination of financial challenges and generational changes in genealogy required them to both find a new home for their library and to redesign the focus of the library on today’s genealogy.  While the entire Board and many other SGS members participated in this year-long project, Kathi McGinnis (SGS library director) and Rob Sexton (SGS operations director) were key to making this operation work.

Kathi worked on reducing the library from over 15,000 items to just over 4,000 items, shifting the focus from the entire world to the Pacific Northwest and finding homes for the items being removed. Rob oversaw all aspects of the move itself, finding the new space, scheduling the move activities, and making sure it all worked. While there were the inevitable hitches, Kathi and Rob made sure that the move nailed the landing.

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.”

Going Virtual Team Named One of 2022’s Outstanding Teams

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 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing the Going Virtual Team that was nominated by the South King County Genealogical Society (SKCGS). The team was comprised of MaryLynn Strickland and Valorie Zimmerman.

In March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, SKCGS had only a beginning virtual foundation, using Groups IO as a member-and-friends forum to communicate topics of interest. SKCGS also had access to the free non-profit version of Google Enterprise and the board of directors had discussed implementing some features. 

To capitalize on these assets and jump to complete virtual, MaryLynn and Valorie immediately began experimenting with Google Meet. Within two months, the society was meeting online for board and monthly general meetings, special interest groups for Family Tree Software Users, Genetic Genealogy, a new monthly Genealogy Chat and signup study group. Training was “immersive” – learn by doing, as MaryLynn and Valorie coaxed members along and enlisted others to help.

MaryLynn’s and Valorie’s enthusiastic, can-do attitude buoyed this effort from the beginning. Their give-and-take as virtual co-facilitators has inspired a lively, collaborative, participative approach in SKCGS meetings, with members/attendees from many different states. 

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.”

Carolyn Gibbons Named One of 2022’s Outstanding Volunteers

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 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Carolyn Gibbons of Elma, Washington, who was nominated by the Mason County Genealogical Society (MCGS).

Carolyn Gibbons

Carolyn has been the editor of our monthly newsletter since joining MCGS in 2020, after moving here from North Carolina. Although she has no family history in our state, she jumped in and started researching articles from the local paper dating back to 1889. She painstakingly created abstracts of any article that included a specific person’s name, then included a surname index at the back of every newsletter issue. She also carefully itemized a list of Mason County birth and death registers, justice dockets, homestead patents and many more records on FamilySearch that could be abstracted. This project has been a wonderful way for MCGS members to participate during the past two years while staying at home. The society newsletter, which is now over 20 pages long, has grown to be a valuable resource for anyone researching Mason County records.

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.”

Genealogy Center Art Committee Named One of 2022’s Outstanding Teams

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 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing the Genealogy Center Art Committee that was nominated by the Clallam County Genealogical Society (CCGS). The team was comprised of Linda Hindes, Carol Foss, Consuelo White and Roberta Griset.

Genealogy Center Art Committee

CCGS acquired a large building for the society.  After a lot of repair, cleaning and painting, it was ready for use, but had large blank walls that were not inviting. The Art Committee has filled those walls with framed historic photographs of the North Olympic Peninsula, donated framed art work offered for sale and art works produced by society members. The end result has been a fascinating pictorial study of the area, decorative art works enlivening dull meeting spaces and an opportunity for members to display their talent.  Visitors to the Center always take a slow walk down the corridor of historic photos and comment on how that illustrates a part of the society’s mission to help others discover and understand their past.

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.”