Category Archives: Outstanding Volunteers

Cindy Fuerst 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.

Cindy Fuerst

Today we’re introducing Cynthia “Cindy” Fuerst of Yakima, Washington, who was nominated by the Yakima Valley Genealogical Society (YVGS).

Cindy joined YVGS in 1985 “because Cousin Kathy made me do it.” The genealogy bug hit Cindy hard, but she didn’t have to be hospitalized! Cindy volunteered as librarian one day a week and the Thursday night shift at the old YVGS library at First Christian Church in downtown Yakima across from the police department and next door to Shaw & Sons Funeral Home. The night genealogist had to take the money bag over to the night drop box at the funeral home. Such a brave genealogist!  Later, Cindy moved to the coast with husband Kenny and joined the South King County Genealogical Society. During her time there, she was membership chair and greeter while retaining her membership at YVGS. After moving back to Yakima, she started attending meetings again, became a librarian and served two terms as YVGS’s corresponding secretary.

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” in the subject line.

Kathy Erlandson 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 Kathy Erlandson of Olympia, Washington, who was nominated by the Olympia Genealogical Society (OGS).

Kathy Erlandson

Kathy is completing her third year (2019-2022) as president of the Olympia Genealogical Society.  She served as vice president the two prior years and earlier served as secretary.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the period of her presidency arguably was one of the more difficult periods for OGS and Kathy’s leadership through it was stellar. Like many other organizations, OGS quickly moved from in-person activities to virtual activities including their Spring Seminar, their major event of the year.

Membership at OGS has increased substantially, and they greatly expanded their Special Interest Groups. In short, OGS not only survived this period, they’ve thrived and Kathy’s skills as a “people person” and her ability to bring people together to get stuff done has been a major factor.  Not only has she been a great leader OGS, she always is ready to jump in to help anywhere needed.

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” in the subject line.

Evergreen Cemetery 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 Evergreen Cemetery Team that was nominated by the Northeast Washington Genealogical Society (NeWGS). The team was comprised of Lora Rose, Jayne Evans, and Jim Witham.

NeWGS’s Evergreen Cemetery Team

This amazing team of volunteers has worked diligently to make the area’s pioneer Evergreen Cemetery a thing of beauty while honoring those interred there. They have done everything from clearing brush, picking up pinecones, mowing and weed whacking, repairing damaged stones, and repairing fence. Lora Rose, the team leader, has also spent hours researching each and every burial, posting information to the NeWGS online Evergreen database and responding to inquiries concerning the inhabitants.  Everything accomplished at the cemetery over the past several years is because of this dedicated team and they make NeWGS very appreciative and very proud.

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.”

EWGS Zoom 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 Zoom Team that was nominated by the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society (EWGS). The team was comprised of John Wilson and Carol Anderson.

Carol Anderson
John Wilson

March 2020 was the last in-person meeting for EWGS until April 2022 when in-person meetings resumed. April, May and June 2020 came and went with everything locked down. Then along came Zoom. Carol Anderson and John Wilson were using Zoom to communicate with their families and determined EWGS meetings could be conducted via Zoom. They reached out to the board by walking each person through the Zoom sign-in process and a new meeting format was born. It was a matter of members teaching other members the sign-in process and John posting the directions on the EWGS website.

Other societies disbanded for lack of vision, but EWGS has prospered adding new members. In April 2022, EWGS had their first hybrid meeting all because of the “can do attitude” of Carol and John.

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.”

Norman Dodge 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 Norman Dodge of Olympia, Washington, who was nominated by the Olympia Genealogical Society (OGS).

Norman Dodge

Norman has been a member of the Olympia Genealogical Society for decades. He served as president of the society from 2008 – 2011. He has also been one of those all-important background volunteers. When OGS was meeting in person, he helped with setup and takedown at meetings and other events.

Along with his wife Eileen, he has assisted a great many people with their research and finding “lost” information, ancestors, and other relatives at drop-in genealogy sessions held at the Olympia Timberland Library.

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” in the subject line.

Eileen Dodge 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 Eileen Dodge of Olympia, Washington, who was nominated by the Olympia Genealogical Society (OGS).

Eileen Dodge

Eileen served as president of the Olympia Genealogical Society for a number of years. She was membership chair for several years, as well as the newsletter editor. Eileen was in charge of both goodie bags and door prizes for the OGS seminars for many years and she and her husband Norman are there to help with setup and takedown as well at meetings and other events.

Eileen has also been a presenter at the Beginners Workshops for a number of years. Along with Norman, she has assisted a great many people with their research and finding “lost” information, ancestors, and other relatives at drop-in genealogy sessions held at the Olympia Timberland Library.

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” in the subject line.

Digitization of Historic Newspaper 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 Digitization of Historic Newspapers Team that was nominated by the Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society (SVGS). The team was comprised of Sue Walde, Michele Heiderer, Suzanne Brown, Ruth Caesar, Karen Looney and Sue McNeil.

Left to right: Karen Looney, Sue McNeil, Ruth Caesar, Sue Walde and Michele Heiderer. Pictured separately, Suzanne Brown

Despite COVID-19, SVGS’s Outstanding Volunteers worked with SmallTownPapers, Inc. to digitize 7,770 pages of The Arlington Times historic newspapers (1895 – 1924) from microfilm. The team reviewed every page to ensure each was posted as accurately as possible on the SVGS website. Roughly 500 corrections were discovered, researched and reposted. The newspapers are an essential source of local history of Arlington and the surrounding Stillaguamish Valley benefiting genealogists, historians and local families for posterity. Now the earliest of the historic Arlington Times newspapers (1895-1924) are freely available to the world at www.stillygen.org.

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.”

Cemetery & Obituary Project 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 Cemetery and Obituary Project that was nominated by the Mason County Genealogical Society (MCGS).  The team was comprised of Susie Graham, Elizebeth Lawson, Albert Conklin, Roger Newman, Barbara Moore (posthumous), Stan Graham and Sue Sheldon.

During 2017-18, Susie Graham led the Cemetery and Obituary project team that researched over 7,000 obituaries published in the Mason County Journal from 1915 on and identified where these people were buried. She organized the project and recruited volunteers who read each obituary and sorted them by according to the more than 360 cemeteries they were buried in; or if a cemetery wasn’t mentioned, they looked for which of over 150 funeral homes was used. If neither cemetery nor funeral home was mentioned, the researchers went online, looking for relevant information. One team member, Elizebeth Lawson, deserves special mention for creating an invaluable spreadsheet used to track the data. Currently, the 7,000+ obituaries and 11,000+ headstone photos resulting from this work are published online in Archive-in-a-Box, free to the public.

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”

Elizabeth Dalton 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 Elizabeth Dalton of Camano Island, Washington, who was nominated by the Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society (SVGS).

Elizabeth Dalton

Elizabeth began as a volunteer with SVGS in its early days, as a member of the Publications Committee, by serving as an indexer for some of the society’s earliest published books. In between indexing projects, she wrote articles and fillers for the newsletter “The Stillaguamish Star,” as well as performing editor-in-chief duties. More recently, she functioned as vice president of the library for a time during the pandemic.  Currently, she is working on organizing a large collection of donated materials from the Camwood Genealogy Workshop.

In Elizabeth’s opinion, the three most important things to remember when doing genealogy research are “… accuracy, accuracy, and accuracy.” She adds, “We need to prove the accuracy of every record used in our research to the best of our ability.”

Elizabeth was born in Seattle and currently lives on Camano Island in Island County. She has been an SVGS lifetime member since 2015.

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” in the subject

PS-APG Bylaws Revision 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 Bylaws Revision Team who was nominated by the Puget Sound Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (PS-APG).  The team was comprised of Nancy Cordell and Karin Coppernoll.

Karin Coppernoll
Nancy Cordell

Nancy is a family historian specializing in DNA analysis and African American research. In 1991 she attained a Ph.D. in anthropology. She received a certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University and attended the Advanced Genealogy Course at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. She is a past President of the Olympia Genealogical Society. Ms. Cordell serves the needs of her clients with her firm “Diggin’ Our Past.”

Karin has over 30 years of experience researching family history. She attained a certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University and a Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies in American Records from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. Karin takes on the genealogical brick walls and dead ends for her clients as “Brick by Brick Genealogy.”

Nancy and Karin both joined Puget Sound Chapter of the PS-APG in 2015. Nancy became an active member and volunteered as an expert in three “Ask the Expert” events. She currently serves as the PS-APG Chapter president. Karin has served as the chapter treasurer since 2017. She was the chapter coordinator for an “Ask the Expert” event and volunteered in several others as an expert. She became a National APG Director in 2022.

Nancy and Karin greatly aided the PS-APG chapter by updating its bylaws. These revisions were important and timely since they allowed members to attend meetings online.

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” in the subject line.