Recapping the 2023 Annual Awards luncheon
Presidents Special Award
presented by Jim Thornhill to Todd DeDecker, Tony Hanson and Susan Rainwater
There is a group of people, volunteers, that, about this time last year, started a project. Their project was to upgrade our website. For those of you who are not technologically minded, updating a website is more than just “hey, I want to create a new theme and we’re done.” There is a lot of coding, a lot of background work and organization, a lot of checking to verify that everything works. This group spent many hours over a six-month period working on the update to create a new look for our website. Their efforts made it easier to navigate and much more impressive and have created something that is sure to win us an award or two next year.
This year’s Presidents Special Award goes to the website upgrade team: Todd DeDecker, Tony Hanson and Susan Rainwater.
Volunteer of the Year
presented by Patti Smith to Michelle Dwyer Cohen
The Volunteer of the Year Award is presented annually to a DGS member who has generously volunteered time, expertise, talents, and abilities to the Society during the previous year to the extent to make that member stand out and draw attention.
This year’s recipient is a person who goes the extra mile in all they do. She came to DGS through a Special Interest Group in 2020, when she heard about a need in the society.
Her ability to pay close attention to detail, organize a committee, gather information, and put it in logical sequence has been very valuable to the success of the committee.
Her focus on getting quality stories, editing and publishing articles through our DGS blog, writing contest, and other creative, engaging ideas has been an outstanding contribution to our society.
This year’s recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award is Michelle Dwyer Cohen.
Heritage Preservation Award
presented by Linda Harrison to the FamilySearch Libraries
I’m privileged to present the Heritage Presentation Award today to the FamilySearch Libraries, and specifically, to Lynell Moss representing this incredible team from FamilySearch.
In this fractured and divisive world, the FamilySearch Libraries, their researchers, technicians, and volunteers bring calm, answers, fresh new questions, an appreciation of the past, and hope for our futures. They are the bedrock to understanding our ancestors’ world and provide us with an unyielding and personal foundation. It could possibly start by an initial visit to the Discovery Center, that then propels us towards the great research help from the volunteers, and then onto the never-ending search for the elusive records.
Families have been and are our treasure. FamilySearch Libraries are our ultimate guides, in the search, for this sacred and important journey. We are all the better for what they have done and what will happen going forward.
Thank you so very much for helping us all put our family stories together.
Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck Distinguished Service Award
presented by Jim Thornhill to Ari Wilkins
The winner of this year’s award is a graduate of Louisiana State University and began her career early in genealogy early by helping Dr. James Rose preserve the stories of previously enslaved African American ancestors. She has done extensive work on plantation records and loves to talk about them endlessly if you give her the chance. She has also taught others how to research their African American heritage on a national stage at national and local conferences and at many local genealogy institutes. When she is not doing all those other things, she is here at the Dallas Library helping people discover their family’s heritage.
I would like to present this year’s Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck Distinguished Service Award to Ari Wilkins.
Award of Merit
presented by Tony Hanson to Carolyn Davis
The Awards of Merit is presented annually to a DGS member who has consistently contributed time, talent, expertise, and abilities to the Society over a period of years. This member’s dedication and hard work in the name of the society usually goes way above the norm: Their contributions stand out.
This year’s recipient has been deserving of recognition for many years, and it is a personal honor for me to be able to finally recognize her and her many contributions to our society.
I first met her back in 2010 when we both began our first terms on the board of directors. I was the new webmaster, and she began the first of her two terms as Secretary.
She was part of the team that developed a comprehensive four-session “Getting Started with Your Family History” presentation that was presented at the Dallas Public Library and at the Texas State Genealogical Society annual conference. She was responsible for developing and presenting the “Explore the Census” module.
She was also part of the team that researched and presented the “History of the Dallas Genealogical Society” presentation celebrating the society’s 60th anniversary in 2016. She was responsible for the “How We Have Educated by Creating, Fostering and Maintaining Interest in Genealogy” portion of that presentation and spent many long hours researching and documenting that important aspect of our history.
When I nominated her for our Volunteer of the Year award, which she received in 2014, I had this to say:
“On top of her defined roles on the board of directors, she has also been among the first to volunteer for virtually any task to be performed on behalf of the society. She has been a cheerful and enthusiastic volunteer on many committees and at just about every meeting or seminar held by the DGS for the past several years.”
When we had difficulty finding a candidate for our Director for Publicity and Public Relations position she stepped into that role and trained herself in the many demanding aspects of that position. She authored numerous newsletter articles and eventually took over as the editor of our fledgling eNews newsletter, a position she held from February 2015 through September 2017.
She has since moved back to her native state of Delaware. She may be gone, but her many contributions and cheerful disposition have not been forgotten.
Please join me in congratulating this year’s recipient of our Award of Merit, Carolyn Davis.
