Washington State GS President's Award and 2022 Outstanding Volunteers

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 We are so proud and happy that one of our own is being honored for her many years of work - Helen Lewis. 

2021 and 2022 President’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement Announced 

 – reprinted with permission from Roxanne Lowe, who wrote most of this for the Washington State Genealogical Society Blog, https://wasgs.org/blog/.

WSGS President Kathleen Sizer is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2021 and 2022 Outstanding Achievement Award:

  • 2021 — Helen McGreer Lewis, Renton, 1923 – 2017
  • 2022 — Jill Morelli, Seattle

Created in 2015, the President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement is designed to single out that rare individual, society or organization who has demonstrated exemplary service above and beyond expectations. The award is not given every year as it is based on merit and accomplishments, as you’ll see from reading about the recipients below.


Helen Lewis

Helen McGreer Lewis, 1923 – 2017

Helen Lewis’s final years of service to genealogy and family history were not only unfailing but critical to the success of archives and genealogy groups in Washington state and beyond. She not only volunteered in her local societies including South King County Genealogical Society (SKCGS) and DAR, but  also indexed public records for the Washington State Archives as a volunteer for over 25 years. Her work lives on through the Washington State Digital Archives.

She authored a number of books for which she gained no income; she assigned the proceeds to the South King County Genealogical Society. In her DAR work, she helped countless others as they worked to solidify their connection to American Patriots. She also served as liaison between the SKCGS and the DAR. 



Jill Morelli

Jill Morelli, C.G.

Jill is a self-described member of the “Roots” generation of genealogists.  From that spark, Jill has grown into a veritable wildfire of action within the genealogical community at many levels.  She is a writer, lecturer and researcher specializing in U.S. Midwestern, Scandinavian and northern German genealogy.

Jill was president (2012 – 2015), then publications director (2017 – 2020) of the Seattle Genealogical Society (SGS). She continues to provide her insights and energy to SGS as past president and co-chair of the SGS 100th anniversary committee.


Jill is also program director for the local chapter of the Association for Professional Genealogists. On the wider stage of national and international genealogy, Jill lectures nationally and has been successfully published in many journals, including the National Genealogical Society Quarterly and the Swedish American Genealogist.

In 2017, Jill founded the highly successful online Certification Discussion Group (CDG) which draws students from all over the globe. She is also a founding partner of the Applied Genealogy Institute, providing online practicum-based education for advanced genealogists.


Also announced this week:

2022 Outstanding Volunteers and Team Announced

by Roxanne Lowe

Congratulations to all the amazing individuals and team who contributed mightily to their local societies! After a three-year hiatus to WSGS’s Outstanding Volunteer Recognition Program and a global pandemic, it’s time to honor those who kept our local societies together and moving forward.

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society

  • Andrea Hoskins
  • Larry Noedel

Clallam County Genealogical Society

    Genealogy Center Art Committee (Carol Foss, Roberta Griset, Linda Hindes, Consuelo White)

Eastern Washington Genealogical Society

  • Audio/Visual Team (Julie Rosenoff, David Luders, Harold Young, John Wilson, Duane Beck)
  • EWGS Zoom Meetings Team (John Wilson, Carol Anderson)
  • Jennilyn Weight

Eastside Genealogical Society

  • Celia McNay
  • Dorothy Pretare
  • Janet Stroebel

Grays Harbor Genealogical Society

    Lee Thomasson

Genealogical Society of South Whidbey Island

    Stephanie Rodden

Jefferson County Genealogical Society

    Ann McCreery

Lower Columbia Genealogical Society

    Teresa “Terry” Mattison

Mason County Genealogical Society

  • Cemetery and Obituary Project (Susie Graham, Elizebeth Lawson, Albert Conklin, Roger Newman, Barbara Moore, Stan Graham, Sue Sheldon)
  • Carolyn Gibbons
  • Pat Tostevin (postumous)

Northeast Washington Genealogical Society

  • Evergreen Cemetery Team (Jayne Evans, Lora Rose, Jim Witham)
  • Barbara McGill
  • Jim Witham

Olympia Genealogical Society

  • Eileen Dodge
  • Norman Dodge
  • Kathy Erlandson

Puget Sound Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists

    Bylaws Revision Committee (Nancy Neville Cordell, Karin Coppernoll)

Seattle Genealogical Society

  • Cary Lynn Bright
  • Library Relocation and Refocus (Kathi McGinnes, Rob Sexton)
  • Christine Schomaker

Skagit Valley Genealogical Society

    Karen Strelow


South King County Genealogical Society

  • Going Virtual Team (MaryLynn Strickland, Valorie Zimmerman)
  • Tina Lawson




Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society

  • Ruth Caesar
  • Elizabeth Dalton
  • Historic Newspapers Digitization Team (Sue Walde, Michele Heiderer, Suzanne Brown, Karen Looney, Sue McNeill, Ruth Caesar)
  • Lynn Clarke Kennedy
  • LeeRoy Kind
  • SVGS Zoom Team (Karen Looney, Susanne Brown, Dana Carney, Flynn Kennedy, Pam Shoberg)

Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society

  • Diane Gundersen
  • Hank LuBean

Yakima Valley Genealogical Society

  • Richard Adams
  • Cynthia “Cindy” L. Fuerst
  • Florance Irene McDonald Nelson
  • YVGS Team Website (Judy Jones Schuster, Richard Kyle)

Congratulations to all!!


Previous South King County GS Outstanding Volunteers

Previously, South King County Genealogical Society nominated the following volunteers:

2004 - Betty Ulrich Cooper, Barbara Stokey Heutchy

2007 - Waneta King Bosshart, Karen Lee Rosenberg Bouton

2010 - Glenn A. Gilbert, Charlotte Sue Kibbie, MaryLynn Strickland

2011 - Karen Lee Rosenberg Bouton, Sylva Jean Coppock, Linda Ann Stewart Van Nest

2012 - Barbara Stokey Heutchy

2017 – Catherine Wooden, Gilbert Wooden

2018 – Barbara Mattoon, Richard Thayer

2019 – Katie Hanzeli, Janet Camarata



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