Honoring Winona Hahn Laird, Volunteer of the Year

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Winona Hahn Laird, SKCGS Volunteer of the Year


Winona Hahn Laird is our Volunteer of the Year 2023. The Washington State Genealogical Society asks each member society to select one volunteer or team to honor, and in 2023 Winona was chosen unanimously by the South King County Genealogical Society Board. 

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯


How it Started

Winona has been doing genealogy for over 60 years.  She started as a young girl in a church class. One of the projects was to get her mother, father, and grandparents to write a one-page story of their lives and they all wrote their stories. 

Some years later, after Winona’s grandmother had passed, the family found reams of paper among her possessions which contained notes and stories she had written. Winona used this information to write and publish a book about her grandmother,  "Have You Ever Lived in a Mining Town;" see on Amazon or her website store.

Winona has researched most of her family lines back to the 16th and 17th centuries. 


Marriage, Family and Business

Family is very important to Winona. She was married for 56 years when her husband passed away, and is a mother of two daughters and has two grandchildren. She was the owner of an accounting and tax business in Kent, Washington for over 20 years. When she sold the business and retired as an accountant, she became a professional genealogist.  Her specialties are teaching and lecturing on genealogy. For three years Winona taught classes for the Continuing Education Department at Green River Community College in Auburn, Washington.


South King County Geanealogy Society Volunteer


SoKing News, Vol. 25, No. 3, page 5, "Family Tree Maker Users Group."

In November 2009, Winona started the FamilyTreeMaker User Group for the SKCGS, which has been ongoing support and education for FTM users in the local area. When the covid lockdowns began, Winona quickly learned how to run a virtual meeting, and the FTMUG has been meeting online ever since, drawing visitors from everywhere. 




For some years, Winona has been presenting Introduction to Genealogy classes and other genealogy education for free to the King County Public Library, and that continues; learn more here: https://www.skcgs.org/meetings-events/classes/kcls. 









Recently Winona wanted to serve SKCGS Members who needed the basics, and thus began her Beginning Genealogy classes, offered twice per month, once in the morning, and once in the evening so she can teach those who are still employed or live elsewhere in the world. Her class offerings have increased membership in SKCGS by 25% directly attributable to her classes earlier this year, and the growth continues!  

Details here: https://www.skcgs.org/meetings-events/classes/bgc.


Genealogy and Professional Memberships

Winona is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the National Genealogical Society, a Past President of South King County Genealogical Society, along with membership in several other genealogy societies in the United States.  She is a member of Mary Fell Stevenson Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, and is the Registrar for the Chapter and a faithful weekly volunteer at the Kent FamilySearch Center. Visit her website for beginning genealogy classes, her blog and videos.


Thank you Winona!





Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 18, 2023 at 4:31 PM

    Congratulations, Winona!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Darelyn GuinnDecember 19, 2023 at 7:02 AM

    Congratulations! I love to see you being recognized for all your work!

    ReplyDelete

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