The following announcement was written by the Association of Professional Genealogists:
WHEAT RIDGE, Colo., 14 December 2020—The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG®) has honored several members for their achievements and service to the profession. President David McDonald presented the awards at the 2020 APG Annual Meeting & Holiday Party.
The Laura G. Prescott Award for Exemplary Service to Professional Genealogy was presented to Loretto Dennis Szucs. This award recognizes a career devoted to uplifting fellow genealogists and improving their career circumstances and opportunities, and dedicated service to the field of genealogy. Loretto served the genealogy community for nearly 30 years. She kept communication lines open between Ancestry and the field of professional genealogy. At the time of her retirement, Lou was the Vice President of Community Relations at Ancestry.
Billie Stone Fogarty, MEd was awarded the Grahame T. Smallwood, Jr. Award of Merit for her outstanding service to the Association. Billie’s commitment to APG included serving ten years on the board, four of which were spent as APG President. In addition to her years of committed service to APG, Billie has also served as the president of the Genealogical Speakers Guild. She serves the Oklahoma Genealogical Society (seven terms as President, Board of Directors) and the Oklahoma Historical Society (Board of Directors and Executive Committee, Research, Publications, and Development Committees) and is currently active on the regional, state, and local level in advancing genealogical research and open records access as the state liaison for the Records Preservation and Access Committee.
The Professional Achievement Award was presented to Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG. This award recognizes a record of long-term exceptional professional achievement with contributions to the field of genealogy through individual excellence and ethical behavior. This is the second time Elizabeth has been honored with the Professional Achievement Award. This year’s award recognizes Elizabeth’s 2019 PMC Keynote Address on “how to become successful as a professional genealogist in a world in which ‘genealogy information’ is free all over the Internet.” Elizabeth’s presentation emphasized the “value added” by professional genealogists. Professionals add value to raw information provided by clients, value drawn from experience, and value pulled from the knowledge that there is much more to “research” and “information” than meets the eye. We appreciate the value Elizabeth has added to the genealogy field.
Honorary Life Membership was awarded to Amy E. K. Arner. Amy served on the Website Committee from 2015 – 2020. Her leadership, efficiency, and proficiency were instrumental in the creation of the new APG website.
Mark A. Cross was awarded the APGQ Excellence Award for his article “Books for Professional Genealogists: The Recommendations of Bibliophiles,” September 2019 issue.
About the Association of Professional Genealogists
The Association of Professional Genealogists (www.apgen.org), established in 1979, represents more than 2,500 genealogists in various genealogy-related businesses. APG encourages genealogical excellence, ethical practice, mentoring, and education. The organization also supports the preservation and accessibility of records useful to the fields of genealogy and history. Its many members represent all fifty U.S. states, Canada, and forty other countries. APG is active on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.