NGS Election 2008

For the office of President:

Janet A. Alpert

Janet A. (Jan) Alpert joined the NGS board as secretary in 2004 serving a two year term. In 2006 she was elected President of NGS. Prior to becoming active in NGS, she had a 35 year career in the title insurance industry retiring in 2004. She continues to serve on the board of Richmond, Virginia-based LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc.

Alpert has been President of the Genealogical Research Institute of Virginia (GRIVA) for two terms 2002-2004. She was the News & Notes Editor for GRIVA for 5 years in the 1980s. She has done personal family research for more than 25 years mostly in New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the Midwest where her families migrated. In 1997 she published a family genealogy, Hatevil Nutter of Dover, New Hampshire and His Descendants with Fred Boyle, CG. She is a member of many genealogy associations including NGS, NEHGS, NYG&B, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the New York History Association, as well as local genealogical organizations such as GRIVA, Tazewell Genealogical Society (IL), Hunterdon County Historical Society (NJ), New Hampshire Society of Genealogists and Descendants of Ancient Windsor (CT).

A native of Illinois, Alpert received her B.A. degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara and earned an M.B.A. degree from the University of Connecticut. She resides seasonally in Holland, MI and Hilton Head Island, SC.

For the office of Vice President:

Lynda Childers Suffridge

Lynda Childers Suffridge, has served as vice president of the NGS Board of Directors for the past two years. Previously she served on the NGS Board for four years representing Area 2 and as chair of the Consumer Protection Committee. Her involvement in genealogical organizations began when she joined the local Heritage Seekers of North Little Rock in 1979. She is past-president of Heritage Seekers, the Arkansas Genealogical Society, and Arkansas Pioneers. She is author of NGS Research in the States Series: Arkansas, is editor of the Perry County [Arkansas] Historical & Genealogical Society Newsletter, and co-editor of , Perry County, Arkansas: Its Land & People,. She is the 2007 Winner of the Arkansas Genealogical Society Family History Writing Contest Bobbie Jones McLane Award and was presented the 2008 Arkansas Historical Association Walter L. Brown Award for Best Family History in a Local Journal. Ms. Suffridge lectures in Course III at the IGHR, at NGS Conferences, and to state and local organizations.

For the office of Secretary:

Arlene V. Jennings, CG

Arlene V. Jennings, MA, CG, is a native of Kansas now residing in Brooklyn, New York. Arlene began her career teaching French at the universities of Washington and Michigan when she was a graduate student. She was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, a National Science Foundation Fellow, and a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Bucharest. From 1966 to 1972 she taught applied linguistics in Ecuador and Bucharest, Romania, where she was Director of Courses at the American Library. In the 1970s she worked for Pan Am in the USSR and New York City. In the mid-1980s, she joined the Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation where she became Director of Training. Upon retirement from IHC she founded Global Training Solutions. As an independent consultant specializing in cross cultural effectiveness, Arlene trained managers for the opening of luxury hotels in Moscow, New York City, and Bora Bora, and worked with a wide range of organizations as an adjunct faculty member for the Center for Creative Leadership. She retired in 1998 to focus on genealogy.

Arlene is a graduate of the National Institute on Genealogical Research, the Advanced Methodology course at Samford University's Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research, and the National Genealogical Society course, American Genealogy. She has chaired the Publications Advisory Committee of the Association of Professional Genealogists, served on the Education and Publications committees of the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, was webmaster for the Friends of the National Archives in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and created their award winning quarterly publication, Archival Anecdotes. Her primary research interest is the study of ancestral migrations from the Northeast to the Midwest.

For the office of Treasurer:

Victor S. Dunn, CG

Victor S. “Vic” Dunn, CG, is a professional genealogist and proprietor of Virginia Ancestry. He researches Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland families and specializes in brick-wall solutions, land records, and platting. He is an instructor for the Virginia track at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research and past vice-president of the Shenandoah Valley Genealogical Society. Mr. Dunn is a contributor to major genealogical publications including feature articles in NGS Quarterly, NGS NewsMagazine, Northern Virginia Genealogy, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, and Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter. Dunn received his BS and MS in accounting from Virginia Tech and passed the C.P.A. exam in Virginia in 1990. His accounting career comprises over three years in public accounting and over 13 years in corporate tax positions where he assumed managerial responsibilities in high tech companies in the Northern Virginia area.

For the office of Director, Area 2:

David McDonald, CG

David McDonald, CG has been board-certified since 2004, lecturer since 1983; active researcher since 1977. Lectured at Nashville and Chicago; scheduled to lecture in Kansas City. He also presented for the FGS Conference in Fort Wayne. He is the Chair of the Outreach Committee, Board for Certification of Genealogists; former board member, APG; current board member ISBGFH. Member: NGS, FGS, APG, GSG, ISFHWE, NEHGS, NYGB, and numerous state and local genealogical societies; editor, Wisconsin State Genealogical Society Newsletter. Graduate, NGS Home Study Course; writer and proctor, 2006 revised course; attended NIGR (2005) and IGHR’s Advanced Track (2003).

For the office of Director, Area 3:

Richard Camaur, CG

Richard is an attorney, genealogist and lecturer. He is the immediate past president of the Fairfax (Virginia) Genealogical Society and has been a member of its Board of Directors since 1998. His two decades of genealogical activities include Italy, Catholic Church records, California, and pre-World War I Austria. Richard is a member of various genealogical societies and has lectured at national and local genealogical events.

Richard was admitted to the District of Columbia bar in 1976 and the Virginia State Bar in 1977. He maintains a general civil practice of law in Fairfax, Virginia, and he served as Education Chair of the Fairfax (County) Bar Association. He is a frequent lecturer on business organization at the George Mason University Small Business Development Center. Richard received his Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service, Master of Arts, and Juris Doctor from Georgetown University. He was certified by the by the Board for Certification of Genealogists as a Certified Genealogist in 2000.

For the office of Director, Area 4:

Bob Velke,

Bob Velke is the president of Wholly Genes, Inc., the makers of popular family history software tools since 1992. He was a member of the Board of Directors of GENTECH, a participant in the Lexicon Working Group, and a co-author of the GENTECH Genealogical Data Model (GDM). He has been involved in the Member Ancestor Chart (MAC) and other NGS projects and currently serves the organization on the GENTECH Advisory Committee (GTAC).

Bob received a BA in Criminology in 1985 from the University of Maryland, where he later taught that subject and trained police departments on research and analysis techniques. He is a frequent lecturer at family history conferences on technology issues and is a genealogical researcher of some 20 years, with a special interest in the Civil War and southwestern Virginia.

For the office of Director at Large (4 year term):

Everett Ireland, CG

Everett has been an active genealogist for over 19 years and serves in several genealogical organizations. He is a past member of the Board of Trustees, Association of Professional Genealogists, and currently is President pro tem of the California State Genealogical Alliance. He is a Life Member of the National Genealogical Society.

He has been a lecturer at national conferences in Dallas, TX, Providence, RI and Ontario, CA. He has also lectured extensively at genealogical society meetings and seminars in Southern California and the Midwest.

He has published articles and reviews in genealogical publications, both locally and nationally on a variety of topics, including new technology for genealogical research, use of DNA in genealogy and reviews of new publications. He has researched and published articles and books on IRELAND, VOGT, TALLIAFERRO, ROTHERMEL, ALM and JOHNSON families.

Professionally, after receiving a degree in Engineering Physics from the U of Michigan, he had a career as a government scientist in the field of military command and control systems. He has been a Certified Genealogist since 1993 and specializes in Southern California and Midwest America genealogy.

Harold Hinds

Harold E. Hinds, Jr., Ph.D. and Distinguished Research Professor of History, the University of Minnesota, Morris, teaches a wide variety of history courses, including one on genealogy and personal family history. He has lectured extensively at all levels, from local to international, and has delivered several key-note addresses; has published 2 monographs, 1 genealogical guide, 21 edited collections of scholarly essays, 8 volumes of transcribed records, and published more than 40 articles in genealogical and professional history journals; and is a member of numerous local, regional, and national history and genealogy organizations. He serves as Associate Editor of Minnesota Genealogist, as Program Chair of the West Central (MN) Family History Association, as columnist for the NGS NewsMagazine. His current research focuses on genealogical and historical methods of conducting personal family history, New York’s Adirondacks, Kentucky’s Appalachia, New England, and the Pacific North West.