About NGS

Awards

The NGS Awards program recognizes scholarship, service, excellence, and achievement in the fields of genealogy, history, and biography by presenting awards to individuals and to societies and organizations.

The presentation of these awards is administered by the NGS Awards Committee, which sets deadlines for the receipt of nominations. Notice of the deadlines is sent to the Board of Directors and to the membership through NGS Magazine, NGS Monthly, and by email and NGS Monthly. Nominations are submitted to the NGS Awards Committee, which reviews and evaluates the nominations. All nominations must include contact information (name, email, and phone) for nominees and the person(s) nominating them.

Nomination forms can be submitted online.

Deadline for all submissions is 15 December, annually.

 

The Rabbi Malcolm H. Stern Lifetime Achievement Award

Recognizes an individual whose positive influence and leadership have fostered unity and helped make family history a vital force in the community.  The recipient need not be a member of NGS. Nominations require the submission of a high-resolution digital photo of the nominee. Stern Nominations Form (Online) >

Lou D. Szucs Distinguished Service Award

Fellow of the National Genealogical Society (FNGS)

Fellowship in the National Genealogical Society (FNGS) exemplifies servant leadership and is the Society’s highest honor. The fellow is awarded to a member for outstanding service to the National Genealogical Society and for their work in the field of genealogy or the related fields of history, biography, or heraldry. A nominee must have been a member of NGS for at least five years. See the list of Honored NGS Fellows >

Fellow of the National Genealogical Society Nomination Form (Online) >

Award of Merit

Awarded to an individual or nonprofit genealogical or historical organization in recognition of exceptional contributions to the field of genealogy over a period of five or more years that have significantly aided research or increased interest in genealogy. The nominee need not be a member of NGS. This award may be presented to an individual or institution more than once.

Award of Merit Nomination Form (Online) >

YearName
2024Thomas Koselka
Pam Pracser Anderson
Marlene A. Groves
Jane Farrell Burgess
D. Joshua Taylor
2023Jill Morelli
Shelley Murphy, PhD, BS, MA, DM
David M. McCorkle
Patricia M. Gailes
Midwest African American Genealogy Institute
2022Kathleen Rubano
2021not awarded
2020not awarded
2019Florida Genealogical Society
North Carolina Digital Heritage Center
Carolyn Carter
2018Shirley M. De Boer
Nancy Peterson
Gladys Cajke
2017not awarded
2016Janice Schultz
2015Reginald Washington
2014Donald Eckerle
John Martino
Robert Boeckle
2013Carolyn Marguerite Hutchinson Brown
2012Marvin Wilhite
2011not awarded
2010Louisiana Creole Research Association
Megan Smolenyak-Smolenyak
Jean Nudd
2009not awarded
2008Missouri State Archives
David A. Bailey
Peggy Brown
Sherard Reidinger
John M. Robinson
Cheryl Singhal
Kay Watson
2007John Frederick Dorman, CG (Emeritus)
Stephen P. Morse
Joseph Crook Anderson, II, FASG
Wesley E. Pippenger
Lucille Kurtz Elrite
2006not awarded
2005not awarded
2004not awarded
2003not awarded
2002not awarded
2001not awarded
2000Garland K. Childress
Byron H. Sistler
1999Richard A. Pence
Chautauqua County Genealogical Society
Sandra Sopak
Jeannette Grosvenor
1998Earl Beaty
Nancy Craig
Everton’s Genealogical Helper
Donald L. Lutes, Jr
Marian L. Smith
1997Jane Davidson
Vivian Taylor
1996Gale Williams Bamman, CG
Charles A. Sherrill
Jim Hawkins
Shirley Wilson, CG
Mary Glenn Hearne, CG
Mike St. Clair
1995Gloria M. Osborn
1994Karen Stein Daniel
1993not awarded
1992Anne S. Anderson
1991Stanley R. Clarke
Martha Mae Schmidt
Elsa Schmidt
1990Martha Walters Acker
Robert C. Anderson
Sally Govers Gray
Eric G. Grundset
Margaret M. Hofmann
Henry Z. Jones, Jr.
The Franklin County (Tennessee) Historical Society
The North Carolina Genealogical Society
1989Ralph J. Crandall
James L. Hansen
Joy Reisinger
Marsha Hoffman
Neil D. Thompson
The Genealogy Collection, McCain Library and Archives, The University of Southern Mississippi
The Western Reserve Historical Society Library
1988Mary McCampbell Bell
Sharon Sholars Brown
Frank S. Cannon
Kenneth H. Thomas, Jr.
Columbine Genealogical and Historical Society
Montgomery County Genealogical and Historical Society, Inc.
1987not awarded
1986Robert A. Cunning
Mary Jane Henney
Michael B. Clegg
Carolyn B. Lewis
William R. M. Houston
Robert Scott Davis, Jr.
W. Louis Phillips
Anita Cheek Miller
Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society
Library of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
1985Raymond B. Clark, Jr.
Vivian Luther-Schafer
Norman R. Peters
Paul A. Andereck
L.W. Anerson Genealogical Library
Mary Margaret Davis
Elaine Justesen
Grahame T. Smallwood, Jr.
Carlton M. Smith

The Shirley Langdon Wilcox Award for Exemplary Volunteerism

To recognize a volunteer whose generosity of spirit and time has greatly benefited the National Genealogical Society and the genealogical community in general over a period of years. The recipient must be a member of NGS. Wilcox Nomination Form (Online) >

Filby Award for Genealogical Librarianship

Sponsored by FamilySearch, this award honors an outstanding librarian whose primary focus is genealogy and local history. See list of Filby Award recipients.

Filby Nomination Form (Online)>

Genealogical Tourism Award

Recognizes an individual’s or an organization’s efforts to communicate the importance of repositories–libraries, archives, and research sites–as “go to” destinations to fully advance family history research.

Tourism Nomination Form (Online) >

The following awards are nominated and decided by the Awards Committee, the NGS President and Board of Directors, and/or the NGS Family History Conference chairs. Applications not accepted.

Conference Awards

Recognizes sustained service by a member organization in support of an NGS Family History Conference. They also acknowledge and express appreciation for the hard work of individual conference chairs.

President’s Citation

Awarded at the discretion of the Society’s president to recognize and acknowledge particular, dedicated efforts on behalf of NGS.