If you are planning on being in D.C. during the Gen-Fed week, consider joining us for the Alumni Association evening gathering on August 16th. Reservations are required, go to https://www.gen-fed.org/home/alumni-association/banquet24/ for more information.
Our speaker will be Trevor K. Plante, Supervisory Archivist at the D.C. National Archives, who will inform us on the progress of NARA’s digitization efforts.
After reading the FAQ at https://www.gen-fed.org/advantageous-accidents-gen-fed-drawing-2024/, use this link to enter your name in the drawing, https://airtable.com/app89NTnfxcLGjVIM/shrEBtczX6ITPEa6S .
Gen-Fed will send an email to entrants after the form closes on 16 February with the Zoom link for the live drawing on Saturday, 17 February at 1:00 p.m. ET / noon CT / 11:00 a.m. MT / 10:00 a.m. PT. You do not need to attend the drawing to be awarded the registration seat. Registrants will be contacted between Saturday and Monday, 19 February with final registration materials.
We are looking forward to seeing you on Saturday!
In the excitement of creating the previous news post, and the admittedly new-to-making-Airtable-wow-this-is-fun glow, I accidentally already posted the link for entering names into the drawing for registration seats, instead of waiting to post it the week of February 10th through February 16th, 2024 as stated. So we asked ourselves, what’s the harm? We are interested to see how this advantageous accident – having the link up for longer than one week – will affect the ability of people to become aware of this unique educational experience. The link will stay up from now until the form closes at 9:00 p.m. ET on Friday, 16 February 2024. The FAQ about registration is repeated below and has been expanded.
Use this link to enter your name in the drawing, after reading the FAQ below: https://airtable.com/app89NTnfxcLGjVIM/shrEBtczX6ITPEa6S
Gen-Fed will send an email to entrants after the form closes on 16 February with the Zoom link for the live drawing on Saturday, 17 February at 1:00 p.m. ET / noon CT / 11:00 a.m. MT / 10:00 a.m. PT. You do not need to attend to be awarded the registration seat.
Q: When and where is Gen-Fed held this year?
A: The Genealogical Institute on Federal Records will be held in-person at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., from Sunday, August 4th through Saturday, August 10th, 2024.
Q: Am I ready for Gen-Fed?
A: This is an important question. Gen-Fed is a week of advanced-level courses on federal records in a complex facility. It is best to have at least intermediate to higher-intermediate level skills and education before going into this week. Try this self-evaluation test here.
Q: Why hold a drawing for registration, why can’t I just register?
A: More people want to attend Gen-Fed than we can accommodate at NARA. For that reason, we use a random selection process to even the playing field. After entries are collected, they will be entered for a random drawing to select registrants. If you are selected, you must be prepared to pay the fee, agree to policies, and attend the week of Gen-Fed.
Q: How many seats are available?
A: In 2024 we will be drawing 35 seats. This is determined by (a) the number of persons allowed in the space reserved for us at Archives I, plus (b) the number of 2023 scholarship winners or sponsored students who selected Gen-Fed as their institute of choice. Twenty additional names, above and beyond the remaining available seats, will be drawn for waitlist status for 2024 only. Those on the waitlist will be registered if people selected for the drawing need to withdraw and a seat becomes open.
Q: How will I know if I won a Gen-Fed seat?
A: Winners will be randomly drawn on Saturday, 17 February 2024 at 1:00 p.m. ET during a live session, viewable by all, via Zoom (you don’t need to be present to win).
Q: How many times can I enter?
A: Once, please. Duplicates will not be included in the drawing.
Q: When will waitlist entrants be notified that they’re “in?”
A: ASAP, if/when seats become open.
Q: Will waitlist entrants be on the list for next year?
A: No, the list starts fresh next year with a new drawing.
Q: When do I pay tuition?
A: Payment ($650) will be due, in full, upon email notification that you’ve won a seat and are officially registered.
Q: What if I’m attending on a scholarship (ex: Lackey, ASG, BCG, other sponsorship, etc.)?
A: No need to fill out the form–your seat has already been reserved.
Q: What about hotel and transportation?
A: Each student is responsible for their own transportation and board. Gen-Fed has contracted with a local hotel for a lower group rate. Go to the Registration FYI page for more.
Q: If I get a registration seat, then I have to withdraw, can I have a seat saved for next year? If not, can I get a refund?
A: No, seats are not saved for next year. The drawing starts fresh every year. Exceptions to this are on a case-by-case basis and are exceptionally rare. Gen-Fed offers a full refund less any bank fees incurred.
Q: What else should I know?
A: Students must all agree to abide by the Code of Ethics & Professional Conduct to be allowed to register. Additionally, the National Archives has COVID regulations in place, and the Gen-Fed Institute has also amended it to include their own recommendations. Read them; you must agree to the Code of Ethics and confirm that you will comply with the NARA COVID regulations as well as understand what the Institute COVID recommendations are.
Here’s to the Advantageous Accidents that may find their way into your Research!
We regret to announce that Cinda Baxter, CG, has stepped away as the Gen-Fed Assistant Director. She has given this program so much with her talents in organization, dedication, and enthusiasm. She will be missed. We now ask all to welcome our new colleague.
holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Fairfield University and attended the MBA program at Rutgers University. Prior to a move to Williamsburg, Virginia, in 2006, she was the Director of Benefits for a Fortune 500 company. Like many newcomers to the Historic Triangle region, Mary immersed herself in the unique opportunities available in the area to learn more about the people who once lived there. That information led to the discovery of the deep roots of her own family in Virginia. As a result, what had been a vague interest in family history became a passion.
A relative latecomer to genealogy, Mary has benefited greatly from the numerous offerings for genealogical education. She started with the National Genealogical Society home study course in American Genealogy, followed by the ProGen Study Group, while simultaneously attending local, state, and national conferences. In addition, since 2012 she regularly attends courses at the various institutes. In 2014 she attended the National Institute on Genealogical Research (NIGR)—renamed the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed) the following year. This concentrated genealogical education helped Mary meet her goal of becoming a board-certified genealogist. She attained the designation of Certified Genealogist® in March 2016. The research report from her portfolio is one of the sample reports on the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) website.
Members of the Virginia Genealogical Society (VGS) elected Mary to their board in 2014. During her years with VGS, she served in multiple roles including two terms as president and one as treasurer before stepping down in July 2023. She was the local society host co-chair for the 2021 and 2023 National Genealogical Society conferences. For two years beginning in July 2016, she was the co-editor of BCG’s Springboard. Mary served as a trustee for BCG from 2020–2023. She is currently the BCG ACTION list administrator.
Thank you to all those who applied for registration to the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records for 2023. Persons whose names were drawn have been notified by email that they will be able to register for the event. Additionally a waitlist of 12 people have also been notified by email; the waitlist is for this year only and will not be held over until the next registration.
If you were not able to come this time, we sincerely hope you will be able to join us in the future!
Rebecca & Cinda
Registration will be held between March 11th and 17th for the in-person session of the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed) to be held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. from August 7th through 12th, 2023.
Applications for available seats will be collected via a registration link to be posted on March 11th at 9:00 am ET, and taken down on March 17th at 9:00 pm ET. The live drawing will be conducted on March 18th at 1:00 pm ET for the limited number of seats and a link to the drawing will be posted here.
Students who held reserved seats from the 2020 cancellation have been notified and their seats confirmed.
For program information and costs, go to our page at https://www.gen-fed.org/home/what-to-know/. Questions may be sent to info@gen-fed.org. Note that there will be no waiting list collected for 2024.
Good luck, and we hope to see you in Washington, D.C.!
2023 Richard S. Lackey Memorial Scholarship Application
Genealogical Institute on Federal Records Alumni Association
The Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed) Alumni Association is sponsoring the Richard S. Lackey Scholarship. The Gen-Fed Alumni Association’s purpose is to promote, conduct, and foster education, research, study, and analysis related to genealogy and to disseminate information and support other similar undertakings.
Richard S. Lackey (1921–1983) of Mississippi was a leader in the drive to improve the professionalization of the genealogical community. In addition to lecturing and teaching, he was an author/compiler of standards for genealogical writing, and of Mississippi source material. His work exemplified the highest standards of competent research and scholarly citation of sources. His books Cite Your Sources: A Manual for Documenting Family Histories and Genealogical Records (1980) and Write it Right (1983), co-authored with Donald R. Barnes, promote proper documentation of sources within family histories and genealogical papers. At the time of his death, Richard was President of the Board for Certification of Genealogists.
The scholarship is awarded annually to an experienced researcher active in a paid or volunteer position which directly benefits the genealogical community. This year the scholarship will award $1000, which covers full tuition for the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed), and partly defrays hotel and/or meal costs. Provided the public health situation allows it, the Gen-Fed Alumni Association will also provide dinner at the Gen-Fed Alumni Banquet on Friday night, August 11, 2023, where a check for the amount less tuition will be presented to the recipient.
Susan Schuler, the 2022 scholarship recipient, says, “Attending Gen-Fed 2022 through the Lackey Scholarship was monumental for my genealogical education. The opportunity to learn from some of the most knowledgeable and generous professionals in genealogy bolstered my own knowledge and confidence. This has allowed me to grow and develop the genealogy program at East Lake Community Library in Palm Harbor, Florida, and in turn has benefited our patrons and their research.”
For more information about the Institute, visit www.gen-fed.org. The application can be downloaded from the Scholarships page. All applications and additional attachments must be submitted in PDF format, combined in one file.
The completed application form and attachments should be emailed to Jonathan Deiss at jdeiss@soldiersource.com with “Lackey Scholarship 2023” in the subject line. The PDF file name should include your last name and first initial, such as “DoeJ Lackey Scholarship 2023 Application.” A complete application must be received by midnight (EST) January 31, 2023. The winner will be notified by 1 March 2023. Other applicants will be notified shortly after that date. The scholarship winner will automatically be accepted for the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records to be held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., from August 7-12, 2023.
Good luck!
WE ARE BACK!!
We are delighted to announce that the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records will hold its next session in person at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. from August 7th through 12th, 2023.
Registration will be held between March 11th and 17th. Prospective students may submit an application for a seat, and a live drawing will be conducted on March 18th for the limited number of seats.
Students who held reserved seats from the 2019 cancellation have been notified and should contact the office at info@gen-fed.org to confirm their seat for 2023; a seat will not be held for them past 2023.
Thanks to all at NARA who have worked so hard to make this in person institute possible and for all their support in the last two years of virtual institutes!
Application information for registration will be posted at the beginning of March 2023.
Guess Where I Was Yesterday?
I was lucky enough to have my first appointment for my own research in person at NARA in D.C. It is a two-hour trip for me, each way, and I do not mind at all. The staff was amazing and well organized. (Kudos for finding that missing Mexican War pension, Catherine!)
Although unplanned, I had an opportunity to meet yesterday with the gentlemen who liaison with our program at NARA. I did not have a chance to discuss all this with my Assistant Director, Cinda Baxter before the last chance meeting came up. The critical information came at the close of the Archives yesterday evening when I met with the head of the archival staff, and was told officially that NARA will definitely not be able to handle a group our size by August. Just can’t happen. We have no option for being in-person. Gen-Fed will officially be virtual this year.
Now the good news: Last year I took a poll of the instructors and asked that, if we had another virtual session, would they be willing to add students to the list? The response was overwhelmingly positive. I took a brief testing-the-waters poll of a few instructors yesterday and the feeling was the same. I am now announcing that we will take 60 students now instead of 50! I will be contacting those people on the waitlist shortly.
After lengthy discussion while on my long ride home, Cinda and I felt that rather than wait until the end of April to decide, we should announce now. We know people need time to make other arrangements if they need to switch gears. Those students who were on the waitlist from 2019 who want to be put back on the waitlist for an in-person session can email us at info@gen-fed.org.
Thank you so much for your patience as we navigate these still uncertain times. We are excited and gearing up for a strong virtual session. Staff members have already started volunteering to help me pull records for the promised 2 per person after the institute!
Following a successful first institute thanks in great deal to her wonderful talents, Darcie Hind Posz, CG®, will step down as Assistant Director to Gen-Fed. We want to express our sincere and deep appreciation for Darcie and support her decisions moving forward.
Having met today, the Board of the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed) and Director, Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG®, CGLSM, are pleased to announce that Cinda Baxter, CG®, will serve as the newest Assistant Director of the institute, effective immediately.
As a Minneapolis-based genealogist, Cinda Baxter, CG, earned board certification in 2019, and has been an avid proponent of continuing genealogical education since attending her first institute—Gen-Fed—in 2017.
She is a Boston University Genealogical Research Certificate alumnus (OL25) and has served as a Course Facilitator for both the BU Certificate and BU Principles courses; an alumnus of ProGen 38 and Mentor for ProGen 53; Website Coordinator for the Board for Certification of Genealogists® (BCG); and was Virtual Technical Coordinator for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG 2021 and SLIG Academy for Professionals 2021). She is currently engaged in post-graduate study at the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, Scotland) for Genealogical, Palaeographic, and Heraldic Studies, and midway through the process of earning accreditation through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen), specializing in Scotland research.
Of her experience with this institute Cinda stated, “Beyond the one-of-a-kind education provided by Gen-Fed, that week served as an introduction to a broad spectrum of peers who were as excited about research as me. The freedom with which they shared their ideas, advice, laughter, enthusiasm, and (much deeper) experience was the noodge I needed to make a massive—and never regretted—career change.”
Her passions beyond the genealogical realm include technology, fountain pens and lovely inks, growing African violets and streptocarpus, sourdough bread baking, knitting, and—of course—a wee dram of lightly peated Scottish whisky with a nibble of dark chocolate on the side.
Welcome, Cinda, Gen-Fed is in good hands with you in its future!