Kenny Burck Receives Griffin Yeatman Award

Wayne Coates presents the Griffin Yeatman Award to Kenny Burck

Every year Kenny Burck likes to host the end-of-the-year Board Meeting/picnic at his home. Anyone who has done anything to further the progress of HCGS during the year is welcome to attend. Kenny graciously welcomed Wayne Coates and Dave Pittinger from the Hamilton County Recorder's Office thinking that perhaps they had been invited by a Board member. Instead they were here to present Kenny with another award. Are there any awards that Kenny has not yet received?

Now Kenny can add the Griffin Yeatman Achievement Award to his collection. This award was created by the Hamilton County Recorder's Office in 1994 to recognize citizens and groups of Hamilton County who have volunteered their time and service to preserving and promoting the history of Hamilton County. The award is presented for excellence in historical preservation, research or achievement which has contributed to the preservation of buildings, sites, structures and objects pertaining to Hamilton County.

One need only look at the list of HCGS Publications to see that Kenny has been responsible for many publications that are of benefit to anyone researching genealogy in Hamilton County. In fact, if you want to thank Kenny personally, go to the link and purchase your own copy of his latest publication.

The Hamilton County Recorder's Office certainly knew what they were doing when they picked Kenny for this prestigious award. Congratulations, Kenny.

Submitted by Kathy Reed

Imagine My Delight . . .

I just got home and opened my copy of the Ohio Genealogy News for the Fall of 2012. Boy, did our Chapter ever look good!  On p. 5 there was an article entitled "OGN Wins NGS Award."  To quote the first paragraph,

For the third time, the Ohio Genealogy News has won the top honor in the National Genealogical Society's annual Newsletter Competition.  OGN took first place in the major genealogical and/or historical society category and was awarded the prize at the NGS 2012 Family History Conference in Cincinnati.  Deb Cyprych and Jennifer Hershberger, OGN co-editors for the previous five years, accepted the award on behalf of OGS.

Credit:  http://ogs.org

I turned to p. 6 and saw a mention of our own Patrica Van Skaik of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County receiving the Griffin Yeatman Award from Hamilton County Recorder Wayne Coates in July. "This award recognizes volunteers who help preserve Hamilton County history."

If that wasn't enough, Shelley Bishop who writes A Sense of Family blog and has been linked to this blog had an article published on Using Genealogy Blogs for Ohio Research (pp. 16-20).  In it she referenced our blog and referred to "University of Cincinnati's online database of Cincinnati Birth and Death Records from 1865-1912" where she found her great-grandfather and his siblings. She also referred to a post on the Great Flood of 1937 and an "update about online access to local deed indexes."

I think this speaks to the incredible contributions made by our members to not only Hamilton County genealogy but also to Ohio genealogy.  Congratulations to Jennifer Hershberger, Deb Cyprych, and Jim Dempsey for putting the Hamilton County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society on the map -- and thanks, Shelley, for the mention.

Submitted by Kathy Reed

Patricia Van Skaik Receives Griffin Yeatman Award

On Monday, June 18, Hamilton County Recorder Wayne Coates presented Patricia Van Skaik, Manager of the Genealogy & Local History Department at the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County, with the 2012 Griffin Yeatman Historical Achievement Award. From left to right are:  Kimber L. Fender, Cincinnati Public Llibrary's Eva Jane Romaine Coombe; Director Wayne Coates, Hamilton County Recorder; Patricia Van Skaik, Manger of the Library's Genealogy & Local History Department; Kenny Burke, Past-President of the Hamilton County Genealogical Society; Greg Edwards, Assistant Director -- Library Services; Paula Brehm-Heeger, Library Services Manager -- Central Region.

While working at the Library for the past 28 years, some of Van Skaik’s achievements include coordinating the annual Family History Day; developing a large collection of records on microfilm and books from courthouses and historical societies; working to digitize Cincinnati City Directories; and making grave registration cards of war veterans available.

A recognized genealogy expert who has spoken nationally and internationally, Van Skaik has served on the Board of Ohio Genealogical Society for more than 20 years. She has coordinated entry of local historical items into Newsdex, created a video archive of oral histories of 350 World War II and Korean War veterans, mounted an exhibit commemorating the 1937 flood, and developed enumeration district map overlays of the 1940 Hamilton County map. She also brought worldwide attention to the importance and preservation of the “Cincinnati Panorama of 1848.”

The Hamilton County Recorder’s Office created the Griffin Yeatman Historical Achievement Award in 1994 to recognize the citizens and groups of Hamilton County who volunteer their time and service to preserving and promoting the history of Hamilton County. The award is presented for excellence in historical preservation, research or achievement, which has contributed to the preservation of buildings, sites, structures and objects pertaining to Hamilton County’s History.

Press Release: 

CONTACT:

phyllis.hegner@cincinnatilibrary.org

513.369.4571