IAJGS Lifetime Achievement Award 2016: Ron Doctor
In recognition of his lifetime of service to Jewish genealogy through his leadership as president of the JGS of Oregon and the Kremenets District Group as well as Ukraine SIG leader and service on IAJGS committees. He has worked tirelessly to elevate and enhance the Ukraine Special Interest Group and has energized scores of volunteers, nurtured the formation of numerous town research groups, made hundreds of thousands of vital records accessible and provided online availability of Ukrainian information available through an agreement with the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP) in Jerusalem. So many individuals are indebted to Ron for his help in discovering their ancestors.
IAJGS Outstanding Project/Resource/Program Award 2016: Schelly Talalay Dardashti
In recognition of Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog and Facebook website. These electronic media resources have become a mainstay of Jewish genealogy information and education on the web, leading the way in the medium, pointing out new resources, popularizing less known ones and keeping us informed of IAJGS conference proceedings and news, as well as other essential Jewish genealogy news.
IAJGS Outstanding Project/Resource/Program Award 2016: Lance Ackerfeld
In recognition of being the coordinator of the JewishGen Yizkor Books Project for the past 17 years and for the last seven years as Yizkor Book Project Manager, utilizing his skills in software development and database programming, and allocating and coordinating the work of translating and editing these books. These books are a vital component for genealogists and historians to learn about so many lost Jewish communities. Today there are around 800 books in the project and many are being translated and/or edited and regularly updated. One can tell from Lance’s regular monthly updates on the JewishGen forum how much work is being done and in such a highly professional manner.
IAJGS Outstanding Publication 2016: JGSLI Publication: Jewish Community of Long Island
In recognition of JGS of Long Island’s photographic history of the Jewish Community of Long Island in the Images of America series of books. Taking the reader from the 1800s through to the present, the gorgeous series of photographs with well researched captions captures the ebb and flow of the community from growth through to decline and even the severe challenges of prejudice in the era of the KKK and American Nazi party. This is a classic publication that is sure to spur greater research of the Jewish communities of Long Island.
IAJGS Member of the Year 2016: JGS of Long Island
In recognition of the society’s numerous successful efforts in a variety of areas, gaining a reputation for an active board and membership that is willing to try new ideas to promote and educate those interested in Jewish genealogical research. This includes innovative resources and tools (including their YouTube channel) nontraditional, creative programming, development of databases and use of electronic media such as JGSLI Online and Lineage, a redesign of its website and its recent publication, the Jewish Community of Long Island.
IAJGS Volunteer of the Year 2016: Marelynn Zipser
In recognition of her knowledge of Hungarian genealogy and her accomplishment transcribing all the Jewish vital records from Pozsony, now Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. She has now transcribed close to 150,000 records that comprise more than 14 percent of a very large multi-source database. She has worked on numerous other towns and has proofed many of the most difficult records the Hungarian SIG has encountered. In total, she has transcribed over 65,000 vital records and an equal amount of census records. She sets the highest standard for contributing to Jewish genealogical research.
