Jamboree ANNOUNCEMENT - Winners of the 2013 GENEii Family History Writing Contest

FOR RELEASE 6 June 2014
by Pam Wiedenbeck

Congratulations to the winners of the 2013 GENEii Family History Writing Contest! Many thanks to the 59 authors who collectively contributed 79 entries, making this the largest GENEii contest ever.

All of the winning submissions will be published in The Searcher during 2014 and 2015 at the editor’s discretion; the preliminary dates of publication are indicated below. The submissions will also appear on the SCGS website after they appear in The Searcher.

Category 1: submissions from 1,000 to 2,000 words
•    First Place: "Mom's Life" -- John R. Catsis, Silver City, New Mexico
•    Second Place: "First the Chicken" -- Joyce Finn, Bluffton, South Carolina
•    Third Place: "Locked Out" -- DeVonna R. Allison, Burr Oak, Michigan
•    Runner Up: "Varrone" -- Nick Sweet, Shepherd, Texas
•    Honorable Mention: "Uncle John Burleson" -- Jim McLaughlin, Kerrville, Texas
•    Honorable Mention: "Paw Prints on Combat Soldiers' Hearts" -- Robert R. Robeson, Lincoln, Nebraska
Category 2: submissions under 1,000 words
•    First Place:  "Ground Zero" -- Jerry Eckert, Vail, Arizona
•    Second Place:  "November 22" -- Evan Guilford-Blake, Stone Mountain, Georgia
•    Third Place: "Christmas Kerfluffle" -- Marla F. Jones, Yukon, Oklahoma
•    Runner Up:  "My Grandfather's Grave" -- Thomas L. Stepp, Columbia, South Carolina
•    Honorable Mention: "A Visit to New Orleans" -- Joyce Roberson, West Hills, California
•    Honorable Mention: "A Mountain Rose" -- Felicia Johnson, Ocklawaha, Florida

The Southern California Genealogical Society sponsors its annual family history writing contest to support and encourage the writing of family history, local history, and memoirs, both by genealogists and by the public at large. The first contest was held in 2000. Since then, writers from more than nine nations have submitted entries.

The contest is dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth (Beth) Maltbie Uyehara, founder of the GENEii Family History Writing Contest. Beth served as The Searcher from 2000 to 2006 and was instrumental in launching the SCGS Writers Group.

The 2014 Family History Writing Contest will be open for submissions between November 1 and December 31, 2014. For further information on this year's contest, see the SCGS website.