Paula Stewart-Warren, a member of the Board of Directors of Federation of Genealogical Studies (FGS), presented the award, which is presented to an individual or an organization, in recognition of exemplary and outstanding service to FGS or to a member society. Louise was nominated by the SCGS Board of Directors.
Since her first days as a member, Louise Calaway has shown unwavering commitment, enthusiasm, determination and dedication to the growth and success of SCGS. She has been a driving force in the Society’s achievements and essential to SCGS' transition to a 21st century digital society.
Early in her tenure at SCGS, Louise created an Access-based catalog to manage the Society's 40,000+ volume collection. Her system remained in use until 2012, when the catalog was converted to a commercial library program.
She led the production of several index publications for sale, including the Los Angeles County Naturalizations Index (3 volumes), Declarations of Intent (4 volumes), and Los Angeles County Marriages (15 volumes). She chose the record sets, did the data entry and oversaw the proofreading.
Louise has championed the 1890 Project to reconstruct the 1890 Federal Census for Los Angeles County. Some Project records are already available on the website, and SCGS will eventually release hundreds of thousands more Southern California records from the 1850s through the early 1900s. She is a tireless advocate for record preservation, and she personally funded and managed the digitization of several record sets. The 1890 Project forms the core of SCGS' digital future -- a future that would not exist without Louise’s persistence.
Since 2006, she has served as Registrar for the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree. She created an Access database to manage registrations, does the data entry, maintains the Committee's financial records, handles onsite registration, and even prints the name tags.
In her role as Treasurer, Louise applies her professional knowledge as a CPA to ensure that SCGS remains in compliance and in good financial health. She has served several terms on the Board of Directors and is a member of the Finance Committee.
All of these efforts, as well as many mundane day-to-day contributions, have been crucial to the success of the Southern California Genealogical Society. But they pale in comparison to the cheer leading, support and encouragement that Louise provides to others. She's the epitome of "a volunteer you can count on."
We are indeed very fortunate to have Louise as part of the leadership team of Jamboree and the Southern California Genealogical Society. If you're at Jamboree, stop by the registration kiosk and congratulate her for many years of devoted service to SCGS!
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