Tazewell County Photo of the Month

Tree Branch & Tangled Roots Workshop
Participants Win Awards!

The Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) has awarded a Community Service award October 19 at their fall conference in Springfield to TCGHS member June Stoner. Their announcement read as follows:

    "June Stoner has been nominated for the Community Service Award by the Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society (TCGHS). She is the coordinator for their Tree Branch Workshop. This workshop is geared for 5th graders and a grandparent. They are selected by their school to attend. The workshop is four hours long with a costumed speaker on how to start your family tree. Each pair is given a set of questions related to the times their parents and grandparents were born. Thus, they get to use many of the sources in the TCGHS library.
    Using the objectives from the Tree Branch Workshop, the society and June were approved by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to have a three hour workshop for school teachers to apply toward their required 120 hours of professional development. [Over twenty teachers attended the first Tangled Roots Workshop in September].
   Under June's leadership, in summer 2002, TCGHS held a one day, six hour, intergenerational workshop/program entitled Glimpses of the Past. This was held in a park near their Research Center. Again, the focus will be toward the youth of the community. Present day youth are the future for TCGHS [and most other genealogical societies]."

Prospector June Stoner

"Digging for Family Tree Treasures"

Betty Conway
"Lady from the Past"

Betty Conway portrays a costumed "Lady from the Past" during our workshops. Dressed in historical costume, she introduces our young participants to how life was back in the 1800's. She was recently awarded the Joan (pronounced "Jo Ann") Wood Award for her depiction.

The Joan Wood Award is presented to a person who has made significant contributions toward intergenerational activities. The award is presented by the Pekin Intergenerational Network (PIN), which originated when Joan Wood worked at the Pekin Public Library. One of PIN's recent activities involved students raking leaves for senior citizens, then enjoying a time of cookies and conversation together.

Betty is only the second person outside of the organization to receive the award.

Congratulations June & Betty!!

If you have a Tazewell County
photo, letter, or document
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