It was the dream of George H. Miller, a newspaper man and genealogy columnist for The Madison (Indiana) Courier, to form an organization that would meet at least once a year to share the agony and ecstasy of problems peculiar to genealogy writers.
The Council of Genealogy Columnists (CGC) was officially organized 13 May 1987 in Raleigh, North Carolina, at a meeting held in conjunction with National Genealogical Society's annual Conference in the States. At the first business meeting an executive council of CGC — the ECGC — was formed and officers were elected to serve for one year. They were: Myra Vanderpool Gormley, of Los Angeles Times Syndicate, president; and Aulena Scearce Gibson, of Lawton (Oklahoma) Morning Press, secretary. In addition to the president and secretary, the following composed the first ECGC: Regina Hines, of Ocean Springs, Mississippi; Carol Collins, of South Bend, Indiana; Nick Vine Hall, of Sydney, Australia; and Lesta Westmore, of Omaha, Nebraska.
In May 2000 the name of the organization was officially changed to the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE) to more accurately reflect the expanded role of the members of the organization.
Mission statement
To encourage high standards in genealogical journalism.
To support researchers and encourage international use of genealogy columns in researching a family's history.
To meet annually to discuss issues of mutual professional interest.
To encourage promotion of newspaper genealogy columns in areas not yet served.
2012- 2013 Officers
President: Leland Meitzler, Utah, president@isfhwe.org
1st Vice President - Membership: Vacant, 1vp@isfhwe.org
2nd Vice President - National Conference Chair: Gary M. Smith, Ohio, 2vp@isfhwe.org
Secretary: Nancy Lauer, Maryland, secretary@isfhwe.org
Treasurer: Diana Crisman Smith, Ohio, treasurer@isfhwe.org
2012- 2013 Directors
Northeast Region: Debra Braverman, New York, northeastregion@isfhwe.org
Southeast Region: Tina Sansone, Tennessee, southeastregion@isfhwe.org
Central Region: Juliana Smith, Indiana, centralregion@isfhwe.org
Great Plains Region: Cheryl Roach, Colorado, greatplainsregion@isfhwe.org
West Region: Pat Richley-Erickson, Utah, westregion@isfhwe.org
International/At Large: Elizabeth Lapointe, Canada, internationalregion@isfhwe.org
Editor: Phyllis Matthews Ziller, North Carolina, editor@isfhwe.org
Columns Proofreader: Lauren Maehrlein, New Jersey, heirlines@aol.com
Webmaster: Debby T. Horton, California, webmaster@isfhwe.org
ISFHWE-L Mailing List Moderator: Robbi Ryan, Nebraska, mailinglistmoderator@isfhwe.com
The First Executive Council of CGC [ECGC]
1987 NGS at Raleigh, NC, left to right: Regina Hines, Aulena Gibson, Carol Collins, Nick Vine Hall, Lesta Westmore and Myra Vanderpool Gormley
ISFHWE awards
Display of award-winning columns at an NGS conference.
