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Philly Conference Press Release - Elected Officers Print E-mail
2009-09-15

From Opening with Catholic Priest to Closing with Former Catholic Comedian, Conference on Jewish Genealogy Deemed Successful
Awards and Grants also Presented During Conference
 
PHILADELPHIA, PA – The 29th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, held in Philadelphia in August, brought together nearly 1,000 attendees, making it the largest such conference since it was held in New York City – undeniably the center of Jewish life in the U.S. – in 2006. The conference was co-hosted by the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) and the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Philadelphia (JGSGP).
 
More importantly, according to conference co-chair David Mink, "It brought together an incredibly diverse group of both presenters and registrants from around the world." The conference started with an emotional keynote speech by Father Patrick DeBois and closed with a banquet featuring s tand-up comedian Yisrael Campbell, a former Catholic. In between, there were seminars, computer workshops, special interest group luncheons, tours, a Jewish film festival and a number of networking opportunities, all focused on bringing together people from around the world seeking to share information and learn research techniques for discovering their Jewish ancestors.
 
"A tremendous amount of work goes into producing a conference of this scope," said Mink. "I wish there were a more adequate way to thank the contributors, the local community, the volunteers, the Jewish Genealogical Society of Philadelphia and the IAJGS for making it so successful."
 
A number of awards were bestowed during the conference:

    * A $2,500 2009 Stern Grant to Shamir of Latvia for producing a guide to Jewish materials stored in the Latvian State Historical Archive.
    * The IAJGS Lifetime Achievement Award to Joyce Field in recognition of her tireless efforts to create and manage significant JewishGen genealogical projects including Yizkor Books, Holocaust Database and the Burial Registry.
    * Award for Outstanding Contribution to Jewish Genealogy via the Internet, Print or Electronic Product, to Harry D. Boonin for his two books about the history of the Philadelphia Jewish community ("A History and Guide 1881-1930" and "The Life and Times of Congregation Kesher Is rael.").
    * Outstanding Program or Project Award to the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston for creating and teaching an innovative 17-hour course at Hebrew College that moves students from the basics to finding ancestral records in Europe.
    * Outstanding Publication Award to Jewish Genealogical Society, Inc., for its publication, Dorot, which has provided informative, original articles and provided information about local activities to the Jewish genealogical community for 30 years.

In addition, the Society elected the following officers for 2009-2011:

    * President: Michael Goldstein of Jerusalem, Israel
    * Vice President: Michael Brenner of Las Vegas, NV
    * Secretary: Joel Spector of Cherry Hill, NJ
    * Treasurer: Paul Silverstone of New York, NY
    * Immediate Past President: Anne Feder Lee of Honolulu, HI
    * Directors with terms expiring in 2010:
    * Jan Meisles Allen of Agoura Hills, CA
    * Daniel Horowitz of Kfar Saba, Israel
    * Bill Israel of St. Petersburg, FL
    * Kahlile Mehr of Bountiful, UT
    * Jackye Sullins of Carlsbad, CA

For information about the IAJGS and the 2010 Conference to be held July 11-16 in Los Angeles, CA, visit www.iajgs.org.
For statistics about the 2009 Conference, please see the sidebar, below.
 

The 2009 IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy by the Numbers:

    * Nearly 1,000 registrants.
    * At least 378 were "first-timers" to the annual Conference – a new record.
    * Just over 100 participants in tours of historic Jewish sites and cemeteries in and around Philadelphia.
    * Nearly 250 attendees at Breakfasts with the Experts.
    * 511 attendees for Special Interest Group Luncheons.
    * 290 attendees for computer workshops.
    * 75 attendees at the welcome dinner.
    * 300 attendees at the closing banquet.

David Mink
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