In some ways, GANS is an old-fashioned organization. Many charitable organizations now are staff-centred: the operational work is done by staff, project plans and programs are designed by staff, and the staff director has an appointment to the Board of Directors. GANS is old-fashioned in that it is both volunteer-led and volunteer-run. As a result, while members – now some 700 in total – are the foundation of our organization, our volunteers are also a vital and independent constituency.The Annual Dinner is an important fund-raiser for GANS, and the Annual Lecture, which we look forward to tonight, is the central educational opportunity of the year, but this event is also a chance to recognize the vital role of our volunteers, many of whom are here tonight.
We acknowledge the dedication of all our volunteers for the work they do, and issued a Certificate of Appreciation to the volunteers here present. Last year, we also started a tradition of acknowledging work which has gone above and beyond the norm, with an Award for “Volunteer of the Year”.
It is my honour to single out two people this year who almost single-handedly initiated, organized, and delivered our first virtual conference last spring with 225 registrants and two days of bliss. This year’s award, therefore, goes to Nathaniel Smith and Neal Cody. While they are two Nova Scotia boys, they both now live in Edmonton, Alberta. Here to accept the awards on their behalf are their mothers, Linda Smith and Donalda Cody. Please come forward, ladies.
Although the virtual conference was an unprecedented event for us, there was lots of precedence which played a role in making the event work. Both Nat and Neal have been long-time members of GANS, more than ten years each. In addition, they built a relationship with the leadership of GANS with other volunteer efforts: each of them are serious genealogists in their own right, and have written research articles for our journal, the Nova Scotia Genealogist, and one of them, Nat Smith, was on the Board of Directors for several years when he lived in Nova Scotia. By some stroke of good fortune, they both live in the same city now in fairly close proximity, and were, therefore, able to meet easily to work out the details. Lastly, they have considerable experience in their work lives at managing complex projects. All of these factors played a role in producing a conference that met the highest standards of educational delivery and communication, with almost flawless management of time and technology. We are deeply in their debt.
It is with great pleasure, therefore, that I award each of them with the titles of “Volunteer of the Year”and provide these certificates and a small gift to recognize their achievement.