Lolita Guthrie Honored at National Genealogy Conference

Mansfield, Ohio (1 September 2006)--Lolita Thayer Guthrie, of Bowling Green, Ohio, has received the Ruth C. Bishop Family History Living Volunteer Hall of Honor Award from the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) at its annual conference in Boston, August 30-September 2. She was nominated for the award by the Ohio Genealogical Society, headquartered in Mansfield, Ohio.

FGS is the national umbrella organization for genealogical societies throughout the United States of America. The Ohio Genealogical Society is a member society of FGS. The Ruth Bishop award is granted annually by FGS in recognition of outstanding volunteerism in genealogy and family history.

In nominating Lolita for this prestigious honor, the OGS said, "Lolita is one of the most active septuagenarians that we know. Her interest in genealogical research and cemetery preservation has occupied most of her adult life."

Lolita is a former trustee of OGS and long-time chairperson of its Cemetery Committee. Under her leadership, the Cemetery Committee completely overhauled the information in two previous OGS cemetery books and in 2003 published Ohio Cemeteries: 1803-2003 with information on over 14,600 cemeteries and burial sites throughout Ohio.

In April, 2006, OGS honored Lolita by naming her an OGS Fellow at its annual conference. The Fellow of The Ohio Genealogical Society Award is given to an individual who has provided valuable service to the Society and to the field of genealogy over and above the job to which they were elected or appointed through volunteer work, special projects, or their expertise or skill in accomplishing a goal for the Society.

She and her family have been major contributors to OGS's new building campaign.

Lolita has served as President of the Wood County Chapter of OGS and its Projects Coordinator. Working closely with the chapter newsletter editor, she proofreads every edition. Through her efforts, a Living History Project co-sponsored by the Chapter and the City of Bowling Green was presented last summer in Oak Grove Cemetery. She was also instrumental in setting up a Library Trust Fund at the Wood County Public Library, with the interest from the fund being used to purchase genealogical materials for the Library.

Over the years, she has "pushed" the Wood County OGS chapter to:

• Read and publish every cemetery in Wood County.
• Coordinate with the township trustees regarding cemeteries, as well as township records.
• Publish over 30 books, with Lolita donating countless hours at home and on weekends to get those publications ready to send to the printer.
• Start a high school volunteer program using high school students as volunteers for the Chapter.
• Develop information on all the one-room schools in Wood County.
• Develop information on church records in Wood County.

The Ohio Genealogical Society is the largest state genealogical society in the nation, with over 6,000 members in 94 chapters around the state and elsewhere in the U.S. It publishes the OGS Quarterly, OGS Genealogy News, Ohio Records & Pioneer Families, and Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal.

For more information, contact OGS at (419) 756-7294 or ogs@ogs.org.