by Lark M. Robart
The Genealogical Society’s 2026 Annual Meeting, held on January 14, 2026, was a great success! The hybrid event brought members together both in-person and on Zoom for a review of the past year and the election of new leadership.
Meeting Highlights: Looking Back on 2025
President Molly Shannon opened the meeting by extending a heartfelt thank you to our dedicated outgoing Board members for their service:
Hazel Thornton as Vice President
Laura Chapin as Secretary
David Wade as Director-at-Large
Programs Chair Tiffani Loiacono also shared a few announcements regarding our exciting lineup of upcoming events, including two new Special Interest Groups – the Genealogy Power Hour and the Family Tree Maker SIG.
Vice President Hazel Thornton then presented the following report for 2025, which offered a comprehensive look at the society’s accomplishments over the past year.
“Hello!
I agreed to fill the Vice President role for one year, and it has been my pleasure to do so.
I am impressed with the number of volunteers who keep AGS running smoothly. I was only called upon twice to conduct board meetings in Molly’s absence, but I attended them all, voted on issues, and learned a lot about how things work behind the scenes.
My summary of 2025 comes mostly in the form of gratitude:
- Thank you to our president, Molly Shannon, for your leadership, including your physical presence at so many meetings and events. You also spearheaded the production of a video that welcomes and orients newcomers to the Genealogy Center, and to AGS. I look forward to seeing the final version when it is posted to the website.
- Thank you to Tiffani Loiacono for the MANY roles she fills, most visibly, Programs Committee Chair. The quality of monthly programs was stellar, and the fact that they are planned thru 2026 is impressive. Tiffani is also introducing two new Special Interest Groups in 2026 — a Family Tree Maker SIG and a Sunday night Genealogy Power Hour.
- Thank you to Phil Spivey and Linda Katonak for coordinating Research Days and 1-on-1 help sessions.
- Thank you to Frankie Ewing for setting up snacks for in-person meetings and parties, and for sending condolence and thank you notes when called for.
- Thank you to Shirley Atkinson who keeps track of our membership. Although the numbers ebb and flow for various reasons, we did end the year with 32 new active members. Society outreach included, but was not limited to, AGS presence at the Rio Grande Celtic Festival, the NMGS Annual Conference, and the 50th anniversary celebration of the downtown library.
- Thank you to RJ Korbach and John Schlue for keeping us on track financially. There are always issues to resolve, but the bottom line is a balanced budget.
- Thank you to Lisa Kindrick for being a wonderful library liaison. The success of the Genealogy Center relies on coordination with library staff on a number of issues throughout the year.
- Thank you to Laura Chapin for not only producing the minutes for all of our board meetings, but also for selling surplus genealogy books on eBay.
- Thank you to all the SIG leaders — Lark Robart and Marty Brady for Celtic Research, Stuart Murray for Military Research, Linda Koch for Creative Writing of Family Stories, Marty Brady for DNA and Phil Spivey for the ABCs of DNA.
- Thanks to Lark Robart for heading the Website committee search for a new webmaster, and congratulations to Claire Shuford, website designer and AGS member, for earning this paid position.
- Thank you to Laura Weber for stepping up to teach the beginning genealogy classes in October.
- And thanks to Phil Spivey for heading the Leadership Nominating Committee.”
To all the leaders of SIG meetings and Research days I’d like to say this:
If attendance sometimes seemed lower than desired, just think of all the members you DID reach by helping and by being consistently available to them!
And to all members:
I encourage you to look for ways to volunteer, and to take advantage of all the opportunities for education and participation offered by AGS. There may be more of them than you think!
- Take a look at the Member Benefits and Genealogy Resources tabs on the website if you haven’t lately.
- Check out the Calendar and register for upcoming presentations and SIG meetings.
- Join and participate in the Facebook member group (which is different from the public-facing Facebook group).
- Check your emails and newsletters for new in-person, virtual, and hybrid events.
- Submit a story or suggest a topic to Blog Editor Lark Robart.
- Sign up for a free 1-on-1 research consultation to help you break down a brick wall.
- And join a Special Interest Group, if you haven’t already.
- Oh, and don’t forget to invite your friends!
In 2026, I am looking forward to participating as a member, including joining the two new Special Interest Groups.
I’ve probably gotten something wrong today, or forgotten to mention something — or somebody — important, and for that I apologize. I trust the leadership to have captured what you considered noteworthy in your individual written reports, which I have compiled.
We’re all doing our best, and I think overall we’re all doing a great job!
Thank you.”
Following the report, Nominating Committee Chairperson Philip Spivey announced the slate of individuals on the ballot. As the slate was unopposed, a voice vote was taken, and all individuals were unanimously elected.
The formal meeting concluded with President Shannon announcing that the swearing-in of the newly elected Board members would take place at that afternoon’s board meeting.
Those who attended in person enjoyed a wonderful time catching up with fellow members and welcoming some new faces to the society.
Introducing Your New Board
We are thrilled to introduce the AGS Board for the coming term. Please join us in congratulating them:
- President: Molly Shannon
- Vice President: Stuart Murray
- Secretary: Kevin Carr
- Treasurer: RJ Korbach
- Past President: Philip Spivey
- Director at Large: Marc Davidson (serving a 2nd consecutive term)
- Director at Large: Gretchen Ward (serving a 1st consecutive term)
We are particularly excited to welcome Kevin Carr and Gretchen Ward as new members to the Board. (There will be a blog post soon that will introduce all of you to both of them.)
We look forward to another productive year under the leadership of the 2026 Board of Directors!
