A Big Thank You

It is with great gratitude that we note the end of Luana Darby’s 2 year service as president of the Utah Genealogical Association. Luana had been the source of wonderful renewal for the organization and an unending fount of energy and enthusiasm.

The list of accomplishments through Luana’s presidency is large. While she has been president, the organization has completed a new website and new social networking communication avenues including a stronger newsletter system, facebook, twitter, blog. Luana has personally contributed to better organization including a renewed committee structure and books for each committee chair to begin passing down the institutional knowledge that will sustain UGA in the future. And in this last year, she has presided over the purchase of a new virtual meeting system that will not only make the organization run more smoothly, but also has facilitated the development of our new Virtual Chapter, and the UGA Online Training and Tutorial Library. While Luana was in office, our journal Crossroads has been revamped and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy has remained one of the premiere sources of genealogy training in the country. And probably the biggest accomplishment of her presidency was the immensely successful hosting of the National Genealogical Society Conference which showed off Utah’s assets to the genealogy community at large, strengthened UGA’s status in the genealogy community and set UGA on a strong footing for future development.

Very few will know of the tireless hours that Luana has put in making sure that everything in this volunteer organization runs smoothly. Even while keeping genealogy clients happy, and earning her Master’s degree in Library Science, and taking care of her family, she has dedicated untold amounts of time to the success of UGA. We will miss Luana’s dedication and her cheerful can-do attitude. Thank you Luana for everything you have done to strengthen the Utah Genealogical Association and Utah’s genealogical community.