UGA Awards Silver Tray to Elizabeth Shown Mills

 

The Silver Tray honors “Scholarly Contributions to the field of Genealogy” and “has traditionally been given for publication efforts.”

This year's Silver Tray award was given to honor someone who has touched our field, genealogy education and standards, and publication efforts in profound ways: Elizabeth Shown Mills.

If we outlined everything that Elizabeth has accomplished in her distinguished career, we would be reading for days. The number of honors and awards she has received is astounding, and every one of them well deserved. Elizabeth is a Certified Genealogist and Certified Genealogical Lecturer, Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists, Fellow of the National Genealogical Society, and was awarded the Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association in 1990.

She is the author and editor of several books, including Evidence Explained, Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors Lecturers, and Librarians, and Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards. Her articles have appeared in the most notable genealogy publications of our time: National Genealogical Society Quarterly, The Virginia Genealogist, OnBoard, The American Genealogist, Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly, and more. And in giving this award, we should also recognize 16 years of dedicated service as the editor of National Genealogical Society Quarterly.

Even beyond traditional authorship and publishing, Elizabeth’s efforts to educate and empower our community have extended to videos, study aids, online lessons, social media engagement,  and blogging. In fact, it is these extra efforts that place Elizabeth above and beyond in our field and inspired us to honor her with this award today. It demonstrates a desire to not just teach, but to establish a conversation and lead others to new heights in meaningful and interactive ways. In teaching us about the “FAN club” she has created her own “FAN club” that spans the width and breadth of our field.

Thank you, Elizabeth, for your contributions to our field!