The Professional Achievement Award was originally established in 2007 to highlight significant contributions to the field of genealogy by APG members. In 2022, the award was renamed in honor of the long and distinguished career of Kathleen W. Hinckley, CG®, former Executive Director of APG. The prestigious award recognizes individuals with a long-term record of exemplary professional achievement and a strong commitment to individual excellence and professional integrity.
Kathleen Hinckley served as the Executive Director of APG for 27 years and as an APG board member in the 1990s. In 1984, she obtained her certification as a genealogist and played a significant role in contributing to the first edition of the BCG standards manual. Additionally, she spoke at numerous genealogical conferences, and authored several genealogical publications.
Eligibility: Members in good standing of APG for at least one year prior to nomination, with at least twenty years of professional advancement in the field of genealogy. Nominees for the Kathleen W. Hinckley Professional Achievement Award cannot be current members of the APG Board of Directors or APG contractors.
Criteria: A record of long-term exceptional professional achievement highlighted by individual excellence, ethical behavior, and a commitment to advancing and promoting the highest standards of the field through avenues such as published research, teaching, mentorship, innovative organizational leadership, writing or editing for professional publications, and/or the creation of valuable products or services.
Selection: Nominations are encouraged from individual APG members, APG Chapters and Special Interest Groups, and the APG Board of Directors. The recipient is selected from among the nominees by the APG Awards Committee with approval of the Executive Committee.
To recommend a person for this award, please complete the nomination form at https://www.apgen.org/cpages/award-nominations (available seasonally).
Past Recipients:
2023 Mary Kircher Roddy, CG®
2022 Kathleen W. Hinckley, CG®
Past Recipients of the Professional Achievement Award:
2021 Michael Ramage, JD, CG®
2020 Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG®, CGL, FASG
2019 Connie Lenzen, CG®, FNGS
2018 Marie Varrelman Melchiori, CG® (Emeritus)
2017 Elissa Scalise Powell, CG®, CGL
2016 Eileen M. O’Duill, CG®
2015 David E. Rencher, AG, CG®, FIGRS, FUGA
2014 Claire Mire Bettag, CG®
2013 Helen F. M. Leary, CG® (Emeritus), CGL, FASG, FNGS
2012 Janet Robyn Worthington, JP, NZRN, Dip. FHS, FSAG
2011 Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA
2010 Christine Rose, CG®, CGL, FASG
2009 Loretto Dennis Szucs
2008 Sandra Hargreaves Luebking
2007 Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG®, CGL