The Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed) Alumni Association is pleased to announce the Richard S. Lackey Scholarship to support attendance at Gen-Fed in 2019. The Alumni Association, whose purpose is to promote, conduct, and foster genealogical education, research, study, and analysis, began offering the scholarship in 1984.
Richard S. Lackey (1921-1983) of Mississippi, for whom the scholarship is named, led efforts to professionalize the pursuit of genealogy. In addition to lecturing and teaching, he was an author/compiler of genealogical writing standards and Mississippi source material. His work exemplifies the highest standards of competent research and scholarly citation of sources. His books Cite Your Sources: A Manual for Documenting Family Histories and Genealogical Records (1980) and Write it Right (1983), co-authored with Donald R. Barnes, promote proper documentation of sources in family histories and genealogical papers. At the time of his death, Richard was President of the Board for Certification of Genealogists.
The scholarship is awarded annually to an experienced researcher active in a paid or volunteer position that directly benefits the genealogical community. This year the scholarship will award $600, which covers full tuition for the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed), and partly defrays hotel and/or meal costs. The Gen-Fed Alumni Association will also provide dinner at the Gen-Fed Alumni Banquet on Friday evening, 2 Aug 2019, where a check for the amount less tuition will be presented to the recipient.
The 2018 Lackey Scholarship recipient, Linda MacIver of Boston, said, “Personally for me, this [Gen-Fed Institute] week would not have been possible without the Alumni Association members, who continue to support the Richard S. Lackey Scholarship…. I love teaching [genealogy] beginners! It is so wonderful to watch the faces when they find that first special piece of research and they are ‘hooked!’…. Yes, we can help to change lives…so go out there and start doing it!”
For more information about the Institute, visit www.gen-fed.org. The application can be downloaded from the Scholarships page.
All applications and additional attachments must be submitted in PDF format, combined in one file. The completed application form and attachments should be emailed to Gary Zizka at gmzizka@gmail.com with “Lackey Scholarship 2019” in the subject line. The PDF file name should include your last name and first initial, such as “ZizkaG Lackey Scholarship 2019 Application.”
A complete application must be received by midnight (EST), 31 December 2018. The winner will be notified by 15 February 2019. Other applicants will be notified shortly after that date. The scholarship winner will automatically be registered for the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records to be held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., from 29 July – 2 Aug 2019.