The following was written by the Board for Certification of Genealogists:
In the 43 years of BCG's history, nearly 2,000 genealogists have earned certification, but only twelve have earned the Emeritus status that is granted to retired or semi-retired certificants who have had a long and distinguished career with BCG. Two distinguished certificants have been added to the list: Jeanne Hand Henry, CG, and Joy Reisinger, CG.
Jeanne Hand Henry, CG.
Across the four decades that Jeanne has been associated with BCG, she has been not just a genealogist, but a mentor to many. She has not merely held our credential but has held up the standards of BCG as the gold-standard for all who have worked with her on a professional, society, or family basis.
As a CG, Jeanne helped to found the Tennessee Valley Genealogical Society, which she also served as president. She has been a mainstay of the Alabama Genealogical Society, was one of the first Alabama genealogists to support the Association of Professional Genealogists, and was a charter member of its Alabama chapter. Across her career, she has guided many regional lineage societies-including Daughters of the American Revolution, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Descendants of Washington's Army at Valley Forge, and Colonial Dames of the Seventeenth Century-helping local chapters to strive for the higher standards that BCG represents. She was awarded the Jefferson Davis Medal for her research in Confederate records and the Tennessee Valley Commissioners Certificate of Appreciation for distinguished leadership and outstanding service to the community (1994).
The growth she has accomplished across her many CG renewals, is represented in the five books she has published-three genealogies and two sets of compiled records-and in the fact that her work is cited in peer-reviewed academic journals and most academic studies of freemasonry. Jeanne is considered a pioneer in the genealogical use of freemasonry records. But, more importantly, she was a pioneer in the effort to professionalize genealogy through certification.
Joy Reisinger, CG.
Joy has been an active participant in the work of the Board throughout more than a decade of service, as trustee and vice president. Among her lasting achievements is the creation of the Board's first policy manual. Beyond her role as trustee and officer, Joy has been a mentor in the broadest sense to numerous colleagues, and more specifically to a number of applicants for certification. By her actions she has fostered genealogical excellence and encouraged adherence to the Board's standards for the field.
Outside her work with the Board, Joy was the program chair for NGS in Saint Paul in 1989 and Milwaukee in 2002. She lectured at NGS conferences in San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Biloxi, St. Paul, Arlington, Portland, Baltimore, Houston, San Diego, Nashville, Valley Forge, Denver, Richmond, Providence, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh. Joy lectured for FGS conferences in Boston, Salt Lake City, Fort Wayne, Richmond, Seattle, Rochester, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Davenport, and Ontario, California. She has been a trustee and vice president of APG, her work there having been recognized with that organization's Smallwood Award. She was a founding member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild.
The National Genealogical Society awarded Joy both its Award of Merit and its Award of Distinction; the Federation of Genealogical Societies recognized her service with its Presidential Citation and Award of Merit. She was active in the Wisconsin State Genealogical Society, and published the respected quarterly, Lost in Canada? from 1974 through 1995. Joy compiled the Index to NGS and FGS Conferences and Syllabi. She lectured throughout North America at numerous state and local conferences. Joy has written articles for TAG and NGSQ and was a chapter author for ProGen. She was a lecturer at the Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research at Samford University in the summer of 2003.
Joy was instrumental in the decade-long fight to assure public access to pre-1907 vital records in Wisconsin, and was invited to attend the bill-signing session as a representative of Wisconsin's genealogical community at the state capitol.
Since its founding in 1964, the Board for Certification of Genealogists has promoted - in research, lectures, and publications - attainable, uniform standards of competence and ethics that have become generally accepted throughout the field. Its publication The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual sets forth the currently accepted standards for all areas of genealogical research.
