A Message from the NGS President

The Executive Director Search Committee and the Board of Directors join me in welcoming Wendy Herr as the new NGS Executive Director. Ms. Herr joined us on October 1st—and ushered in a new era of leadership here at the National Genealogical Society.

Wendy Herr is an extremely experienced and articulate association executive. She has more than twenty years of progressively responsible association management experience. For the last three years, Ms. Herr has headed her own association management consulting firm, specializing in assisting smaller associations with every aspect of their management activities, from strategic initiatives and member recruitment to fund raising and financial turn-arounds.

In her previous association experiences, Ms. Herr has been involved with property management, strategic planning, partnership development, fundraising and grant writing, as well as program and product development and delivery. She has written extensively and edited a number of publications, both publicity pieces as well as informational items for societies' memberships. She has also testified on Capitol Hill and is familiar with the details involved in general advocacy as well as legislative advocacy.

Ms. Herr possesses a tremendous amount of financial ability and savvy including more than seven years of experience as the chief financial officer and chief operations officer of a private, non-profit, community behavioral health provider based in Pennsylvania. She is very familiar with budgeting processes, writing grants, and building non-dues revenue sources. Her work with Price Waterhouse Coopers in Washington, D.C. from 1997 to 1999 provides her with a strong accounting background.

Ms. Herr has demonstrated abilities in working with many of the types of programs the National Genealogical Society offers. From online retailing to human resource management, from seminar and workshop planning to annual conference staging and execution, she brings much experience and fresh ideas to our important programs.

I know you will find Ms. Herr as interesting, competent, and pleasant to work with as I have. She is a people-oriented person and finds instilling that energy and enthusiasm for the customer service a keystone piece of her management style. In addition, she enjoys doing genealogical research and has a deep appreciation for the work it involves as well as the delight it brings! Please join me in welcoming her to the National Genealogical Society. It is great to have her on board!

Curt B. Witcher
President, National Genealogical Society
Manager, Historical Genealogy Department
Allen County Public Library
P. O. Box 2270, 900 Webster Street
Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
CWitcher@ACPL.Lib.in.us
260-421-1226
Fax: 260-422-9688

The following was written by Wendy Herr, the new NGS Executive Director:

A Message from the Executive Director

On 1 October 2002, I had the great honor of taking over the Executive Director position at the NGS. I look forward to meeting the membership and welcome the opportunity to hear your views on issues facing genealogists today. One of my plans is to sponsor events at Glebe House, a beautiful historic building where NGS is housed, where I can meet as many volunteers as possible. As a diehard tea drinker, I was thinking of sponsoring "High Teas" on occasion, and also using the lovely silver punch bowl that was so generously donated several years ago.

By way of background, I wanted you to know that I have been a professional association executive for nearly twenty years, and prior to that was a chief financial officer in a healthcare organization. My undergraduate degree was from Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia, and my Master in Public Administration is from the Pennsylvania State University. In recent years I have headed my own firm specializing in association management consulting and non-profit financial management.

I've always been interested in genealogy. My early appreciation for the field came from a very determined mother that shared her love of the search, as well as an appreciation for the historical heritage of her family with me. I look forward to combining my fondness for genealogy with my professional expertise in fostering and managing a value-driven, thriving society with a growing number of members. I welcome your support as NGS enters the Second Century of service with new and exciting projects and programs!

Wendy W. Herr, Executive Director NGS
herr@ngsgenealogy.org

Comment: It is great to hear of Wendy Herr’s appointment. I suspect she will be a great asset to NGS.

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