Award: Gary Mokotoff

Jewish genealogy's Gary Mokotoff has been honored with Honorary Life Membership by the Association of Professional Genealogists, at the Federation of Genealogical Societies' recent Philadelphia conference.

WESTMINSTER, Colo., September 9 – Members of the Association of Professional Genealogists gathered in Philadelphia on September 5th to an honor a long-time member for his professional accomplishments.

The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) named Gary Mokotoff as the second recipient of the APG Honorary Lifetime Membership Award. The award was created in 2007 to recognize significant contributions to the field of genealogy by APG members. It recognizes members whose achievement in genealogy has spanned a significant length of time. The award was presented during the association luncheon at the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Mokotoff, an author, lecturer, and leader of Jewish genealogy, has been recognized for creating an excellent body of work in the field of Jewish genealogy.

He is the author of a number of books including the award-winning Where Once We Walked, a gazetteer that provides information about 23,500 towns in Central and Eastern Europe where Jews lived before the Holocaust, How to Document Victims and Locate Survivors of the Holocaust, and Getting Started in Jewish Genealogy. He co-edited the Avotaynu Guide to Jewish Genealogy. For its publishing efforts in Jewish genealogy, his company, Avotaynu, received the “Body of Work Award” from the Association of Jewish Libraries (2004).

Mokotoff has been recognized by three major organizations for his accomplishments in genealogy. Mokotoff is also known for his application of computers to genealogy. His best known accomplishment is co-authorship of the Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex System.

The Association of Professional Genealogists (http://www.apgen.org), established in 1979, represents over 1,800 genealogists, librarians, writers, editors, historians, instructors, booksellers, publishers, and others involved in genealogy-related businesses. APG encourages genealogical excellence, ethical practice, mentoring, and education. The organization also supports the preservation and accessibility of records useful to the fields of genealogy, local, and social history. Its members represent all fifty states, Canada, and twenty-six other countries.

Congratulations, Gary!