– Committee Chair: Mary Ostiguy
Occasionally RIGS recognizes members or non-member Rhode Island residents who
have made a significant contribution to the genealogical community. Mary Ostiguy and Sally Hilton recommend various people for these awards. Hospitality Committee
– Committee Chair: Sally Hilton
Sally Hilton, Mary Ostiguy, Geri Clarke, Mary Jean Johnson, and Rachel Pierce bake and serve morning refreshments for our RIGS meetings. When RIGS hosts all-day meetings,
they provide a light lunch. All of these committee members have been interested in genealogy for over thirty years.
Library Committee – Committee Chair: Priscilla "Pat" Chappell
Pat Chappell, Helen Smith, Andrew Boisvert, Marie McShane, and Deby Nunes seek out, organize, track, and catalog various books and publications purchased or donated for the use of our membership and
other researchers. Our main collection is housed at the Greenville Public Library, Greenville, RI. The committee is currently working to increase the research holdings at both the Portsmouth Public Library
and the West Warwick Public Library.
Membership Committee – Committee Chair: Shellee Morehead
Nominating Committee - Committee Chair: Sally Hilton
Sally Hilton and
Pat Chappell are active on several committees but also have the annual responsibility of finding and nominating candidates for the RIGS Board of Directors.
Publications
– Committee Chair: John E. Sterling
Robert Allen Green, John E. Sterling, and Cherry Fletcher Bamberg oversee the process of publishing RIGS-sponsored books. Robert was one of the founding members of
RIGS and over the years has mentored many Rhode Island genealogists. John Sterling, the dean of Rhode Island gravestone studies, created the Rhode Island Historic Cemetery Database Project which has now
collected burial information on over 425,000 gravesites and greatly increased the number of registered cemeteries since 1991. Working with a variety of co-authors, John has written books on the historic
cemeteries in Exeter, Warwick, Coventry, Providence, and South Kingstown. He is a former co-editor of Rhode Island Roots.
Reception Committee - Committee Chair: Pat Chappell
Pat Chappell is the friendly face that meets and greets RIGS workshop attendees. Her long time interest in genealogy has taken her over the "pond" to France several times.
Rhode Island Roots – Committee Chair: Cherry Fletcher Bamberg
Cherry, author and editor of many books and articles on Rhode Island genealogy, edits Rhode Island Roots, the journal of the Rhode
Island Genealogical Society. Many of RIGS informational brochures have been designed and developed by Cherry. Jane Fletcher Fiske is the book reviewer for Roots.
RIGS Reporter
- Committee Chair: Rachel Pierce
Our newsletter, RIGS Reporter,
is the work of Rachel Pierce. She counts on the kind assistance of members Jane Maxson, Dorothy Chase, John Stedman, and others who contribute columns and articles. Deby J. Nunes is the queries editor. A large group of members meets to collate, stamp, and mail the
Reporter under the direction of Otis Wyatt.
Technology Committee - Committee Chair: Larry Wilson
This committee of ten RIGS members explores and implements ways to use current
technology to increase and enhance services to our membership, particularly out-of-state members. Plans include webinars, email updates, membership networking, and increased website content.
Transcription Committee – Committee Chair: Tom Clarke
Tom Clarke is the one and only member of the Transcription Committee and for the past fifteen years has recorded most of the RIGS quarterly and
annual workshops. These recordings are available for purchase for RIGS members who are unable to attend specific workshops but wish to hear the various presentations.
SPECIAL PROJECTS & PROGRAMS
Cemetery Research
John Sterling, Tom Wilber, and many others have been inventorying and documenting various Rhode Island Cemeteries for many years.
Several of the books that RIGS published have been based on this research effort. A cemetery database index of their work can be found on Rootsweb and the New England Genealogical Society websites. At this
point they have completed researching over 90% of the graves found in Rhode Island.
Mentoring Program
Our volunteer mentor program in cooperation with the Rhode Island Historical
Society Library is currently on hold as we are recruiting new volunteers. Let us know if you are qualified and would like to help new researchers find information at the library on Hope Street,
Providence.
New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC) Delegates
Otis Wyatt is our RIGS delegate to NERGC. Pat Chappell has designed the full-page camera-ready ads for this
conference. The next NERGC conference will be in Manchester, NH, April 6 - 10, 2013.
