The National Genealogical Society (NGS) presented several awards in conjunction with the Society's 2026 Family History Conference, America at 250. Judy Nimer Muhn, chair of the NGS Awards Committee, presented the Filby Award for Genealogical Librarianship, the NGS Newsletter Competition winners, the Genealogical Tourism Award, and the winners of the Rubincam Youth Writing Competition.
Filby Award for Genealogical Librarianship
Chuck Sherrill is this year's recipient. He served as state librarian and archivist of Tennessee for twelve years until his retirement in 2022. Previously, he was the director of the public library at the City of Brentwood, Tennessee; head of the research section of the Tennessee State Library and Archives; director of the Cleveland (Tennessee) Public Library; and head reference librarian at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio. He was also an adjunct faculty member at Jackson State Community College. Sherrill continues to research, speak on history and genealogy topics, and work part-time processing manuscripts and completing special projects at the Tennessee State Archives. He authored more than twenty books on Tennessee history and genealogy and currently is editor of the Middle Tennessee Journal of History and Genealogy.
Created in 1999, NGS named the award for the late P. William Filby, former director of the Maryland Historical Society and the author of many genealogical reference tools that genealogists have relied on for decades. It is presented annually at the NGS Family History Conference. This year's award is sponsored by FamilySearch, sharing its commitment to empowering researchers and libraries around the world.
NGS Newsletter Competition
The winners of the 2026 NGS Newsletter Competition, honoring excellence in newsletter editorship by genealogical/historical societies, family associations, and related member organizations in two categories, are:
Newsletter for a Small Society with less than 500 members
Winner: Goffs/Goughs: Their Ancestors and Descendants, Goff-Gough Family Association, Rancho Cucamonga, California
Editor Robin Jacobi
Newsletter for a Large Society with more than 500 members
Winner: The Tracer, Hamilton County Genealogical
Society, Cincinnati, Ohio
Editor Eileen Muccino
Genealogical Tourism Award
The 2026 winner of the Genealogical Tourism Award is Friends of Roots. The San Francisco-based nonprofit organization was established in 1991 and administers The Roots: Him Mark Lai Family History Project for people with roots in Guangdong Province, China. Some ninety percent of past Chinese immigrants came from Guangdong Province. More than 600 participants have explored their Chinese American family history and visited over 500 ancestral villages and other historical and cultural sites in China. The program also offers a series of seminars on China's history and geography as well as the Chinese American community. Other activities include a tour of San Francisco's Chinatown, research at the National Archives, and a tour of the Angel Island Immigration Station. Friends of Roots exemplifies how individuals or organizations can open the world of family history and genealogical repositories to others.
Rubincam Youth Writing Competition
The Rubincam Youth Writing Competition was established in 1986 to encourage and recognize our youth as the next generation of family historians. It honors Milton Rubincam, CG, FASG, FNGS, for his many years of service to NGS and to the field of genealogy.
Junior Rubincam Youth Award
Winner: Lizzie Hammonds, "My Tata: Preserving our Mexican Legacy through Recipes"
Honorable Mention: Dalin Thai, "Surviving Year Zero: Sovanna Chhith"
Senior Rubincam Youth Award
Winner: Andrew Kumar, "From Burma to New Jersey: Four
Generations of Faith, Teaching, and Migration in the Dasan–Kumar Family"
Honorable Mention: Sadie Hall Kraft, Grace Henning, "Four Generations of Hard Workers”
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