Young Genealogists Invited to Apply for Grant to Attend 2011 SCGS Jamboree

It’s Mom’s birthday today, and we are giving a gift in her honor! 

Suzanne Freeman was an enthusiastic attendee at the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree and a life-long supporter of youth activities and volunteerism. The 2011 Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Grant pays tribute to these interests by offering a $500 grant to a young genealogist attending the 2011 SCGS Jamboree. 

Any genealogist who is 18 to 25 years of age as of July 1, 2011 and a student within the last year is eligible to apply. Funds may be used for travel, lodging, and other conference-related expenses. 

The SCGS Jamboree has become a premiere regional genealogy conference offering national speakers, workshops, and demonstrations. More than 1700 genealogists attended the 2010 event in Burbank, California.

Please help spread the word and encourage any young genealogists you know to apply for the 2011 Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Grant. Application and more information is available at http://thefamilycurator.com/suzanne-freeman-grant/.

Denise Levenick with Suzanne Freeman,
2009 SCGS Jamboree GeneaBlogger Bag Project

Suzanne Winsor Freeman

Genealogy bloggers came to know Suzanne the past two years at the SCGS Jamboree where she enthusiastically joined the GeneaBlogger Welcome Bag project, assisting in the assembly and distribution of gifts to attending genealogy bloggers. She was a fan of new technology such as podcasts by Lisa Louise Cooke and The Genealogy Guys, but also looked forward to analyzing old photographs with Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective.

She embraced the possibilities of DNA and had recently submitted a sample for testing. In June, 2010 at the SCGS Jamboree in Burbank, she was delighted to meet her cousin Christopher Childs from the New England Historic and Genealogical Society. At the time of her death in Tucson, Arizona August 28, 2010, Suzanne was still searching for her elusive Winsor cousins.

Suzanne enjoyed researching family history online and frequently posted queries that resulted in new family connections. She supplied stories and anecdotes for TheFamilyCurator.com, the blog written by her daughter Denise Levenick, where her tales always received enthusiastic reader comments. Suzanne was also honored to appear at ShadesoftheDeparted.com as a guest blogger.  

Suzanne was born January 5, 1933 in Olathe, Kansas to Arline (Kinsel) and Frank Ammi Brown, and grew up in Orange and Santa Ana after her family moved to California in 1937. She purchased property in Green Valley, Arizona in 1982 and became a full-time Arizona resident in 1997.

As a mother and homemaker, Suzanne found great satisfaction as a Girl Scout Leader and church volunteer in La Habra, California, and later used her community experience as Executive Director of the North Orange County Volunteer Bureau. In Green Valley, Suzanne was active in the Green Valley Evangelical Free Church and the Green Valley Genealogical Society.

Contributons to the Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Fund may be made at any Wells Fargo Bank, or directly to Wells Fargo Bank, Green Valley, Arizona 520/625-1222.