2011 Annual Report

NORWEGIAN AMERICAN GENEALOGICAL CENTER & N AESETH LIBRARY Annual Report 2011 Norwegian American Genealogical Center, Inc. 2011 Annual Report GREETING FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS As we celebrate our fifth year of independent status, my board colleagues join me in thanking all our loyal members, vol - unteers, and patrons. You have helped make this worthy organization a vital place, and the leading resource of its kind. With your generosity, 2011 was a year of great progress, resulting from your important support for our operating budget, your gifts for special projects, and your assistance in building our Naeseth Chair Endowment. Late in 2011, Dan Huebner announced his retirement as board chairman, and I stepped into that role. Dan’s are large shoes to fill; his generous, thoughtful, and dedicated leadership is the guiding force behind the Center’s future. In recog - nition of his many contributions, we unanimously designated Dan as our chairman emeritus, and we are grateful for his continuing board service. At the same time, Dan demonstrated his enduring interest, this time by creating the Huebner Quasi-Endowment for operating reserves, as well as supporting all the expense for the acquisition, installation, and soft - ware for five new computer stations in the Naeseth Library. These new computing tools and the Huebner Quasi-En - dowment help guarantee a bright future for NAGC & NL. We all salute Dan with heartfelt thanks. 2011 produced several other special donations, including a major gift for operations from an anonymous foundation, through the recommendation of one of our board members. We also received, and invested, a bequest from the late LaMirth Geving Peterson. The Gerhard and Milma Naeseth Charitable Foundation and our own Madison-area Friends’ annual benefit event continued their important contributions. Thompson Investment Management, Inc., Madison, was the generous sponsor of the 2011 event, at which Svein Ludvigsen, the charismatic governor of Troms, Norway, presented a dynamic advocacy address on behalf of the Center. Barbara and Eric Greenfeldt, Naomi and Owen Bekkum, and David J. Hardy all set the pace in continuing generosity, while we benefitted from giving by all our board members and also from an enviable response rate for the annual fund from many of our members. We thank you for advancing and sustaining our mission for history and heritage. In mid-2011, Dan Huebner joined Anne Veslemøy Lindblom, Honorary Consul of Norway in Wisconsin (and also an NAGC board member), in hosting a gala lunch for four distinguished Norwegian visitors, including Ellen S. Aa. Volle - baek, Research Council of Norway (and also a NAGC board member). Our guests spoke about the growing interest and connection between Norway and the U.S. in the field of immigration history. The event was a chance to thank Ellen Volle - baek for her invaluable help during a NAGC board visit to Norway in 2008. At the Naeseth Library, more researcher visits, increased correspondence, and a growing membership all created a busy year. The board extends special thanks to the devoted staff who keep the Center running so well. An important addition to the staff in 2011 was Diane Mauer, our new member services coordinator. At the end of 2011, David Hardy, one of our organization’s greatest advocates, retired from the board. His innovative and generous leadership made so much possible for this newly-independent entity. David continues his long interest here with continuing participation in board committees. We will continue to rely upon his wise counsel and insight. The board wel - comes its new member JoAnn Six Plesko, who brings years of non-profit board experience. In 2010, JoAnn was selected as the Outstanding Individual Philanthropist by the Greater Madison Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Profes - sionals. For my part, I am proud to help support this impressive organization. All of our active work has been accomplished dur - ing 2011 on an operating budget under $250,000. This is only possible because of the dedicated work and generosity of our board, staff, volunteers, patrons, and members. Thank you for your investment in our work to collect, preserve, and share resources for Norwegian American family history and heritage. Lowell Olberg Chairman - 2 - MESSAGE FROM THE NAESETH CHAIR FOR GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH & P UBLICATION This annual report for our members contains information on the operations of the Norwegian American Genealogical Cen - ter and Naeseth Library during 2011. As a genealogical research institution, we have been in operation for nearly thirty- seven years. 2011 marked the year of impressive updates to our online databases. Many of our members subscribed to the new data - bases, providing them access to hundreds of thousands of Norwegian-American genealogical records. These same sub - scribers improved our records by sending in over a thousand pieces of new information to update specific database items relating to their families. Our staff updated and corrected over ten thousand records! We are all grateful for this valuable additional information that has been added here, thanks to our devoted members and database subscribers. In May, we brought together nearly two hundred members and friends for our annual Madison Friends’ dinner and pro - gram. Norway’s incumbent governor of Troms, and former Minister for Fisheries and Coastal Affairs, Svein Ludvigsen, presented a charismatic talk on Norway’s High North, including the challenges and opportunities for Norway. Governor Ludvigsen also spoke about his career and his avocation for genealogical research. He told an engaging story of how he recently found his long-lost relatives in the United States, and how our staff helped him in this exciting discovery. We were all delighted that many of his newly-found family members joined in our special event, standing for a special welcome when they were introduced. Special thanks are due to John W. Thompson and Thompson Investment Management, Inc., Madi - son, for their generous sponsorship of the event. The Madison Friends’ Committee, with event co-chairs Ann and Dr. David L. Nelson, deserve our particular recognition and thanks. Several of our long-time volunteers – Richard Nelson, Don Ross, the late Arne Gausmann, and Joanne Harris – contin - ued to work on transcribing and indexing projects aimed at adding more details to the online databases. We are all grate - ful for their years of dedicated volunteer service. We are sad to report the death of Arne Gausmann. Over the years, offering much volunteer time, Mr. Gausmann transcribed more than two hundred thousand records for the Center. Our organization enjoys the support of many other dedicated volunteers who give their time and talents to help with our mis - sion for history and heritage. Whether they are indexing records, filing census information, mowing the grass, or entering data into new databases, we all owe each of our volunteers a debt of gratitude. During 2011, our staff conducted and attended many outreach events around the country. At these gatherings, we are able to share the message about our mission and describe the work we carry out on a daily basis. We participated in several dozen events, including Syttende Mai in Stoughton, several Sons of Norway gatherings, bygdelag meetings, extensive visits to Texas and Pennsylvania, and the annual Skogfjorden Genealogy Seminar in Bemidji, Minnesota. For a complete list of upcom - ing events at which we will participate, I encourage you to watch our newsletter, Norwegian Tracks , and our website, www.nagcnl.org We extend many thanks and much gratitude to our Board of Directors for continued loyalty and support. The Board’s confidence, conviction, and certainty in the future of an independent Norwegian-American genealogical center inspires all of us on the staff, our many volunteers, and our faithful members across the country. I join in thanking each of you, our members, for your past encouragement and many contributions for the continuing growth and development of NAGC & NL. Blaine Hedberg Naeseth Chair for Genealogical Research & Publication MISSION STATEMENT ADOPTED SEPTEMBER 2007 The Norwegian American Genealogical Center & Naeseth Library is an educational non-profit research center with national and international scope. The Center collects, preserves, shares, and interprets resources for the study of Norwegian heritage. Through its collections, research, outreach, and publications, NAGC & NL strives to maintain and enhance its role as the most comprehensive source of information about the history of Norwegian immigration. - 3 - BOARD OF DIRECTORS (as of 12/31/2011) Lowell Olberg, Wheaton, Illinois, Chairman Paul Larson, Waunakee, Wisconsin, Vice Chairman Robert W. Anderson, Verona, Wisconsin, Treasurer David Johansen, Iowa, City, Iowa, Secretary Dan F. Huebner, Decorah, Iowa, Chairman Emeritus Verlyn Anderson, Moorhead, Minnesota Eric Greenfeldt, Princeton, New Jersey Jon Grinde, Madison, Wisconsin David J. Hardy, Palatine, Illinois (retired December 2011) Blaine Hedberg, Reedsburg, Wisconsin C. Marvin Lang, Stevens Point, Wisconsin Ann Leon, Madison, Wisconsin Anne V. Lindblom, Verona, Wisconsin JoAnn Six Plesko, Madison, Wisconsin (elected November 2011) Ellen S. Aa. Vollebæk, Oslo, Norway STAFF , C ONSULTANTS , AND WORK -S TUDY STUDENTS Blaine Hedberg, Naeseth Chair for Genealogical Research & Publication Jeanne L. Wright, Director of Administration Diane Maurer, Member Services Coordinator (as of August 2011) David

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