Eric Jonasson Award of Merit
Established in 1987 as a principal award of merit it was changed in name in 1999 to honour Eric Jonasson for his contributions to MGS. As a founding member of the Society in 1976 he was member No. 1. He served as the first President until 1980.
He wrote his first genealogical guide “Tracing Your Icelandic Family Tree” in the 1970’s, followed by “The Canadian Genealogical Handbook” in 1976. In 1983 he published “Untangling Your Family Tree”. Eric was involved in many community and cultural organizations in Manitoba. His wife, Liz, served as Secretary of MGS for a number of years after his death in 1998.
The Eric Jonasson Award is the highest award that MGS can offer. It was awarded at Annual General Meeting held Saturday, May 13, 2023, in grateful acknowledgement of exceptional service to MGS.
The 2022 Eric Jonasson Award of Merit goes to George MacKay.
President of the South West Branch 2017-2020, Co-President of South West Branch 2020-2023, Treasurer 2023-
George MacKay joined the Society and the South West Branch of MGS in 2013 and became it’s President some four years later. He has a number of useful skills which make him a valuable addition to the Society. Working hard to ensure a roster of speakers for the branch, George also has computer skills which help him keep the South West Branch website updated and the MGS calendar of events current with their events. Most of his time as President took place during covid and it would have been easy to let things slide. But George continued to keep the branch active by embracing Zoom meetings and ensuring the speaker roster was interesting and informative.
Thank you to Chris Irwin, Past-President of MGS for his work as Awards Committee Chair and for writing the bios on our winners.