WGS Volunteer Opportunities – Want to get involved?
The Wichita Genealogical Society is 100% staffed by volunteers who have a passion for genealogy and are interested in helping the society operate as a premier asset to the city and genealogists.
Current Openings – Standing Committee Directors
The Board of Directors includes Standing Committee Chairs that serve a minimum one year at a time, though many have been in place for over five years. These positions are voting members of the Board of Directors and provide active opportunity in important decision making. They require attendance to the board meetings, which are held the second Monday of the month at 6:00 P.M. at the Advanced Learning Library, 711 West Second. Current openings are:
- Director of Programs
- Director of Historical Record Keeping
- Director of Library Liaison
Scroll down the page to see details.
Director of Programs
Overview
The Director of Programs is responsible for the administration of the Society’s monthly membership meetings by choosing the program topic, arranging the presenter, creating an annual calendar of programs, and managing the event. The regular and consistent timing in the performance of the duties described below is critical to the success of our Society.
Tasks/Duties/Processes
The Director is responsible with the timely and diligent execution of the following duties:
- Produce and host ten (10) monthly programs of genealogical or historical content.
- Attend and participate in the monthly WGS Board of Directors meetings. Share in the discussion and decisions of items coming before the Board regarding the operation of the Society.
- Provide a monthly report to the Board involving exchange and publication activities
- Write a year-end summary of activities that becomes a part of the WGS annual report to the library.
- Check file cabinet files at the Advanced Learning Library at least twice a month for material.
- Comply with more detailed instructions and guidance contained in the Society’s Operations Manual for this position and recommend any updates to the Operations Manual.
- As a member of the Board of Directors, perform other ancillary Society duties as may be requested by the President.
Qualifications
The Director should possess the following qualifications:
- Project management skills.
- At least an intermediate level of genealogical skills.
- Comfort in speaking in front of audiences.
If interested or wish more information, please contact Fred Knoblauch, President at 316-218-2783 or email to President@wichitagensoc.org. For a printable PDF of this position, please click HERE.
Director of Special Projects
Overview
The Director of Special Projects is responsible for managing two processes.
- Manages projects approved by the Board that result in genealogical-related information or data, in the library or on the WGS website, that will assist genealogists in their research of Wichita or Sedgwick County.
- Conducts member-only research requests sent to WGS using available resources and generally limited to one hour of research. This is performed for a donation of five dollars ($5.00) to the WGS by the requestor.
The regular and consistent timing in the performance of the duties described below is critical to the success of our Society.
Tasks/Duties/Processes
The Director is responsible with the timely and diligent execution of the following duties:
Special Projects:
- Coordinate with the library genealogist on projects the WPL may request.
- Create databases for the website that will assist genealogists with their research of Wichita or Sedgwick County.
- Analyze requested projects for their feasibility, amount of time/labor required, and whether it is appropriate for WGS volunteers to conduct.
- Submit project description with estimated resource requirements to the Board for approval or change. Project descriptions should include:
- Project goals and benefit to the WGS and WPL, including how genealogists will use the finished project.
- Define other resource requirements to host or present the finished project. (e.g., can or should it be posted on the website?)
- Develop a plan to conduct the project, including volunteers needed and the tasks they need to perform.
- Assist in conducting the project and solicit volunteers to assist with the project.
- Oversee and assist the volunteers to ensure a quality finished project.
Inquiries:
- Retrieve mail in the “Inquiries” folder in the WGS file cabinet in the library.
- Conduct research, supply the information to the requestor via email or USPS mail, including source documentation of items researched (including items researched but no information located).
- Keep a detailed log on research requests (e.g., name, address, request verbiage, how satisfied, date received, and date responded).
General:
- Attend and participate in the monthly Board meetings, including sharing in the discussions and decisions of items coming before the Board regarding the operation of the Society.
- Provide a report to the Board at monthly meetings of activity/progress on any special projects and number/status of any inquiries.
- Maintain a copy of the Special Projects job description.
- Review the Job Description annually and update as needed.
- Turn over all records to the successor if one is appointed.
- Maintain a detailed activity report to be submitted to the president at the end of each year.
- Comply with more detailed instructions and guidance contained in the Society’s Operations Manual for this position and recommend any updates to the Operations Manual.
- As a member of the Board of Directors, perform other ancillary Society duties as may be requested by the President.
Qualifications
The Director should possess the following qualifications:
- Project management skills.
- Time management skills for timely response to the client.
- At least an intermediate level of genealogical knowledge.
- Willing to learn or use common software products to compile the research.
- Be able to perform project tasks on-site at the WPL, as well as off-site.
- Record administration skills.
If interested or wish more information, please contact Fred Knoblauch, President at 316-218-2783 or email to President@wichitagensoc.org. For a printable PDF of this position, please click HERE.
Historian
Overview
The Director of Historical Recordkeeping, also known as the Historian, is tasked with assembling and maintaining an ongoing history of the Society. This would consist of both paper format and digital format content. The regular and consistent timing in the performance of the duties described below is critical to the success of our Society.
Tasks/Duties/Processes
The Director is responsible with the timely and diligent execution of the following duties:
- Collect or create digital images of monthly society activities including photographs, documents, brochures, flyers, press releases, announcements, etc.
- Request digital files from board members of items they created.
- Collect external media mentions of WGS from newspaper, social media sites, etc. and create a digital file for archiving.
- Maintain an index of items collected, using an organized naming system.
- Attend and participate in the monthly WGS Board of Directors meetings. Share in the discussion and decisions of items coming before the Board regarding the operation of the Society.
- Report to the board items that have been archived for historical purposes.
- Write a year-end summary of activities that becomes a part of the WGS annual report to the library.
- Comply with more detailed instructions and guidance contained in the Society’s Operations Manual for this position and recommend any updates to the Operations Manual.
- As a member of the Board of Directors, perform other ancillary Society duties as may be requested by the President
Qualifications
The Director must have a passion for history and for genealogy and:
- Possess a desktop computer system (preferably PC) to collect and organize historical artifacts.
- Have internet connection and experience or willingness to learn archival techniques to an online service. Dropbox (or similar service) experience a plus.
- The Historian must be skillful in computer applications, including organizing files so they are easily recognized and found.
- Have basic graphics skills to capture and safe images to viewable files.
- Be familiar with PDF files and can create them from basic applications.
If interested or wish more information, please contact Fred Knoblauch, President at 316-218-2783 or email to President@wichitagensoc.org. For a printable PDF of this position, please click HERE.
Director of Library Liaison
Overview
The Director of Library Liaison is tasked with representing our Society at the monthly Wichita Public Library board meetings. The regular and consistent timing in the performance of the duties described below is critical to the success of our Society.
Tasks/Duties/Processes
The Director is responsible with the timely and diligent execution of the following duties:
- Attend the monthly Wichita Public Library (WPL) Board of Directors meetings as a non-voting guest. Give an oral report about what the Society is currently doing.
- As a member of the Board of Directors, perform other ancillary Society duties as may be requested by the President.
- Comply with more detailed instructions and guidance contained in the Society’s Operations Manual for this position and recommend any updates to the Operations Manual.
- Write a year-end summary of activities that becomes a part of the WGS annual report to the library.
- Keep the WGS Board updated with anything regarding WPL which might affect WGS's operations or projects.
- Attend and participate in the monthly WGS Board of Directors meetings. Share in the discussion and decisions of items coming before the Board regarding the operation of the Society.
- Copy all correspondence (except anything confidential) to and from the WPL Director regarding WGS and WPL.
- Supply year-end report to the Board summarizing the WGSs accomplishments and contributions to the WPL.
- Supply a monthly report summarizing the current activities of WGS to the WPL in advance of the WPL monthly board meetings for their meeting packets.
Qualifications
The Director must be comfortable presenting both a written and an oral report to the library and business leaders, and:
If interested or wish more information, please contact Fred Knoblauch, President at 316-218-2783 or email to President@wichitagensoc.org. For a printable PDF of this position, please click HERE.
Note: The above positions are available to all interested and qualified people, even if you not a current member. However, if you wish to become a volunteer in one of the open positions, you must be willing to become a member and join the WGS upon selection for the position.
Project Volunteers
Project Volunteers help the society and the Wichita Public Library with projects that last weeks or some are on-going. These projects and positions are very rewarding themselves. We have some dedicated individuals who have been volunteering for upwards of ten years.
- We are currently compiling a list of project volunteer opportunities for 2023. This will page will be updated soon.