The Bay Area Chinese Genealogy Group (BACGG) proudly announces that its Founder and Executive Director, Ron Chan, has received two national honors in 2026. The National Genealogical Society awarded Chan the prestigious Rabbi Malcolm H. Stern Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the highest recognitions in the genealogy field, honoring a lifetime of leadership, scholarship, historical preservation, and service to the family history community. Chan was also recognized with the 2026 Asian American Stories Adult Excellence Award for his video “Coming to America,” which preserves and shares the experiences of Asian Americans through storytelling and historical documentation.
These awards reflect decades of dedication to preserving family histories, advancing Chinese American genealogy, educating researchers, and ensuring that the stories of our ancestors are not lost, forgotten, or ignored. BACGG has become a respected educational organization connecting genealogy, history, technology, and storytelling to help families discover their roots and preserve their heritage for future generations. These national recognitions underscore BACGG’s commitment to excellence and its growing role in preserving and sharing Chinese American history.
Award Certificates
2026 Rabbi Malcolm H Stern Lifetime Achievement Award National Genealogical Society | 2026 Adult Excellence Award Certificate Asian American Stories Video Contest |
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great work Ron. The work you are doing is so important. How can I participate this great work.
Hi Wei Li, thanks for the kind words and your curiosity to “pay forward”.
The reason I do what I do comes from a parable.
“It is said you die twice. Once when you take your last breath. Again, when your name is said for the very last time.”
In the 93 seminars I have done since July 2023, all my multimedia sessions have stories written, and videos created of my parents and grandparents as proof of concepts.
As a result of the seminars now thousands of people know my parents, and mom and dad continue to live on through them. The key objective of my seminars is to show how I created my family history, so the student can create their own family legacies.
This is my long-winded way of saying share your research and work so your family stories live on.
Network with BACGG members that share the surname of interest. It is likely, it may be in the far, far, far distant past you are related, and some of the research you both did can possibly be comingled. Some of us have our family trees of 150 generations!
Send me an email at bacgg.info@gmail.com on where you are in your research. I always like to listen and learn from others.
\ron