VGS By-Law #5 states: Officers of the Society shall consist of a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. Their elected terms shall be for two years. Our current officers are:

President: Henry Stish

Recently retired after a 38-year career with the Department of Defense, Henry Stish brings a lifelong passion for genealogy to his role as VGS President. Since moving to The Villages in 2022, Henry has been an active VGS member, participating in multiple Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and delivering numerous presentations on leveraging artificial intelligence tools to enhance the discovery and presentation of family histories. He is a native Minnesotan with Polish, Norwegian, and Irish roots.

Vice President: Mary Ellen Radloff

Raised outside of Philadelphia, Mary Ellen grew up in a family, proud of its Irish roots, however she knew very little about her paternal side as her grandparents were Irish immigrants and died when her father was young. Mary Ellen met her husband, a fellow US Army officer, while stationed in Germany (his native country). Mary Ellen retired from the US Army Reserves in 2003, taught foreign languages at various high schools and universities and worked for the Department of Defense for 15 years before retiring to the Villages in 2020. While stationed in Germany in the 1980s, Mary Ellen had the opportunity to attend a class given by a member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints on family history. In a conversation with her husband’s family, his uncle gave her a copy of the Ahnentafel for his grandfather. Her mother gave her what little information she had on her family. Military life made family research difficult so the initial start was packed and moved many times until the move to the Villages and the opportunity to be a member of the VGS. Mary Ellen has been a member of several SIGs and attributes the information and skills learned as being instrumental in her finding cousins for both herself and her husband, as well as adding documented information to both her maternal and paternal family histories

Secretary: Deanna Lammes

Deanna Lammes views her position as VGS Secretary as an opportunity to combine her passion for genealogy with her appreciation for the contributions of other members who make The VGS the valuable organization that it is.

Deanna is a native of northern New York State. Following college graduation, she taught French and Spanish in central and western New York. She then graduated from the University of Rochester's business school with an MBA and joined the Xerox Corporation where she held various positions in the Human Resources function until retirement.

Treasurer: Donna Yambasky

Donna Yambasky was elected VGS Treasurer for the 2020-2021 term and continues to hold this position. Donna has been a VGS member since 2013 and has previously served on the board as Librarian.

Donna, the 6th of 8 children, was born in Detroit, Michigan. She lived most of her life in nearby Livonia. To supplement their income, the family raised vegetables in a one-acre back yard garden and sold them at a stand in their front yard. At a very young age, Donna was taking care of customers and handling money – good practice for her position as Treasurer!

After working 13 years for Michigan Bell, when her daughters were ages one and two, she returned to school to become an RN (Registered Nurse). After retirement, she and her husband, Bob, moved to The Villages full time in 2014. They have 4 grandchildren, two in Tallahassee and two in Iowa City, Iowa.

An interest in genealogy led her to membership in the Ford Genealogy Club in Dearborn and the Western Wayne County Genealogical Society. Her ancestors came to America from Hungary and Lithuania in the years from 1891-1906. Donna is very proud of the VGS mission to provide educational opportunities to its members and enjoys the camaraderi of like-minded Villagers.