The Greene County Board of Commissioners on July 31, 2025 adopted a resolution recognizing July 31 as Greene County’s National Intern and Volunteers Day and commended records and archives staff and volunteers for about 1,100 hours of work this year.

Jen Haney Conover, director of Records and Archives, said the office has had 14 to 30 volunteers over the past six months who help digitize records, accession materials from county departments and expand public access. Mary McKinley, public outreach program coordinator, described a volunteer transcription that uncovered a Civil War pension application referencing a tornado that flattened a third of Jamestown on April 27, 1884. McKinley said the community rebuilt within months even though there was no state or federal disaster relief at the time.

Conover and McKinley asked the board to recognize interns and volunteers; commissioners unanimously approved the resolution and posed for a photo. Staff said interns included students from Ohio State University and Kent State University and that volunteers contribute tasks that range from repetitive digitization to contextual archival research.

The archive staff emphasized that volunteer work improves accessibility of historical records — including making documents screen-reader compatible — and that volunteers occasionally uncover items that connect local history to national publications such as Harper’s Weekly. The recognition covers volunteers and summer interns who supported the records center’s digitization and outreach efforts during 2025.