Winona Ione Hahn Laird Presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who’s Who

Ms. Laird has been endorsed by Marquis Who’s Who as a leader in the fields of accounting and genealogy

KENT, WA, April 21, 2020, Marquis Who’s Who, the world’s premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Winona Ione Hahn Laird with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Ms. Laird celebrates many years’ experience in her professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her field. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

Ms. Laird’s diverse career began in 1955 while working for Shell Oil Company as a junior paleontologist. After marrying her husband and raising her children, she returned to the workforce, while simultaneously attended school part-time in an effort to pursue a more satisfactory career in accounting. After finishing her schooling, Ms. Laird landed positions with several reputable firms, including Shannon, Roberts, Herron & Bratton, CPAs in Kent, Washington. She then formed her own accounting and tax practice in Kent, where she enjoyed serving her local community for 20 successful years before retiring.

Venturing into business for herself a second time, Ms. Laird turned her beloved hobby of genealogy into something much more lucrative by establishing Laird & Associates, Professional Genealogist, in 2009. After studying her own family history for more than 60 years, she now provides extensive family history services to her clients. Over the past decade, she has also been lecturing before various local historical and genealogical societies and for genealogical seminars. Ms. Laird also teaches within the continuing education department at Green River College in Auburn, Washington. In addition to her teachings, she is the co-founder of the Genealogy Training Center LLC in Kent.

Ms. Laird is the author of the 2007 book “Have You Ever Lived in a Mining Town?: The Life and Spirit of a Wonderful Woman,” which takes place in Park City, Utah, and Victor, Colorado. Published by Xlibris, it can be found on Xlibris.com and Amazon.com.

Through her community, Ms. Laird has taken an interest with various groups and organizations, including as a member and past president of the Wyoming Extension Association. She also served as a member of the Mary Fell Stevenson chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution where she was a regent, vice regent, chaplain and registrar, and a member of South King County Genealogical Society, for which she served as president, vice president and 2020 and 2021 seminar chairperson.

Born in Colorado, Ms. Laird’s family relocated to Casper, Wyoming, during World War II. Graduating from Natrona County High School, she then pursued higher education locally at Casper College between 1956 and 1957. She later briefly studied at Green River College between 1973 and 1974. She is an accredited tax preparer.

To stay abreast in genealogy, Ms. Laird has been aligned as a member of several industry-related organizations, including the Puget Sound chapter of Association of Professional Genealogists, where she is currently the program chairperson and a member of the speakers’ forum. She is also a member, past president, past vice president and the 2020 seminar chairman of the South King County Genealogical Society. Furthermore, Ms. Laird is a member of the National Genealogical Society, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the Association of Professional Genealogists and is a member and past president of the Beta Sigma chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha.