By Mary Torres, Special to the Star
The Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Genealogical Society (RGVHGS) meets today, Sunday, Sept. 19, at 1:30 p.m. at the Harlingen Arts & Heritage Museum, 2425 Boxwood St. Following a short business meeting, guest speaker, Sylvia Garza-Perez, Cameron County Clerk will present “Cameron County Historical Document Project.” Courthouse records are among the most valuable resources for genealogists and family researchers and Ms. Sylvia Garza-Perez will talk about the records available in her office and how to access them online.
She will also talk about the efforts her office is making to preserve these records for future generations. This presentation will be of interest to anyone interested in genealogy, and in the history of the Rio Grande Valley. There will be a PowerPoint demonstration and a time for questions and answers from the audience. The meeting is free and open to the public. For more information visit the society’s Facebook page or call (956) 345-4756.
Ms. Sylvia Garza-Perez was elected County Clerk in 2014, becoming the first woman elected to serve in this position in Cameron County. The County Clerk’s office has received the prestigious Five Star Vital Records Exemplary Service award for the last seven years. In 2017 the office moved its Administration Offices to 835 E. Levee; upon that move the office implemented a Cloud-based system that allows constituents to conduct public searches from the convenience of their home. She currently manages six offices in Cameron County, providing,
- Expanded services in Harlingen and La Feria to provide recording of real property documents, issuance of marriage licenses, vital statistics, and processing court payments.
- Additional service of hunting and fishing licenses are now available in Brownsville and San Benito in partnership with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.
- Certified Documents can now be purchased online without having to drive to the courthouse.
- Continued preservation of historic records dating back to 1848; through state of the art preservation techniques (have completed six phases of an eleven-year plan)
- In October 2020, introduced the Property Fraud Alert service, free to residents.
Ms. Garza-Perez also was appointed by Cameron County Judge Trevino to chair the 2020 Census and even through the pandemic, Cameron County was able to finish at 53.2%, higher than the state average. Final numbers have not been received, those should be released in September 2021. Cameron County received a visit on May 20, 2021, from U.S. Census Associate Director for Field Operations, Timothy P. Olson to recognize Cameron County on the efforts made towards the 2020 Census. Cameron County was the only county visited in Texas and applauded for the extraordinary efforts made towards census participation.
Ms. Garza-Perez has a Master’s in Healthcare Administration and a Bachelor of Arts. She has served on several non-profit boards, and currently serves on the board of directors for Zonta International of Brownsville, was nominated as County Clerk of the Year for Region 8 in 2020. She is the Secretary for the Urban Recorders Alliance of Texas and serves on the County and District Clerks Association of Texas Education Committee and member of the PRIA (Property Recorders Industry Association).
The RGV Byliners and the Harlingen Public Library invite you to Hybrid Poetry Night at the Harlingen Public Library Auditorium, 410 ’76 Dr. on Tuesday, Sept. 21, from 6 p.m. -7:30 p.m. You can attend the face-to-face meeting or join via Zoom. The format consists of poets emailing their poetry to [email protected]. The poems will be placed in a slide show and shared on ZOOM or projected on a screen as the poet reads. The poetry must be family-friendly and poets are encouraged to submit poems with the theme, Hispanic Heritage in English or Spanish. Join the Zoom Meeting at https://zoom.us/j/91395354611?pwd=cmRxcGEydVhIRHVFeElmSlR1UWpWUT09,
Meeting ID: 913 9535 4611 Passcode: 744187
