An accomplished author and presenter credited with inspiring a new generation of people searching for their ancestry is the recipient of the Indiana Historical Society’s (IHS’s) 2018 Willard C. Heiss Family History/Genealogy Award. Carol Faenzi of Indianapolis was honored at IHS’s annual Founders Day dinner on Monday, Nov. 5, at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center in downtown Indianapolis. Each year, IHS presents this award to a family historian for his or her distinguished service and career in Indiana family history.

Faenzi is a third generation Italian-American who has developed a reputation for programs and workshops that inspire others to seek out and preserve their family stories. She is the author of the award-winning book, The Stonecutter’s Aria, which chronicles her ancestors’ careers in Carrara marble and her great-grandfather’s emigration from Italy to Bedford, Indiana, where he worked as a limestone carver.