Left to right: Beverly Westlake, Sondra Clifton, Gail Kohn, Linda Bono, Rebecca Fridley
Board member Marcia Elving created a lighthouse centerpiece for each table at the luncheon. The poem reads: “As a lighthouse sheds light upon the sea so too a book illuminates the mind.”
Joan Muyskens Pursley
Some 40 volunteers attended the library board’s Volunteer Appreciation luncheon at the Wildhorse Grill on Sept. 16. Many of the volunteers who work a weekly two-hour shift have been featured in the recent Pioneer Press “Meet the Volunteers” series. There are other groups of volunteers, however, that also help keep our library orderly. Here, we recognize our great group of subs, residents who fill in when regular volunteers go on vacation or have other schedule conflicts.
Some of our subs were regular volunteers who had to pull back on the time they could give. Others, including Shirley Bartle, Patti Ewoldt, Gail Kohn, Judy Gillespie, and Sandra Richards, recently moved from being subs to taking regular time slots. All subs have had the same training as the regular volunteers and are happy to fill in when needed. If no one is available, a Library Board member covers the desk.
Our highly valued, currently active subs are:
* Bette Allen: a former teacher and member of the RR book club. Betty travels a lot, which, she says, is why she is not able to be a regular volunteer.
* Joan Bergman: a former HR manager who enjoys yoga, and is a member of the Women’s Club, Singles Club, Pathfinders, and a wine group.
* Debbie Burks: a former teacher and current member of Women Sharing Hope. She enjoys Bunco and Mahjongg, working with resin, gardening, and “any activity in a swimming pool.”
* Hanna Davey: who loves to read, do cross stitch, and golf.
* Sue Ehinger: a former elementary school teacher who plays tennis, enjoys reading, and is an active member of St. Mark Catholic Church.
* Rebecca Fridley: a retired nurse “who loves reading and quiet places.”
* Shirley McManus: who says, “I have found friends and fun at the Ranch; life is good!”
* Cindy Parker: a school library volunteer for many years, a lover of books (“ebooks go with me everywhere”), and of arts and crafts.
* Jim Ryerson: also active in Friends of the Library and its current Treasurer.
* Sonya Smith: a former English teacher (“for many years”) and, later, manager of an international company’s North American Payroll Department.
* Beverly Westlake: 20 years a Navy wife, an X-ray technician, and a mother of four with “lots of volunteer work.”
Three board members oversee the volunteers/subs’ schedules and training. They are Sondra Clifton, who volunteers contact when they need a sub and then fills the spot; Nancy Tarpley, who manages the weekly volunteer schedule and keeps volunteers up-to-date on events and procedures; and Doris Koenig, who trains all library staff.
Currently, the library needs volunteers who can fill a regular two-hour time slot. If you are interested, please fill out a volunteer form in the library and give it to the person at the desk. Doris will then contact you.
For more on our all-volunteer library and on Friends of the Library (an official RR club), go to RobsonLibrary.org.