A little rain couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of the dedicated volunteers who received a "shower of thanks" on Tuesday, May 5, at the annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon funded by the Friends of the Library. In 2014, 452 volunteers contributed 28,498 hours of service to the library and their efforts were recognized by library trustees and staff.
"I'm in awe every year when I come to this event," said Executive Director Jason Kuhl who welcomed the crowd and presented the volunteer service awards. "We appreciate everything you do and all the hours you put in contributing to the library."
And put in hours they do. Ranging from 500 hours up to 15,000 hours of service, nearly 40 volunteers were honored for their contributions in all areas of the library including genealogy, ESL, Friends of the Library and the bookmobile. Years of service were also recognized and spanned from 3 years to 25 years of volunteering. Special honorees included Don Hartung and Jim Anderson who received the President's Lifetime Service Award by each contributing more than 4,000 hours of service. Jim volunteers as a Great Books book discussion facilitator, and Don assists with maintaining the toy collection in Kids' World.
The top honor of the day went to Terry Gavin who was named Volunteer of the Year. This is a one-time award that is given to the volunteer who has contributed the greatest number of hours during the previous year but has not previously received the award. Terry earned Volunteer of the Year for contributing 421 hours of service to the library in 2014 volunteering as an instructor for the computer program at the library's Senior Center.
"I love helping people, and I enjoy working with everyone at the senior center," said Terry who began volunteering at the library in 2006. "It's fun. They've given me more than I've given them."