Submitted by Whatcom County Library System
Each year Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) honors one of eleven Friends of the Library groups with an award for Outstanding Friends Service. This year the award was presented to the Friends of the South Whatcom Library (FOSWL) for their work to support the South Whatcom Library through the past year.
FOSWL members worked diligently for three years to obtain the funding for the South Whatcom Library, and many hundreds of volunteer hours went into constructing it. When evidence of powder-post beetle damage necessitated the building’s closure, the Friends rallied to work with the Sudden Valley Community Association to find an alternative location – first in the lobby of the adjacent YMCA, and later in the Sudden Valley Adult Center, which WCLS remodeled into a temporary library.
Brian Hulsey, manager at the South Whatcom Library, nominated the group for the award. “Since the move to the Adult Center building, the FOSWL have taken on a supporting role for the South Whatcom Library by providing funding for children’s, teen and adult programming, as well as the purchase of a MakerBot Replicator 3D printer to promote life-long learning and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programming,” said Hulsey. “Some amazing projects have already been printed!”
The Friends also installed a Little Lending Library near the WTA bus stop to promote community engagement and to spread the word about South Whatcom Library programs and events. And the group is known for their Jazz concert fundraisers, which bring music and culture to the Sudden Valley community and beyond.
WCLS Executive Director Christine Perkins presented the Friends with the engraved “Traveling Plaque” to be displayed for the next year at the South Whatcom Library. “WCLS thanks the South Whatcom Friends for their unwavering passion for public libraries and for positivity in the face of setbacks,” said Perkins.
Marcia Morrison, South Whatcom Friends Vice President accepted the award for the group, and read a statement from the President, Clairene Almond. “We are beyond happy to receive this award, especially given everything that has happened since the opening of the South Whatcom Library,” said Morrison. “We didn’t really know how to do what we did, how to fundraise, or build…..we learned it at THE LIBRARY.”
Congratulations go to all the honorees for the Outstanding Friends Service Award: Deming Friend Virginia Naef, Ferndale Friend Judy Kelsey, Friends of the Point Roberts Library, and Friends of the Sumas Library.
