Last week the Blytheville Public Library was honored to receive the annual Pride in Property award from the Greater Blytheville Area Chamber of Commerce. Over the past several days numerous folk have congratulated me concerning this honor. However, one thing about this honor is that I would like to be clear that the honor is only partially mine to embrace. The improvements made to the facility are truly the result of on-going work of volunteers, personnel, and several businesses.
The roof and skylight replacements were accomplished with aggressively low pricing offered from Sierra Group. That project consumed 801 sheets of plywood (current pricing would be quite higher) and involved the regulated removal of asbestos composite shingles.
Interior changes and finishes have been coordinated by Beth Roberts and Mary Razor along with the participation of all other personnel. A small group from the Chamber’s Blytheville Leadership Institute helped to remove ancient carpeting and rearrange the shelving of the young adult area. The labor involved with that rearrangement was an “eye-opener” for them. For several days we even had a group of young people from a Methodist church in Oklahoma help us to clean out a storage room in which Zach Roberts later installed storage shelving.
Wayne Breckenridge has performed varied maintenance tasks in our public restrooms and other areas, and he has constructed certain furnishings for us. Currently he is constructing a large Lego table.
LightEdison cooperated with Entergy to upgrade all lighting throughout the facility to LED technology. Parking lot sealing and striping was completed in an efficient manner by My sweat was most directly put into a cosmetic update to my office. The purple, black, and gray look has a Colorado Rockies feel to it even though I am a Washington Nationals fan.
There are still projects before us and on the horizon. Talks are underway with an interior design firm to address the welcomed, though stark, daylight in the solarium. The landscaping needs replacement and renewal; this initiative has been surprisingly difficult to get underway. More enhancements will be proposed after these are addressed so stay tuned.
Thank you all for taking pride in the library. The Library is truly the community’s to own, utilize, and appreciate. I am just a steward, manager, director, and/or strategist. Congratulations to all of you!