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Have your heard there’s an election coming up next week? Yeah, me, too. One slate of candidates we haven’t heard much about are the folks running for Peninsula Community Library Board of Trustees.
There are six candidates running for six positions, so we know who will be on our next library board. Still, I thought you might want to know a little about this group of people who help to guide our “Heart of the Community.”
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Read on to learn more about the six OMP residents who will move forward as Library Board Trustees…
Nikki Sobkowski: From childhood, I have always loved libraries so much that I went to graduate school to become a librarian. Retiring to Old Mission in 2005, an opportunity arose in 2006 to fill a vacancy on the Peninsula Community Library Board of Trustees. It is an honor and a privilege to have been elected every four years since then.
Todd Wilson: I am a longtime supporter and user of Peninsula Community Library, and I’m in favor of continued access to literary and cultural resources and the expansion of a nonpartisan community center that is the heart of our township. I have been a board member since 2020. In a second term, I would continue to work to make the library a welcoming space for everyone to meet and learn. I value the library and see it as a cornerstone to a strong, informed and resilient community.
Nancy Davy: I began doing volunteer work with the library when we became full-time residents of the Old Mission Peninsula nearly 20 years ago. I served as Treasurer and President of the Friends of Peninsula Community Library, and have served as Secretary of the Board of Trustees since 2020. I also chaired the committee to raise the funds for the new library building, which opened in September 2019. I look forward to serving the community as a Trustee of the Peninsula Community Library Board.
John Bercini: I proudly serve as a Library Board Trustee, and I’m also Board Treasurer. Financially, the Library is in great financial condition, running a slight surplus annually. I take my responsibility as a fiduciary to taxpayers quite seriously, as the Library belongs to the entire Old Mission Peninsula community.
Pat Livingston: I was just appointed to the Library Board, so this is my first year. I have lived on the Old Mission Peninsula since 2011, and my wife Tina and I have been supporters of the library since we first arrived. I believe a library is one of the central pillars of any community, a hub of knowledge, and a gathering place for all ages. I am honored to be one of the Trustees.
Brit Eaton: My wife Amy and I became permanent residents of the Old Mission Peninsula in 2010, following our family’s move full-time to the Peninsula in 1964. We are a sixth-generation vacationing family that has been here since 1910. I first became actively involved in the building campaign for the new Library as a member of the Steering Committee in the Fall of 2017, and was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2020. My main non-board focus has been establishing Peninsula Insights, a speakers forum group that meets monthly to provide interesting speakers to all Peninsula residents. The role of Board members is to ensure that the Library meets the community’s needs, remains fiscally sound, and has adequate staffing. I am running for re-election as a Library Trustee to continue making Peninsula Insights a valuable service to the community, to provide the Board of Trustees with my time and expertise where needed, and to ensure the Library’s continued relevance and viability.
Notes Brit, “In this age of electronic media, one would expect libraries to diminish in popularity. Still, here on the Peninsula, our library attracts new visitors, members and supporters, mainly due to the excellent leadership of Executive Director Vicki Shurly and her exemplary staff.”
(Read all Peninsula Township Election 2024 News, Opinions and Candidate Questionnaires here. -jb)
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