Friends of Waterford Library elects officers
WATERFORD — The Friends of the Waterford Library might be a small group, but it has big plans for the upcoming year.
The group is already financing movie nights at the library, selling refreshments and holding 50/50 raffles at the film screenings.
“It’s something that’s an extra,” Friends president Fay Catallo said about the movies, “but it’s a very successful extra.”
Catallo was reelected the group’s president at its annual meeting Thursday night at the library. Other officiers elected were: vice president Sandee Murphy, secretary Jeanne Lobravico and treasurer Mary Ann Ketts.
Fay Catallo was reelected as president of the Friends of the Waterford Library, which hopes to buy a new movie screen for the library in the upcoming year.
“We go off a wish list provided by the library director, the youth services director and the staff who hear from people every day,” Catallo said.
The group also plans to help fund a bronze statute — dedicated in memory longtime children’s librarian Melanie Leazit — for the library’s new garden.
“That’s not going to be an easy sum,” Catallo said.
The group is optimistic, though, and has plans for the year’s fundraising activites.
“We’re only 52 members strong,” Catallo said. “But we put our heart and soul into our fundraising.”
A raffle for a Nintendo Wii console is planned. Tickets will be $1 each or six for $5. There’s a Friends of the Library tote raffle in spring.
But perhaps the most popular is the bake sales held at the Waterford harbor during the summer. The group’s peach and berry cobblers are big hits among the boaters who visit the village. One Saturday each month between May and August the group sells the cobblers. Boaters will use email and blogs to try to make sure they’re docking in the village those weekends.
“We have netted $300 on some Saturdays,” Catallo said.
The group also holds a used book sale at the Waterford Farmer’s Market, though it is more of a giveaway than a sale. Each youngster who comes by gets a free children’s book.
“We went through 3 cases in less than 2 hours,” Catallo said.
The group also helps publicize library events. For this month — Library Card Sign-up Month — it’s set up a display at the local Key Bank branch.
“We’ve had a chocolate recipe contest,” Catallo said. “An open house, bookmarks, pencil giveaways — anything we can to get them into the library.”
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