Job Well Done: Beaches Branch Staff

Beaches Branch Manager Theresa Rooney gave Job Well Done Awards to her staff, July 28, 2018.  She said,  "This year, I challenged my FT staff at JB to plan and produce Comic Con instead of allowing the bulk of work to fall on Julie Rekow, who had produced five successful previous Comic Cons. This year’s event was four months in the planning and the entire Beaches Branch FT staff--in addition to accomplishing their regular tasks-- produced the most successful Comic Con yet. They all shared equally in producing 2018 Comic Con, which had over 2,000 attendees and 20 exhibitors, many of whom exhibited for the first time.

·         "Julie Rekow, Teen Librarian, provided the vision and the passion, shared the planning process with volunteer Candy Keane, and kept staff on track with regular updates at meetings.

·         Gail Blumberg, Library Associate, went to work months before the event and contacted over 25 local businesses to solicit prizes. She ended up obtaining more prizes than we had ever received before. Both Julie and Gail also were instrumental in making our branch TARDIS machine a reality.

·         Robbie Crabtree, Library Assistant, assisted Julie with the gargantuan task of decorating the branch to Julie’s meticulous standards and spent many hours on a ladder. During the event, he roamed the branch in full Deathstroke costume, providing additional photo ops.

·         Terry Welch and Amber Pierce, Library Clerks, planned all the book displays, which were comic-themed for the first time. They also came up with the awesome idea of having each person who checked out a book during Comic Con spin for a prize, which boosted circulation.

·         Mary Hatfield, Library Clerk, provided critical behind the scenes help and also worked as a floater to provide breaks to staff and volunteers during the event.

·         Nicole Saville and Andre Smith, Children’s Librarian and Children’s Library Associate, respectively, planned and supervised children’s activities for the first time this year so we had some new activities and crafts in addition to two superheroes roaming the branch.

"We actuated Comic Con 2018 in a way we’ve never done before and I’m so proud of my staff for stepping up to meet my challenge. My PT staff, Darlene Boda, Mary Wilson, Margaret Terrell, Theresa Weatherford and Rachael Jones, deserve recognition as well. Without their support, FT staff would not have been able to meet regularly to plan this event."  (No photo available.)