Buffalo Soldiers Historical Society Exhibit Opens

Cranston Burney shared images from the Buffalo Soldiers Historical Society’s (BSHS) exhibit opening program held at the Main Library, Saturday, June 13, 2015.

Congresswoman Corrine Brown addressed the crowd and BSHS made former JPL Deputy Director Carolyn Williams an honorary member and presented her with a commemorative throw.

Former KR Volunteer Wins National Merit Scholarship

Former Mandarin Library volunteer Dipayan Banerjee graduated with honors from Stanton College Preparatory School with a 4.91 GPA.  Dipayan is a recipient of a National Merit Scholarship and will be attending Northwestern University in Chicago where he will be studying Industrial Engineering and Management Science.  Dipayan is the son of Mandarin Library Clerk Shukti Banerjee.  Congratulations to Dipayan and his family!

A Carnegie Library In Ireland

Kristi Dorney says, "On my recent trip to Ireland, I stumbled upon the Kilkenny County Library. My Great-Grandfather was from County Kilkenny. I did not get a chance to go inside the library, but I did find it interesting to see that it is a Carnegie Library. During my travels, I did pass by the Trinity College Library as well at the County Kerry Library.

WBK's Father's Day Program

Westbrook Branch's Father’s Day craft was a success with 21 kids in attendance. They chose to make a tie or bow tie (some made both) for their father, grandfather, uncle or a

male role model. They loved it per Kimberly Cherry at Westbrook Branch.

Every Event Is An Opportunity To Promote JPL

Several area ShAdCo’s (Sheriff’s Advisory Councils) met together at the Legends Center on

June 8 to say farewell to Sheriff Rutherford, who will be replaced in the next few weeks by incoming Sheriff Mike Williams. Sheriff Rutherford expressed his gratitude to the community members that support ShAdCo and the work that the neighborhoods do to reduce and prevent crime by being aware and outspoken of what is going on around them. Dallas Graham Branch Manager Jackie Spiritas ran into Northwest Branch Manager Guy Adkins at the event and they introduced themselves and shamelessly plugged the library. 

KR Kicks Off W/232 In Attendance

KR Manager Lynne Baldwin reports, "The 2015 Summer Learning Kick Off Party, June 10, was a wonderful success.  We had 232 in attendance! Using the SLP theme, "Every Hero Has A Story", Alison Pulley and her team of library of super heroes--David Foster, Frances

Wickes, Lisa Veal, Sara Peretzman, Deborah Wainwright, Shukti Banerjee and Jessica Jones--welcomed the kids for an afternoon of crafts, photos and special treats. In addition to signing up for SLP, kids were able to create their own shield and gauntlet, become their favorite super hero at the Dress Up Box and leap off the highest building for their Super Hero Photo Session.  Some kids had their photo taken with Iron Man, Batman and Thor. Everyone feasted on Super Hero Cake, juice, and popcorn.  It was quite an afternoon and the perfect way to kick off a summer of fun at the Mandarin Branch Library.  

"Everything went smoothly, despite the large crowd and not enough parking spaces. I am really proud of Alison Pulley, Frances Wickes, David Foster and the whole Mandarin staff.  A special thanks to Sara Peretzman and Jessica Jones for decorating the library for Summer Learning, and to SE Region Youth Services Librarian III Carisia Rooney for her help at the Kick Off Party.  She went over and above at the party–covering the information desk for two hours, handing out popcorn, helping with photos and crafts, telling customers about summer learning and much more.  Carisia is truly a library superhero!! It was a real team effort that paid off big time."  

                            THEY MADE IT HAPPEN!

GB's Eva Newton Moving to D.C.

The Graham Branch Library hosted a farewell breakfast (sumptuous) for Youth Services Librarian Eva Newton on June 10. Many JPL staff current and retired showed up to wish Eva well on her new journey. Eva has worked with JPL for five years and began as a part-time employee and worked her way up to Youth Services Librarian of the Urban Core libraries. Eva will be moving to Washington D.C. shortly and everyone wishes her well. Eva was showered with her favorite treats, which include chocolate and coffee. Eva will be missed by all of the staff and many of the customers. She was great with children and teens and left a lasting impression on everyone with her smile and bubbly personality. Farewell Eva, until we meet again!

GB Kicks Off SUMMER LEARNING PROGRAM

          Graham Branch Library kicked off the Summer Learning Program on Tuesday, June 9, with a fun activity and a cool treat for the kids. Even though Spiderman was busy making the world safe and couldn’t come to the opening program, everyone else had a wonderful time! Nineteen kids attended and got to pretend to be Spiderman by navigating through a “spider web” made of yarn.  Youth Services Librarian Peggy Crawford reported that the spider web was an idea that Susan Mankowski presented to the children’s staff several months ago and it was a great hit. You can see this is true by the looks on the “spiders” faces! The children,

ages 2 to 12, had a ball going over, under, and through the web. The children got a popsicle treat after listening to spidery tales and coloring. The event was the beginning of what is sure to be an exciting Superhero summer.

CAL Celebrates The Year Of The River

Reading on the River

CAL celebrates the Year of the River

The Center for Adult Learning spent the month of May celebrating the St. Johns River.  Classes took field trips to the river to see it firsthand.  Each week of the month a different topic associated with the river was discussed. 

 The first week concentrated on the seven bridges.  Many of the English Second Language (ESL) students did not know the name of the bridge they cross every week to get to class but they knew the color. 

Next, the classes concentrated on the wildlife and the impact on the environment associated with the river.  Students wrote about the river and Jenny Busey from the St. Johns Riverkeeper came and spoke to the classes about the river and its wildlife. The students had many questions for the Riverkeeper especially about fishing.  We never knew we had so many fishermen and women in our classes.

Here is a poem from one of our ESL students from Russia:

Florida’s Springtime

I like Florida’s springtime.

Flowering bushes, flourishing trees

Renovation of nature.

I live on St. Johns riverside

Here, evening is the most beautiful.

I see the city

The luminous bridges, the sparkling light.

The varicolored lights of the city.

My soul rejoices.

Ludmilla Kahan

A student’s answer to –Why the St. Johns River is important for me?
The big reason for me moving to Jacksonville is the St. Johns River. I intend to live in waterside.  Good view make me pleasant and relax.  St. Johns River is also a busy channel for ships coming and going.  I feel like the St. Johns River becoming vivid. It is alive. - Thursday a.m. class- Mei Long-China

Finally, the classes looked at the economic and industrial impact of the river on Jacksonville.

May was a great month for “Reading on the River” at CAL.

Important Events To Promote To Customers

We have the Summer Learning Program in progress and that's a biggie; however, there are two other important programs that your customers need to know about.  CR&M has apprised you of them, too:

Small Business Resources @ Your Library
Wednesday, June 10 @ 4:30 pm
Main Library, Conference Center, Room G4

Great Decisions: Human Trafficking in the 21st Century
Thursday, June 25, 6:45-8:30 pm
Southeast Regional Library

Staff Profile - June 2015

Sharon Kirkes has managed Webb Wesconnett Branch since 2009 and has been with JPL 13 years. She is married to a retired JPL librarian and they have two daughters.    

Sharon is not one to toot her own horn; however, she was chosen to head up the team to develop the Economic Success exercises, rounds 1 and 2, and recently made a presentation concerning the results of those exercises at the Library Round Table (LRT) meeting.  (If you are not familiar with LRT, that is a JPL meeting held bimonthly where senior administrative staffs and department and branch managers share their initiatives, get updates and future plans for JPL's direction and budget.)  We thought it would be of interest to you to know a little more about Sharon Kirkes' adventure with Economic Success exercises, which is part of JPL's Strategic Plan.

Q: What necessitated the Economic Success exercises, rounds 1 and 2, and when were they held?

A: Basically, Objective 6.2.2 stipulates that, by the end of FY 15 all adult reference staff will demonstrate knowledge of economic success resources. Round 1 was held over several weeks going into the Summer of 2014; Round 2 was shorter, and covered many of the same resources in a different format. My focus for these exercises was to ensure that staffs had some exposure to, and an increased comfort level with, a variety of resources. It was personally a challenge for me as well—I was not comfortable at first navigating through some of these areas and using them appropriately.

Q: What improvements have you observed since these exercises were implemented--in employees and customer service?

A: It’s hard to quantify—I would say it’s more of an increased awareness of the resources that are out there, including some we didn’t originally have listed; and possibly getting more confident in using the resources that were initially intimidating.

Q: Will these exercises, or modified versions, continue to be used?

A: The exercise phase of this objective should be pretty much over.  The next phase should probably involve getting or designing training to enhance staff skills in using the resources.  The training that is coming up in August for some of the Gale databases is a good example.

Q: What did you and management learn from this process?

A: One thing that was encouraging was how well many of the Library Associates did with these exercises. We also learned not to initiate an exercise in late spring or early summer. Moving from a precise Q & A exercise to a more flexible format was part of the learning process as well.

Q:  What is one of the funniest stories you can tell about an experience in JPL?

A: When it comes to the Dress Code, I am more of a stickler regarding footwear than anything else. So one day several Webb staffers gathered in the workroom and held my attention until I noticed they were all wearing flip-flops. After my initial coronary, they changed and wore their “real” shoes. 

Digital Photography Classes At Main Well Received

Pictured is Cranston Burney, Library Assistant in Reference & Periodicals at Main, who lead a new digital photography class at the Main Library.  These classes are part of the initiative to provide more computer skills classes.  Two classes were held in May with a total of 22 staffs in attendance.

85 Years Honored By Cohorts

A few employees wanted to honor Jane Harris' (left) 30 years, Julie McNeil's (far right) 20 years, Pam Beaton's (2nd from left) 20 years, Donna Crowther's (2nd from right) 10 years, and Lisa Buggs' 5 years of service with JPL.  While all but Lisa were at Main long enough to celebrate, we took advantage of it and had a congrats cake and coffee for all of them. Thanks to Andrew Herron, Michael Sullivan, and Richard Mott for chipping in and a big hurrah to Jennifer Giltrop for the pics.

 Our hats are off to you, Jane, Julie, Pam, Donna and Lisa!

Westbrook Branch Are The Titans

Thanks to Kimberly Cherry, WBK Library Associate, for this picture of WBK's preparation for the Summer Learning Program (formerly called Summer Reading Program). WBK staff decided to become superheroes themselves. The ladies at WBK are known as the Westbrook Titans. Kimberly says, "We are here to make sure nothing prevents the kids' reading this summer."  

Larry Butler Retires At Main

Larry Butler’s last full-time day with JPL is May 29, 2015. Staff had a small retirement luncheon for him yesterday afternoon.  He wanted it small and quiet and he obviously enjoyed their time together Kathleen Brunner tells us.  He is retiring as a Library Associate after almost 8 years with JPL.  This was his second career.

We will miss this gentleman.

CONGRATS TO LEADERSHIP WINNERS

The May JPL Board Meeting saw some happy faces as JPL Leadership Awards were given to deserving employees by Board Chair Erin Skinner and Library Director Barbara Gubbin:

 Chris Eaton, Library II in Talking Books, was voted the Employee of the 2nd Quarter and won the Challenge the Process award for his masterminding a great win for Jacksonville and JPL when he secured the cooperation of other agencies to hold the first Braille Challenge in the Conference Center!  It was the best attended event of its kind in Florida.

CR and M's Manager Kathy Lussier won an Enable Others to Act award for working with Library Aware staff and setting up training for JPL staff and creating templates for the system that matched JPL branding.  Kathy also set up and taught a series of classes at a variety of locations and trained staff to use the product so they could produce professional flyers, bookmarks, etc.

Andrew Herron is Executive Assistant to the Director and won a Challenge the Process award for greatly reducing paper usage for Library Board meetings by having much of the 40 copies of formerly printed materials now shown to board attendees on overhead screen. (They all get these materials via email before each meeting, too.) This new process will save trees and JPL's time, energy, and money!

Account Technician Jim Skulsky works in Finance at the Main Library and won an Enable Others to Act award..  He handles most invoice and purchase order requests.  With a long absence of another staff member, Jim has had to shoulder a greater responsibility and is much appreciated by Mark Merritt, Deputy Director of Administrative Services--and all of us who frequently need his expertise.

CW's Library Assistant Noah Thomas won a Challenge the Process award.  Noah researched adult daycare programs, got input from CAL staff, and then identified projects that will benefit JPL adult customers and will reach out to nontraditional adult customers.

KR's Part-time Library Associate Frances Wickes volunteered to take over Mandarin Branch's program Early Release Wednesdays.  After much research to find games that promote learning, getting advice from Margo Crafton and Alison Pulley, she then created the "Frances Bowling Alley". She introduced the game to the kids, March 25. Children and staff at KR look forward to seeing what Frances will create next.  She won a Challenge the Process award.

DU's Library Associate Beverly Mason took on the volunteer coordinator job at Highlands.  In September 2014, DU had 2 volunteers with 6.5 hours logged; by February 2015, DU had 8 volunteers with 64.5 hours worked--an increase of 400%!  Beverly won the Model the Way award.

Not pictured is JB's Library Assistant Padma Subramanian who won a Model the Way award. Padma organized International Day, featuring multiple countries and highlighting their cultural and historical heritage.  She spent many hours networking, finding volunteers, and coordinating the event; quite a feat that brought different cultures together and many kudos for the Beaches Branch!

SS: An Award For A Good Idea & Appreciation for All W/Sundaes

SS's Manager Ann Fridl reports, "Davi Harmon won an Innovator award, May 15, for his suggestion on how to make error free cash handling fun!.  Every seven days that San Marco goes without cash handling errors will be celebrated with a party. I see a lot of parties in our future!

Below the San Marco employees enjoyed their ice cream social, courtesy of the Friends of JPL.  No, they didn't wait this long to enjoy all those slimming sundaes; they are just a little late sending the pic. 

You're In Good Hands With...

Twenty JPL employees and a few from other departments spent most of their day in POD training, May 19, 2016.  It began at the EOC Center and later moved to the Equestrian Center for fun in the sun field training.

                                                    Aren't we glad they did!

Kudos From Customers

Main: Special Collections and Non-Fiction:  Today I made an inquiry about a relative's high school graduation. Kate Holmes (Non-Fic) responded to my email immediately and forwarded my request to Kathleen Krizek (Special Collections), who spent a bit of time researching my question. Unfortunately, there was no information available, but I would still like to commend the professionalism and responsiveness of these individuals.

ILL and Mandarin Branch: …The (KR) staff could not be more helpful or courteous than they are, and they are very professional as well: Lynne Baldwin, Stacey Van Hoy, Donald Carpenter, Alison Pulley, David Foster, Frances Wickes, Robert Mosely, Eric Cusaac, Diane Lewis, Sara Peretzman, Shukti Banerjee, Jessica Jones, Tammy Hilbert, Lisa Veal, Patricia Henderson, and Patricia Klinger.  I also want to add Carolyn Hampton at Inter Library Loan, who is also of that caliber.

Pablo Creek Branch:  Ms. Mary (Boyd) at checkout is AMAZING. Very kind and always willing to assist. Although I know how to check out my materials on my own, I always go through her line when she is working.

Jax Jazz Festival - 2015

Per Downtown Vision's post:
The Jacksonville Jazz Festival is this weekend, May 21-24! Don't miss these special festival events:

• May 21: Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition
• May 22: Jacksonville Jazz Festival Music Clinic
• May 22: Off Jazz Concert: Fantasia
• May 22-23: Pulse in the Park
• May 22-24: Jazz Fest After Dark
• May 24: Sunday Jazz Brunch

Jacksonville Jazz Festival Road Closures

The following street closures will take place from Wednesday, May 20 - Sunday, May 24: Bay Street from Ocean Street to A. Philip Randolph Blvd. will close Thursday, May 21, at 7 a.m. through Sunday, May 24, at midnight Exceptions:   Market Street intersection will remain open Liberty Street intersection will remain open Bay Street will close between Ocean and Market beginning Wednesday, May 20, at 7 a.m. Bay Street will also close between Catherine Street and Lafayette Street beginning Wednesday, May 20, at 7 a.m. Newnan Street from Forsyth Street to Independent Drive will close Thursday, May 21, at 7 a.m. through Sunday, May 24, at midnight Marsh Street will close Friday, May 22 at 9 a.m. through Sunday, May 24, at midnight Map of road closures

Downtown Jacksonville Information

For information on Downtown ongoing road and lane closures, dining, nightlife, additional events and more, visit downtownjacksonville.org.

KR Staffs Honor Our Heros

The Mandarin Branch Library is celebrating Memorial Day and the sacrifices of our brave men and women in the Armed Forces with a special display featuring art work from the National Museum of the United States Army.  Jessica Jones and Sara Peretzman (both are on the KR circulation team) created the display.  WONDERFUL JOB, JESSICA AND SARA!

You can pull books and make your own displays to show our marvelous military men and women and their families that they are not forgotten and we appreciate them more than we could ever express.  

Troy Eittreim's Art At Main, May & June

JPL’s staff member Troy Eittreim installed a show of ten of his digital art works, May 2. Troy's art will be on display on the 3^rd floor of the Main Library during May & June 2015. A statement about Troy and his works and a title list are on display with the show. 

Troy also paints and has a B.F.A. from The Savannah College of Art and Design and he taught himself Photoshop and Illustrator.

His work has recently been included in UNF's Carpenter Library collection, won first place, Donnie Award 2012 (MOCA - Museum of Computer Art), and Editor's Choice Award for Art and Beyond Magazine.

Troy's work has been written about in ArtPapers Magazine, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Chattahoochee Review. He has exhibited in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York.

To view other works by Troy Eittreim, see:

http://troyeittreim.wordpress.com 

If you appreciate fine art, come treat your taste buds at the Main Library.

Framed With Love

Antoinette Walker, Library Assistant at Westbrook, created a Mother’s Day Craft program and 15 kids participated. Picture frames made of cardboard were decorated with shells, then spray-painted gold. Each child had their picture taken holding a handmade “Happy Mother’s Day” sign. After the frames dried, each child’s picture was laminated and placed in the frame. Staffs worked together to make this program a success as Library Clerk Susan Williamson rearranged her desk schedule to provide uninterrupted desk coverage and Library Associate Kimberly Cherry was the official picture-taker & laminator. Kudos to all of you at WBK!

KOI; No, Not Coy

NW's Vicki Leonard shares a delightful hobby with her hubby and Richard Mott prodded her to give us the story on their adventures with Koi.  Vicki says, "Many of you here at JPL know that Steve and I have a unique hobby; we are  Koi Keepers.

"We have been enjoying this hobby for about 14 years.  We are members of the North Florida Koi Club here in Jacksonville.  We have sat on the board as treasurer, vice president, and president.  We are also members of the Gainesville Koi Club.  We started competing in shows and are about our third year into it and have never stopped.  We also just started competing in the Goldfish area.  We have won numerous trophies over the years in “Best in Size" and "Best in Variety".  We took Reserve Champion and Grand Champion a couple of years ago, and last month we took Grand Champion in the Middle Georgia competition with our Dotsi Butterfly Koi.  Our Koi pond holds 7,000 gallons which is considered large.  However, we have friends throughout Florida with 20,000 to 30, 000 gallon ponds.  No, we do not buy our Koi from the local pet shops--not that there is anything wrong with that and it's a good way to get started.  We buy from actual Koi breeders because we are competing.  Most of the small Koi I buy to grow out are from Japan.  We have been lucky enough to be in KOI USA magazine twice.

"The word Koi actually comes from the Japanese word meaning “carp”.  What is known as Koi in English, referring to the more specific colored Koi, is nishikigoi, which in Japanese means a “brocaded carp”.  Another reference to the Koi is the “jewels of the pond”, which is quite true. As you walk up to the pond early in the morning, right before you get the clear view, you see the bright reds, oranges, white, and blues shimmering in the water.  Some of our Koi are so tame in the big pond that you can reach into the water and touch them.  They will stick their heads out of the water for a pet and, of course, a treat.  We ship in Koi pellets for their main food but Koi are primarily vegetarians. They will eat lettuce, squash, watermelon, spinach, citrus  and peas; plain oatmeal and cheerios are their favorite treat.  

 

"It is very relaxing coming home and sitting by the pond and listening to the waterfall.  Currently I have about 28 Koi in the large pond; they run from 8 inches to 38 inches in length.  We have four new baby Koi in quarantine and seven goldfish.  Also, we have one high fin banded shark, just because I was curious.  This is a hobby I plan to grow old with." 

JB's 3rd Annual Comic Con A Super Success

Julie Rekow gives this review of Beaches Branch's third Annual Beaches Comic Con, "We had a super success, Saturday, May 2, with our National Free Comic Book Day. We partnered again with the Superhero Beach Comic Store and we had a free shuttle between locations. The Beaches Library was bursting with activity. Al Letson and Ashley Lanni led a panel discussion on how to break into the comics industry. The Fletcher High School band played superhero theme music. 

"Local special effects wizard Jay Woodley did a make up demonstration. Ten local artists had display tables. Fangirl Boutique, Beaches Teen Anime Club, Neptune Beach Elementary Student Art League, the Jax Sci Fi writers group, and author Ashley Grapes also exhibited. Participants played trivia, made Lord of the Rings swords and played Quidditch. The day was capped off with the costume contest judging and prize drawing giveaways. It was an amazing event! 

"Super special thanks to Greg Royce, Julie McNeil, Midge Roton, Bob Silkett, and Cheryl Callavini for being super guest helpers." 

Staff Profile - May 2015

The Braille Challenge was held at Main's Conference Center, January 22, 2015. Chris Eaton, Librarian II, Special Services, accomplished no small feat for the disabled and JPL with this project. Chris' supervisor, Scott Adams, still brags on this masterstroke.  Conference Center Manager Mistesh Sangani said, "It was the best attended event of its kind in Florida and mirrored California’s similar event." Chris recently won a Challenge the Process Award and JPL's Employee of the Quarter Award (January-March 2015) for this achievement.  Chris has a story worth telling about the first Braille Challenge at Main. 

   Chris at Disney with wife, Lorraine, and daughter, Lily (of One Spark fame).

Q: You were successful in bringing the Braille Challenge to Jacksonville and the Main Library—a huge win for you and Special Services.  Why have the Braille Challenge here?

A: I felt that it was important to bring the 2015 Braille Challenge to Jacksonville to show that Jacksonville is a legitimate location to hold the Florida Braille Challenge’s North Regional competition, and that our young Braille readers in northeast Florida would have the same opportunity to demonstrate their abilities as do young Braille readers in the rest of the state. The reason that Jacksonville was even considered was because the previous location, Tallahassee, had such low registration that it had to be cancelled as the 2014 North Regional location. A contact at DCPS informed me of this and, in cooperation with the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine, we requested that the competition be moved from Tallahassee to Jacksonville. The rest is history. Our first effort produced a very successful event that involved the greatest number of competitors in the state’s history. We had 63 students/contestants registered and we estimate 200 people were involved.

 

      Q: What steps did you take to accomplish this?

A: The first thing that we did was reach out to our community partners and from there, create a planning committee. Thankfully everybody that we reached out to was as optimistic as we were to bring this event to Jacksonville. After that came securing financial support, donations, and volunteer support.

Q: What were some of your challenges in pursuing your goal?

A: There were many challenges in organizing an event of this size but I think that the biggest was securing financing. It’s just something that I don’t have a lot of experience in. I probably sweated the most over where our food and prize donations were going to come from and who was going to provide parking.

 

      Q: What other organizations’ and agencies’ assistance did you need and did you learn things that will be valuable in your future pursuits/partnerships for Special Services?

A: The assistance of the Conference Center staff was phenomenal. I’ve been working with Mitesh and his staff for many years on things like our adaptive movie programs so I knew they would provide solid support. It shouldn’t be forgotten that one of the stars of the event was our building and how awesome it is. I think it can be easy to take our space for granted when you’re here day-in-day-out.

 

For quite a long while I have been communicating with Beth Meyer at the city’s Disabled Services Division to find ways in which we can work together and the Braille Challenge presented the perfect opportunity. Her office’s funding and assistance in promotion via the Mayor’s Disability Council proved invaluable. I learned that working with other city departments/divisions doesn’t have to be complicated.

 

I’ve also been working with the Duval County Public School System’s Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVIs) for many years and this gave us the opportunity to collaborate in ways that we never had before. I’m now working with them on adaptive equipment training workshops that would involve their teachers and the students they serve.

This event presented our first real opportunity to work with the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind where many Braille readers from Jacksonville attend. The enthusiasm of their teachers and staff was great and the way that they organized their student competitors was very helpful in making for a smooth running event. I learned that, even though they are an institution that can rival JPL and DCPS in facilities and funding, they are willing to work with us to achieve a common goal. Actually, I was concerned that they might be granted the opportunity to host the event instead of us but they must have decided that it was in their best interests and decided to defer to us.

 

The state Braille Challenge coordinator, Ms. Sue Glaser, and her staff at the Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired provided a much-needed framework for the event and the experience to manage many of the minor hiccups that we had along the way. Should the North Regional Braille Challenge continue in Jacksonville their efforts will again be needed.

 

There were so many other organizations that supported us that I could go on-and-on in singing their praises. The thing that impressed me the most was how willing and eager these organizations were to work toward creating a successful, memorable event for blind and visually impaired youth in our community. It seemed like everyone was just waiting for the opportunity to do something big that would make a statement and prove the value of what we do. But most importantly was to recognize and celebrate the achievements of the young people we serve--and to give them a moment in the spotlight.

Pic to right:  One of the props for the event was a Harley Davidson motorcycle (provided by a gentleman on behalf of Adamec Harley Davidson) with a side car. The event had a Harry Potter theme and, in the books, the character Hagrid rides a motorcycle (not an HD but a Royal Enfield) with a sidecar that Harry rides in. This was our version of that and the man who owns the bike let the kids sit on it, touch it, and ask questions about it.

Q: Tell us something about yourself that we probably don’t know.

A: If I had to mention just one thing it would be that I have recorded an official hole-in-one on an 18-hole golf course. My first job was on a public golf course and I’ve been playing since I was probably 10 years old.

UPK's Employee Of The Quarter: Roz Smalls

 

Rosalin Smalls was nominated by her co-workers in April for the UPK Employee of the Quarter. Reasons listed were: “Just because”; “Morale Booster”; “Cake & Dancing” and “Amazing! In every way. Pays attention. Gets it done.  End of story.”  On April 29^th, the staff at UPK celebrated Roz’s win with a lasagna dinner, complete with salad, garlic bread and dessert.

Rosalin (Roz) Smalls is originally from New York City.  She came to Jacksonville in 1979 with her husband and two daughters, Junise, aged 9, and Danielle, aged 2 ½ yrs.  Roz first went to work for Southern Bell Telephone Company, retiring in 1999 after 19½ years.  In October 1999, Roz began working for the City at the Guardian Ad Litem Program as an Office Assistant/ Front Office Person.

In June 2004, the program downsized and Roz and three other City employees were let go.  In September 2004 Roz started with JPL.  Regency was her first stop as Library Clerk. When Highlands reopened, Roz transferred.  In 2006, Roz applied for the Supply Clerk position at University Park and started in January 2007.  In February 2011, the Supply Room was closed and Roz moved over to the UPK as a Library Clerk, again working with customers.