Thank You from the Norfolk Booksale The Friends of the Library Annual Book and Bake Sale was held on April 25th and 26th this year, and by any measure it was a huge success. The final totals are yet to be calculated, but after all of the expense receipts are in, it looks like we will have earned nearly $17,000. This is by far the largest and most successful sale we've ever held, and it took lots of people to make it happen. Pat B. and Warren B. setting up on Thursday before the sale The serious planning began last February. A core of Friends gathered to divvy up the responsibilities and begin the tasks needed to bring an event like this to life. The 2008 Book and Bake Sale Committee had many familiar faces, but we also had two brand new volunteers who were willing to assist in any way they could. Through the process they became valuable contributing members of the team. Judy Ross handled the publicity for the sale. This is a huge undertaking, as the only way to continue to succeed year to year is to get people to the sale to shop, and she was able to do just that even with a self described steep learning curve. Pat Brylinsky another of our new committee members took on the task of composing and sending out donation letters to local area businesses asking for donations to offset the expenses incurred, such as the rental of the tables and new yard signs. Again another rookie stole the show and donations were the highest ever. Joining Judy and Pat were our returning team of Ann Hanssen, Thayer Olson, Beverly Baldoni, Margaret Lange, Patti McCarty, Jen LaFond, Denise D'Entremont and Mary Jo Gothorpe. This group of motivated women met during February, March and April to plan and execute the Book and Bake Sale. Additionally, there are two exceptional people who eat, drink and live the book sale all year long. They have been doing this for all the years since the book sale moved from the small Jeanne D. Hill room in the old library into the years we held the sale in a huge tent in the parking lot, and for the last three years since we've been at the DPW garage. Maureen and Conrad Buck are the souls of this sale. They work all year long sorting the book donations and moving all of the boxes of books, 1200 total right before the sale began this year, to our storage trailer. In actual years they are the elder citizens on our book and bake sale committee, and yet they put much younger workers to shame. The dedication and care they deliver is commendable. Thank you both for all you do for the Friends, for the library, and for the town of Norfolk. Friday night cashiers waiting for the doors to open: L to R, Kurt C., Bill G., Ron G., and Harvey B. In addition to the core planning committee there were many other volunteers we need to thank. The boy scouts of Troop 80 were our secret weapon this year. We are grateful for their strong arms and backs and the unending supply of youthful energy they expended as they set up tables, moved books to the cashiers and then to shoppers cars, packed up the books at the end of the sale, and finally closed up those same tables they had set up just four days earlier. In addition to the sale related tasks, they canvassed area towns well before the sale asking merchants to put our advertising flyers into their store windows. These boys are working on a Citizenship in the Community Badge which requires them to assist in a town project from the planning through to the execution. The scouts were led by John Buchholz and Phil Chadwick and included Thomas McCarty, Connor Chipman, Matt Ouellette, Jonathan Keys, Sean Lavin, Jimmy Eblan, Dan Boudreau, Matthew Boudreau, Evan Gee, Matt Thorne, Matt Cronin, Chase Buchholz, Dominick Ferrarra, James Kearins, Alex Farkas, Cal Dodge, Jake Hall, Dylan William, Tyler Hogan, Pete Hogan, Ryan Quern, Drew Iacoviello, Brett Barrett, Justin Bennett-Cohen, Will Chadwick, Chris O'Mara, and Nick Sebastiano. Thank you for all your hard work and enthusiasm. The book and bake sale requires over 120 volunteers, and each year we call to ask for your assistance. We never have trouble filling the shifts. Year to year we see familiar faces, but this year we had a record number of new participants. Another group of dedicated volunteers are the over 70 people who baked delicacies for the most successful bake sale we've ever had. Not only did you come through with delicious baked goods, but the creative presentation of the offerings was inspiring. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Butch Vito, DPW Director, once again allowed us to use the highway garage for the sale. No longer do we have to worry about wind and rain. No longer do we have to face many long hours without toilet facilities. No longer do we have to walk through mud, and worry about leaking tents. No longer to we have to listen to the relentless drone of generators powering the lights in the tent. We are ever grateful for the wonderful space for the volunteers to work in, but also the comfort the garage offers for the shoppers. Thank you especially to Paul Vito and the crew of DPW workers who were there to help with whatever we needed from putting up our banners to moving ladders and equipment to make the space work for the sale. The crowds gathering for the Friday Night Friends-Only Preview And finally the biggest thanks of all goes to the community of Norfolk. You came out and bought books and baked goods from the Friends, popcorn from the Junior Friends, and hot dogs from the Lions. You generally made this not only a fantastic fund raiser, but also a great community event. People met old friends they hadn't seen in years at the sale and many stayed for coffee or lunch to catch up on news of each others lives. Residents of all ages participate in this annual event because the love of reading and the love of a bargain resonates with all of us. We had over 30,000 books organized and ready All of the money we raise at the Annual Book and Bake Sale helps to pay for projects and events at the library. Many items we supply to the library just can't be squeezed out of an incredibly tight town budget. All of the library's patrons benefit from your generosity. This very special recycling process works, as evidenced by the success of the sale of many thousands of books, all donated by citizens of Norfolk and then purchased by many other citizens. Thank you to everyone who participated either by working, or by baking, or by shopping. And to those of you who did all three, and many did, a special thank you for helping to make this the biggest and best Book and Bake Sale ever. Mary Jo Gothorpe Book and Bake Sale Committee 5/22/2008 ### Norfolknet.com your community, on-line