2023 Volunteer Appreciation Awards
12/01/23
Each year, library staff and the Summit County Library Board acknowledge the hard work of the library volunteers who dedicate their time and energy to making the Summit County Library a welcoming and enriching environment for both residents and visitors.
For 2023, we are pleased to present the Volunteer of the Year and the Van Woodford Award to two deserving recipients: Bobbie Zanca and Chris Hall. Plaques with their names hang in the Main Library in Frisco.
Volunteer of the Year
Bobbie Zanca
Summit County Libraries would like to acknowledge Bobbie Zanca for her passion for her local library and dedication to the accessibility of information and stories. Bobbie began as a volunteer back in 2018 and 2019 helping with various library projects, including a Friends of the Library Book Sale at the South Branch; selling books outside in the summer to support library collections and programs. She then volunteered to become a shelver at the South Branch Library and quickly decided to be more involved - putting in many hours programming RFID chips into library materials, expediting the large project dramatically.
With support from a friend Bonnie Scheffler, Bobbie organized and has been hosting the Breck Banned Book Club (B3C) for over a year. She has brought over 50 people to B3C through writing press releases in the Summit Daily, curating a diverse reading list, and raising awareness about book challenges through her thoughtful discussions, inclusion of a guest speaker, and ardent desire for access to knowledge. We are thrilled to have Bobbie’s support for Summit County Libraries with her work on Breck Banned Book Club and her participation in other library programs over the years.
Thank you Bobbie for creating a diverse, educational and interesting program for our Summit County community!
Past recipients of the Volunteer of the Year award include R.E.A.D Animals, Leah Arnold, Barbara Parry, Jaime Bailey, Andrew Armour, Gini Bartley, Kathleen Martynowicz, Barbara & Gary Weis, Joyce Timpson, Brian Edney, Shirley Beaty, Eileen Finkle, Mary Kidd, Kristina Nethaway, Sue Paluska, Becky Morgan, Brett Teatre, Richard Hale, Kay Bullington and Beverly McArthur.
Van Woodford Award
Chris Hall
The Van Woodford Award was started after branch manager Van Woodford dedicated 37 years to Summit County Library, including 2 library moves, countless story times, programs, hands held and lives enhanced. The Van Woodford Achievement Award was her farewell and our standard for the kind of public servants we aspire to be.
Our 2023 recipient of the Van Woodford Award is Chris Hall. Chris was an educator in the Summit School District for 30 years. She moved to Summit in 1988 and taught third and fifth graders for 9 years, before becoming a media specialist and librarian for 12 years. Chris spent 9 years at the Summit High School library, helping high school students learn research skills, how to use information databases, including proper citations and how to avoid plagiarizing. During that time, she remained a faithful Summit County Library user, promoting reading and research tools accessible through the public library to her students.
Photo Courtesy of Joe Kusumoto from Summit Daily Article 11.18.2019
In 2019, Chris was named Outstanding Educator by the Summit Foundation at the annual philanthropy awards and is quoted by the Summit Daily: “I am the problem solver,” she said. “And if I can’t solve, it I will try to find someone who can.” At Summit County Libraries, we have to agree that Chris isn’t afraid to take on a challenge.
In March 2020, our new library director Stephanie Ralph and Chris started to pursue their shared dream of a combined library card/school ID that would expand student access to print and digital collections. Chris took the lead, rounding up the School District team, legal, registrar, IT, school library staff, communications, in order to dive into the MOU process. She designed the sample marketing brochure which promoted the benefits of the project for students and school faculty throughout the County.
Unfortunately, the unexpected arrival of COVID caused the project to slow for a number of years. However, with the support of Tony Byrd, the new Summit School District Superintendent and the School Board, the One Community, One Card proposal was successfully initiated in 2023. Chris’s hard work and vision was essential in making this initiative a reality.
Beyond her work on One Card, the Vice President of the Summit County Library Foundation, Barb Parry, writes of Chris’s contribution to Summit County Libraries:
It is with great appreciation that the Summit County Library honors Chris Hall with the Van Woodford Award. Chris is no stranger to libraries since she was the librarian at the Summit County High School for many years. Now retired, she has stayed busy by being involved with Summit County Libraries. She is a member of the Summit County Library Foundation where she serves as secretary, supporting the Capital Campaign of raising 1 million dollars for the Main and North Branch Library renovations; keeping track of donors and members of the Authors' Circle. Chris makes sure to send out thank you letters to donors in record time! She also helped with the email campaign for this year's Colorado Gives Day fundraising initiative. In addition, Chris volunteers her time for the annual Used Book Sales sponsored by Friends of the Library to raise money for library programs. Chris is well deserving of this award due to her dedication to our libraries and giving of her time and talents so generously!
Thank you Chris for your hard work for Summit County Libraries. Your positive can-do attitude and willingness to rase your hand for many tasks, help our continued success.
Van Woodford Award recipients from previous years include Dale Stein, Judy Regis, Mary Gessner, Karen Musolf, Kristina Nethaway, Paul Olson, Helen Barker, Mary Lynne Kneller, Ken Gray, Dan Taylor, Randall McKinnon, Ron & Kathy Schuman, Joyce Dierauer, Cass Dombrowski, Carolyn Wiseman, Maggie Cox, Susan Donaldson and Janet Good.
