[Missouri-l] Nominees for the Friends Board

Thu Mar 18 12:10:19 CDT 2010

Nominees for the Friends Board

Vote to be held at the April 24, 2010, Annual Meeting

Joe Dobbs

A life long Missourian, I attended grade school at the Missouri School for the Blind in St. Louis. I attended high school in Crystal City, Missouri.  Among my most important lessons were the use of Braille and the services of Wolfner Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.  I became a steady patron of Wolfner in 1965.  After graduation, I worked as a musician and in a factory.  I also was a manager in the Capital Building Cafeteria for five years and had a vending route for  about seven years.  I found that very rewarding.  I also trained some of the managers who are managers to this day.  I have been in consumer groups for the blind and visually impaired for several years.  I support the blind and visually handicapped.  I feel very strongly about the teaching and preservation of Braille for adults and children.  I do not feel that it is supported or emphasized enough for its importance in our lives.  I was elected to the Friends Board to fill a one year term, and then elected to serve a two year term.  I also served on the Friends finance committee.  I am married and have two children, and three grandchildren.  I would welcome the opportunity to continue to serve on the Friends Board and would appreciate your vote.

Nancy Lynn

I'm Nancy Lynn, and I'm the producer of Books And Beyond, a talk show heard weekly on ACB Radio's mainstream channel. We've been doing that show since the summer of 2006. Although I've always had a mild interest in books, in 2005 I made friends with someone who taught me the real pleasure of a good book. I'm sure I've read more in the last 4 years than I had up till that time.

As for my background, I am originally from the east coast, having lived in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey for approximately the same amount of time. I claim both states equally as my original home. I received a degree in sociology from Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in 1974. As with many of us, my work history is spotty at best. The biggest job I had is the time I worked for 4 and a half years at AT&T as a deaf relay operator from July of 1995 until we were downsized at the end of January 2000. I've lived in St. Louis since March 15 of 2002, which means that, as of this coming Monday, I will have been here for exactly 8 years.

I want to serve on this board because of my recently discovered love for books. This organization has helped to serve my needs during my time in Missouri, and I'd like to take this opportunity to give something back.

Willa Patterson

Hello: Many of you may know me either from grade and high school or association in various organizations. My name is Willa Jean Patterson. I am a Missouri native and grew up in greater St. Louis. My early years were spent in mid town St. Louis and I attended grade school and high school at the Missouri School for the Blind and graduated in the class of 1964. After graduation, I attended what is now known to many St. Louisans as St. Louis Community college and later transferred to St. Louis University, home of the Billican basketball team. Upon graduation from St. Louis University with a bachelors degree in sociology I decided that it would be to my benefit to continue my education by attending the St. Louis University School of social work where I received a M.S.W degree. I have worked for several agencies in the St. Louis area before relocating to Kansas City where I now reside. I have held offices in my local church, a very well known consumer organization, and in the local neighborhood association, Presently I am employed at Alphapointe Association for the Blind on a part time basis. This gives me an opportunity to serve in other capacities in the community. Currently, I am working with one of the senior citizens who attends my church. This project is part of the outreach work that is done by our local Missionary society. I have several hobbies which may be of interest to some. They are, reading a variety of books which include essays by various authors, novels, poetry, history , and biographies. I also enjoy reading a variety of magazines to keep current of trends in our society, and other information that is necessary for effective and healthy living. I also enjoy participating in the local Get Fit club which stresses health at any age. My participation demonstrates that blind people can effectively participate and make a contribution to their communities. I have been a patron of Wolfner for over sixty years and actively support the work that the library does to promote literacy throughout our state. I am an avid Braille reader and I encourage all blind people to become literate in the use of Braille. This is not to say that there is no place for technology for that is incorrect. All of us must be efficient in the use of our new digital players and be competent in downloading books from Book-share, the NLS collection DAISY Books and other sources. I would like to continue to serve as a member for the board of directors of Friends of Wolfner Library to support the work of the Friends organization and the library in our state and to assist others in accessing Wolfner's services. I am working diligently to recruit blind people of all ages to become members of Friends of Wolfner and the use the library as often as possible. Respectfully submitted Willa Jean Patterson

Mary Lee Pendleton

I started receiving books on record from Wolfner in the early eighties. I have retinitis pigmentosa and my eye sight gradually faded until now I have light perception. Since I was a little child, I was an avid reader. I was in the library in the small town where I grew up several times a week. I attended William Jewell College and got a degree in history and Sociology with a minor in Spanish and a teaching certificate for grades 7 through 12 for Social Studies. As my eyes began to dim, I went from large print to Braille and Wolfner Library helped me in that transition for many years. I have enjoyed the changes from the record player to the cassette machine to now the victor reader. It is such a blessing to be able to go to the web site and know I can peruse and down load a variety of new books and magazines. I even down load children's books to sit and enjoy with my grandchildren. It is such a joy to see their excitement as they hear the readers voices. I also encourage them to read the printed word from their school libraries but sometimes one child will say, "Grandma, I cannot find this particular Treehouse book in the school Library, Could you download it and sit and listen with me?" Of course I do and I think I enjoy the book as much as he does. For this reason , I want to help promote Wolfner and allow other visually impaired readers to be able to find the joy I have each day in books. Not only the visually impaired but those who have trouble with text. It is like opening a new world for people to explore. The enjoyment I have had in learning from books is something I want to pass on. Like one of my daughters said once, "Mom you do not realize that all the books you read to us and that we listened with you not only given us a desire to read but when we took our tests to get into college we scored really high on the vocabulary and reading part. I would appreciate the opportunity to serve on the Wolfner board and will do my best to carry on any tasks that I am asked to do.
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