Selecting sentiments

Bryce Alderton

Choosing the cards that will grace the gift shop racks at the library

is how 54-year-old Huntington Beach resident Dee San Marchi spends most

of her time when she’s there.

And that’s every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to noon, and “whenever they need

me,” she said.

As the shop’s card buyer San Marchi has to be careful not to buy the

first card that catches her eye.

“I have to be careful and not buy what I like all the time,” San

Marchi said. “I need to think about what other people will like too.”

As chairwoman of the Friends Gift Shop Committee, made up of 18

volunteers, San Marchi also sells cards and other merchandise, assists

customers and attends monthly meetings to discuss how to make the gift

shop better.

She has an assistant card buyer that helps her choose cards and also

works with a gift and paper buyer.

“I have a lot of wonderful people I work with,” San Marchi said. “We

are all supportive of the library as a worthwhile cause and have one of

the most beautiful libraries in Orange County and want to keep it that

way.”

All this, she does on a strictly volunteer basis.

She and her husband Stephen also run their own investment business out

of their home, which she said has freed up more time for her at the

library.

“I’m the goffer for the business,” she said jokingly.

She began volunteering at the library’s gift shop three years ago and

has been chairwoman since June. Previously she was a store manager for

The Broadway in Huntington Center Mall.

“I just didn’t have the time when I was working at [The Broadway,]”

she said.

The San Marchis have three grown children who all went to Marina High

School in Huntington Beach.