Library board gives thanks

What a great day for our community. As many of you know, we did

win the grant for the new Mariners Library.

On behalf of the Library Board of Trustees, I wanted to send this

small note of thanks to those of you that worked toward this dream

with much vision, passion and philanthropy.

Each of you should be commended and congratulated for the extra

mile you offered, and to anyone not mentioned ... please accept our

apologies.

Although I and the library board want to individually thank each

of you personally, on behalf of the board, I wanted to offer this

small thank you now.

Very special thanks must be given to:

* Our mayor, Tod Ridgeway (without whom this could not have

happened), and our entire City Council: Vice Mayor Steve Bromberg,

Councilman and former Mayor Dennis O’Neal, Councilwoman Norma Glover,

Councilman John Heffernan, Councilman Gary Proctor and Councilman and

former Mayor Gary Adams. All so willingly and unanimously jumped in

with both feet and supported this project right up front.

* Our talented city manager, Homer Bludau, and his incredible

staff that kept working through all the details and never said never.

* Robert Barbot, our superintendent of schools, who just kept

finding ways to keep the project alive, and the chair of the

Newport-Mesa Unified School Board, Judy Franco, and to all her

talented and passionate school board comrades who also fought for

this possibility: Dana Black, Martha Flour, Serene Stokes, James

Ferryman and David Brooks.

* Tom Johnson, publisher of our Daily Pilot, who supported our

dire and immediate need to quickly reach our community, and did so

largely, generously and gratis.

* Library Trustee Walt Howald, who early on grabbed and

championed this idea by the horns and convinced me (and all of us)

that this could and should be, and that we were at the very least

obligated to try.

* Our other library trustees, Karen Clark, Harry Hamilton,

Catherine Saar and Theresa Chase, each of which made grand

contributions through out this effort.

* The Crean family, whose constant dedication to this community

and their willingness to share never stops.

* Marion Bergeson, Chris Wilkinson and Theresa Chase, who took on

the impossible challenge of raising more than $1 million in less then

three months, jumped in and never looked back.

* Our truly dedicated and talented city attorneys Bob Burnam and

Lois and other staff who guided us down the legal highway.

* Our incredible senior library staff, “Mariners Project Team,”

headed up by Judy Kelly and assisted all the way by Darlene Gaetano,

Susan Warren, Susie Lamb, Melissa Adams, Teri Craig and LaDonna

Keinitz, our retired city librarian and others. All labored on

putting together our award-winning grant application and provided all

the sound details and judgment to package this idea. (I understand

that our lauded application, together with the sound recommendation

by staff to co-locate, provided acting Library Director Darlene

Gaetano and newly elected City Councilman Don Webb the ammunition to

get us over the hill in Sacramento -- the additional push when it was

so very needed. And Don was there for us on his own dime).

* Our wonderful Library Foundation, Past President Larry Spitz

and new President (and former Mayor) Tom Edwards. Both, along with

Tracy Keyes, were instrumental.

* Gary and the Friends of the Library, who never seem to not find

a way to give even more.

* All the other library staff, city staff, school district staff

and all the dedicated Newport Beach and Costa Mesa volunteers and

residents who walked and knocked doors, and passed out literature,

and raised both large and small donations, and showed up in force to

support this project at every opportunity.

* All the others behind the scenes that some of us will never

know about, who worked nobly to help gather even more support.

Somehow, our new library, just like our 2002 World Champion

Angels, was meant to be.

For sure, dreams can come true.

To each of you, I am elated to say a heartfelt thank you on behalf

of the entire Newport Beach Library Board of Trustees, and our entire

community. What a great team effort.

PATRICK J. BARTOLIC, chair

WALTER HOWALD, vice chair

HARRY HAMILTON, secretary

KAREN CLARK, trustee

THERESA CHASE, trustee