The Skaneateles Library Association (SLA) has announced nominees for the 2018 Board of Trustees. Three new individuals will be elected to serve on the SLA Board for a three-year term, one new candidate will serve a one-year term, and two current trustees are seeking re-election for another three-year term. Over the past several weeks the Nominating Committee, which is made up of Board members and community members, has reviewed and interviewed candidates to fill the four open positions as members’ terms expire this year.
In accordance with the SLA bylaws, the following nominees were presented at the SLA Annual Meeting held on January 25, 2018:
Karen Morrissey Bedard
Bedard earned her bachelor’s degree in creative writing from St. Lawrence University and worked as an Associate Creative Director or Senior Copywriter for many clients, including Ocean Spray, Tyson Foods, Volvo, Carnival Cruise Lines, and Vistaprint. She now operates her own creative agency in Skaneateles. Bedard has local roots and is active in a local school PTC group. She brings experience crafting broadcast, digital, direct, email, social and print communications, and she has won awards in these fields.
Danette Davis
Davis is a returning board member, currently serving as secretary of the board. She earned a master’s degree in library science from Syracuse University and has worked as a children’s librarian in Orlando, Florida and at Seymour Public Library in Auburn, New York where she has been the assistant director for the past six years. She has lived in Skaneateles with her family for the past 22 years. In 2012, she served as the interim library director of the Skaneateles Library assisting with the candidate search for a new director.
Susanne Guske
Gustke earned a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University and a master’s degree in business administration from Syracuse University. Her business experience encompasses small start-ups to Fortune 500 companies including Allied Signal, Xerox and Welch-Allyn. She has worked in mid and high-level staff positions, managing people and budgets, and has served the Skaneateles community as treasurer or president of all three schools’ PTCs, president of the Music Guild, and as a board member of SKARTS as well as the Finance Advisory Board of the SCS district. She brings strength in meeting, budget and project management and skill in communicating with tangent organizations.
Andrew Hagen
Hagen is a returning board member, currently serving as treasurer. He graduated from Le Moyne College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and has been employed as a financial advisor with AXA Advisors, LLC in Syracuse for more than twenty years. He holds the Certified Financial Planner and Accredited Investment Fiduciary designations and his practice specializes in retirement planning. He and his family have lived in Skaneateles for six years. In his role as treasurer of the library board, he has helped guide the library through the tax funding project, establish their relationship with Buffington & Hoatland CPAs, and worked with NBT Bank to manage the Library’s investment funds.
Dave Hempson
Hempson earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the State University of New York College at Oswego
and a master of science degree in secondary education from the State University of New York College at Cortland. He left his original profession as a high school science teacher in Skaneateles to take on the challenges associated with the growth of the Marietta Packaging Corp. as their director of quality assurance where he subsequently held roles of vice president of quality, executive vice president of operations and chief operation’s officer, retiring in 2016 as senior vice president of business development and quality assurance. Currently, he operates a consulting business and oversees several non-profit organizations. Hempson has a history of board involvement including: SUNY Cortland College Board, Chairman of the Cortland Regional Medical Center Board, and Spafford-Area Historical Society Board, among others. He brings a wealth of experience managing people and budgets, finding creative solutions to intricate problems, and leading nonprofit projects to completion.
Amanda R. Latreille
Latreille earned her master of science degree in information science with a library and information services concentration from the State University of New York at Albany. She also holds a degree in nursing from SUNY Plattsburgh as well as a degree in nursing from St. Joseph’s Hospital College of Nursing in Syracuse. Her experience includes working with the Documentary Heritage and Preservation Services for New York as an evaluator for the State Archives and Library. She has been a “Ready to Read” consultant, an “Outcome-Based Evaluation” trainer, and a grant reviewer for the State Library. Latreille has volunteered locally at the Moms and Kids Childcare Coop, the Skaneateles Music Guild and the Elbridge Free library—writing two successful grant applications while there. Latreille’s background and experience offer strength in library program development, coordination and evaluation activities, and web design for libraries.
Nominees will be elected by residents of the Village, Town and/or School District of Skaneateles, New York, during an election to be held on Tuesday, February 6, between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. at the Skaneateles Library located at 49 East Genesee Street, Skaneateles, NY 13152.
New and re-elected members are officially seated at the March reorganizational meeting after being approved by the Board. The Board would like to thank the candidates who applied for these positions, and the members who served on the Nominating Committee.
The Skaneateles Library Association’s Board of Trustees exists to ensure sound ethical and legal governance and financial management of the library. To learn more about the Board of Trustees and the programs and services available at Skaneateles Library visit www.skaneateleslibrary.org.
About Skaneateles Library: The Skaneateles Library Association’s origins date to the early 1800s, when library collections were housed in different businesses throughout the village. A permanent home for the library was built in 1890. As part of its mission to inspire learning, enrich lives and connect the community, the library provides access to a world of information in the form of books (print, audio and electronic), DVDs, music, magazines, newspapers, databases and the Internet (including Wi-Fi). The library also offers a wide variety of educational and entertaining programs for kids, teens and adults throughout the year. The Skaneateles Library is a member of the Onondaga County Public Library System. For more information visit www.skaneateleslibrary.org
