Battle At Bristol, Kitchen Witch, Bonnet, & Birthdays

Battle At Bristol

Friday (September 9)  is the day to wear team attire, if you so desire!  There will be downtown events until 4 pm.  If you don't have Vol or Hokie garb, you can wear school colors (orange or maroon) or sport the colors of the team of your choice.  Avoca has a fabulous UT display courtesy of one of the Friends (an avid Vols fan!) and Main has a display representing both teams and college football in general.

Avoca

Avoca

Main

Main

 

 

The Kitchen Witch!

A Kitchen Witch in Prague, keeping an eye on things

This time the  Kitchen Witch Award goes to Ambrea this time for cleaning the microwave.  There is a little treat waiting for you, Ambrea!

A Bee in Your Bonnet?

Okay, not really. At least, not the bee!  We are looking at our local history files and thinking about Bristol's past so as a fun little project we are taking photos of staff wearing a bonnet.  This is possibly the most dilapidated bonnet in the history of bonnets, but that just adds to its charm.  Jeanne usually has her trusty camera with her, so just check with her for your photo op.  Several staff have already participated.  And Avoca, this means you, too!

Happy Birthday!

Patrick   September 8

Nicki     September 12

Laura    September 14

Wedding Shower! Battle at Bristol! Rhythm and Roots!

Wedding Shower!

Congratulations and best wishes to Rebecca & Jessie! May you have a beautiful life together!

Thanks to all who helped make this a joyous event!

Battle at Bristol!

The Battle at Bristol is coming up quickly! On Thursday, September 8, there will be the Kick-Off starting at 6 pm with live music so Main may see some traffic from that.  The next day, Friday the 9th, there will be a Pep Rally starting at 11:00 am and lasting until 4:00 pm with live music and other events on State Street.  Staff are encouraged to wear your team's colors that day-- and it's okay if your team isn't the Vols or Hokies. (Gators, cough).

Rhythm & Roots!

And the week after The Big Game, we'll have Rhythm and Roots!  Remember, the library will be closed to the public on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Those who would normally work those days need to decide if they will work or if they will take annual leave.  If you decide to take leave, please fill out a leave slip and give to Brenda as soon as possible.  LIS Department, you need to let Christy know if/when you plan to work so that she can schedule accordingly. This is coming up Real Soon Now! 

Yearbooks & Best Wishes!

Yearbooks Online!

The Library of Virginia has scanned our yearbooks!  These are school yearbooks before 1977 and the omitted most of the colleges (ETSU, King University, etc.) but did do Virginia Intermont and Sullins College as well as the high school annuals we had available.  You can also search within a yearbook!  The link is https://archive.org/details/bristolpubliclibrary

Note:  The link seems to be having problems at the moment.  I accessed it earlier, and so did several other people. 

Find Your Park!

The National Park Service is turning 100 on August 25, 2016, and we get the present!  Admission to over 400 National Parks will be free for this weekend.  You can get more details and look for a park here:

National Parks 

Happy August Birthdays!

 We hope all those concerned enjoyed very happy birthdays!

Wedding Shower!

August is going to be a two cake month! (Mmmmmmm. . . . cake.....) Rebecca's wedding shower is going to be next Tuesday, August 30, starting at 2 pm in the Staff Lounge.  Join us in giving the happy couple our best wishes!

Congratulations, Round Two! And Get Well!

Changes at Avoca

Gary & Susan:  The Next Chapter!

 Believe it or not, Susan from Avoca is going to retire! She has worked hard and now she's going to kick back and relax... unless she ends up hauling kids to and from many places.  Her last day will be October 3.  Congratulations, Susan!  It's well deserved. Best wishes for a long and happy retirement!

Wedding Bells

"Don't worry, Fluffer!  Of course I put cat food on the gift registry!"

 They say you have to watch the quiet ones. They'll always surprise you. Rebecca D. got engaged and is about to tie the knot!  We will be having a Wedding Shower on Tuesday, August 30, in the Staff Lounge.  Festivities will start at 2 pm.  Wedding details are posted on the Employee Bulletin Board. Best wishes to Rebecca and Jessica!

Get Well Wishes for Amy!

We wish you a speedy recovery! We miss you!

Happy Birthday!

T.J.  (Jones Creativity Center)    August 24

Congratulations!!!

Wow, we have a lot of people to celebrate and congratulate this time around!

Michelle

First of all, thank you for the pancake breakfast!  It was wonderfully delicious (as opposed to Lucky Charms, which are magically delicious) and everyone enjoyed it very much.  And what an impressive staff turn out!

Secondly, congratulations on achieving your 20 years (plus eleven months) with BPL!  That is quite the accomplishment.  Thank you for all your hard work!  We hope you know how much we appreciate all you do.

Katie

In case you haven't heard, the Jones Creativity Center's own Katie has graduated college! Way to go, Katie! Hope you'll take a moment to enjoy your achievement before you start the next phase of your life.

Christy

Remember when Christy found the baby in the Mardi Gras King Cake?  She ended up with a real-life baby!

Well. . . . this year she didn't need the cake.

So, no, you have not been imagining the glow!  Won't Flora make a wonderful big sister?

Continuing Education Stars!

Here's the list of folks who met the standard for Continuing Education hours:

Justin Baumgardner     16 hours
Nicki Childress              16  hours
Ambrea Johnson           15 hours*  (Ambrea hasn't been with us quite a year yet!)
Christy Lunsford          17 hours
Jeanne Powers              24 hours

Other folk who logged at least some hours are Christy Herndon, Don Wilson, Brenda Dunn, Rebecca Dunn, and Candess Fleenor.

If you do not see your name and you completed hours, this means you failed to log your hours on the Continuing Education site.  Please see Don if you need to add your name and hours or if you need instructions on how to log your hours in the future.

The new fiscal year has started; it's a clean slate.  Let's see if can bring up the hours and the participants!  Remember, you can schedule time with Christy to do a webinar or other class. Full time employees should have earn at least 16 hours throughout the year.  If you have a question about the hours needed, please check with a supervisor. Amy is planning to have a staff training day this next year, so most should be able to get in some hours at least.

Happy Birthday!

Brenda  August 15

Justin   August 16 

Pancakes, Trains, and Many Events in Bristol's Future!

PANCAKES!!

Yes, I've used this photo before but they still look delicious!

Just in case someone failed to mark his or her calendar, there will be pancakes in the Staff Lounge on Thursday, August 11, starting at 8:30 am.  Chef Michelle will pick up some whipped cream and syrup.  If you would like other toppings, please feel free to bring them! There is a rumor that Avoca staff will join us! 

AVOCA

And speaking of Avoca, they made the front page of the Bristol Herald Courier, thanks to a young avid reader! Kevin Hernandez made trips to the Avoca Branch Library this summer and read his way to an amazing goal.

Kindergartener Reads All Dr. Seuss

Children's Event at George L. Carter Railroad Museum 

At least I can't take the blame for taking this bad photo, because I'm in it!

This Saturday there will be a children's event in Johnson City at the George L. Carter Railroad Museum. People do NOT have to pre-register, just show up at the museum at 10:00 am for the tour.  If you have questions, ask Chef Michelle-- er, Mrs. Michelle. Still have pancakes on the brain. Anyway, if you are interested in the museum itself, the link is George L. Carter Railroad Museum

Events, Events, Events!

Downtown Bristol is going to be hopping for several weeks starting the weekend after this one.  We should be having lots of out of town visitors stopping by, so let's show them the best of Bristol!

First up is Food City Family Race Night on Thursday, August 18.  For those who haven't been here on FCFRN before, plan to park and stay in one place. Most of downtown State Street will be blocked off as well as some side streets.  Read more about the event at Food City Events

Then there's The Battle At Bristol, and events are planned for downtown as well.  Thursday, Sept. 8,  State Street will be blocked again for a pre-game pep rally. Downtown businesses are being encouraged to decorate in team colors.  Amy has suggested that staff may want to wear Vol or Hokie attire those days, depending on your allegiance. (Or you can wear the colors of the team of your choice. Or you can wear orange and claim neutrality!) You can read more of the plans in this article from the Kingsport Times News:  Pep Rally in Bristol

The next weekend is, of course, Rhythm and Roots! Whew!

Condolences

We have lost two long time patrons in the past few weeks.  Barbara Smith was a long-time VITA volunteer and a cheerful, friendly presence during tax season.  Many staff will also know her daughter, Patty Caldwell.  Her granddaughters were also avid library users.  You can read the obituary here.

Raymond Rice has been a frequent visitor to our library, regaling staff with stories of his great-granddaughter Sophie.  He was retired from the Air Force,  an avid reader, and former regular at the Nevermore Book Club.  You can read his obituary here.

Pancakes!!

Pancake-apalooza!

Due to popular demand, Michelle will be doing a pancake breakfast on Thursday, August 11 starting at 8:30 am at Main!  We'll have butter and syrup on hand.  Bring your favorite toppings to share!

Will there be waffles? Only Chef Michelle knows. . . and she's not telling!

Thinking About Retirement?

From City Hall:

All employees who are a Plan I or Plan 2 Virginia Retirement System member and thinking about retirement within the next 5 years should attend the VRS presentation on August 11, at the School Board office at 11:30 a.m.  If you are still interested in purchasing prior service there is also a  session at 10:30.

10:30 a.m.  -  Purchase of Prior Services Changes – this presentation will explain the changes in purchase of prior service that go into effect on January 1, 2017.  This presentation will help you understand the steps you need to take prior to January 1.

11:30 a.m. – Are You Ready to Retire? – this presentation will be for current Plan 1 and Plan 2 members (hired before January 1, 2014) who are within five years of retirement.  This presentation will guide you through important retirement decisions, such as when to retire and selecting a benefit payout option.  Other topics include using myVRS and benefits after retirement.