Credit: Patrick Grego
“I’ve never seen so many people,” said Roe Jan Community Library board president Pat Pacone into the mic at the library’s annual gala. “I think we’re going to need a bigger room!”
With over 260 attendees at the Catamount Ski Lodge, in Hillsdale, the event, held on Saturday, June 8, was a resounding success. Earlier this week, staff and volunteers were still confirming and collecting auction bids, but library director Tammy Gaskell confirmed a net income of about $90,000.
The annual gala is crucial for the library’s operations, contributing 25% of its total yearly income. “It allows us to pay and retain our wonderful staff, the library’s most important asset,” said Gaskell. “Without the gala, the only way to cut costs would be to cut staff, which would be a terrible blow to the people we serve.”
The Roe Jan Community Library maintains a collection of over 50,000 books, electronic materials, DVDs, CDs, museum passes and other resources. Last year, more than 30,000 individuals borrowed from the library’s collection or attended its 200-plus adult programs and 155 programs for kids, teens and families. The library provides summer reading programs for the town camps in Ancram, Copake and Hillsdale, and through the Roe Jan Farmers’ Market. Additionally, it offers digital skills training with online tech labs, a series of “back to nature” programs on gardening and the environment, and weekly ESL classes, Tai Chi and programs for homeschooled children.
Credit: Patrick Grego
Individual private support, including funds raised from the gala, accounts for half of the library’s $449,741 budget. The other half comes from Roe Jan town taxes, which are $19.41 per person, significantly lower than the $55.71 per person funding for the Mid-Hudson Library System.
The silent auction featured items from many Hudson Valley artisans and businesses, with guests bidding above value for contributions from Tiny Hearts Farm, Millbrook Winery, Windy Hill Nursery, Herringtons, Coopers Daughter Spirits, the Ancram Center for the Arts, Oblong Books, The Farmer’s Wife and more. Tickets for James Taylor at Tanglewood sold for more than twice their face value of $159. There were also zip-line tickets at Catamount and an unlimited season pass up for grabs in the live auction.
Ishmael “Ish” Ribar from the Old Kinderhook Auction Company, a Taconic Hills High School alum, led the live auction with enthusiasm. “This is not a time to be ‘responsible,’” he urged the crowd. “I want you to get home safely, but with your pockets a little lighter.”
Ribar encouraged competitive bidding on unique experiences such as fly fishing, flower arranging, a weeklong catamaran vacation, a private tour of the Bevacqua Gardens, producer’s tickets to “The Lion King,” and a cocktail party for 20 at the Vanderbilt Lakeside Bar Room and Guesthouse, just outside of Hudson. Heather Erdrich, on her phone with the successful bidder for the Vanderbilt Lakeside party, joked, “I am totally one of his 19 guests. And I am so glad I have a library card!”
Gaskell’s favorite auction item was a lunch with cookbook author and social media star Dan “Grossy” Pelossi. “He’ll cook lunch for six in his Craryville kitchen and regale you with stories from his life as ‘the meatball-making-meatball,’” she said. “He was a delightful guest at the library’s cookbook club a couple of months ago.”
Placona hopes to pack the same space next year: “We were thrilled and gratified that so many neighbors came out to support their library. Now we start work on next year: Saturday, June 7, at Catamount again, 5 to 7:30 p.m. Mark your calendars!”