Making connections in Marana

I spent Tuesday, May 22 at the Geasa Marana Branch Library. The variety of tasks I was assigned meant that the day flew by: re-arranging shelving so that mysteries and large print books were spread out a little more evenly, checking books in and out, going through the teen collection and pulling books considered “grubby” (stained, broken binding, ripped pages, etc.), and helping patrons search the web.

I arranged for Kendra to meet with Rev. Dave Hedgepeth, pastor at the Community Christian Church of Marana, in early June. Not only is Dave an important contact, he is interested in connecting members of his congregation with community assets and volunteer opportunities. The church also hosts a pre-school at the facility and the teacher might be interested in Story Hour and other library programs.

We also had the chance to go over the Government Complex and meet with T Van Hook, Director of Community Development for the Town of Marana, and Melanie Nelson, the Grant and Housing Coordinator. As gracious as always, T made arrangements to introduce Kendra to some of the key folks who work for the Town, including Mayor Ed Honea, and take her to lunch at THE spot where she will be sure to meet everyone: R&R Pizza.

I am familiar with the R&R. Whenever the Catholic Daughters would come to town to work on the Pottenger’s house, they would always stop in for a little lunch, a chance to socialize and conduct some official business before scattering across the state.  What I did not realize: if you want a comprehensive list of what is really going on, stop in there and read the bulletin board. Anything of any importance is posted there. Forget the newspaper, forget the Internet – it’s the R&R!

I hope when Kendra and T stop in for a bite to eat, Kendra takes information to post. Wouldn’t it be interesting if this is the only advertising needed to promote the Summer Reading Program and Story Hour? I love small towns!