And the Results Are...

Salado Public Library will continue with its current slate of board members as the two incumbents were re-elected as of 7:38 p.m. on Saturday evening. Although I will not be serving on the board, I am delighted by the following:

• I had a fabulous campaign watch party surrounded by interesting, forward-thinking, supportive individuals.
• I make WAY too much food so I won't have to cook for a week!!!
• We actually HAD an election. It's a poor reflection on our civic-mindedness when we can skip elections because we don't have enough people who WANT to serve.
• I only lost by 31 votes which means that at least 435 people liked my ideas and I'll continue to bring those ideas forward from outside the board.
• I made a public statement that I care about enough about this community to put myself out there and risk rejection.
• A good many people out there know about my qualifications as a university library degree instructor, a consultant to libraries across the country, a frequently invited library keynote speaker, and an active member of American Library Association. The two gracious incumbents commended me for my ideas and I in turn pledged my support to them during their tenure. Even without an elected position, I feel like I can do just as I have done with dozens of other libraries across the country...lend my expertise and be a consultant as my voice is needed.

I celebrate the democratic process and am thrilled I participated in this small way. I congratulate the winners - Patty Campbell and Susan Krals - and I especially congratulate my fellow non-incumbent, Thad Wilson who served on the library's Long Range Planning Committee. Only he knows how courageous it is in a small town to throw your name into the hat. Based on my brief encounters with him, I'm sure he feels just as honored as I do to have had this marvelous experience and to be a part of the democratic experiment.

I'm sure there is much more I need to say, including personally thanking some fabulous people. But the prawns are in the trunk and need to be iced, there are scraps of chocolate cake that would go down nicely with a hearty Merlot, and there a more dishes than I can count that need to be rinsed before the caked food becomes part of the decoration. Just as I wished for more colleagues to enjoy the bounty of my afternoon cooking fenzy, so do I wish those same colleagues were here for the cleanup!