Radio Host Speaks at Annual Meeting
Grant Barrett, who co-hosts the KPBS radio program “A Way With Words,” spoke to an appreciative audience at the Friends annual meeting on Sunday, January 26, answering questions and talking about his lifelong love affair with books. Barrett told the Friends and guests that he grew up in a poor community in Missouri with parents who were not readers. But he soon developed an "unsolvable" need to read, working his way through the shelves of the local library and learning about the "wider world."
"Books gave me a second opportunity to live," he said. Barrett also talked at length about his son, who is 6 and rapidly learning about the "power of words." And with patience and humor, he answered more than a dozen questions, ranging from the mechanics of his Saturday afternoon radio show to the merits of e-books, audio books and comic books.
During the business meeting, library director Betty Waznis praised the Friends who provided "financial and emotional support" to the library and its staff during the past year. Friends were particularly effective, she noted, in lobbying for additional city funds and developing a strategic plan for the library. "I am very impressed by this organization's initiative, skill, proactivity and interest in improving this city," she said, commending the group's leadership as well as the "foot soldiers" who sort and sell used books to benefit the library.
Executive board president Shauna Stokes reviewed the group's accomplishments in 2013, which included a $45,000 donation to the library book budget and funding for a host of programs and facility improvements. The Friends also launched a new chapter to support the Otay Ranch library and recruited 47 new members – two over the goal set to mark the group's 45th year. The board has set a goal of 30 recruits for 2014 and is well on the way to topping that goal as well, having signed up nine new members at the annual meeting.
In addition to his work on the radio show, which is broadcast on public radio stations across the U.S., Barrett is a dictionary editor who specializes in new words and slang. He is the editor of the Official Dictionary of Unofficial English and the Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang, as well as co-founder of the online dictionary Wordnik. (1/31/14)
"Books gave me a second opportunity to live," he said. Barrett also talked at length about his son, who is 6 and rapidly learning about the "power of words." And with patience and humor, he answered more than a dozen questions, ranging from the mechanics of his Saturday afternoon radio show to the merits of e-books, audio books and comic books.
During the business meeting, library director Betty Waznis praised the Friends who provided "financial and emotional support" to the library and its staff during the past year. Friends were particularly effective, she noted, in lobbying for additional city funds and developing a strategic plan for the library. "I am very impressed by this organization's initiative, skill, proactivity and interest in improving this city," she said, commending the group's leadership as well as the "foot soldiers" who sort and sell used books to benefit the library.
Executive board president Shauna Stokes reviewed the group's accomplishments in 2013, which included a $45,000 donation to the library book budget and funding for a host of programs and facility improvements. The Friends also launched a new chapter to support the Otay Ranch library and recruited 47 new members – two over the goal set to mark the group's 45th year. The board has set a goal of 30 recruits for 2014 and is well on the way to topping that goal as well, having signed up nine new members at the annual meeting.
In addition to his work on the radio show, which is broadcast on public radio stations across the U.S., Barrett is a dictionary editor who specializes in new words and slang. He is the editor of the Official Dictionary of Unofficial English and the Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang, as well as co-founder of the online dictionary Wordnik. (1/31/14)
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Clockwise from above left: Library director Betty Waznis thanks the Friends; membership VP Imozelle McVeigh breaks a (vinyl) record to celebrate the 47 new members who joined in 2013; president Shauna Stokes outlines the group's goals for 2014; Barrett lingers after the meeting to chat with attendees and pose for photos.
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