This February, we recognize Lori, a longtime Library volunteer with more than 10 years of service to JCPL!
"I originally started volunteering at Belmar Library, sorting donations," Lori says. "Working with donations was fun because you got to see all the new stuff coming in. It was always kind of exciting because you'd get something in and think: Wow! Look at this, this is pristine! I'm saving it for the bookstore."
Belmar Library closed for remodeling in 2019, and Lori's volunteering was put on hold, first for construction, then for COVID-19.
"Because of COVID, there was no grand reopening celebration or anything like that," she says. "Not many people knew Belmar was open again, so there wasn't enough volunteer work for me to do. But there was a position open at Lakewood Library, so I went there."
"Lori is an awesome volunteer," Patron Experience Supervisor Kamie says. "She is always up to working on any project but excels at shelving the morning holds and often will stay late to finish her cart. She is a wonderful asset to the Lakewood volunteer team and JCPL. Lori will also pick up extra hours or makeup time that she misses for vacations or holidays. We are so lucky to have her!"
Lori is a morning person, so volunteering before the Library opens suits her schedule — including a fun bonus for volunteering at 7 a.m.
"I'm the first one to see what the Lucky Days are!" she exclaims.
Lori is an avid reader who prefers thrillers above all else. She has read nearly all the works of Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler and James Patterson.
But Lori's also an outdoorsy adventurer who loves to camp.
"I recently read 'A Walk in the Park,' which is the story of two men who hiked the Grand Canyon," she says. "One was the author of this book, and the other was a photographer. I wanted to see the pictures that went along with the story, so I put the photographer's book on hold. But I'm thinking everyone else who read 'A Walk in the Park' did the same thing — there's a lot of holds on it!"
"That's another thing I love about doing the holds shelving," she says, adding that she hadn't heard of "A Walk in the Park" but kept seeing it while adding it to the hold shelves. "I decided to flip through one day and thought: Oh, I want to read that!"
And it's no wonder: Lori and her husband bought a travel trailer six years ago and love to take driving trips to national parks and scenic routes all over the west. Their rescue lab, Shawnee, accompanies them on all their adventures. When she's not traveling, Lori loves to bike around Bear Creek, Red Rocks and the Platte Trail and keeps busy tutoring math at Red Rocks Community College.
"I taught and tutored at Red Rocks until 2019, then switched to just tutoring," Lori explains. "Tutoring keeps me from completely forgetting all the math I ever learned, and you get to build a rapport with a new group of students every semester."
Prior to teaching, Lori worked as a computer programmer and then as an actuary. She recalls how her job brought her from Texas to Colorado 36 years ago.
"My husband and I were living in Houston, but neither of us felt like it was our forever home," she says. "I had a connection in Colorado through my work, so I went out for just an introductory meet and greet. While I was in the intro, someone in the company quit. They asked me if I was interested in interviewing for their position, and I said, 'Yeah!' I got the job, and we moved to Colorado, and that was that."
We are so lucky fate brought Lori to Colorado! Thank you for your many years of exceptional service to JCPL, Lori.
