Kelly Powell, business manager, is HCPL’s November winner for Who’s Awesome! Kelly was one of 19 nominations for the honor this month.
Diana Lasky, administrative assistant to the director, nominated Kelly stating, “Kelly has a magic touch with decorating. The front of the building looks awesome for Christmas and when she sets her hand to food items for library receptions or an open house, everything looks polished and professional. Being able to see the inner workings of the library, I can appreciate her work on making sure payroll is on time and bills are paid. Thanks for being awesome!”
An anonymous nominator added, “Kelly is the library’s go-to person for outdoor decorations. Each year she comes up with a new way to bring the magic of Christmas to HCPL. This year she added Grinch elements. She also helped demolish the old coffee bar in the library and helped with that area’s new furniture arrangement. She is a hard worker and gives 100 percent to the projects she takes on. Kelly is awesome!”
Kelly received two other nominations this month. Savannah Wallace, youth services, wrote, “Kelly did a fantastic job decorating the front of the library! I especially love all the Grinch decorations she used. Great job, Kelly!” And JoBeth Mathes, reference, said, “She is always ready to lend a helping hand. She also decorates for Christmas outside of our library branch.”
Kelly joined the HCPL staff as business manager in January of 2005. For more than 18 years she has handled payroll, insurance, accounts receivable and payable and HR functions for the library. In 2021, after the Pandemic she came up with the idea to form a “Fun Committee” to boost employee camaraderie and morale.
Diana Lasky also nominated Kelly in May stating, “Kelly is very patient. She is positive, helpful and willing to stop and answer questions or help me resolve an issue, no matter how busy she is. I recently overheard that she is the “go-to” person in certain situations because she intuitively knows how to approach people in a non-threatening, positive manner. This is so important in human resources, which falls under her umbrella, even though she is really the business manager. Thanks, Kelly for all of your help and positivity.”
Each month a winner is selected by random drawing. Other staff members nominated in November include Ann Allen, Amanda Applegate, Amanda Embrey, Connie Gresham, John Kunsman, Diana Lasky, Debbie McClanahan, Pam Nemeth, Donna Seewer, Jessica Stroud, Kaitlyn Taylor, Savannah Wallace, Kelli Witsman, and Heather Wyss.
Article by Alisa Burch, Director
