Who’s Awesome! Kathy Fisher – June 2024
Kathy Fisher, Head of Genealogy, is HCPL’s June winner for Who’s Awesome! There were 11 nominations for the honor this month.
Library Director Alisa Burch, nominated Kathy stating, “Kathy worked HCPL’s pop-up library at the Corydon Pride Fest June 21. She braved the heat to share information on library’s services and programs. Kathy is awesome! ”
Teresa Douglass, genealogy specialist, had this to say about Kathy last July, “Kathy is an awesome person to work with. She is incredibly knowledgeable in her field, and I have learned a tremendous amount about genealogy from her. She is my “go to” person when I just can’t seem to find a solution. Even if I think I’ve tried every possible angle, she never fails to come up with an additional resource to try or a different research route to consider. Kathy knows her stuff! Also, Kathy has always been very understanding and accommodating with my schedule. She’s always willing to work work around appointments, or needing time to take care of mom, or working around (often short-notice) visits with my son, etc., which is VERY MUCH appreciated. Lastly, but certainly not least, Kathy has been an amazing trooper during her own personal battles over the past year. She never once brought her troubles or issues into work with her, but remained unbelievably positive and professional throughout. Can’t get more awesome than that!“
Kathy joined HCPL’s staff 20 years ago splitting her work week between the reference department and genealogy. She went full-time as head of the genealogy department when Jim Burnside retired in 2005. Kathy oversees the center and staff. She answers patron requests, handles monetary and artifact donations and conducts programming. She was nominated by Burch several times for her programming ideas including this nomination from September of 2023. “Kathy plans fun activities to “spotlight” the offerings of the Frederick Porter Griffin Center several times during the year. This September she has focused the Saturday Spotlights on Indiana Archaeology Month. Kathy uses humor to make the activities more appealing and bring awareness to the physical and digital records the FPGC offers including photos, files, newspapers, yearbooks, donated materials, artifacts, Ancestry.com and Fold3. For September she has planned a scavenger hunt to “Find Indiana” where she has hidden images of Indiana Jones throughout the collection and a “Not My Job!” quiz to test knowledge of antiquated occupations. Kathy is awesome!”
Each month a winner is selected by random drawing. Other staff members nominated in June include: Amanda Applegate, Amanda Embrey, Connie Gresham, Megan Grindle, JoBeth Mathes, Trevor Smith, Jessica Stroud, Tiffany Thieneman, Savannah Wallace, and Heather Wyss.
Article by Alisa Burch, Director
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