Library volunteer Marge Gascon honored with the Casey Award

Strong and effective community organizations rely on enthusiastic and skilled volunteers. Thousands of selfless men and women work behind the scenes every day to make sure these organizations run smoothly.

Sometimes one of these volunteers stands out from all the rest. For the Friends of the Webster Public Library, that volunteer was Marge Gascon.

As a member of the Friends, Marge Gascon was an active supporter and advocate for Webster Public Library (WPL) resources and programs for more than 14 years. She held several key positions with the Friends. Among her many accomplishments, she revamped the membership process, revised the financial reporting system, created policies for gifts, honorariums and reimbursement expenditures, introduced the use of PayPal and credit cards for purchases made by patrons, and worked with library administrators on grant writing.

Marge passed away unexpectedly in April, leaving a huge hole in the hearts of everyone at the Webster Public Library. Those who worked alongside her immediately started discussing how to honor her commitment and service. Ultimately, they decided the best way to do that was to nominate her for the Daniel W. Casey Library Advocacy Award.

Given annually since 1993, the Casey Award is presented by the New York Library Association (NYLA), honoring one volunteer member or a group from the New York State library community each year whose efforts have contributed to the growth of libraries or Friends of the Library organizations.

NYLA representative Lisa Wemett said that NYLA generally receives a half dozen or more nominations every year, which are referred to a committee whose members thoroughly review each one. This year, their decision was unanimous: Marjorie L. Gascon would be the 2023 Daniel Casey Award winner.

On Saturday Nov. 11, at a ceremony held at the Webster Public Library, Wemett presented the posthumous award to Marge’s daughter Renee. Accepting the plaque, Renee said of her mother,

My mom certainly was not one to ever want an award. In fact she always said, “don’t take my picture, don’t look at me. I’m in the background!” She was truly a support person. She looked at every one one of you on the board and in the Friends group as part of her family.

(Working with the Friends) was her life blood. She really really loved helping and being a part of this organization. We are so thankful that you considered her for this, and that she actually won the award unanimously — that’s just unbelievably amazing.

Almost 40 people attended the ceremony, including family members, WPL staff members, Friends of Webster Library volunteers, and several local political officials. Library Director Adam Traub, trustee Peg Ehmann, and Mary Alice Moore from the Friends all spoke, adding personal insights into Marge’s never-say-never attitude, infectious spirit, and unwavering commitment to making the Friends of the Webster Public Library the invaluable asset that it is.

Here a few photos from the event:

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(posted 11/12/2023)

Tags: Friends of the Webster Public Library, Marge Gascon, Missy Rosenberry, Webster NY, Webster Public Library