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R- Nancy Nash
Friend
to Friend
A
Newsletter published from time to time
by the Friends of the Brown Library
122 Van Norden Street,
Washington, NC 27889
Volume 67 • Winter 2013 |
Nancy
Nash, who, with her husband Dave, brought to
life a fledgling group and shaped it into the
vibrant Washington organization it is today, has
been honored with a Frannie Ashburn Volunteer of
the Year Award from the statewide Friends of
North Carolina Public Libraries (FONCPL).
Nominated by the directors of Friends of the
Brown Library here in Washington for her long
and passionate commitment, Nash received her
award Saturday, October 27 at the FONCPL annual
meeting in Greensboro. Although Dave passed away
in 2011, Nancy is still active on the Friends
Board, continuing to take charge of volunteer
coordination for one of the most important
activities of the Friends’, their annual January
Book Sale, which she initiated two dozen years
ago.
The State organization of Friends was clearly
impressed with the Nashes’ story, which
illustrates the impact that individual
volunteers can have on a community. After Dave
and Nancy retired from Connecticut in the
1980’s, they looked for ways to serve their new
town. One day they were handed a box of paper
slips; the small parcel constituted the Friends
of the Brown Library.
The Nashes, working as a team, were charmed by
Washington and Beaufort County, and soon found
both newcomers and natives who responded
enthusiastically to their call. Nancy became the
new president of the Friends, with Dave bringing
publicity support. Their projects drew the
attention of state and local representatives and
funding for the expansion of the library
followed.
In her tenure with the Friends, Nancy Nash has
worked miracles to keep public attention on
library needs, but the four-day Friends’ Annual
Book Sale was the shining case in point for her
award. The Nashes began the Book Sale with two
tables between the stacks in the old library and
offered discarded library books to patrons. They
made $40 that first year. Soon growing out of
that space, they headed for an empty shoe store
in the mall. That year, they made $400. It
wasn’t long before they began filling the
Washington Civic Center each January with up to
25,000 donated books, CDs and DVDs, taking in
$20,000 for Brown Library’s necessities, from
furnishing, shelving and materials to children’s
programs and computer equipment. The entire
effort is volunteer run and requires the whole
year to prepare.
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