The Friends of the Anza Library held its first Board Retreat, bringing together board members and community guests to review the organization’s work, discuss future plans and explore new ways to strengthen its mission in the Anza community. The retreat was hosted by Olivet University at its Anza campus.
The meeting opened with a welcome from FOAL President Kay Mackay, followed by a guest presentation from Annika Knöppel of Knöppelåsen. She shared insights on the importance of maintaining healthy, transparent nonprofit organizations and offered practical advice on maintaining accurate organizational records, developing sound nonprofit practices, and seeking grant opportunities.
Knöppel is actively involved with numerous nonprofit organizations throughout the local mountain community and brings a business background and a strong passion for supporting nonprofit organizations. She encouraged FOAL board members to continue developing strong organizational practices while looking for new opportunities to advance the library’s mission.
Another invited guest speaker, Shannon Houlihan Ng, offered encouragement and guidance for the continued development of Friends of the Anza Library. Houlihan Ng served as the Anza Branch Manager at the time FOAL was formed and has continued to support the organization through her experience and knowledge of the local library community. She shared her perspective on advancing FOAL’s mission, exploring possibilities for a new library space and continuing to develop services for the local community.
Houlihan Ng has extensive experience in the library field, with a background in public libraries, electronic resources, circulation, interlibrary loan and information retrieval. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science from UCLA.
Board members also discussed ways to strengthen FOAL’s presence and impact in the local community. Topics included book donations, improving membership participation, increasing community awareness and promoting the mission of FOAL through local events, outreach and other promotional activities.
During the business portion of the retreat, the board discussed amended bylaws, membership, grant applications and a watercolor book project. Board members also reviewed and approved previous meeting minutes, discussed upcoming community events and considered ways to further engage local residents in the organization’s mission.
The retreat provided an opportunity for Friends of the Anza Library board members and community supporters to share ideas, strengthen organizational practices, and look toward new opportunities to promote literacy, library resources, and community engagement in Anza.
The FOAL board, led by President Kay Mackay, includes Secretary Tara Lehner, Treasurer Nate Tran, Christine Dodge, Nancy Yarrow, Steve Merritt and Sunshine Weeks.
The Friends of the Anza Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to support and promote the Anza Valley Community Library through fundraising and advocacy. The Friends group seeks financial donations and volunteers. Learn more at https://friendsofanzalibrary.org.
The Anza Valley Community Library is a joint-use public library, located inside Hamilton High School, but a completely separate entity. It is part of the Riverside County Library System, located at 57430 Mitchell Road, Anza. Staff may be reached by calling (951)763-4216.
