I’m planning to do a series of posts throughout our new library project about people that are volunteering their time and making a difference. There are a lot of contributors to this effort! Read below about Ron Knight, chairman of the capital campaign committee and then, in the comments, nominate someone I should write about next!
Q: What got you interested in the Mendon Library project?
Ron Knight
I first learned about the project from Peter Pearson, the consultant from Library Strategies in St. Paul, Minn., hired by the Friends of Mendon Public Library to research the possibility of a private capital campaign. We met in the library and at first I told him, “No way.” But I’ve come to believe that building a library in Mendon is absolutely the right thing to do.
Q: Why do you think building a new library in Mendon is the right thing to do?
The library is an asset to our community. It serves people from all walks of life–children, seniors, adults, job seekers, people who need a window to the Internet, owners of small businesses, people in wheelchairs, and parents, just to name a few. Our current library can’t fully meet the needs of all residents. The need for building a new library that can meet residents’ needs now and well into the future is clear.
Q: What is the goal of the capital campaign?
The seed funding for the capital campaign has come from a private organization, The Friends of the Mendon Public Library. The vision I have for the capital campaign is to give other private champions of the library an opportunity to support the project. By making private gifts, these champions can minimize the tax burden on Mendon residents related to the library.
Our ultimate fund-raising goal is $1.6 million, which will support the completion of both phase 1–the approximately 8,000-square-foot building now under construction–and phase 2, the renovation of the existing library and building a connection from the renovated building to the new building. Our short term goal is to raise enough money to ensure the town doesn’t need to make payments on the $660,000 bond it put in place to allow the project to go out to bid and to keep a $.5 million new library construction grant from the state of New York.
Q: What experience do you have with fund-raising and capital campaigns?
I helped to raise the funds for the addition of a community room, nursery, library, classrooms and offices to my church. A distinguished Eagle Scout (of which there are only 3,000 in the country), I also volunteer my time to fund-raising for the Boy Scouts of America, which has successfully applied the Benevon model to its efforts. I’m also a trustee of the University of Rochester and an active fund-raiser for Thompson Health in Canandaigua.
Q: What is your background?
I live in Mendon and grew up in Lockport, N.Y. I graduated from the University of Rochester where I met my wife, Judy. While a lieutenant in the Navy, I completed my MBA in Rhode Island. Leaving the Navy, I worked for Xerox for 30 years, including traveling to Japan to learn about Deming’s quality method; then for The Sutherland Group; and most recently for Harris Interactive.
Q: What has been the most gratifying part of the capital campaign work so far?
I have really enjoyed communicating the value of the current Mendon Public Library and why having an up-to-date, adequately sized library is the right thing for Mendon. We are perfectly poised to undertake this project. We have public support in the form of the $1.35 million bond that Mendon taxpayers approved 3-1 in 2008. We are building a library that is on the mark in terms of its size compared the number of residents in our town. We are looking at raising matching funds so we will qualify for New York state library renovation grants to help fund phase 2. And, we have an amazing team of volunteers, town and library staff, and elected officials working together to make this vision reality.
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