Over the summer, Laramie County Library System welcomed three new members to its Board of Directors. Elizabeth Dillow and Rob Dickerson will serve on the board from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2022, while Will Dinneen will serve on the board until June 30, 2020. Board members for Laramie County Library System are appointed by the County Commissioners who are required by Wyoming State statutes to provide library services to their constituents. Individuals who are interested in serving on the Laramie County Library Board, must fill out an application and turn it into the Commissioner’s office at least two months in advance to an open position. Each board member has their own reasons for serving on the board, some which they shared after a couple of months in the new role.
Elizabeth Dillow has lived in Laramie County for ten years. She is involved in numerous organizations throughout the community including the Wyoming Congressional Award Council, Wyoming Reads, and the Cheyenne Frontier Days PR Committee. She is a graphic designer, photographer, and writer who owns a small business.
As part of an Air Force family, Elizabeth has lived all over the country, and says she knows firsthand what a treasure the Laramie County Library System is to the community. During her tenure as a board member, Elizabeth would like to, “help the library continue to evolve with the 21st century while staying true to the primary goal of encouraging reading and literacy for all members of the community.” She would like to work towards ensuring that everyone in Laramie County knows what an amazing resource exists in their own community, including military families who may be brand new to the area. More than anything, she says, she would like Cheyenne to be a place that people read, think, and solve problems and she believes the library is uniquely positioned to help achieve that goal.
Elizabeth has lived in Cheyenne on three separate occasions in the past twenty years; during that time, she has been a patron, worked on staff, and worked as a contracted employee. She knows a library that is, “committed to remaining at the heart of the community for usefulness, relevancy, and creative offerings is the one that will thrive.” No matter where life has taken her and her family, she has always dreamed about Laramie County’s incredible library while she is away, and she is excited to help serve the Laramie County Library System and the community in yet another capacity.
Rob Dickerson has lived in Laramie County for twenty-eight years. He is a CPA at RLR, LLP in Cheyenne and a graduate of the University of Wyoming. He is involved with the Cheyenne Kiwanis Club and served as the Cheyenne Kiwanis Club Foundation’s President; he is also actively involved with both the Cheyenne and State of Wyoming Ducks Unlimited Committee.
Rob is a lifelong reader who is looking forward to learning more about the Laramie County Library System’s operations and being part of its continued success. He says that he, “cannot recall a time that I have not had materials on loan from the library and have appreciated the opportunities the library has afforded me.” He believes that the library is a very well-run organization and hopes to utilize his twenty-five years of experience as both an accountant in public practice and business owner to help support the continued success of the library.
Rob says that the library has made a huge impact on his life, and that he is looking forward to returning something to both the library and the Laramie County community that has been so important to him. The Laramie County Library System is looking forward to putting his expertise to work, and to having a lifelong library user on the board.
Will Dinneen has lived in Laramie County for 25 years. He currently works as the Communications and Policy Director for the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office. He is actively engaged with the Laramie County community; he served on the steering committee for Cheyenne’s Sesquicentennial Celebration and Cheyenne’s core team for the Bloomberg Philanthropies 2018 Champion City Mayor’s Challenge. After completing his bachelor’s degree from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, he completed a Fulbright Fellowship in Turkey at Gümüşhane University where he lectured and studied youth democratization.
Will has been a lifelong patron of the Laramie County Library; as a child, he would walk to the library’s old location on Central Ave. and take stacks upon stacks of books back home with him. He recalls learning to type and to research at Laramie County Library and vividly remembers attending a library program in celebration of The Hobbit. Will stated that the library has been part of his life for decades, and continues to be part of his life today. As an adult, he still attends programs such as Classic Conversations, checks out books, works in the study rooms, and uses the library’s meeting rooms for a variety of events.
Will said that, “when this opportunity presented itself I moved forward with the hope of helping Laramie County Library System expand and grow upon its mission and impressive history.” Will would like to continue reaching out to a diverse demographic through programming and ensure that the library maintains its accessible and welcoming atmosphere. He also wants to help communicate Laramie County Library System’s strengths and resources to the community while helping the library continue to progress so that it can serve the dynamic and growing Laramie County Community.