The February 6 Gala Open House was a Hit!
The Western Philatelic Library Gala Open House on February 6 was a tremendous success in many ways. Over 200 philatelists and supporters came from as far away as Petaluma, Fairfield, and Morgan Hill to see the new library, share some time with old friends, and to pick up bargains in our half-price sale. From 11 AM opening until the close of business at 5 PM, a steady stream of visitors arrived.
This one-day event combined fundraising with promotion. Volunteers worked tirelessly in the weeks leading up to the event, scrubbing, painting and tidying up. Through the generosity of Siemens Medical Solutions of Mountain View and its CFO, Mr. Martin Klein, we were able to furnish the work/study area with high-quality work tables, and Ed and Judy Jarvis furnished 20 new chairs to go with the tables.
WESTPEX, Inc. Board provided funds for advertising, refreshments and matching funds for the sales of surplus collections and books, and a force of 20 people to help out!
The roster of people who gave their time to make this event a success:
John Cross: set up and take down
Bill Dwyer: publicity postcard design & mail
Bob Gordon: sales
Clyde Homen: sales
Ed Jarvis: Manager and Asst. Broom Pusher
Judy Jarvis: refreshments
Marci Jarvis: sales check out desk
Bob Jarvis: security
Wally Joliff: assembling & pricing collections
Ed Laveroni: sales
Stuart Leven: donations processing; signs
Ken Lewetzow: assembling & pricing collec- tions
David McNamee: publicity; signs
Jerry Mix: sales
Kristen Patterson: set up and take down; book sales
Russ Samuels: sales
Kathy Samuels: Official Photographer
Roger Skinner: Answer Man (“do you have a book on . . .”)
Jo Skinner: Chief Accountant; sales check out desk
Roy Teixeira: Chief Broom Pusher, Painter, Interior Decorator, . . .and on and on
Sigrid Teixeira: coffee and tea
Total sales for the day were $3200 which was matched by the WESTPEX, Inc. Board. Addi- tional funds were contributed to raise the total to more than $10,000! In addition to the very useful funds, the sale of surplus duplicate books makes more room for the new books coming in every month. The success of the event was great enough to encourage us to do it again next year.