Four familiar faces have reached major milestones this year at South Wairarapa Libraries and the Council is celebrating their long service – Sylvia Arnold (18 years), Ali Te Pohe (10 years), Christine Meehan (15 years) and Elizabeth Stevens (18 years) have each clocked up impressive long service with their years of work following their names.
“The contributions of all of them have helped shape our libraries into vibrant hubs for locals of all ages,” says Librarian Anna Jong.
While they all work across all three South Wairarapa libraries, Sylvia and Ali are particularly well known in Martinborough with book lovers and story time regulars alike.
Te Pohe served as Martinborough’s Branch Librarian before stepping into her current Te Ao Māori specialist role while Arnold, Assistant Librarian, is credited with bringing StoryWalk® to life at Centennial and Considine Park in Martinborough.
The Martinborough Story Walk® earned a nomination for the prestigious Kumara Awards in 2024 for blending literature with outdoor exploration. It was celebrated in the “Kei tua atu i te kaupapa / Beyond the brief” category for transforming a public space into something special.
The Kumara Awards are held annually to spotlight innovative placemaking across Aotearoa New Zealand and last year attracted over 250 national nominations. Arnold’s work stood out for its creativity and community impact. It was made possible with support from the Friends of Martinborough Library, the Men’s Shed as well as publishers and writers.
South Wairarapa Libraries has also welcomed two new faces. Marcus Harvey has joined as the district-wide Library Manager and Andrew Fawcet as the new Systems Librarian. Both will work across all three libraries, so keep an eye out for their smiling faces and new ideas.
The long service loyalty of these and other staff was formally acknowledged by South Wairarapa District Council Chief Executive Janice Smith, who also praised the long service commitment of council staff members Pam Attrill, Stan Bossom, Trish Drury and Hazel Turner.
