Friends of Wasilla Public Library holds meeting

WASILLA - The Friends of Wasilla Public Library recently held its first general membership meeting, which brought out more than a few Harry Potter fans to the old Wasilla townsite.

More than 120 children and adults attended the meeting, which was also a celebration of literacy and libraries.

The "Harry Potter, Magic and More" theme drew a large crowd of children dressed as book characters.

Organizers were happy with the number of people who attended the Sept. 22 meeting.

"We knew it was asking a lot for even devoted library supporters to fit one more meeting into their schedule, so we decided to make this a family-oriented, fun event too," said Ley Schleich, president of the Friends of Wasilla Library group.

A professional magician entertained the crowd at the Old Wasilla Townsite, where the meeting started.

"Fortunately, the weather was good, so we just moved the party from the old schoolhouse outside when we started bursting at the seams," Schleich said.

There was a "book share," which was facilitated by students from the Midnight Sun Charter School.

Wasilla Councilman Norm Fuller also read a story to the crowd.

The first membership meeting also resulted in Peggy Behnke receiving the first-ever "Best Friend" award.

Behnke has supported Wasilla Public Library for more than 40 years.

"Peggy has shown an amazing commitment to Wasilla's library since 1960, when she first joined the Library Association that actually ran the library," Schleich said.

Behnke was elected president at the time, then became the librarian, a volunteer position.

She has also been recognized as the driving force in getting the current library's building built.

"Peggy is known as a constant resource of insights and advocacy regarding our library," Schleich said.

The Friends of Wasilla Public Library plans to make the membership meeting an annual event.

The Sept. 22 meeting was the first membership meeting the group has held.