Pauline's work for the Library Foundation was recognized and celebrated at a catered affair at the Dougherty Valley Library on October 16th. The event combined the Sixth Anniversary of the Dougherty Valley Library and Pauline Nolte's retirement from the San Ramon Library Foundation.
Joyce Gunn, San Ramon's first Librarian, came down from her home in Pittsburgh to laud all of the work that Pauline contributed to getting that first library built.
Councilwoman Carol Rowley, who is a member of the Library Foundation, presented Pauline with a proclamation and bouquet of flowers for her service to the community and book lovers everywhere.
Pauline told me she's working in Oakland for Kaiser Perminente and doesn't have the time to devote to the Library Foundation anymore. She's earned her retirement.
In June, 2008 I wrote a commentary in the San Ramon Observer criticizing the Library Foundation for its control of water and soda sales at the Art & Wind Festival.
Pauline responded to my commentary, refuting most of the claims made by me and others. I published her response the following week as a Guest Commentary in the Observer.
She wrapped up her response with a history of the Art & Wind Festival. What she doesn't say is she was the originator of the Street Faire that evolved into the Art & Wind Festival.
History of the Wind Festival
The "Street Faire" began in 1986 as a major fundraiser for one non-profit, the San Ramon Library Foundation in their goal to raise $250,000 for the opening collection at the soon to be constructed (1988) San Ramon Library.
For the next several years, the Street Faire, held on Executive Parkway, brought the Bishop Ranch Business Park community together with the residents of the City with a jointly planned and scheduled event.
With the opening of Central Park southwest in 1992, City staff decided to relocate and re-name the Street Faire to Central Park and we added wind to the event, the brain child of the city's Kim Giuliano. The Library Foundation was still the major benefactor of this event and it was decided to open up food concessions to local non-profits instead of bringing in concessionaires, which was the practice with the old Street Faire.
When the local non-profits were brought in to provide food services to the newly constituted Art and Wind Festival, the food items were separated to avoid duplication and the Library Foundation requested that they be given the concession for soda and water.
For more than ten years, this worked very well. However, in time, as the Festival popularity grew, the Library Foundation volunteers grew older and were not sufficient to adequately manage the concession. The Foundation agreed to partner with California High School Music Boosters to jointly provide soda and water for the Festival.
Three years ago, based on feedback from our non-profit food providers and festival patrons, our non-profits agreed to a new system whereby the Library Foundation/Cal Hi Music would sell soda/water to each of the non-profit food vendors. At the same time, the price of the product to the patrons was raised, thus allowing the food vendors to receive a portion of the proceeds for their effort and not cut into the income of the Library Foundation/Cal High Music.
This is the arrangement that we are currently operating under. The city had received feedback from the non-profit food vendors and met with the Library Foundation to review such feedback and we have made changes to accommodate the food vendors.
Pauline Chiew Nolte
Thank you Pauline, for all you have done for San Ramon and the two libraries here.
