Savor the Story 2023: The Future is NOW!

PRESENTED BY:

RUSSEL L MORIN CATERING & EVENTS

THANK YOU TO OUR EVENT PARTNERS AND SPONSORS

OUR 2023 EVENT PARTNERS

Bottles Fine Wine

TEN31 Productions /

Metamorphosis Dance Company

PEAK Event Services

United Parking LLC

Robin Hollow Farm

ElleVignette Business

Rod Luther, Pianist

PLATINUM SPONSOR

Amica Insurance

GOLD SPONSORS

Bank of America

Parsons Capital Management

Kathleen and Barry Hittner

SILVER SPONSORS

Cornish Associates

IGT

Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP

The Debs Family

Billy Kepner & Joe Zappala

BRONZE SPONSORS

BankNewport

The Beatrice Hotel/Paolino Properties

Brown University Library

Cameron & Mittleman LLP

KPMG

LiUNA!

Regency Plaza

Residential Properties

Starkweather & Shepley

Washington Trust

Pamela Faulkner

Jackie Savoie & Dennis McCool

Jennifer & Frank Sousa

TRIBUTE SPONSORS

Barton Gilman Law

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island

Brown University School of Public Health

City

Kitty Veterinary Care for Cats

J.P. Morgan Chase

Coastal1

Dimeo Construction Company

The Lobster Pot

Marsella Properties

Navigant Credit Union

Neighborhood Health Plan of RI

Providence Revolving Fund

Rhode Island School of Design

Southern New England Women’s Health

J.P. Couture, Architect

Randy D’Antuono & Buck Asprinio

Joseph A. Chazan, MD

Drs. Laina & Kevin Crowthers

Jo DuBiel

Rob & Marilyn Edwards

Tripp Evans & Ed Cabral

Katharine & Larry Flynn

Tad Lawrence & Vicky Seelen

Ned Levine & Isabella Porter

Mary B. Olenn

Don & Indira Zambarano

IN APPRECIATION OF

OUR HOST COMMITTEE

Paul Anghinetti

Stephen & Hazel Ashworth

Tom & Toto Bryson

Ned & Christine Capozzi

Erin Chace

J.P. Couture

Laina Crowthers

Randy D’Antuono & Buck Aspirinio

Sean Dagesse

Adriana Dawson

Elizabeth Debs

Jo DuBiel

Rob & Marilyn Edwards

Tripp Evans & Ed Cabral

Larry & Katharine Flynn

Kathleen & Barry Hittner

Stacy & Ryan Hurley

Billy Kepner & Joe Zappala

Sally Lapides & Art Solomon

Tad Lawrence & Vicky Seelen

Lauri & Terry Lee

Rodney Eric López & Noni Thomas López

Cathy Lund & Peter Karczmar

Maureen McDonald

Eve Veliz-Moran & Pat Moran

Jane O’Farrell & Richard Sherman

Mary B. Olenn

Jaymin & Kinnari Patel

Mark Pompelia & Charles Flora

Isabella Porter & Ned Levine

Eric Rietveld & Nick Autiello

Jackie Savoie & Dennis McCool

Arun & Barbara Singh

Brett Smiley & James DeRentis

Jen & Frank Sousa

Sally McDonald Willis & Raymond Willis III

Welcome to Savor the Story 2023!

Welcome to Savor The Story 2023! We are elated that you are joining us at Providence Public Library (PPL) this evening for an “out of this world” fine dining adventure!

And, thank you. Thank you so much for your support and for being a part of the PPL family. The Library has experienced an astounding 375% increase in patron interactions since 2021. We now serve 225,000+ Rhode Islanders annually, and March 2023 was our busiest month on record. More people are using the Library today – more people need the Library today – than at any time in its history. And you made this possible. You have made this dynamic, free community education hub possible. You have made the sustainability, and yes, the growth of this library possible, despite challenges we could never have imagined. We are adapting, innovating, diversifying, creating new partnerships, co-creating with our community, and expanding our reach to ensure that all Rhode Islanders – especially those most excluded from opportunity – are able to thrive because of you. We have hope for the future and in our future because of you. Thank you. I am more grateful to you than I could ever express! And an extra special thank you to tonight’s Enlightenment Award honoree, Robert K. Taylor. Rob –this incredible renovation was your vision. Not only did you see the future of PPL, you made its future real. We would not be here today without your inspired leadership, tenacity, and heartfelt dedication. You are our hero!

Cheers to you for believing in this library, for investing in our shared community, and for celebrating with us tonight. We hope you enjoy the “cosmic” delights in store!

The future is NOW!

Jack Martin Executive Director

GOING ONCE... GOING TWICE...

The Savor the Story Silent Auction has returned with some amazing items donated by PPL staff, supporters, and the Savor the Story Host Committee! This year’s items include:

• Private Tour of Special Collections

• Five-Hour Genealogical Consultation with Kate Wells, Curator of the Rhode Island Collection

• Custom Notecards with Your Choice of Image from PPL’s Special Collections

• Choose the Color of PPL’s Neon Sign for a Week

• Private Movie Night for 50 in the Donald J. Farish Auditorium

• 10-Person Dinner in PPL’s Trustees Room

• Private Wine Dinner for eight with Eric Taylor and Jack Martin at The East End

• Two-Session Consultation with PPL’s Master Gardeners and Peroni Ice Box Gift Set

• “Night Out (of This World!)” in Providence Package Including One-Night Stay for two at the Graduate, a $50 Gift Card to Reiners Bar at the Graduate, a WaterFire VIP Experience, and a JOYful Handmade Needlepoint Pillow.

• One-of-a-Kind Teapots Fit for a Jetson

• Best Book Club in the Galaxy, including six copies of Daughters of Nantucket by Julie Gerstenblatt and dinner for six at Bristol’s The Lobster Pot

Bid on all of this year’s tantalizing auction items at our Silent Auction table before the clock strikes 9:15 pm!

YOU Y +

PPL’s Savor the Story is so much more than a gala, it’s a celebration of the work that YOU make possible here at the Library!

Everything about PPL – from our newly renovated spaces, to the cultural, educational, and career development programs that serve your community (and you!) – is supported and sustained through the support of tonight’s sponsors AND donors like you.

A gift of any size can make a difference at PPL!

Give today at prov.pub/supportPPL

BECOME A PPL ALUM!

If you’ve had a meaningful experience at PPL that you’d like to share, we invite you to become a PPL Alum and help us tell the Library’s story by telling your story! Simply visit: prov.pub/PPLAlum

Thank you for attending Savor the Story and making these stories possible!

THIS EVENING’S TOASTS

Thanks to our friends and supporters who have chosen to make a donation in honor of someone special!

Saul & Susan Kaplan – In honor of 2023 Enlightenment Award honoree, Robert K. Taylor

Don & Sheri Sweitzer – In honor of 2023 Enlightenment Award honoree, Robert K. Taylor

RELIVE THE SPLENDOR OF SAVOR THE STORY!

Any of tonight’s wines can be ordered through this QR code: And don’t forget! 20% of the proceeds will be donated back to PPL!

Galaxy NGC 1448 with Active Galactic Nucleus

Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Carnegie-Irvine Galaxy Survey

Robert K. Taylor

Providence Public Library

Enlightenment Award Honoree

I believe in places that serve the community. The greatest legacy for me would be knowing that this library continues to be a strong and vibrant place, a vital community resource for everyone in Providence and all Rhode Island.

– Robert K. Taylor

Having served as an active member of the PPL Corporation since 2002, Rob Taylor joined the Library’s Board of Trustees in 2006 at a time when libraries were struggling to reimagine their missions and work for the 21st century. Upon nomination to the Board during the 2006 PPL annual meeting, Rob listened while a national researcher and library consultant spoke about libraries needing to swiftly respond to changing community needs. She talked of emerging principles in library service, including the concept of a “great third place,” library spaces designed for people first – not just for books or computers – and new and creative public uses of library buildings. She highlighted the idea of a changing scope of services and the need for more innovation.

One might say Rob likely agreed – taking these messages to heart, passionately dedicating himself to a dynamic vision for PPL’s future, and doing so with a steadfast determination to make that vision a reality.

Rob Taylor has been a true library champion and a constant and dependable guiding force for PPL over the past 20 years. Rob took on leadership positions from the moment he joined the Board of Trustees, and has since held every board office and worked on almost every board committee. In his early years as a Trustee – during a time of challenge and transition for the Library – Rob never hesitated to jump in headfirst. He applied his steady presence and thoughtful demeanor to task after task – whether it was working to put the Library on firmer financial footing, laying the groundwork for new and exciting programs and services, or putting building blocks in place for transformative facilities upgrades. Rob ultimately became Chair of the Board in 2012, and served in that role for six years.

Rob has been instrumental in shaping the Library’s future. As many people who have known him and who have had the good fortune of serving with him in his various capacities at PPL can attest to, not only did Rob have a clear vision, but he also had an ambitious plan for the Library from the beginning. And, he recognized that this vision and plan would not come about overnight.

Rob helped to lead PPL through its intensive transition from Rhode Island’s largest library system – with 10 citywide locations – to the cutting-edge education hub that the Library is today. He has guided PPL and its community through multiple, critical foundation-laying strategic planning processes; each strategic plan building off of the prior and all focused on expanding the Library’s educational mission. He set the wheels in motion for a once-in-a-lifetime physical transformation of his beloved third place – a project he envisioned long before the 2018 groundbreaking. And, nearly two decades after first signing on as a Trustee – after immense effort, long volunteer hours, and a tenacity few could match! – Rob has proudly seen PPL become a Library for the 21st century, with a talented and continually growing staff serving record numbers of patrons and doing nationally recognized work. Furthermore, Rob’s PPL family is not alone in recognizing his sincere passion for libraries and his outstanding leadership; in 2018, he received the Trustee of the Year Award from the Rhode Island Library Association.

Not one to rest, Rob’s work continues today as co-chair of PPL’s DEI Committee, helping to oversee yet another essential growth process for the Library as we work to embed diversity, equity, and inclusion in all that we are and do.

For his tireless dedication, inspired leadership, and singular vision over the past 20 years – and for making PPL’s future a reality – we recognize Rob and proudly honor him with the Library’s 2023 Enlightenment Award.

Thank you, Rob, for your enduring contributions to PPL. Your legacy here is one for the ages – some might say out of this world! Congratulations!

PROVIDENCE

PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES

Elizabeth A. Debs, Chair

Angel Arrazola

Joseph A. Chazan, MD

Sharon Lloyd Clark

Sean C. Dagesse

Adriana Dawson

Lisa DeCubellis

Robert W. Edwards, Jr.

Frank Eyetsemitan

Maia Farish

Louis Goldman

Dr. Kathleen C. Hittner

Billy Kepner

Beverly Ledbetter

Sally P. McDonald Willis

Katherine Messier

Jane O’Farrell

Meghan Rego

Micah E. Salkind

Sally Strachan

Christopher Stevens

Robert K. Taylor

Mary Ann Upton

Juan Wilson, Jr.

TRUSTEES EMERITUS

Pamela Faulkner

Mary B. Olenn

Joel N. Stark

PROVIDENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION TRUSTEES

Elizabeth A. Debs, Chair

Robert W. Edwards, Jr.

Micah E. Salkind

Christopher Stevens

LIBRARY DIRECTOR

H. Jack Martin