Library meeting room dedicated to former Library Director Mike Taylor

BURGAW – Pender County Library had the honor to dedicate the public meeting room at the Main Library in Burgaw to Mike Taylor, who served as library director of Pender County Library from 1985 to 2020. The Pender County Board of Commissioners approved the Library Board of Trustees’ request in December that the meeting room be named in Taylor’s honor and that a portrait of Taylor be displayed at the library.

The Friends of Pender County Library provided the funding for the new sign for the room, a plaque honoring the room dedication, and a pen-and-ink portrait of Taylor created by local artist Mitchell Henderson. The Friends of the Library is a nonprofit that raises funds to supplement county and state funding for the library and that advocates on behalf of the library.

In attendance at the March 3 dedication ceremony were Taylor, Library Board of Trustees Chair Liz Piacenza, Friends of Pender County Library President Irene Baker, Assistant County Manager Allen Vann, Burgaw Mayor Pete Cowan, Interim Library Director Allen Phillips-Bell, Hampstead Branch Manager Karen Burkett, Library Circulation Supervisor Misty Barnes, and the portrait artist Mitchell Henderson.

During the dedication, Taylor spoke of how humbled he is by the rare honor of having the meeting room dedicated to him, and how he is indebted to the Library Trustees and the Friends of the Library for their long-standing support. Vann took the opportunity to express what a pleasure it had been to work with Taylor, to wish Taylor all the best in his retirement, and to thank everyone present for their support of the library system.