Renae Rountree guest speaker at Rotary

By: Shelia Mader

Last week was a special Marianna Rotary meeting. Along with their regularly scheduled guest speaker, the children of the Rotarians were invited to attend with their parent(s). Appropriately, the scheduled speaker for today was Renae Rountree from the Washington County Public Library System.

Rountree grew up in the Florida panhandle and knew she wanted to be a librarian at a young age. In 2010, she started working for Washington County Public Library System. By 2013, she was the library director. She has her Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science from Florida State University. A big believer in early childhood literacy, the Washington County Public Library has taken on numerous projects under her direction that ensure children in the community develop a love of reading early. From Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to the current $3.9 million expansion of the main library location in Chipley, Florida, Renae seeks to transform the way that people use their public library.

The children of Randy and Mary Smith attended the meeting last Wednesday. Amelia Smith is nine years old and is going into fifth grade. When we spoke with Amelia about attending the Rotary meeting, “I really like the food at Jim’s and learning about the library.” Audrey Smith is seven years old and will be in second grade. She seconded about the food, “The cheesy grits at Jim’s. Seeing Pastor Nathan from VBS.”

The both agreed also on what the Rotarians do. Amelia and Audrey both were aware that they are the ones who put the flags out on holidays.

Amelia was quick to say what her favorite things were, “I love playing Roblox, watching Trollhunters on Netflix, and drawing.” Audrey shares one of her sister’s likes, “I love playing Roblox, watching Lilo and Stitch, swimming in the pool, and coloring.”

Kudos to Rotary for making a special day for the children.