Item B04
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
MEETING DATE: APRIL 19, 2000
DIVISION: COMMUNITY SERVICES
BULK ITEM: NO
DEPARTMENT: COMMUNITY SERVICES
AGENDA ITEM WORDING: Presentation of the Employee of the Year award to Tom Hambright, Key West Public
Library, Community Services Division.
ITEM BACKGROUND: See attached.
PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION: Tom was presented the Employee of the Month award for October, 1999 on
January 19, 2000.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Presentation.
TOTAL COST: -0-
BUDGETED: N/A
COST TO COUNTY: -0-
REVENUE PRODUCING N/A:
AMOUNT PER MONTH NEAR:
APPROVED BY: County Attorney N/A
DIVISION DIRECTOR APPROVAL
OMB/Purchasing N/A
Risk Management N/A
DOCUMENTATION: Included
To Follow
Not Required
AGENDA ITEM #
I~~
DISPOSITION:
MEMORANDUM
DATE: March 27,2000
TO: J. Malloch, Community Services
Director
FROM: Anne Layton Rice
Library Administrator
RE: Tom Hambright, Employee of the Year
Tom Hambright has been serving Monroe County Public Library and the
community for 14 years as our Local Historian. He is acclaimed for his
extensive knowledge of Key West, the Florida Keys and beyond.
Much like a treasure hunter, Mr. Hambright guides library patrons
searching for the arcane, the archaic, and the factual. When helping a
patron, Tom never leaves a stone unturned. He entertains and enlightens
local civic groups including the Key West Women's Club, Zonta
International, Rotary Club, and the Maritime Society. He has assisted
local writers, graduate students, tour guides, HBO and Discovery
Channel researchers, set designers, and movie crews, all seeking
accurate detail pertaining to Key West and the Florida Keys. Tom
answers hundreds of phone calls and letters each month from national
magazines, businesses and curious minds.
Tom is a regular columnist for the Key West Citizen, Friends of the
Library Newsletter and the Maritime Historical Journal. Nearly every
author writing about the Keys thanks Tom for his assistance on their
acknowledgment page. He meticulously preserves and protects one-of-a-
kind photos from the library's collection of over 10,000 images, yet
makes them available to everyone to view and reproduce.
Mr. Hambright has also worked with the public school system,
encouraging our young people to take pride and interest in their local
history. He patiently serves Elderhostel, and other visiting groups, as
they arrive to the library in busloads, many of them coming back to visit
him each year. A private citizen recently donated $5,000.00 to the
Library in gratitude for Tom's assistance with a research project.
Tom Hambright is an extraordinary ambassador for Monroe County, a
wonderful colleague, and a local treasure.
Phone (305)292-3595
Fax (305)295-3626
alhoover@altavista.net