Friends of the Library

The Friends of the Pittsburg Public Library hosted their Annual Meeting and Program on Monday, April 2, 2018. 

Dagmar Snodgrass presented: Dagie's Story: From War Torn Germany to Freedom in America.

The audience was silent as Dagie spun her childhood in Berlin and how a piece of chocolate from an American Candy Bomber gave her hope. She spoke of her family, how she met her husband, and how she and her children came to America. It was a different German perspective of WWII that history books don't always tell.


The Friends of the Pittsburg Public Library (FoPPL) ensures that the library is able to keep the many great, public programs as well as allowing special purchases of equipment and titles for the collection by raising funds during the semi-annual book sales and membership fees. FoPPL hope to facilitate lifelong learning opportunities for Pittsburg Public Library patrons.

Invisible Illnesses Become Visible

As National President of my philanthropic sorority, Phi Tau Omega, I have the honor of selecting a National Platform that all chapters recognize. As a Multiple Sclerosis Warrior for almost 18 years, I have selected Invisible Illnesses.

Invisible Illness or Disability is an umbrella term that captures a whole spectrum of hidden disabilities or challenges that are primarily neurological in nature.

Invisible Disabilities are certain kinds of disabilities that are not immediately apparent to others. It is estimated that 10% of people in the U.S. have a medical condition which could be considered a type of invisible disability. 96% of people with chronic medical conditions live with a condition that is invisible. These people do not use a cane or any assistive device and act as if they didn’t have a medical condition. About 25% of them have some type of activity limitation, ranging from mild to severe; the remaining 75% are not disabled by their chronic conditions. Although the disability creates a challenge for the person who has it, the reality of the disability can be difficult for others to recognize or acknowledge. Others may not understand the cause of the problem if they cannot see evidence of it in a visible way.

Invisible Illnesses include, but are not limited to: Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Cancer, Fibromyalgia, Depression, Mental Illness, Diabetes, Digestive Disorders, Migraines, Heart Conditions, Infertility, Lupus and Lyme Disease.

2018 Move & Shake for MS Zumbathon

Move & Shake for MS Zumbathon is the annual fundraiser for the Hope for MS Foundation. The foundation uses the funds raised to provide grants to those in the four states area living with Multiple Sclerosis that will enhance their quality of life.

The main purpose of the Hope for MS Foundation is to END MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. While we may not be able to accomplish this ultimate goal this year, we do have attainable goals that will be achieved. Hope for MS Foundation is a 100% volunteer group that strives to use every penny raised to make an impact on MS. We are funding research that will bring about a cure and better treatments in the interim. We are funding patient grants for items needed to live easier with MS such as scooters, wheelchairs, wheelchair ramps, walking aids and physical therapy equipment.

To learn more about both the Hope for MS Foundation and Move & Shake for MS, click here.

Like Hope for MS Foundation on Facebook. 

Move & Shake for Multiple Sclerosis

Move & Shake for MS Zumbathon is the annual fundraiser for the Hope for MS Foundation. The foundation uses the funds raised to provide grants to those in the four states area living with Multiple Sclerosis that will enhance their quality of life.

The main purpose of the Hope for MS Foundation is to END MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. While we may not be able to accomplish this ultimate goal this year, we do have attainable goals that will be achieved. Hope for MS Foundation is a 100% volunteer group that strives to use every penny raised to make an impact on MS. We are funding research that will bring about a cure and better treatments in the interim. We are funding patient grants for items needed to live easier with MS such as scooters, wheelchairs, wheelchair ramps, walking aids and physical therapy equipment.

To learn more about both the Hope for MS Foundation and Move & Shake for MS, click here.

Like Hope for MS Foundation on Facebook. 

ArtForms Gallery

ArtForms Gallery LLC is an artists' cooperative gallery located at 620 North Broadway in downtown Pittsburg, Kansas.

Its purpose is to provide display areas and sales opportunities for Southeast Kansas artists by giving them the opportunity to share resources and skills within the membership.

It features high-quality handmade arts and fine crafts for sale and also has a classroom space for educational opportunities and workshops for its members and the community.

I have been lucky enough to take classes at the gallery, I made jewelry, Christmas cards, and watched my niece learn drawing techniques. 

One of the artists, Nicole Meyer-Forsman, held a day of art fundraiser for the Hope for MS Foundation, and in return I created a class catalog for the gallery. To learn more about the gallery click here.

Click here for the catalog.

Dictionary Delivery

Every year, the Frontenac Rotary purchases and delivers dictionaries to all the third grade students at Frank Layden Elementary. The following story was published in the Pittsburg Morning Sun newspaper.

Wordy Wednesday

By Chance Hoenerchoener@morningsun.net

FRONTENAC - Third graders at Frank Layden Elementary received the gift of knowledge Wednesday.

The Frontenac Rotary Club delivered a dictionary to every student in three different third grade classes. The event is organized by Rotary Service Committee Chair Lori Lavery. She has been delivering dictionaries to Frank Layden since 2008, but said the yearly project started years before she was a rotary member.

"The Dictionary Project is important to our club because it is just one more small thing we can do for the young people in our community," Lavery said. "We hope it may make a bit of a difference in their future or learning."

Principal and Rotary Member Courtney McCartney explained the gift to each class and told students about the rotary club's mission of helping people and bettering the local community.

Along with rotary members Barry Anderson, Amanda Sukraw and Jenifer McDonald, Lavery handed out 65 dictionaries to students.

The Frontenac Rotary Club was organized and chartered in 1979, and Lavery said the joy children get from receiving a dictionary is the best part of the project.

"The smile and thank you from every child that receives a dictionary is reward enough for the project," she said..

Women of Distinction

The Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce's Women of Distinction honorees for 2017 have been announced.

The chamber announced the recipients of its 2017 Women of Distinction honors earlier this month. The 12 women were chosen from 33 nominations and will be showcased in the chamber's Women of Distinction Calendar.

"The calendar provides an excellent opportunity to recognize outstanding leaders and women in our community and the things they've done in their field or through community service," Chamber Vice President Devin Gorman said, adding it also serves as the chamber's community events calendar.

I was humbled by the nomination and selection as one of the twelve Women of Distinction for 2017. When I moved back to Pittsburg, I had made it a personal goal to become like the women honored in that calendar. I wanted to help make  my community the place I wanted to live in. The best honor, however, was the pride my family showed for me at the ceremony.

Click here to read the entire article.

Click here to read my personal write-up in the Morning Sun newspaper of Pittsburg, KS.