Our gratitude and thanks go to the following

February 10, 2005 | News & Events

Gannon University! The university since 1994 through the interest and support of Dr. Antoine Garibaldi, President, and Dr. Donna Dalton, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, has given HOB! the use of office space, work study assistance, phone, office supplies, printing, artistic talent, postage.

Next, we say a big thank you to our Captains. Our captains are those great folks who recruit our readers. And a great job they do. They are another vital link in the service that HOB!offers.

And of course the next thanks goes to our readers who often make friends with the youngsters they read to and always share their love of books.

Our Board Members can’t be missed in the list of thank you messages. This group does so many jobs for Hooked on Books!

Then there are many others whose belief in Hooked On Books! is expressed in many different ways and who have earned a BIG THANK YOU:

Thank you to Ed Babowicz, who has been a wonderful photographer, taking photos of the summer program for our publications.

And another thank you to Ed Babowicz for his wonderful donation of more than 200 excellent detective novels which we’ve used as incentives to help fund-raise. This collection consists of books collected for use in Gannon classes on the detective novel, taught by Ed previous to his retirement.

Thank you to Kitty Harrington, from the Children’s Department of the Erie County Library, who has faithfully, knowledgably, and like all good teachers, entertainingly, helped train and orient readers year after year with lively instructions about how to read to youngsters. Kitty has been doing this job since Hooked On Books! began, ten years ago.

Many thanks to Deb Peffer, Eric Grignol, and Kelly Matczak whose artistic abilities have shone in the designs of the Hooked On Books! Christmas card magazines and other publications.

Thank you also to Debbie Pelinski who has helped transform the text and artwork for these publications to lovely pieces that our friends can read, and to Cindy Benovic, who has seen to it that these works move quickly into the hands of those friends.

Thanks to Maryann Fischer whose smiling face has supervised readers and kids for many years and who always makes everyone feel welcome.

Thanks to one of our newest benefactors, Oto Hlincik, whose skills and knowledge make this website possible.

Thanks to Ray Luniewski, of Gannon’s Maintenance Staff, for the photo display board and for design and construction of the Hooked On Books! boat. His work always evinces the work of a master craftsman.

Another very big thanks to Gannon’s stalwart and dependable all around person, Joe Luckey, who has helped in so many ways over the years that it’s stunning to think of. He gets a very big thanks. Joe’s most visible contribution perhaps is the construction of the Hooked On Book! Boat. The boat, with the same design as the HOB! logo, has been a most popular item with youngsters and a big help with publicity for the group. But Joe’s help has often been beyond the call of duty and extends to aspects of the “behind the scenes” HOB!

Thanks to Bobbie Gelnett, a recent Gannon graduate who helps keep Dolores home and office computers running smoothly and corrects problems which sometimes threaten to prohibit the operations of programs vital to scheduling volunteers.

Thanks too to Brenda Weaver, who after working a full day outside the city of Erie, drives home to Harborcreek and then to the Hooked on Books office to work there from 6 p.m to 9:30 p.m. twice a week.

And last on the list right now, but definitely not least, is Patty Howard, who for years kept our cumulative records of readers before we had the computer program which makes that job somewhat easier.