The Oceanside Pacific Kiwanis Club has been named the recipient of a prestigious award given by the California Association of Library Trustees and Commissioners. "We are so excited and pleased that the Oceanside Pacific Kiwanis Club has received this award in recognition of all their hard work", said Deborah Polich, Oceanside Library Director. "This is the first award from the California Association of Library Trustees and Commissioners that we in Oceanside have received. We have nominated others throughout the years, but this is the first time one of our nominations won.. Club President Michael Klein and Community Service Chair Bill Harding were presented with a plaque for the club s service to the Oceanside Library at the Nov. 4 conference of the California Association of Library Trustees and Commissioners conference in Long Beach. Other members of the club attending the awards luncheon were Frank Turner, Bob Kremer, Bill Foran, Adrianne Hakes and Marie Swan. The Oceanside Pacific Kiwanis Club has provided outstanding support to the Oceanside Library. Catherine Anderson, vice chair of the Friends of the Library stated, "Their faithfulness, loyalty and dedication enables our group to rely on them for essential help. From book sales to newsletter mailings, the Kiwanis Club is an integral part of our operations: Some of the current library projects include: Stories for a Life Time, Seegull mailing, helping with the Triva Bee, and the library book sales. Each week Kiwanis volunteers assist the Children s Librarian with a program for seniors. They visit a senior care facility in Oceanside to read stories and reminisce about life experiences with the residents who have special needs ranging from Alzheimer s disease to other disabilities. One of the favorite projects is the "stuffing of the Seegull," as it is affectionately called. Four or five times a year the Kiwanis assist with the mailing of the Seegull, the Friends newsletter, spending about 30 total work hours each session to fold, label and mail approximately 1,600 copies of the newsletter. The "Trivia Bee" fundraiser is held each fall. It is the Friends major fund-raiser event of the year. The Kiwanis pays hundreds of the dollars to sponsor a team each year and compete in this friendly, fun event. They also staff the drinks booths at the event The Friends hold four library book sales each year. The Kiwanis club helps with the book sales by setting up tables and loading and unloading hundreds of boxes of books for each sale. In previous years, the Kiwanis have helped with many other projects. They have paid for the cost of children s maganine subscriptions. They have planned and hosted several "Shelving Party" fundraisers to buy children s books for the library, raising about $1,500 per year. For over five years, members of the Oceanside Pacific Kiwanis have hand washed the library s bookmobile twice a month. Recently, they made arrangements for a free commercial washing through the local transit district. "These projects demonstrate an extraordinary record of service from the Oceanside Pacific Kiwanis Club on behalf of the Oceanside Library and the community", says Charlene Williamson, Library Board of Trustees Chair.