Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Library Board Appointments topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Steering committee recommends Jeffrey Winesick and Herb Strong to fill Rutherford County Library Board seats despite objections
Summary
After public comment urging professional librarian representation, the steering committee completed a multi-round vote and recommended incumbent Jeffrey Winesick and Herb "Herb" Strong to the county commission for two vacancies on the Rutherford County Library Board.
The Rutherford County steering committee on a June meeting recommended Jeffrey Winesick and Herb Strong to the full county commission to fill two vacancies on the Rutherford County Library Board after a multi-round selection process.
Public commenters urged a different result. "Public libraries should serve the entire community and be guided by educational standards and professional recommendations, not individual ideology," Kathy Watts of District 16 told the committee, and she urged the panel not to renew Winesick’s appointment while recommending professional librarians Jason Vance and Ellen Mrick for the two openings.
Proponents of professional appointments also addressed the committee. Jason Vance, a teaching librarian at Middle Tennessee State University, summarized his qualifications: "If selected, I would bring 27 years of experience as a professional librarian to the library board," he said, citing long experience with library policy, strategic planning and advocacy.
Winesick, the incumbent up for renewal, outlined recent board activity and policy work. "We have enacted new policies, including one on the collections policy, and we did that with a very strong and collaborative support of our library staff," he said, describing staff involvement in developing and implementing the changes.
The committee considered nine applicants. The chair described a three-stage voting method — pick five, then three, then the final two — which commissioners followed across multiple rounds and a runoff. Commissioners called votes aloud and the chair and clerk tallied the counts over successive rounds. After the runoffs, the steering committee concluded by recommending Winesick and Strong; the chair said the two "have been recommended by this board" and that the county commission will take a final vote at its meeting next Thursday.
The recommendation does not itself appoint the two members; the county commission must confirm them at the upcoming full meeting. The steering committee also handled multiple other routine confirmations earlier in the session and moved on to other business before adjourning.
