News

Four year old Windham resident, Alex Lertpatthanakul, placed as a finalist in the Patch “Little Pumpkin” costume challenge.  The Little Pumpkin Costume Challenge was open to children 12 years old or younger.  The grand prize was a trip to New York or Los Angles to meet Heidi Klum, and a $1031 donation to a charity of the winner’s choice.  Nine runners up also received a $1031 donation to their selected charity.

Alex entered the contest as the Bumblebee Transformer and was selected as one of the nine finalists.  In his costume he was actually able to transform from a car to a robot from the character in the popular Transformer series.  Over 850 Patch websites had almost 2700 entries, and Alex placed in the top 10.  Alex, and his mom, Jie Li, chose the Friends of the Library of Windham (F.L.O.W.) to receive the donation.  The family is new to Windham and wanted to select a charity that would benefit the community.
 F.L.O.W. is a non-profit organization made up of volunteers that are dedicated to encouraging greater use of the Nesmith Library and its many services. The annual Strawberry Festival and Book Fair, the town of Windham’s largest community event, is organized by the F.L.O.W. Board members.  F.L.O.W. also offers scholarships to young adults in the community, as well as raises money to provide museum passes, visits from authors, and other needs at our town’s library and schools.
Patch is a community specific website that provides news and information.  Patch is run by professional writers, editors, photographers, and videographers that live in or near the community they serve. Patch headquarters are in New York City. 

Kelsey Chase and Madeline Smith were recognized this past Saturday by the Friends of the Library of Windham (F.L.O.W.). Amidst the energy of F.L.O.W.’s annual Strawberry Festival, Kelsey Chase was awarded this year’s F.L.O.W. Mary Long Scholarship and Madeline Smith, the F.L.O.W. Scholarship.

Madeline Smith is the daughter of Brian and Katy Smith of Windham.  A senior this past year at the Salem High School, she is headed to Villa Nova University in the fall to pursue a degree in International and Global Studies.  In addition to being the President of the Salem High School Key Club for the past three years, Smith’s passion for both community and global service has led her to raise over $10,000 in monetary and items for Nicaraguan charities.  She has made four service trips to the region and engaged her family and community in the process each time.  Smith is also a junior editor of Salem High School’s Literary Magazine, and a historian and clarinet section leader for the Salem High School Blue Devil competitive marching band.  Smith has volunteered at the Nesmith Library, tutored at Salem elementary schools and shared her international volunteer experiences with local Girl and Cub Scout troops.  Smith is the recipient of this year’s F.L.O.W. Scholarship.

Kelsey Chase, daughter of Brad and Kristan Chase of Windham, was awarded this year’s F.L.O.W. Mary Long Scholarship.  A senior this past year at Salem High School, Chase will be attending the University of Connecticut in the fall concentrating in music.  Chase’s musical pursuits have included being the drum major for the Salem High School Blue Devils Band for the past two years and performing in the school’s chorus.  She was a chorale participant in the NH All-State Music Festival this year.  She is also a song writer and dancer.

The F.L.O.W. scholarships, both in the amount of $4,000, are awarded to a high school senior who is a Windham resident. Requirements include a minimum 3.0 grade point average and three letters of reference. Applicants for the F.L.O.W. Annual Scholarship may pursue any college degree program. Applicants for the F.L.O.W. Mary Long Scholarship must be pursuing one of the following degree programs: Art, Dance, Drama/Theatre, Music, Creative Writing, Communications, Broadcast Journalism, History, Art History, Architecture, Museum Studies, Art Conservation, Film or Graphic Arts.

The Friends of the Library congratulate this year’s exceptional recipients and wish them success in their future endeavors.

Friends’ Strawberry Festival Finds New Permanent Home
Following threats of rain and tornadoes last June 5th, the Friends of the Library of Windham (F.L.O.W.) chose to move their annual Strawberry Festival to their rain site - Windham High School.  This inaugural staging of the Festival has led the Friends to permanently move the Strawberry Festival from the grounds of the Nesmith Library to Windham High School.  The Festival’s Book Fair will remain at the Nesmith Library to allow visitors to experience our Town’s Public Library.

Over the years, the size and success of the Festival and Book Fair led to it “outgrowing” the Library grounds.  The choice of the High School affords the Festival more space for games and activities, refrigeration for food, shelter in the event of inclement weather, and a professional stage for entertainment.

The Festival Committee has been working diligently with Festival Logistics Chair Joe Husson, School District Facilities Director Warren Billings, Police Department Leadership, Fire Department Leadership and the staff at the High School to ensure a smooth and safe transition up to the High School.  The team is working to ensure activities are accommodated, grills are fired up, entertainers enjoy their spotlights, and of course, that the dunk tank is in place!

Samantha Jezak (Age 11) of Windham is the proud winner of this year’s Strawberry Festival and Book Fair Design Contest.  Artists ages 12 and under were asked to create a design for the Festival’s publicity that reflected the themes of strawberries, books, and community.  Samantha created a wonderful design of three children reading a book about strawberries together.  Her winning design will be used on this year’s Strawberry Festival posters and publicity. All contest entries (nearly 60) will be displayed at this year’s Strawberry Festival and Book Fair on June 4th at the Windham High School.  The Festival is sponsored by the Friends of the Library of Windham (FLOW).