Suzette Brumleve Memorial Library Dedication

(MIKE AND SHARON SEHY WERE AMONG THOSE IN ATTENDANCE AT THE SUZETTE BRUMLEVE MEMORIAL EFFINGHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY DEDICATION)

Holly James said she remembers when her mom, Suzette Brumleve, took her and her sisters Corinne and Heidi to the Helen Matthes Library to check out books and to play with the dollhouse.

The Helen Matthes Library was named in memory of the mother of a former mayor of Effingham.

Now, the current library is named in memory of Holly's mom.

(HOLLY JAMES)

The formal dedication of the Suzette Brumleve Memorial Effingham Public Library took place Tuesday morning outside the west entrance so people could see a plaque placed in Suzette's memory. Everyone then hustled inside to enjoy the cool and the punch and cookies. Shortbread cookies were the order of the day, shared since they were Suzette's "favorite sweet treat", according to Library Director Amanda McKay.

(LIBRARY BOARD CO-PRESIDENT DANNIELLE HARDEN)

Even though Joe and Suzette Brumleve had relocated to Colorado several years before the plane crash that resulted in their deaths in 2008, they still felt part of Effingham, leading their daughters to want to contribute toward something in their hometown. 

Suzette Brumleve was educated as a teacher and loved to promote literacy, making a contribution to the library something the daughters knew their mom would have appreciated.

(LIBRARY DIRECTOR AMANDA McKAY)

A donation of $400,000 from the COHIHO Foundation (established by Joe and Suzette utilizing the first names of their daughters) to the library's building fund in 2016 brought the foundation's donations to the library to $500,000 and closed out the library's initial $2 million fundraising campaign towards the costs of renovating the facility, into which the library was relocated in September 2015. The library will remain named in Suzette Brumleve's memory for a period of 75 years.

Speakers at the dedication ceremony included Holly James, as well as McKay and Library Board Co-President Dannielle Harden, while Effingham Mayor Jeff Bloemker read and signed a proclamation commemorating the occasion.

(EFFINGHAM MAYOR JEFF BLOEMKER)

Meanwhile, the library is in the midst of a campaign collecting donations to pay for exterior landscaping. Anyone wishing more information on the project should contact McKay.