By JOSEPH KELLARD
On Tuesday, Majid was elected to his first term on the library¹s Board of Trustees, and incumbent Donna Taylor was elected to her first full term. Both candidates ran uncontested and were elected to five-year terms.
Majid will take the seat Marion Brown occupied after Don Meresca left the board in March 2002. Taylor joined the board after Fred Morse vacated his seat in July 2003.
³I was very happy with exactly the way the board was running,² Majid said. ³It¹s my hope that it continues to run in that direction, which means modernizing the library and staying in the 21st century.²
After 14 years, Majid retired in 2005 from his duties as mailman-messenger for the Oceanside School District, where he delivered mail to each school and checks from the district to the library. He also periodically returned books to the library that were mistakenly returned to the schools.
Majid became more familiar with the library through Oceanside Communities Services, a volunteer organization that holds monthly meetings at the library. ³So I¹ve gotten to know the people at the library and its operations,² he said when asked about his qualifications to sit on the board.
Majid also highlighted his 40 years of experience as an electrical engineer consulting for NASA at Grumman and other companies, where he learned everything from the original Internet system to reading government bids and proposals.
³If the library has anything technical that they would like to go over, I would be in a position to help them,² Majid said. ³I can help read blueprints, any type of contracts, and I can help in the writing of proposals to contain the necessary language to make sure that we¹re getting what we really want.²
Board President Angela Iovino noted ³the wealth of experience² Majid brings to the board. ³With his engineering background, he really is a problem-solver,² she said. ³So, it¹s a huge bonus that he can lend his time to the library.²
Majid is a 30-year member of South Side Hose Company No. 2, a 19-year member of the Oceanside Kiwanis Club, and a 32-year member of the American Legion in Baldwin, where he was commander in 1981-82.
Majid said he is eager to learn while on the board. ³I¹ve only been to three meetings so far,² he said, ³so I¹m also in the process of learning the intricate things involves in the board. But I¹m becoming more familiar with the board¹s operations.²
Taylor, a CFO of Barad Video in Oceanside, said she hopes to continue to make ³a tremendous difference² on the board. She underscored her work on the board¹s budget committee. ³I think we were able to bring down some of the numbers and maintain the library just the way it always is,² she said. ³I was pleased with that.²
Taylor also cited the library¹s three-year plan to replace its existing computers as an example of how the board ³always tries to stay on the cutting edge and improve the library. We have our differences on the board, but what we decide on usually turns out to benefit the public.²
Two issues the board has tackled in the past year are an effort to replace the computer system over the next three years and to build a storage facility on property behind the library in order to free up space in the library for more patron use in coming years, Iovino said.
As director of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce, Taylor said she has been able to get the chamber to decorate the library windows for the holidays and will also do so this spring. ³We have a beautiful relationship with them,² she said. ³They hold their meetings here now.²
³Everyone on the board comes with a different point of view or aspect,² Iovino said, ³and Donna brings accounting experience. She watches the numbers.²
Brown said she did not seek re-election to the board because she plans to pursue an advanced education degree. ³Time has become a major issue for me,² Brown said, ³and, quite frankly, I¹ve run out of time.²
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
