Saturday, March 22, 2014

Augusta County library board elects new chairman, remembers Terry Sumey

Trustees of the Augusta County Library elected a new chairman at Thursday's board meeting after the recent passing of chairman Terry Sumey. Tapped to head the board was Frank Deckert who has been serving in the position as vice chairman.

Terry Sumey was a long-time member of the library board as well as other organizations and boards around the Commonwealth.  He was a graduate of the Lee High School class of 1962, and attended the University of Virginia.

He worked at Coca-Cola in Staunton, and at Lynchburg College where he held many posts, culminating in Business Manager and Treasurer of the College. He was active and an officer in a number of state, regional, and national college associations. When he returned to the Staunton area he managed family owned business including Quality Improvements, Inc., Sunrooms by Quality, Gutter Helmet of Central Virginia, and Meredith Rent-A-Space.

Terry was an avid reader and bibliophile, enjoyed foreign travel including France, Italy, England, Spain, Greece, Morocco, Iran, Russia, China, Haiti, Jamaica, Bermuda, and Mexico. He collected art focusing on active Virginia artists in the 60's, 70's, and 80's, and many pieces of his collection are in the Daura Gallery at Lynchburg College.

He served many arts, cultural, and civic organizations as board member and officer. Among these were the original board of the Lynchburg Academy Theater; the Sarah Winston Henry chapter of the Assn. for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities; the Renaissance Theater and was a founding member of the board of the Hamner Theater and its Chairman. He served as a 22 year member of the Augusta County Library Board and was a number of times its Chairman. He was a member of the Virginia Library Association, served as Chairman of the Trustees division, was elected Treasurer and trained a new Executive Director, and for his services to that organization and libraries was named a Life Member of the VLA. He was a founding organizer of the Virginia Library Endowment and was its first Treasurer.

Terry Sumey ... July 12, 1944 - February 19, 2014. RIP.

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