Bandon Library Board
James Collins
James was born in Bandon, Oregon in 1962. He graduated from Bandon High School in 1981 and Oregon State University in 1986 with two undergraduate degrees, and later obtained three graduate degrees. He spent most of his life after college teaching special education. He and his family ( wife and two children) love the Bandon Public Library. After retiring from teaching, he applied to the Library Board and was accepted. To which he responded, "I’m happy to serve!".
Randal Hill
Born and raised in southern California, Randal attended college in Long Beach with the idea of becoming a rock 'n' roll DJ. Majoring in the closest thing possible (Speech and Drama), along the way he worked at two local FM stations. Neither of them actually paid him, which didn't matter to him in the least because he was on the air! He once told his program director that they could scrap the ho-hum "adult" format and become the world's first 24/7 rock 'n' roll station. The director chuckled in his face and said, "There will never be rock on FM!"
Reality set in, and he became a teacher for 38 years and retired in 2003. Along the way, he wrote over three dozen educational workbooks and three trade books on record-collecting. Randal's music-related writing has appeared in a number of books and periodicals. Currently Randal is working on a book about the movers and shakers of the early Los Angeles rock 'n' roll scene.
Randal has two grown children, three grandchildren and two stepsons. He shares his life with my best friend, Linda (to whom he's been married nearly 30 years), and their long-haired chihuahua, Rusty. They have lived in Bandon for five years and love being here.
Donna Snyder- Smith
From a military family, Donna has traveled extensively. As an adult, she settled in California where she has worked as a sports coach in the equestrian field for 50 years. A freelance journalist since the early 60s, she has had three textbooks in her specialty field published by Simon & Schuster's & Howell Book House. A user of libraries since early grade school, she is an advocate of the importance of lifelong learning and the life-changing opportunities libraries offer. Donna based her choice of a retirement location on three criteria: the beauty of the geographical area, the existence of the Bandon Library, an unusually diverse and extensive library for a small town, and the residents she met who had chosen Bandon as a place to chase their dreams.
Karen Thomas
Karen Thomas was raised in SE Alaska in the 40s and 50’s, but spent most of her adult life in the Portland, Oregon region. Karen owned and operated Thomas Tax and Associated Services for nearly 40 years in Beaverton, Or, and combined her private practice with a 20 year career as a Senior Financial Advisor for Waddell & Reed, a well-known financial planning and investment firm.
Karen currently resides in a tiny cottage recently built within the complex of her daughter and son-in -laws property here in Bandon. She loves reading mostly historic fiction and non-fiction, lunching with friends and is active as a Board Member of the BLFF, as well as a member of the current Library Board.
Sheri Wright
Sheri was born and raised in a small town in Northern California, attended UC Davis and worked in the San Diego area for most of her career as a Human Resources Administrator. Born into a family of educators, she first learned to love books by spending time with her grandmother.
Sheri and her husband met in college where she earned a BA in History and an M.Ed. in Organizational Development. They have one son who attends Lewis & Clark in Portland and is majoring in Environmental Studies.
Regular visitors to the Oregon coast, they finally moved to Bandon in 2018, she has enjoyed getting to know the area and all that it has to offer. Sheri is a volunteer at the Bandon Historical Society Museum, a member of the women’s giving circle “100 Strong Bandon”, and recently joined the Bandon Quilters Guild.