The FAPL Board

Board meetings are held at the Book Outlet at 11:00am on the second Monday of the month. Meetings are open to all members. The current board members are:

David Origlio, President
A Denver Colorado native, David has a B.S. in Experimental Psychology and an MBA both earned at Colorado State University.
He has been an avid reader since the third grade when he "discovered" the Hardy Boys. This led to reading 100's of series boys books. The classics took over from there but were liberally mixed with science fiction, detective fiction and many of the best sellers.
While pursuing his original hobby of record collecting (the vinyl kind), he discovered the world of vintage paperbacks. Many of the most popular authors of today started by turning out original fiction for what were then 25 cent paperback books. He has amassed a collection of these numbering in the thousands over the past 30 years and now spends many quiet hours reading the best of them. David has been haunting the Book Outlet for many years and recently became President of the Friends of the Aurora Public Library.
Thirty plus years in the hospitality industry have taken him to cities all over the U.S. He and his wife Jackie love to travel the blue highways and do so while they pursue their dual hobbies of bird watching and book collecting. They have searched for books and birds in 49 of the 50 states. He has yet to visit Hawaii but has picked up a few gems in Great Britain and Peru.
David is the father of one son who works with Frontier Airlines. He does NOT collect books. He doesn't need to.

Marion Webster Walls, Vice President
The second oldest and only girl of six children, Marion was born and raised in Huntington, NY, on the north shore of Long Island. She came to Aurora in 1979, to spend Christmas with a brother stationed at Fitzsimmons, and ultimately moved here in June of 1980.
While working as an administrative assistant and legal secretary, Marion raised three children, mostly as a single parent. They all attended St. Therese Catholic School, and went on to graduate from Smoky Hill -her son Christopher, who now lives in California with his wife and daughter Avery Bella; Hinckley - her daughter Micaela, who lives in Aurora with her sons Christopher and Aidan; and Bishop Machebuef High School - her daughter Amy, who is now at the University of Wyoming at Laramie studying to be a teacher. Once the children graduated high school and went off to college, Marion left office work to indulge her lifelong love of books in jobs at Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble, and Borders.
Now retired, Marion enjoys her time with grandchildren and volunteers at Parkhill Community Bookstore. She is also a member of the National Consumer Advisory Board (NCAB) of the National Coalition for Healthcare for the Homeless, (NCHC), and serves on the Board of Directors of Metro Community Provider Network (MCPN), which provides healthcare to the uninsured and medically underserved through a number of clinics around the metro area.
Marion's reading interests range from Spirituality to Folklore and Fairy Tales, psychology, mental health, historical novels, mysticism, anything on Ireland, several books on the craft of writing, and numerous books on books! She and her daughter Micaela have been members of FAPL since it was at the shopping center on Alameda and Sable.

Betty Jean Bahr, Historian
Betty has been a volunteer of the Friends of the Library since 2002. She has lived in Aurora since 1964 when her Air Force husband was transferred to Lowry Air Force Base from Illinois. A native of west Texas, Betty has always been an avid reader and is very interested in the history of the old West. She has a personal library of over 7000 books, the majority of which pertain to the American west. She is also a quilter, and is currently involved in quilting several quilt tops make by her Mother and Grandmother. Betty is the Mother of 3 children , and has three grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Kathleen Leverett, Secretary
A Denver native, Kathleen has spent time not only in Denver, but also Boulder, Grand Junction and Salt Lake City. She is third generation Coloradoan on her mother's side and second generation on her father's, her "old-timers" coming to reside in Glenwood Springs and Leadville long before the turn of the 20th century. Kathleen enjoyed working as a florist for many years, both in design and bookkeeping and had her own company for a time, specializing in wedding work and holiday décor. She began a career in the hospitality industry in 1976 and worked at various Denver properties, specializing in catering and convention services. She can still set a mean buffet table when she wants to. Most gratifying was her time as an employee of The Brown Palace Hotel, one of our city's great treasures. Kathleen has coordinated many, many weddings and special events on a freelance basis.
Kathleen "discovered" the gem that is The Book Outlet a couple of years ago and promptly became a member and advocate and looks forward to serving as Secretary.
She has been a devoted and varied reader all her life, having been taken under the wing of a dedicated librarian in Grand Junction early on. She has a collection of cookbooks, with emphasis on books written by chefs and food experts including Jacques Pepin, Jane Butel, Pierre Franey, James Beard, Marion Cunningham, Diana Kennedy and dear Julia Child. Kathleen is a Certified Master Food Safety Advisor/Food Preservation Advisor through CSU Cooperative Extension. She is an avid home cook and home canner.
She and her husband Tony enjoy visiting galleries and museums and are members of the Botanic Gardens and Colorado History Museum. They enjoy an occasional night out at the theater, hiking and all kinds of music. They love to take road trips in our beautiful state. Among their favorite destinations are Crested Butte, Lake City, Salida and Estes Park. They love reading, cooking, gardening, entertaining and just spending time at their home on 2 ½ acres in 80014, fondly referred to by all as "Asbury Farm".

Keith McGechie, Treasurer
Keith, a lifetime Colorado resident, has lived in Aurora for 35 years. He has been a volunteer for the Friends for four years. As an avid reader his interests cover a multitude of subjects. In 1999 he retired from a career with the Colorado Judicial Department where he served as a probation officer, supervisor, and trainer for over 30 years with the Denver District Court. He is an inductee into the Colorado State Soccer Association Hall of Fame and he served that organization's 5000 members as president and board member for over 20 years. He was the National Rules Commissioner for U.S. Soccer for four years. In retirement he travels with his wife of 35 years enjoying time with his three children and three grandchildren.

Gail Arnert, Volunteer Coordinator
Although not particularly fond of cooking, Gail has a B.S. in Home Economics from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA. Originally from Ohio, with a 19 year stopover in California, Gail came to Colorado in 1978 when Martin Marietta made her an offer she couldn't refuse. She was an Industrial Security Manager and retired after 36 years in aerospace in March 2006. She has been a Book Outlet volunteer since Jan 2006. Always an avid reader she has a library of over 2000 books covering all genres with an emphasis in mystery, history and genealogy. She's also a genealogist, "collecting dead relatives" in America back to the 1600s on some of her lines, and getting lost in Germany because that old German is really hard to decipher. She's active in several genealogy societies. While a member and officer of the now defunct Colorado Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society she compiled two volumes of the society's bi-annual publication "Ohio to Colorado, Abstracts of Obituaries of Ohio Natives Published in Colorado Newspapers". She is the mother of two wonderful sons, and patiently awaiting the arrival of grandchildren.

Jackie Pritts, Bookstore Manager
After living in several midwest states, Jackie's parents, 2 sisters and 3 brothers moved to Denver the summer she was 12 years old.
She was always an avid reader - in fact it was while reading the Cherry Ames books that she decided she wanted to be a nurse. After graduating from the University of Colorado she began her nursing career on an infant and toddler unit at Colorado General Hospital (now University Hospital). She spent 30 years in Pediatrics, the last 22 years as a Nurse Manager on a Pediatric Research Unit at University Hospital and then The Children's Hospital after the Pediatric programs merged. During this time Jackie married, had two wonderful daughters, divorced her first husband and met and married her soul mate. Jackie and her husband Don loved reading, traveling, kids, grandkids and just being at home together. After taking an early retirement, Jackie and her husband enjoyed 4 years of doing "whatever" they wanted. Unfortunately, Don was diagnosed with cancer and passed away two years ago.
Jackie loves spending time with her daughters, son-in-laws and four grandchildren. She also has two "boys" K.C. and Scooter who are good companions and announce anyone who comes within 100 feet of the house.
Jackie has been a volunteer at the Book Outlet since May, 2006 and loves it. Since she didn't know the store existed two years ago, it's apparent there is a need to get the word out to book lovers!

Mary K. Thayer, Membership Chairman
After living in several states throughout her military career, Mary and her husband were stationed in Denver in 1978. After Mary’s husband left the Military in 1979, they decided that this is where they wanted to call home. Mary spent 8 years in the Air Force before deciding to leave in 1976 and raise their son Robert. After staying home with a very ill child, Mary decided it was time to begin her work career again to help defray medical costs. At which time, Mary starting working for Arapahoe County Department of Social Services. After a year their she was transferred to Adams County Department of Social Services. After a year there she was transferred to the State of Colorado, Department of Human Services. Mary’s career with the State spanned 30 years where she retired as the Chief Financial Officer, Central District for the Department of Human Services in December of 2002. Always an avid reader she has a library of over 2400 books covering all genres with an emphasis in fiction, history and genealogy. She's also a genealogist, "collecting dead relatives" in America back to the 1800s on some of her lines, and getting several members back into Germany. She's active in several genealogy societies. Mary and her husband Art love reading, traveling, camping, and just being at home together. Mary has been a volunteer at the Book Outlet since October, 2005 and loves it.

Surplus Distributor, vacant

Patti Bateman, Library Liaison
Patti Bateman, an Aurora Public Library employee since 1977, is Manager over all aspects of the City's Library Services Division. Responsibilities include library operations from behind-the-scenes work in Collection Development and Cataloging & Processing to direct services for the public, such as reference, children's programming, homebound, checking in & out library materials, outreach, stamping out "brush fires," liaison to the Library Board, as well as the Friends of the Aurora Public Library, and much more. Her passion is clearly public library service to the citizens of Aurora, making it the best possible within the parameters of available resources.
Patti has been Colorado Library Association President, Chair of the vital and active state's Legislative Committee for the Colorado Association of Libraries for four years, and is very active many other ways in the statewide Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL), Colorado's professional library organization. As such, Patti has been honored several times - once as Colorado's Librarian of the Year and three times with the CAL President's Award for extraordinary service.
In her 'spare' time, Patti & her German Shepherd "Cruiser" are regular volunteers for the Aurora Library's award-winning child literacy program "Wagging Tales," and co-exists with 3 hyper-active (!) Italian Greyhounds. She and her husband Kirk, when they can escape the daily demands of work and life in general, like to drive the scenic highways of Colorado and to travel to interesting places.

Judy Holtus, APL Board Representative
Judy volunteered to be the representative from the APL Board to the FAPL Board. As a fourth generation native Coloradoan, Judy grew up in southwest Denver with her two brothers and sister. Her father was a Denver firefighter and her mother was a homemaker. She has been married to her husband, Peter, for almost 47 years and has a grown daughter and son. She recently retired from Aurora Public Library after thirty years and prior to that she worked in banking for a short time. While at the library, Judy served on many committees and was chosen as the Employee of the Year in 1992. She was very involved in Girl Scouts for many years with her daughter. Judy has been on the Aurora Genealogical Society of Colorado's Board for the past eight years as the Vice President of Program and Publicity. Always an avid reader and library aficionado, Judy enjoys reading mysteries, history and genealogy.

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The FAPL Board