It was May of 1967 when Dick Frisbie became a library trustee. On April 21 he retires after 44 years of serving on the Board of Library Trustees. He is the longest serving library trustee, and he leaves a legacy of inspiring leadership and dedicated service to the Arlington Heights community.
He has seen great changes over the years. During his tenure, the Library's circulation grew to over 2.6 million items, and the Library received national recognition, earning Library Journal’s 5-star rating for three straight years.
He has held every office on the Board, including serving as president for eight years. He is a passionate advocate for libraries and intellectual freedom. In 1992 he was elected President of the Board of Directors for the Illinois Center for the Book, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting books, reading and libraries. He also served as President of the Board of the North Suburban Library System.
In 2004 the Illinois Library Association named him Library Trustee of the Year and also honored him with its Intellectual Freedom Award. As he once stated, “For a writer, a good library is as important as a hospital is to a doctor. Also, free public library service is important to democracy.”
An accomplished author, Frisbie has written seven books and 400 magazine articles. He joined the celebrated Society of Midland Authors in the 1970s, and held nearly every office on that board as well. In May of 2000, the group honored him with a “lifetime of literary achievement” award for his years of service to their organization.
We, too, honor him and thank him for his profound dedication to the Arlington Heights Memorial Library. “Dick Frisbie has shown a dedication that is both rare and remarkable in volunteer service to the Arlington Heights community,” states Executive Director Paula Moore. “Staff and trustees alike have benefited from the intelligence, courage and humor he has brought to his role of trustee. It's hard to imagine our board without his presence, but we are all so grateful for his many years of helping to guide our 5-star library.”