Arlington Heights honors retiring library Trustee Debbie Smart
Arlington Heights leaders, residents and other well-wishers gathered Tuesday evening to honor longtime library board Trustee Debbie Smart ahead of her final meeting on the elected panel.
Following a retirement reception in the library's Cardinal Room, the library board approved a formal resolution honoring Smart's 11 years of service, during which time she was named by the Illinois Library Association as Trustee of the Year.
That 2019 recognition came as Smart was leading efforts to open the library's 8,000-square-foot Makerplace on Belmont Avenue, while helping establish the nonprofit Arlington Heights Memorial Library Foundation to support the new facility with equipment and donations.
Smart, the first openly LGBTQ person elected to public office in Arlington Heights, gained the support of her fellow trustees earlier this year to hoist the Pride flag for the first time outside the library in June.
The library board Tuesday also reviewed applications for Smart's vacancy in closed session. Trustees are expected to make a selection Oct. 25.