Person of the Year - Doris Warner

MARGARETVILLE —The Mountain Eagle is pleased to announce the selection of Doris Warner of Margaretville as its 2025 Delaware County Person of the Year.

Doris wears multiple hats, serving in a pair of key roles in the community. For the past 12 years she has been a member of the Margaretville Central School Board of Education and has served as board president since 2018. In another very public function, Doris is in her 11th year as director of the Fairview Public Library on Walnut Street in Margaretville. 

Among those who nominated Doris as Person of the Year was Margaretville Central School (MCS) Superintendent Michelle Osterhoudt.

“Doris exemplifies principled, forward thinking, and deeply committed leadership. Her impact reaches far beyond our district and into the broader educational community across New York State,” Superintendent Osterhoudt commented.

The superintendent noted that, at the district level, Doris has transformed the governance practices of our Board of Education. 

“When she assumed the presidency, the board faced the extensive task of reviewing and updating all district policies in alignment with the New York State School Boards Association. Doris led this work with remarkable organization and transparency, facilitating structured monthly workshops with board members and administrators to ensure every policy was thoughtfully reviewed and adopted. The result was not only compliance, but a stronger and more cohesive governance framework,” recalled Superintendent Osterhoudt.

Further spotlighting Doris’ significant contributions to the district, the superintendent credited Doris with recognizing gaps in operational oversight, and creating a comprehensive board calendar that tracks mandates, reporting deadlines, and governance responsibilities. She explained that this living document has become essential to the board’s efficiency and accountability.

Updated process

Doris was also touted for helping reimagine the onboarding process for new board members. She developed detailed orientation notebooks and established a mentoring system to ensure new trustees are well prepared and supported from their first meeting. 

“Her thoughtful approach has elevated board readiness and confidence,” she superintendent noted.

“Under her leadership, the board established annual goals, beginning with manageable objectives that built consensus and trust.”

Superintendent Osterhoudt said Doris’ involvement with the school goes beyond her formal board duties, noting that she is deeply embedded in the life of the local community, attending school concerts, athletic events, celebrations, and ceremonies, and never misses an opportunity to praise students and staff publicly. 

“She is not simply a board president in title. She is a visible, accessible leader who takes pride in the success of others and in the strength of our rural community,” the superintendent stated.

Doris was also recognized for her contributions at the state level. She has been featured as a guest on the New York State School Boards Association podcast, presented on Board of Education governance, and has been invited multiple times to serve on panel discussions at NYSSBA events.

“Doris Warner’s leadership is steady, strategic, and service-driven. She models what it means to lead with integrity and purpose. She makes our school district stronger and our community proud. It is my privilege to work alongside her, and I wholeheartedly recommend Doris Warner for Person of the Year.”

Library hat

When she’s not involved in helping oversee MCS operations, Doris is “hitting the books” at the Fairview Public Library where she has served as director since 2015. Prior to taking over that role, she was a library volunteer and a member of the board of directors for about two years.

Doris has been at the helm for some significant changes. When she started, the library was involved in a building project that added an entry ramp and new entrance. The project also allowed some minor reconfiguration of interior space. Most of that work was funded with a state construction grant.

More recently, the facility was the recipient of another state construction grant that helped fund repairs to the rotting porch. This renovation also involved replacing a collapsed ramp and stairs at the back of the building with a deck that allows access to both the computer room and the conference room. The addition of windows to the enclosed porch as part of this grant creates a three-season space which allows more gathering space for patrons.

Doris recalled that an American Library Association (ALA) grant award several years ago was utilized to move the children's room to a larger space in the front of the building and arrange it with new book bins and furniture. 

“This change has been hugely successful in giving families more space to gather and kids can play with the dollhouse, trains, or use the art space. This grant also fully funded new furniture in the conference room. The modular furniture creates more workspaces and lets us reconfigure for meetings, games, or individuals working at five different tables,” Doris explained.

E-Materials up 

In terms of service enhancements during her tenure, she noted the library has enhanced it printing capabilities for the public. Doris said there’s been an increase in use of e-materials through the Libby library app which supplies e-books, audiobooks, and magazines. Fairview also continues to have its own books, DVDs, audiobooks for patrons and availability through interlibrary loan. 

On top of all those improvements, Doris indicated that the biggest enhancement has been in programming. They now offer self-guided art projects for children in the library every day. The library has also introduced a monthly take-home craft project for kids. There’s also in-person programming every month that varies from paint-and-sip for adults to Zen gardens for kids. 

Doris said groups using the conference room including weekly mah jongg and dominoes. Fairview also hosts fiber arts twice a month and a monthly Zoom book club. She said the staff is very excited to be working with several artists who received Community Arts Grants both as financial sponsors and as locations for their creative presentations. In addition, the conference room is often used by individuals for everything from tutoring to meeting with insurance representatives to a safe space to meet with governmental agencies. 

During the current year, Doris, her two additional staff, and board of directors are looking to expand programming to create more of a community gathering space. Under consideration are game nights, maybe Bingo, a potluck event, and possibly a mystery night. 

“Our greatest obstacle to increased programming has been a very limited budget. Our budget for programming — everything from supplies to presenters — is currently $1,000 — less than $100 per month! The library has applied ALA grant to help cover such costs.

If additional funding sources are secured, some delayed maintenance would be addressed. The library will likely need a roof and there are issues with the decorative dormers in the back. Some of the siding also needs attention. The interior has not seen paint in more than 10 years and the outside paint needs refreshing as well.

“We are reaching the point where we cannot delay maintenance of the building much longer without some serious issues,” Doris commented.

Numbers are up

The improvements that have been implemented have been instrumental in growing usage. Doris said patron visits were around 6,700 when she took over and are now near 8,000 annually. Similarly, the library has seen growth in its circulation. Combined physical and electronic circulation in 2014 was 7,768 which included 7,557 physical items 211 ebooks. Last year the library circulated 9,382 physical items and 2,645 digital items for a total of 12,027. She explained that it’s important for people to know while they borrow digital items through Libby and Four County, local libraries are supporting the purchase or lease of those items. 

Looking ahead, Doris said the library, like everyone else, has experienced increases in insurance, electricity, salaries, and even the cost of books. She said grants are not plentiful and often have restrictions such as not covering any payroll or ongoing expenses. 

As Fairview Library staff and the board explore innovative ways to keep growing, Doris summed up their goal. “Our hope is to continue to offer, and even, increase the services we can provide.”

For Doris Warner, her duties as President of the MCS Board of Education and Director of the Fairview Library include several corresponding goals — all aimed at enriching the community. She works diligently at both, and those efforts have resulted in The Mountain Eagle saluting her as Delaware County Person of the Year. Congratulations!