By Andrew DeCredico
On Wednesday, April 26 the Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Salute to Working Women in the Flanders’ Hotel Ball room. The event honored Karen Mahar, the Director of the Ocean City Free Public Library. In addition, Kathy Caraballo was awarded the “You got this girl” award, which was in honor of the support of the community for Kathy’s battle with cancer.
The event started off with the “You got this girl” award, and continued with speeches honoring the women of the town for working their hardest. A few jokes were thrown in as Leonard Desiderio claimed he was going to be extra kind to Ocean City today. He made sure to mention the fact that the Townsends Inlet bridge is closed from Sea Isle to Avalon, and the causeway to the mainland will be undergoing work tonight as well, so his only way off of the island will be through Ocean City.
During lunch Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno stepped up to the microphone and spoke about how the working women of this town are some of the most important members in the community. She made a point to mention the working mothers who go above and beyond what is asked of them for their kids as well as their community. She explains how she sympathizes with members of the community who have been up rooted because of businesses going south. She also goes on to mention a bit about her child hood, stating that she could not even remember the name of her high school sweetheart because her father continued to move to the next job.
At the end of her speech she gave out her cell phone number and let the attending members of the community know that they could call her if they would like to talk about the issues in Trenton.
When all was said and done, The Lieutenant Governor commented that she is “Always happy to help and support working moms, and women owned businesses.” She also wanted to let them know how important they, and the work they are doing are to the community.
As the event continued, Karen Mahar stood at the podium to formally accept her award. She was very grateful for the honor of the members of the community, and was glad to be a part of the wonderful city.
Mahar started working for the Ocean City Public Library in when it was located next to and shared by Ocean City High School. These days, she is the Library’s Director in a state-of-the-art facility and oversees all of the library departments and programs including the children’s department. She works with the Board of Trustees on the library’s budget, policies, and plans. In addition, she also maintains the library’s collection of books and other literature. On top of all of that she recruits, hires, trains, supervises, and evaluates the library staff of more than 45 people. To say Karen Mahar is a working woman does not do her justice. Mahar works hard to make the library a safe and fun place for all ages. Duties ranging from budget planner to literature curator Karen Mahar deserves the privilege of the community for being this year’s Working Woman Honoree.
