Happy New Year! What an exciting line-up of special library events we have to share with you in 2024!
You’re invited to start the year off right with an incredible guest speaker – America’s favorite meteorologist, Jim Cantore – Thursday, January 11, at 6pm at the Knicely Conference Center. His presentation, “Unveiling the Science and Stories Behind the Storms,” is the first of a new “Brainstorming With…” lecture series hosted with media partner WNKY. Free tickets are available through the library’s online calendar of events or directly through this link: https://tinyurl.com/JimCantoreInBG. Tickets will be checked at the door, due to the large amount of public interest in this event.
Because of his extensive coverage of severe storms, Cantore is well known for his expertise. He has been a consistent presence on The Weather Channel for the past three decades, and with his signature blue hooded jacket, he has braved severe weather of all kinds, providing forecasts and news to viewers all over the country. As his cohorts at the Weather Group jokingly stated, “It’s his work in the midst of those storms that has made him the meteorologist his viewers hate to see coming – if Cantore is in town, it means it’s time for everyone else to leave.”
His activities and accolades are described in fuller detail in the following biography provided by Cantore’s speaker’s bureau (AAE):
Cantore is one of the most recognized faces in weather. Known for his live reports from severe weather events, he embodies the passion and knowledge of The Weather Channel that makes him the weather authority viewers turn to when the forecast turns dire. He has covered every major weather event of the past 30 years, including Hurricanes Katrina and Irene and Superstorm Sandy, solidifying his role and the role of The Weather Channel as the leading source for severe weather coverage. Cantore is well known for his animated, tenacious style, both in the field and in the studio.
As Weather’s storm tracker, Cantore reports tirelessly before, during and after weather events, providing live reports and insights for the network. When not in the field, he covers the latest forecast and weather news on “AMHQ,” weekdays from 6am-9am ET. A native of White River Junction, Vermont, Cantore graduated with a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from Lyndon State College (Lyndonville, Vermont), where he returns each year to work with students in the meteorology program. Weather hired Cantore out of college and he first appeared on air in July 1986. He was inducted into the Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center Hall of Fame in February 2013, and in 2013 he was inducted into the Silver Circle of the National Television Academy of Arts & Sciences Southeast Chapter. In 2014, he was elected a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society.
Jim is a sought-after speaker and serves as a celebrity ambassador for the American Red Cross, enabling him to further spread the message of preparedness, an issue of vital importance to him that carries over from his work. He has also appeared in a series of public service announcements for FEMA on the importance of preparing your home and family for severe weather.
Later in the month, the library will host #1 New York Times best-selling author Sharon Cameron. On Sunday, January 28, at 3pm, Cameron will speak and sign books at the Bob Kirby Branch. She has written seven award-winning novels including the historic fiction novels “The Light In Hidden Places” (2020) and “Bluebird” (2021), and will discuss her latest novel, “Artifice,” published in November. Her books have received numerous awards, including the Parents’ Choice Gold Award, the Westchester Fiction Award, the Junior Library Guild’s Gold Standard Award. They have also earned starred reviews from Booklist, SLJ, Book Page and Kirkus, and have been chosen for Indie Next Top Ten, YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults, and Audible Best Books. “The Light In Hidden Places” was a 2020 Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick and has been sold in 19 countries. Free tickets are available through our online calendar (warrenpl.org/events).
Finally, we are excited to also announce that professor, speaker, podcast host, and New York Times bestselling author Kate Bowler will be in Bowling Green a few weeks later, on Friday, February 9, at 6pm at SKyPAC. Bowler is a stage-4 cancer survivor who wrote two best-selling memoirs – “Everything Happens for a Reason (and Other Lies I’ve Loved)” and “No Cure for Being Human (and Other Truths I Need to Hear)” – that detail her discovery that life can be both brutally difficult yet at the same time exquisitely beautiful. Witty and wise, she is honest and practical when discussing dealing with life’s difficulties. Get your free ticket to her event via our online calendar (warrenpl.org/events). 300 free copies of her latest book, “Have a Beautiful Terrible Day,” will be distributed while supplies last.
There will be many more library-hosted events scheduled in the year to come, so be sure to follow us on social media (@warrencountypl on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter), sign up for our email newsletter at https://warrenpl.org, or subscribe to our events calendar at https://warrenpl.org/events to stay updated!
-by Ashley Fowlkes
Digital Content Manager
Warren County Public Library
