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Receives Coveted Achievement of Library Excellence Award from TMLDA

Libraries play a crucial role in communities like DeSoto, TX, serving as vibrant hubs that foster learning, creativity, and community engagement. They provide access to a wealth of resources, including books, e-books, audiobooks, and multimedia materials, that support education and lifelong learning. Libraries also offer vital services such as computer access, internet connectivity, and digital literacy programs, helping bridge the digital divide and ensuring that all members of the community have access to information and technology. Beyond their role as repositories of knowledge, libraries in communities like DeSoto often serve as gathering places, hosting a variety of events and programs that bring people together, promote cultural enrichment, and support local artists and authors.

The DeSoto Public Library has been honored with the 2023 Achievement of Library Excellence Award by the Texas Municipal Library Directors Association (TMLDA), a branch of the Texas Municipal League (TML). The award recognizes the library’s outstanding efforts in serving underserved and special populations, enhancing services, implementing innovative marketing strategies, promoting cultural, topical, and educational programs, supporting literacy, organizing summer reading clubs, fostering collaboration, facilitating workforce development, promoting digital inclusion, and maintaining a comprehensively trained staff.

“I am continuously amazed at the incredible job that our library director, senior management, and staff do to keep our residents informed, engaged, and even entertained in a welcoming setting that attracts residents from all backgrounds and age groups and lets them know that the time they spend with us is time spent with family and friends,” observed DeSoto Mayor Rachel L. Proctor who added, “I am very pleased but not at all surprised that our stellar library system received such a coveted recognition.”

The DeSoto Public Library was one of only 84 Texas libraries to receive the TMLDA 2023 designation out of a statewide network of 545 Texas public libraries. According to the Texas Municipal Library Directors Association, the DeSoto Public Library is now in the top 15% of all public libraries in the State of Texas.

“Because of our team’s hard work, dedication, and commitment to serving our community, we were able to show the TMLDA why the DeSoto Public Library should earn this award,” said Library Director Heather McEntee. “We all put in long hours and go the extra mile to connect with our residents because we want to make their library experience better and better each time they walk through our door.”

To find out what is happening at the DeSoto Public Library, visit their website: https://www.ci.desoto.tx.us/departments/library/index.php

To learn more about the Texas Municipal Library Directors Association, visit their website: https://tmlda.org/about/

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DeSoto City Councilmember Nicole Raphiel (Council Place 3 – DeSoto, Texas) has been appointed to the National League of Cities (NLC) 2024 Community and Economic Development Federal Advocacy Committee. Councilmember Raphiel was elected to a one-year term and will provide strategic direction and guidance for NLC’s federal advocacy agenda and policy priorities on housing availability and attainability, community building, land use, local entrepreneurship, and economic development. The appointment was announced by NLC President Mayor David Sander of Rancho Cordova, California.

“NLC’s federal advocacy committees play an important role in helping policymakers in Washington understand the issues and challenges facing America’s cities, towns and villages at the local level,” said NLC President Mayor David Sander of Rancho Cordova, CA. “I’m thrilled to have Council Member Raphiel serve on NLC’s 2024 Community and Economic Development Federal Advocacy Committee this year, and look forward to working with her to strengthen the federal-local partnership, and grow our common knowledge of the issues and opportunities facing our communities.”

Councilmember Raphiel looks forward to using her NLC assignment and the national platform that comes with it to make sure that DeSoto’s needs and those in the region are both heard and addressed. “My appointment to the Community and Economic Development Federal Advocacy Committee marks a pivotal moment for DeSoto. Collaborating with the National League of Cities, I am dedicated to ensuring that our city’s (and region’s) distinct needs and aspirations are heard on a national stage. This committee underscores my commitment to fostering local economic growth, social well-being, and cultural richness, propelling DeSoto and the Best Southwest cities towards a future of equitable development and prosperity.”

As a member of NLC’s 2024 Community and Economic Development Federal Advocacy Committee, Council Member Raphiel will play a key role in shaping NLC’s policy positions and advocate on behalf of America’s cities, towns, and villages before Congress, with the administration and at home.

The leadership of this year’s committee will consist of Chair Kristopher Dahir, Councilmember, Sparks, Nevada; and three Vice-Chair’s Angela Birney, Mayor, Redmond, WA; Jeffrey Boney, Councilmember, Missouri City, TX; and Cindy Silva, Mayor, Walnut Creek, CA.

For more information on NLC’s federal advocacy committees, visit: https://www.nlc.org/advocacy/federal-advocacy-committees/. To view Councilmember Raphiel’s bio online, visit the City of DeSoto website.

The post DeSoto Councilmember Raphiel named to NLC Community appeared first on Focus Daily News.

Close to 250 people gathered in DeSoto’s Bluebonnet Room on Thursday afternoon to hear Mayor Rachel L. Proctor deliver DeSoto’s 2024 State of the City Address. It was Mayor Proctor’s third State of the City address since she’s been in office and she used the occasion to discuss the City’s key projects and to focus on the people who made a real difference in DeSoto.

The Mayor singled out several members of the DeSoto community to praise for their civic contributions including DeSoto High School’s Grammy-winning Choir Director Pamela Dawson, Vietnam Veteran and Bronze Star for Valor recipient James Baylor who was wounded at the Battle of Hamburger Hill, retiring 28-year City of DeSoto employee Kathy Jones who assisted thousands of community members over the years, and Coach Claude Mathis who led the DeSoto Eagles football team to its first-ever back-to-back Class 6A Division II State Championship. The Mayor also honored two of the student-athletes who accompanied Coach Mathis, Quarterback Darius “DJ” Bailey who was the Offensive MVP in the State Championship game, and Linebacker Keylan “Keke” Abrams who was the Defensive MVP and also an intern for the DeSoto Fire Department.

Mayor Proctor summed up the contributions of these standout community members when she said, “DeSoto stands on her own, but because of these individuals who have made such a difference, DeSoto shines brightly for all to see!”

The Mayor praised the City’s finance team for lowering or freezing its tax rate for residents and businesses for 13 straight years including a decrease of one cent in the current budget. She stressed that the City also worked hard to maintain and strengthen its bond rating which is currently at AA and has been for the past seven years. Mayor Proctor pointed out that DeSoto has been consistently recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for its financial reporting, winning its Distinguished Budget Presentation for nearly twenty years, and receiving its Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for close to forty years. She also noted that DeSoto has received a Transparency Star Award from the Texas Comptroller’s Office.

Mayor Proctor then provided the gathering with updates on some of the City’s top projects including the McCowan Park Aquatics and Recreation Center, the Hampton Road Corridor Redevelopment Plan, the updated Comprehensive Development Plan, and numerous roadway infrastructure projects including Wintergreen Road, Westmoreland Road, UHL Road, Parkerville Road, and the Meadows Parkway,

Mayor Rachel Proctor observed that the biggest reason for DeSoto’s successes in the past year has been the cooperative civic spirit of the people who live and work in our City. Said Mayor Proctor, “DeSoto succeeds when we work together and combine our efforts to move our City forward. As I always say, Progress moves at the speed of relationships!”

You can view the Mayor’s presentation of DeSoto’s State of the City Address on our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/desototx/videos/420591160391580  News outlets should feel free to use any of the footage from DeSoto’s State of the City Address, or the photos below, for your coverage.

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