SURREY Libraries announced on Tuesday that its Chair of the Board of Trustees, Neelam Sahota, has been selected to receive the Trustee Excellence Award by the British Columbia Library Trustees Association (BCLTA).
This annual award recognizes three trustees from the over 700 serving on BC library boards, who have made a major contribution to their public library and community through governance excellence.
Sahota has served on the Surrey Libraries Board since 2016 and dived in to contribute to committee work, including serving on the Fund Development and Finance Committee, Programs and Services Committee, and serving as Board Chair since 2020. Despite her busy schedule as CEO of DIVERSEcity Community Services, Neelam has been generous with her time to Surrey Libraries, rarely missing any meetings and attending numerous events on behalf of the library board.
“Neelam is passionate about making a difference in her community and for Surrey Libraries,” said Surinder Bhogal, Chief Librarian at Surrey Libraries. “She is a strong community leader and inspiring role model. Her approach is progressive and collaborative. Neelam is highly valued on our board and respected by all the trustees.”
During her tenure as Board Chair, Sahota has strived to encourage engagement from all trustees and be a strong voice to advocate for library funding and support. Examples of her contributions include succession planning for the board, encouraging diversity, equity, and inclusion principles such as board inclusion literacy training, starting board meetings with a meaningful Indigenous land acknowledgment, establishing a compensation framework for the chief librarian, and supporting the establishment of a governance committee to improve board processes and procedures.
“Thank you for this tremendous honour. It has been my absolute privilege to serve on the Surrey Libraries Board of Trustees,” said Sahota. “Libraries have been an integral part of my life and I am grateful for this opportunity to serve. Great libraries build communities and at Surrey Libraries, our incredible staff, trustees and patrons are united in our goal of ensuring our libraries are inclusive and welcoming for all.”
Find out more about Surrey Libraries and its diverse programming at surreylibraries.ca.
