Tracy Del Rosario, daughter of the late CNMI archivist Herbert Del Rosario, and her mother Rose, are overwhelmed with emotion as they receive his posthumous award.
Kagman High School librarian Maria Ornes speaks about her late professor, Dr. Yvonne Chandler, as her former classmates look on.
Four PIALA Lifetime Awards sit atop a table, along with other awards
A CNMI archivist, a U.S. educator, and two former head librarians from the Pohnpei Public Library posthumously received the Lifetime Award at this year’s Pacific Islands Association of Libraries, Archives, and Museums or PIALA Conference held on Saipan.
They were past PIALA president and CNMI Archives Director Herbert S. Del Rosario, Dr. Yvonne Chandler, past PIALA president and Pohnpei Public Library head librarian Carmina Lihpai, and former Pohnpei Public Library head librarian Lester Ezekias.
Del Rosario passed away on Dec. 3, 2015. His wife Rose and daughter Tracy received the posthumous award at the conference’s closing ceremony last week.
“My dad was a very quiet person, but his mind spoke a million words… He was a jack of all trades,” said Tracy, eyes welling up with tears. She shared her childhood experiences of being out in the field with her father, seeing him conduct interviews with his yellow tablet, working to preserve oral history. She thanked PIALA for honoring her late father.
Former students of Dr. Chandler, who passed on Aug. 10, 2020, shared their respective memories of the late professor. One of them, Kagman High School librarian Maria Ornes, said, “She was a force of nature. There is no other way to describe her. When we started our program in 2011, we met on Guam, and she just knew exactly what she wanted for us, whether we knew it or not at the time, so she was amazing in that way. It’s because of her that I am here and able to do what I’ve been able to do in my library. She is truly missed.”
Lihpai passed away on Oct. 6, 2021 and Ezekias on Feb. 15, 2022. Pohnpei delegates received the posthumous award on behalf of their families. Jennifer Helieisar of College of Micronesia-FSM remembers Ezekias as somewhat of a legend. “We will truly miss Lester. He left big shoes to fill and a legacy back home in Pohnpei,” she said.
The mission of PIALA is to enhance the quality of leadership in order to support and strengthen libraries, archives, and museums across the Pacific Islands. For more information, visit https://piala-pacific.wixsite.com/piala-pacific/.
