Ridgefield Library Announces 2017 Gala Honorees

The Ridgefield Library’s annual Great Expectations gala, which will take place April 22, 2017, will present the Hope H. Swenson Visionary Award to Sally and Rudy Ruggles for their long-standing impact on the library and their contributions to the community and beyond. The gala will take place from 6:30 to 10:30 at the library, 427 Main St., and will include a cocktail hour and sit-down dinner. The award is named for the late Hope Swenson, who for 35 years was a member of the Library Board.

Sally Ruggles was the original owner of Books on the Common, Ridgefield’s independent bookstore. “She helped nurture a love of books and reading through her dedicated and thoughtful readers’ advisory and customer service – all this at a time when big-box stores were de-personalizing the book business,” said Chris Nolan, Library Director.

Rudy Ruggles began his career as a physicist with IBM and eventually moved into national security affairs with the Hudson Institute. He has held advisory and leadership positions at the prestigious Morgan Library in New York City and the Newberry Library in Chicago. The Ridgefield Library has long benefited from his expertise and vision in technology. Mr. Ruggles is on the board of the Hord Foundation in Danbury and has served on the board of Danbury Hospital. He is also an adjunct professor in the Genomic Medicine section of the J. Craig Venter Institute. He remains active with the Ridgefield Coalition Against Substance Abuse, which he co-founded with First Selectman Rudy Marconi.

In addition to their support of the Ridgefield Library, Mr. and Mrs. Ruggles have been involved in numerous philanthropic activities, including support of the academic programs at Ridgefield’s Founders Hall and an endowed chair of cancer research at the Danbury Hospital Biomedical Research Institute.