Heights Libraries Announces 3 Honor Roll Award Winners

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — Three people have been named Honor Roll recipients by the Fund for the Future of Heights Libraries. The honor goes to individuals that have made sustained, outstanding contributions to the Cleveland Heights/University Heights community by promoting literacy.

This year's winners are Draupadi Pradhan, Suzanne De Gaetano and Rachel Wayne Nelson. The trio will be inducted during a dinner banquet on November 11 at the Dolan Center at John Carroll University. That event will start at 5 p.m.

Get to know this year's Honor Roll class.

Pradhan is a Bhutanese-Nepali refugee that has been working tirelessly on behalf of the refugee community in Clevleand Heights. She works as an interpreter, advocate and liaison for the Noble Neighborhood Branch. She will be receiving the Door Opener award from the library foundation.

"A Door Opener is someone who provides access to education, literature, and opportunity through literacy," the library system said.

DeGaetano is the owner of Mac's Backs Books, the iconic bookstore on Coventry Road, will be receiving the Mind Opener award. "A Mind Opener is someone who stimulates the minds of community members through literature and thoughtful discussion, or connections with though provoking ideas or individuals," the library system said.

Mac's Backs has hosted a monthly poetry reading since 1984, one of the longest running poetry series in the entire nation. Dozens of author and book events are hosted at the store each year, along with writer's workshops and community programs. DeGaetano has encouraged and supported new writers in Ohio for decades and has done extensive work with the Coventry Village Branch library.

Finally, Nelson was the director of Heights Libraries from 1988 until 2008. For her efforts, she will receive the Lifetime Achievement award (which we suspect needs no description).

Nelson currently serves on the board of the Rainey Institute, an organization the promotes positive growth for Greater Cleveland youth through education and engagement with visual and performing arts. Nelson was also director of the Cleveland Children's Museum and an instrumental board member for Project Learn and the Global Issues Resource Center.

She continues to volunteer and mentor well into her 90s.

Last year’s inaugural recipients were retired teacher and longtime Friends of the Heights Libraries volunteer John Jarvey, and dedicated teacher of English for Speakers of Other Languages Marilyn McLaughlin.

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Photos from Heights Libraries

From left to right: Draupadi Pradhan, Rachel Wayne Nelson, and Suzanne De Gaetano