Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Library's new assistant director has worn many career hats
By Alison Walker: notes2ali@hotmail.com
After working in several different careers, John Trischitti may have accidentally found his niche as the new assistant director and youth services librarian for the Riter C. Hulsey Public Library.
Once an aspiring journalist, Trischitti enjoyed a brief career in the cattle ranching industry before landing a position with a supermarket - a job which unexpectedly put him on the road to management with Brookshire's Food Store. Last fall Trischitti - with a little encouragement from fellow library staff and volunteers - made the difficult decision to leave Brookshire's and pursue a career as a librarian.
Born in Houston, Trischitti and his mother moved to Lubbock when he was a young child. After graduating from Coronado High School, he attended Wayland Baptist University in Plainview on a theater performance scholarship.
"I majored in theater performance for the first couple of years, but then I figured out I probably wasn't going to win an Oscar so I switched to journalism," Trischitti said.
After graduating with a double major in journalism/English literature with a minor in theater performance, Trischitti went to work for the Plainview Daily Herald, where he had done his internship.
"I did some sports writing, some spot news and I was the film critic," Trischitti said.
Trischitti left the Herald for a job as sports editor of the Brownfield News, a job he held for a couple of years.
In 2000, Trischitti married his wife, Diana, also a Wayland graduate.
Trischitti said he then decided to take a break from his writing career and go to work for a friend's family, who owned a 30,000-acre cattle ranch in Kaycee, Wy.
"I learned a lot about cows. I got a job as a part-time meat cutter at an IGA store in Buffalo.
However, Trischitti said it didn't take his wife long to grow tired of the Wyoming winters and she soon informed him that she was headed back to Texas with their newborn son, Jay.
When they returned to their native state, Trischitti began looking for a journalism job, but instead took what he thought would be an interim job at a Brookshire's in Weatherford.
"At the time they didn't have any openings in the meat department so I went to work on the grocery side," Trischitti said.
Through a series of promotions, Trischitti ended up working for a number of different stores including Willow Park and Granbury before he got an opportunity to come to Terrell to work for Mike Cook, who was the store manager at the time.
"It was right after Katrina so there were no places to stay in Terrell. While we were looking for a house we ended up staying at a motel in Rockwall," Trischitti said.
He said his family was often greeted by sympathy from people who assumed they were Katrina evacuees.
After moving to a house on Jackson Street, the Trischittis found a home on Eulalia in Terrell and moved again - something Trioschitti said they had grown quite accustomed to doing during his years with Brookshire's.
"One time we moved three times in 18 months," Trischitti said of his Brookshire's career. "Every time we'd move, the first place we'd go is to the library to get a card."
During his tenure as an assistant manager at the Terrell Brookshire's, Trischitti had the opportunity to meet several people who were affiliated with the library including Bonnie McGinty, a Brookshire's customer who asked him to serve on the Friends of the Library board.
Trischitti was elected to the Friends board in 2006 and became president in 2007. Although new to the Terrell board, Trischitti brought with him a history of experience as a volunteer with library organizations in other communities.
"I've always been very involved with libraries," Trischitti said, adding that he served on the board at the Brownfield library and was also a member of the library organization in Granbury.
"The company pushes its managers to be involved in the community and I always chose the library," he said.
In September of 2007, Trischitti got word that Brookshire's was moving him again. Fortunately, this time his new position was right up the road at the Brookshire's store in Forney - an easy commute.
Trischitti'said he had a goal of becoming a store manager with Brookshire's and with each transfer he came a little closer to reaching that goal.
"Every now and then I would find myself talking to Becky Sullivan (Hulsey Public Library director) about a library science career," Trischitti said.
Consequently, when Katie Geiger, assistant library director and youth services librarian, announced her decision to retire, Sullivan began speaking to Trischitti about the possibility of taking that job.
"Sullivan approached me and said she could help me with getting my education," Trischitti said.
Since Trischitti had experience with children's collections and story times with his own children, Sullivan said she thought he was the ideal candidate for the job.
"John's management background and communications skills make him well suited to his duties as assistant director - and his theatrical talent is a terrific asset for story times. His knowledge of children's literature supports his ability to build a children's collection," Sullivan said.
"I started thinking about it seriously and I talked it over with my wife and finally decided it was the right decision," Trischitti said.
Trischitti said one of the biggest incentives to take the job was simply that it allowed him more time to spend with his family, which by this time also included a 3-year-old daughter, Olivia.
"Overall, I think it was God's plan. I was used to working 50 or more hours a week with Brookshire's, so with a 40-hour week the decision became a quality of life issue," Trischitti said.
In September, Trischitti began working part-time as a clerk at the library and began to scale back his hours at Brookshire's. Trischitti gave his notice, but agreed to work at Brookshire's through the Thanksgiving holiday.
Trischitti began working at the library full time on Dec. 7.
"I had a month to spend with Katie which was really helpful," Trischitti said.
Although Trischitti said he is thankful for the many opportunities Brookshire's gave him, his decision to leave ultimately was based on what he thought was best for his family.
"It came down to the fact that I didn't want to get five years down the road and say "what if?" about the library," Trischitti said.
Although Trischitti said he misses parts of his job at Brookshire's - particularly the customers - he thinks joining the library staff was the right decision.
Now that he's on a more regular schedule, Trischitti said he hopes to catch up some leisure activities like golf and reading.
"I haven't read for pleasure in years so I'm hoping to catch up with that," he said.
Trischitti said he already is working toward his goal of getting his master's degree in library science. He is currently enrolled in two online classes at the University of North Texas.
As far as changes go, Trischitti said he is fortunate to follow in Geiger's footsteps.
"It's already a well-oiled machine," Trischitti said, adding that he anticipates making only minor changes to the library's successful summer reading program.
In addition to plans for an end-of-summer pool party and making some slight revisions to the incentives and rewards program for students who meet various reading goals, Trischitti also has other projects on the horizon like starting a program for home school students and a chess club. He also is working with Sullivan and volunteer Judy Bundy to revitalize and reorganize the library's adult literacy program, "Wings."
Trischitti and his wife are members at the Rockwall and Brin Church of Christ where he works with shut-ins and she teaches a Sunday school class.
"I've been in Terrell for three years now. For me, that's a pretty long time. Now I feel like I have some roots," Trischitti said.
Trischitti said his wife has probably had to make the biggest adjustment since she was used to spending many of her evenings at home alone with their children.
"I thinks she's getting used to the new routine because my 'honey-do' list has grown," Trischitti said with a laugh.
And, although Trischitti may sometimes miss the hectic pace of managing 85 employees and a waiting on a seemingly endless stream of customers, he said he's enjoying getting to know the librbary patrons. He said its especially rewarding to see the face of his son Jay when he comes in for story time with his Methodist Day School kindergarten class.
"When he says, 'That's my Dad' - that's pretty neat," Trischitti said.
Once an aspiring journalist, Trischitti enjoyed a brief career in the cattle ranching industry before landing a position with a supermarket - a job which unexpectedly put him on the road to management with Brookshire's Food Store. Last fall Trischitti - with a little encouragement from fellow library staff and volunteers - made the difficult decision to leave Brookshire's and pursue a career as a librarian.
Born in Houston, Trischitti and his mother moved to Lubbock when he was a young child. After graduating from Coronado High School, he attended Wayland Baptist University in Plainview on a theater performance scholarship.
"I majored in theater performance for the first couple of years, but then I figured out I probably wasn't going to win an Oscar so I switched to journalism," Trischitti said.
After graduating with a double major in journalism/English literature with a minor in theater performance, Trischitti went to work for the Plainview Daily Herald, where he had done his internship.
"I did some sports writing, some spot news and I was the film critic," Trischitti said.
Trischitti left the Herald for a job as sports editor of the Brownfield News, a job he held for a couple of years.
In 2000, Trischitti married his wife, Diana, also a Wayland graduate.
Trischitti said he then decided to take a break from his writing career and go to work for a friend's family, who owned a 30,000-acre cattle ranch in Kaycee, Wy.
"I learned a lot about cows. I got a job as a part-time meat cutter at an IGA store in Buffalo.
However, Trischitti said it didn't take his wife long to grow tired of the Wyoming winters and she soon informed him that she was headed back to Texas with their newborn son, Jay.
When they returned to their native state, Trischitti began looking for a journalism job, but instead took what he thought would be an interim job at a Brookshire's in Weatherford.
"At the time they didn't have any openings in the meat department so I went to work on the grocery side," Trischitti said.
Through a series of promotions, Trischitti ended up working for a number of different stores including Willow Park and Granbury before he got an opportunity to come to Terrell to work for Mike Cook, who was the store manager at the time.
"It was right after Katrina so there were no places to stay in Terrell. While we were looking for a house we ended up staying at a motel in Rockwall," Trischitti said.
He said his family was often greeted by sympathy from people who assumed they were Katrina evacuees.
After moving to a house on Jackson Street, the Trischittis found a home on Eulalia in Terrell and moved again - something Trioschitti said they had grown quite accustomed to doing during his years with Brookshire's.
"One time we moved three times in 18 months," Trischitti said of his Brookshire's career. "Every time we'd move, the first place we'd go is to the library to get a card."
During his tenure as an assistant manager at the Terrell Brookshire's, Trischitti had the opportunity to meet several people who were affiliated with the library including Bonnie McGinty, a Brookshire's customer who asked him to serve on the Friends of the Library board.
Trischitti was elected to the Friends board in 2006 and became president in 2007. Although new to the Terrell board, Trischitti brought with him a history of experience as a volunteer with library organizations in other communities.
"I've always been very involved with libraries," Trischitti said, adding that he served on the board at the Brownfield library and was also a member of the library organization in Granbury.
"The company pushes its managers to be involved in the community and I always chose the library," he said.
In September of 2007, Trischitti got word that Brookshire's was moving him again. Fortunately, this time his new position was right up the road at the Brookshire's store in Forney - an easy commute.
Trischitti'said he had a goal of becoming a store manager with Brookshire's and with each transfer he came a little closer to reaching that goal.
"Every now and then I would find myself talking to Becky Sullivan (Hulsey Public Library director) about a library science career," Trischitti said.
Consequently, when Katie Geiger, assistant library director and youth services librarian, announced her decision to retire, Sullivan began speaking to Trischitti about the possibility of taking that job.
"Sullivan approached me and said she could help me with getting my education," Trischitti said.
Since Trischitti had experience with children's collections and story times with his own children, Sullivan said she thought he was the ideal candidate for the job.
"John's management background and communications skills make him well suited to his duties as assistant director - and his theatrical talent is a terrific asset for story times. His knowledge of children's literature supports his ability to build a children's collection," Sullivan said.
"I started thinking about it seriously and I talked it over with my wife and finally decided it was the right decision," Trischitti said.
Trischitti said one of the biggest incentives to take the job was simply that it allowed him more time to spend with his family, which by this time also included a 3-year-old daughter, Olivia.
"Overall, I think it was God's plan. I was used to working 50 or more hours a week with Brookshire's, so with a 40-hour week the decision became a quality of life issue," Trischitti said.
In September, Trischitti began working part-time as a clerk at the library and began to scale back his hours at Brookshire's. Trischitti gave his notice, but agreed to work at Brookshire's through the Thanksgiving holiday.
Trischitti began working at the library full time on Dec. 7.
"I had a month to spend with Katie which was really helpful," Trischitti said.
Although Trischitti said he is thankful for the many opportunities Brookshire's gave him, his decision to leave ultimately was based on what he thought was best for his family.
"It came down to the fact that I didn't want to get five years down the road and say "what if?" about the library," Trischitti said.
Although Trischitti said he misses parts of his job at Brookshire's - particularly the customers - he thinks joining the library staff was the right decision.
Now that he's on a more regular schedule, Trischitti said he hopes to catch up some leisure activities like golf and reading.
"I haven't read for pleasure in years so I'm hoping to catch up with that," he said.
Trischitti said he already is working toward his goal of getting his master's degree in library science. He is currently enrolled in two online classes at the University of North Texas.
As far as changes go, Trischitti said he is fortunate to follow in Geiger's footsteps.
"It's already a well-oiled machine," Trischitti said, adding that he anticipates making only minor changes to the library's successful summer reading program.
In addition to plans for an end-of-summer pool party and making some slight revisions to the incentives and rewards program for students who meet various reading goals, Trischitti also has other projects on the horizon like starting a program for home school students and a chess club. He also is working with Sullivan and volunteer Judy Bundy to revitalize and reorganize the library's adult literacy program, "Wings."
Trischitti and his wife are members at the Rockwall and Brin Church of Christ where he works with shut-ins and she teaches a Sunday school class.
"I've been in Terrell for three years now. For me, that's a pretty long time. Now I feel like I have some roots," Trischitti said.
Trischitti said his wife has probably had to make the biggest adjustment since she was used to spending many of her evenings at home alone with their children.
"I thinks she's getting used to the new routine because my 'honey-do' list has grown," Trischitti said with a laugh.
And, although Trischitti may sometimes miss the hectic pace of managing 85 employees and a waiting on a seemingly endless stream of customers, he said he's enjoying getting to know the librbary patrons. He said its especially rewarding to see the face of his son Jay when he comes in for story time with his Methodist Day School kindergarten class.
"When he says, 'That's my Dad' - that's pretty neat," Trischitti said.
 |
||
| PHK Women's Auxiliary hosts Pink Tea to raise awareness about breast cancer |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of terrelltribune.com.
