We'd like to congratulate Burrill Strong, Chelsea's 2013 Citizen of the Year! In 2012, the Library embarked on the Geek the Library campaign, to raise awareness of the many ways the Library serves the interests and needs of community members. A central component of the campaign was photographs of people with a tagline saying what they "geek." We contacted Burrill to hire him to take photos for our initial banners that were to be used at the campaign kick off.
After that initial shoot, Burrill began to volunteer his time to take photos of the 400 community members who participated. This endeavor resulted in hundreds of hours of scheduled photo shoots, location shoots, and digital manipulation of each photo. If that wasn't enough, Burrill then continuously promoted the Geek the Library campaign, sharing photos on Facebook and Twitter and featuring the images frequently on his own website. Ultimately, Burrill's activities on this project would have cost the Library thousands of dollars - but he donated his time and skills with pleasure and enthusiasm.
Burrill isn't just a supporter of the Library - he's a supporter of so many Chelsea events, both longtime fixtures and emerging favorites. For instance, Burrill is a regular presence at Chelsea sporting events, taking photos and cheering on the team. He travels to see the teams play away games and shares his recaps and photos online. He roots for the Chelsea Monitors Base Ball team, helping them spread the word about vintage baseball through his photos as well. He's at every parade and Sounds & Sights, enjoying and documenting the great things Chelsea has to offer.
Burrill will be recognized, along with Lifetime Achievement winner Father Joseph Rinaldo, with a dinner and awards ceremony, accompanied by friends and family, at the Citizen of the Year banquet at the Chelsea Comfort Inn Thursday, October 17. The dinner, a paid event, is open to anyone. For more information, email info@chelseachamber.org or call (734) 475-1145.
Watch a full video of Burrill's ambush and read more about the award, courtesy of the Chelsea Standard.
