'24 Stand Up for Standout Friends: Spotlight #2 of 8

Douglas County Friends of the Library - Michelle Saffel

Last year, Michelle Saffel concluded a long tenure as office manager at Lake Community Church in Alexandria. However, as is so often the case with exemplary volunteers, “retirement” would be a bit of a misnomer. Between beloved hobbies (quilting, pickleball and gardening) she remains as active in library and community causes as ever – and in fact, probably more so.

Saffel joined the Douglas County Friends of the Library shortly after moving to Alexandria in 2004. She joined the board a decade later in 2014. For much of the time since, Saffel has applied her hard-won administrative skills as the group’s secretary. She is also integral to the Friends’ truly gigantic book sale, which is held at the 76,000-square-foot Runestone Community Center. If you’ve attended in recent years, it was almost certainly Michelle Saffel who handed you a bag on your way in the door!

Saffel’s other claims to fame are as coordinator of the Friends’ popular book club and as a driver behind DCFL’s popular Community Read initiative. She joined the long-running book club in 2005 and took the reins shortly thereafter. (If you do the math, that’s almost 240 book club selections and conversations!) Staffel and colleagues’ spirited efforts in support of the local Community Read have brought hundreds together to celebrate the work of Minnesota writers like Margaret Standafer and Allen Eskens.