The Wayne County commissioners on Aug. 22 eulogized Mikki Uzupes, Community Network Specialist for Wayne Tomorrow!, a county initiative. She died unexpectedly at home in Hawley on Aug. 15. She was 55.
Commissioner Jocelyn Cramer called for a moment of silence for her. Uzupes was normally at the commissioners' meetings, giving updates and taking pictures after proclamations were issued for employee anniversaries and other occasions.
"Mikki's very sudden loss is a huge setback for us here emotionally, and practically, and for the community. We are still learning every single day how many other things she was involved with, what she did, and how well she did it," Cramer said.
Uzupes, a longtime local journalist before being hired by the county, also had a passion for literacy and served as board president on the Wayne Library Alliance .
She was hired Feb. 13, 2017, by the county as digital media specialist, a role she kept until taking the Wayne Tomorrow! position, County Clerk Andrew Seder stated.
"I think she had a lot more in her and a great work to do, so we are saddened by her loss and that for the community," Cramer said. She stated it will "be a process to find somebody to fill her shoes" on Wayne Tomorrow!
She served as the coordinator for Wayne Tomorrow!, although Seder stated she did some facilitating as well.
Wayne Tomorrow! is described on its website as a "broad, county-sponsored, community-based collaboration focused on the projects, resources, and infrastructure needed to move Wayne County, its people, its culture and its economy into a vibrant future."
Wayne Tomorrow! developed task force groups , designed to maintain focus on current issues, involvement of people with expertise for the task at hand, and to steadily produce concrete results, the website explains. Uzupes was very active with these groups. Task forces include Agriculture, Talent & Resource Development, Housing, Transportation, Community Hubs and Community Health & Wellness.
Tracy Schwarz, executive director of the Wayne Library Alliance, was invited to offer a comment about Uzupes, who led the Alliance board. The Alliance encompasses seven public libraries throughout Wayne County.
"She was an incredible human being who put her heart and energy into everything she did," Schwarz said. "Mikki's natural curiosity, interest in people, and appetite for knowledge made her the perfect advocate for strong library services in our county.
"She recognized that libraries, particularly in small rural areas, are vital community hubs that should be protected and present for future generations," Schwarz continued. "Her Library family is heartbroken, but we also know that her legacy will live on in all of the lives she touched."
Uzupes formerly worked as reporter and later managing editor for The News Eagle newspaper in Hawley, prior to becoming news director at Bold Gold Media's Lake Region office, based in Honesdale, before being hired by the county.
Peter Becker has worked at the Tri-County Independent or its predecessor publications since 1994. Reach him at pbecker@tricountyindependent.com or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.
This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Mikki Uzupes remembered by Wayne County and Library Alliance for community passion
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