Longtime Mahopac Library Worker ‘Miss Gail’ to Retire
Gail Perillo, known to hundreds of community members as Miss Gail, will officially retire from Mahopac Public Library on Thursday, May 27.
“It will be hard to fill Gail’s shoes,” said Library Director, Michele Capozzella. “Her energy and enthusiasm is so engaging, and her love for our young patrons brings out the best in them.”
Perillo has been a library staff member since 2001, working part-time and then full-time in the Youth Services Department. Among other things, she initiated an active Teen Theater group, managed the Teen Volunteer program, and supervised the Teen Balloon Club. She also established the Teen Library Council, the MPL Teens That Care group, and encouraged teens to interview members of the community through the Traveling Teen Reporter project.
Many of Perillo’s story time fans grew up listening to her read their favorite stories when they were youngsters, and then joining one of her teen programs as they transitioned to middle and high school. They remember her playful exuberance at the Library’s Annual Gingerbread House Making event, the Summer Reading Ice Cream parties, Winter Frosty Fun, Stuffed Animal Sleepover, and Teen After Hours Laser Tag. She represented Mahopac Library at Sycamore Park’s Harvest Fest and was instrumental in creating the Putnam County Teen Talent Show – a countywide event that highlighted the incredible abilities of local middle and high school-age kids.
Perillo helped inspire generations of children, and their family members, to make reading and learning fun. Based on her own experience of raising a son who could not sit still in school, she developed programs for two and three-year-old’s that encouraged active participation and made it okay to run around while listening to stories and playing with musical instruments at the library and at home.
Even during the pandemic, while the building was closed to the public, Perillo reached out to young audiences by providing virtual story times, Footloose Fun, and engaging musical programs.
A long-time Mahopac resident, Perillo looks forward to spending time outdoors – biking, kayaking, and traveling on motorbikes with her husband.
Patrons are welcome to stop in at the Library on Wednesday, May 26, and Thursday, May 27, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., to say goodbye to Perillo and wish her a successful retirement.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
