Laura Dallas of Carrboro, a public library branch manager, has been selected as the media center associate in Conference Connectional Ministries and Church Revitalization. She will begin her work for the NC Conference in early May.
“Laura Dallas brings an advanced degree, experience in library management, and a passion for equipping local churches that we are excited to welcome to the team,” said the Rev. Taylor Mills, chair of the Conference Communications Committee and a member of the interview task force to select the media center associate.
“With the prominence of the media center in the new United Methodist Building being constructed in Garner and Laura Dallas’ savvy use of new technologies to bring resources to communities, we know that the churches and pastors of the North Carolina Annual Conference will find the media center to be relevant to their ministries in many new ways,” Taylor said speaking for the interview task force.
The new media center associate, a member of the Conference Communications team, will be heavily engaged in moving the media center collection to the new building after Annual Conference in June. New initiatives, such as online video, social networking, online review of curriculum, will be developed after the move.
In January, the Connectional Ministry staff was reorganized. Prior to that time, the work of the full-time media center director was coupled with the ministries of Older Adult, Education, and Archives and History.
The new position, designated as three-quarter time, is focused on the media center. Older Adult, Education, and Archives and History ministries will be the purview of the Christian Formation coordinator, a position yet to be filled.
“Once the new media center position was announced, applications began pouring in,” Taylor said.
An outside consultant was engaged by the Connectional Ministry office to help sort through the initial contacts to determine if criteria were met by the applicants. The Rev. Carol Goehring, executive director of Conference Connectional Ministries and Church Revitalization, then assembled an interview team from the Conference. “After thoughtful and prayerful work by this team, Dallas was chosen,” she said.
Dallas has most recently been the branch manager of the Carrboro Cybrary, a community-focused public library. While there, she led book clubs, initiated partnerships with six community organizations, and led programs to reach out to populations who have historically underutilized the library.
In 2006, Dallas earned her Master of Library Science degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she received the Dean’s Award for her Master’s Paper. She had previously earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from North Carolina State University in 2003.
Since she was very young, Dallas has been a member of various United Methodist Churches. Her grandfather, the Rev. Richard T. Commander, was once pastor of Carrboro United Methodist Church where Dallas is involved in a Bible study.
“I am looking forward to everyone meeting Laura Dallas. She told us that, more than anything, she feels called to put Christian resources in the hands of people and churches,” Goehring said.