A Fond Farewell to Laurie Longfield:
Laurie was born and raised in Schenectady, but she has lived in many other East and West Coast locations. She joined New York Folklore in 2009, enriching the organization through her many prior years of learned experience in the arts, banking and finance.
Through her sixteen years at New York Folklore, Laurie did many things that aren’t listed on her job description . She not only provided her managerial skills to New York Folklore, she was the “face” of the gallery to the numerous artists whose work was exhibited. She strove to display the consigned artwork in the best possible light. The Gallery of Folk Art was known by the rest of the New York Folklore staff as “Laurie’s Gallery”. Thanks to Laurie’s keen eye, today’s gallery is a place of warmth and welcome, from holiday decor to the plants which flourish under her hand. Many a child (and adults!) have been delighted by the candy which can always be found on her desk!
Laurie is an institution of her own in our Jay Street Community. As any staff member will tell you, members of the public are often taken back to find someone else sitting at her desk when she has taken a well-deserved vacation day. She has many visitors who stop by regularly to chat – including artists, residents of Jay Street and downtown Schenectady, and members of Schenectady’s Ambassador Program which provides hospitality and assistance to visitors to downtown Schenectady. Always willing to talk, she welcomes visitors into the New York Folklore space and is on a first name basis with many. Over the years she has been a wealth of information about the Schenectady community to visitors, drawing on her own roots in the area.
Over the sixteen years that Laurie worked for New York Folklore, her responsibilities increased as our needs as an organization changed. She became the official proofreader for press releases and marketing materials, and regularly provided design and layout expertise for printed matter. She became New York Folklore’s “safety officer” and our ADA Compliance Officer.
We, at New York Folklore, sincerely wish her all the best for her well-deserved retirement! As she is an innovative cook and avid reader, we hope that Laurie will have more time to pursue those things that she loves and that she continues to stay in touch with us and with New York Folklore.