Stacy Bass is a lifelong Westporter, former president of the Library Board of Trustees, and former chair of the Library’s Development Committee. She is also the co-founder and longtime co-chair of the Library’s annual fundraiser, BOOKED for the evening, which this year will welcome tennis legend and social justice pioneer Billie Jean King for its silver anniversary.
Bass recently sat down with us to talk about the early days of BOOKED, her favorite moments from 25 years of the event, and more.
Westport Library: Tell us about the early years of BOOKED for evening. What was the genesis of the event?
Stacy Bass: Essentially, BOOKED was born out of the opportunity to bring Tom Brokaw to speak at the Library in connection with his then-new book, The Greatest Generation. Then-President of the Board of Trustees Joel Davis shared with our ever wonderful former Library Director Maxine Bleiweis that Westporter Gordon Manning had a connection to Brokaw. Concurrently, the always-visionary Eileen Wiseman (before her Art Center role) was talking to us about the idea for an annual gala to benefit the Library and it all just started to come together. We had a tiny committee of only a handful of very passionate and creative people, and together we conceived the broad strokes and the myriad details of what would ultimately become BOOKED. It just grew and grew from there!
Did you think BOOKED would still be going strong 25 years later?
I’d love to say, “Of course I did!” But truly, not at all. Of course, we were hopeful that BOOKED would become a signature event for the Library and that we could continue to invite and attract a roster of incredibly impressive honorees who would inspire interest and excitement. But in so many ways, it has far exceeded our expectations.
A huge part of BOOKED’s staying power and success is the tireless work of the Library staff and our committee chairs and members — such a wonderfully committed group of volunteers who have given countless hours of their time to helping with fundraising, program devising, filmmaking, invite addressing, menu planning and so much more. This is not the place to name everyone who has a played a role in BOOKED’s success, but each and every one deserves my gratitude. Wendy Brown and Candice Savin have done an absolutely excellent job chairing the event these past bunch of years and were kind enough to welcome me back as a co-chair for the 25th anniversary. I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of BOOKED’s legacy and its enduring contribution to the community.
How have you seen the event evolve in its quarter century?
One of the things I love most about BOOKED is that while it has both evolved and improved over the years, it still stays true to its original spirit. We still faithfully adhere to our goal to “recognize an individual whose work reflects the purpose of the Library: to nurture the love of learning and to enhance our understanding of the world.” We still try to center the event around honoring the talent and craft of that individual, and in so doing, give our audience a chance to learn something new.
Every year, among the greatest compliments we get are: “How are you ever going to top this?” and “Wow, I had no idea about…” And finally, while we graciously rely on the financial support for the event to continue to provide the highest level of programming and services at the Library, we feel strongly that on the evening of the gala, everyone should be able to just come and enjoy. No auctions. No additional requests for funding. Just a moving and magical evening at the Library.
What is your favorite BOOKED moment? Or a few of your favorite moments?
It would be impossible for me to choose one or even a few! I can think of so many. … But I have especially loved when our honorees also happen to be Westporters (or former Westporters). The Lynsey Addario and Nile Rodgers events felt very special for that reason. For me, as a lover of film and theatre, it’s always thrilling to have honorees like Wendy Wasserstein, Martin Scorsese, Barry Levinson, Alan Alda, Justin Paul, Shonda Rhimes, and Laura Linney in the house. I’ve surely been fan-girling more than once! But, some of the most riveting presentations were more literary. I especially loved the Adam Gopnik and Jon Meacham events.
The best and truest answer to this question, though, is that EVERY year has offered something truly wonderful.
What would you tell someone considering donating to support this and future BOOKED events?
Being a part of BOOKED is the surest way to guarantee an exceptional, educating, elevating, inspiring. and uplifting experience. And in doing so, you are helping to support a huge range of programming every other day of the year, too. It’s an absolute gift to have access to the bright and shining 5-star brilliance of The Westport Library and to provide that for our community and far beyond. Join us!
