A couple of years ago, I was at the South Madison Community Foundation’s Open Hearts, Open Purses event.

I was perusing silent auction baskets and was particularly interested in the one that offered a classically-trained chef who would come to your house and cook a gourmet Cajun meal for eight.

What really struck me was that the Cajun chef was the foundation’s own Lisa Floyd!

Fast-forward to last year, when the South Madison Community Foundation awarded $7,000 to the library for a learning kitchen.

The kitchen is to be used for cooking classes and demonstrations. You can probably see where this is headed.

At 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, Floyd will be featured in The Learning Kitchen as she prepares jambalaya and bread pudding.

Those who attend will be taught the secrets of gourmet Cajun cooking from one of Pendleton’s premier movers and shakers.

At the library, we took this idea a step further.

We recognize there are lots of talented people in our area: Quilters, woodworkers, birders, knitters, weavers, artists, writers, plumbers, musicians …the list goes on and on. These are the individuals who create the fabric of our community.

So, doesn’t it make perfect sense for the library to tap into all of these talents as a way to help you discover your next passion?

One of the goals in the library’s long-range plan is to “focus adult programming on lifelong learning, skills development and civility.”

One of the ways we hope to do that is to find community members who are willing to share their skills and talents with others.

If you’ve got a talent to share, let us know by emailing [email protected].

If you are interested in reading the library’s entire long-range plan for 2019-21, it is available at pendleton.lib.in.us/about/strategic-plan.

Hobbs is director of Pendleton Community Public Library.