MAC 2024 Marguerite Abel Service Recognition Award
The Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association is excited to announce that Layla Heimlich is the winner of the 2024 Marguerite Abel Service Recognition Award.
Layla Heimlich’s service to MAC has been unmatched in the last several years. Layla served a three-year term as treasurer and then immediately began a three-year term as chair elect, chair, and immediate past chair. Everything she has accomplished in her six years on the MAC board makes her deserving of this year’s Marguerite Abel Service Recognition Award.
As treasurer, Layla diligently kept our chapter’s finances in order, making sure everyone from conference hotels to keynote speakers to research award winners were paid promptly. When banking difficulties meant that the formal handover to the next treasurer took nearly a full year, she went above and beyond, continuing in some capacity as treasurer while also serving as chair elect. Over the past three years, she has been an excellent mentor, always available for questions about MAC’s finances and troubleshooting any number of problems that arise for the chapter.
As chair, Layla has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to keep MAC running smoothly, identifying projects that need completing and leading the way to accomplishing them. She spearheaded a group to update MAC’s policies and procedures. She began the conversation around managing MAC’s web presence when Lynn Eades retires. She’s always the first to volunteer for an additional project, whether it’s investigating an unclaimed property notification from the state of Maryland or organizing this year’s hospital librarians luncheon. While it might not always be visible to the chapter membership at large, Layla has been instrumental to MAC’s success over the last 6 years.
