March Staff Spotlight: Cindy Boyle
In our TLA Staff Spotlight series, you will meet a member of our team each month. It’s part of our effort to make sure you know who the TLA staff is, so you’re more familiar with us when you need to contact us. We love to hear from members!
Name: Cindy Boyle
Position: Manager, Exhibits & Vendor Relations
Year started: 1984
What are your job responsibilities at TLA? As manager of exhibits and vendor relations, I help companies promote their products and services to our members each year in the exhibit hall at the TLA conference. In addition, I foster a relationship for sponsorship of events and services to assist our conference and beyond, while supporting our sponsors with their promotion.
Tell us three things about yourself: I’m a rock hound and love to explore the geology of the areas I travel. I caught the bug on my property in Bastrop where I collected beautiful rocks, some embedded with crystals, and petrified wood. I love visiting gardens and arboretums. The grand finale of my vacation this year was a visit to the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. I love to use herbs in my daily life. I grow mostly culinary herbs in my garden. I always have basil pesto and chimichurri in my freezer, and love to experiment with new herbal recipes.
What’s a book, movie, album or podcast you enjoyed recently that you’d recommend and why? I love to plan and research my vacation travel so I have a stash of reference books at my disposal. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die (USA & Canada) is my all-time favorite. I also love to read autobiographies and memoirs. On my bedside table is Renoir, My Father, a memoir by Jean Renoir about his father Auguste Renoir.
What’s your favorite place in Texas? I have many. I love being near water and enjoy the coasts in Galveston, Rockport, and Padre Island. I live near the Blanco and Guadalupe Rivers and enjoy them. I also love all the botanical gardens in Texas and try to visit when I can. Lastly, I love Texas music and support the music scene in towns and cities across Texas. I recently visited Luckenbach and enjoyed musicians who played Jerry Jeff Walker’s songs and then attended a concert in Fredericksburg by Monte Montgomery, an amazing guitarist.
What is your favorite part about your job? It is the moment the show opens each year at the TLA annual conference. It is a thrill to see everyone involved create a show that we are all so proud to be a part of; and to bring thousands together to support vital library services in Texas.