The 3rd Golden Bowtie Award was given to Cristin Ehrgott during the 4th Annual Dapper Depte Day celebration on Wednesday, October 28. Cristin’s positive outlook and immensely helpful nature fit the values of the Golden Bowtie Award perfectly. This celebration and award is named in honor of Corinthian Depte, a retired staff member who lights up any room he enters with his warm personality. For those of us who worked with Corinthian, it is obvious why we celebrate him every year.

              Dana McDonnell, our Circulation Supervisor, is a friend of Corinthian and worked with him for nineteen years. I asked if he could share some stories and anecdotes from their time working together, to help paint a picture of Corinthian’s personality. “Corinthian is something of a raconteur, Dana said. “What I remember most about working with him is the way he uses tales from his youth to both amuse people and get them to relax their guard. His stories always made both staff and patrons laugh. They livened up the atmosphere and allowed Corinthian to make new friends, a resource of which he was never short. They also made him a great person to work with.” 


Dana & Corinthian Behind the Library Help Desk
in FHG Library in 2017.

              From my own experience, I can say that Corinthian made me feel welcome as both a student and staff member of West Chester University. As a student I knew him as the kind, well-dressed man behind the counter that said “hello” in several different languages to everyone that walked by. Once I started working at the library, I learned about his incredible ability to make his coworkers feel like family. When he found out that I got a full-time position at the Help Desk, and that I had forgotten to tell him, he said, “Man, don’t you tell your friends anything?” If I hadn’t known he was messing with me, I probably would have cried and profusely started apologizing. But that moment showed he was rooting for me, and I was so thankful for it.

               No matter whom he interacts with, Corinthian is helpful, friendly, and comforting; and that’s only listing a few of the qualities that we honor with Dapper Depte Day and that we see in the Golden Bowtie recipients. If you want to learn more about Corinthian, ask a few of your coworkers. I’m sure a lot of us have stories we’d love to tell.

Post Written by Wes Miriello