Editor’s note: This post is Part 13 of “Celebrating the People of Bloomington,” a special retrospective revisiting some of the stories Bloom has published since its inception in 2006. The details in these stories have not been changed since they were originally written, but we have provided updates when possible. Each story highlights an individual who contributed to making Bloomington a compassionate, diverse, and creative community. For more stories from “Celebrating the People of Bloomington,” click here.
Sara Laughlin: Librarian
By the age of 10, Sara Laughlin had made her way through the children’s department in the Richmond, Indiana, public library and was given the unusual privilege of access to the adult collection.
In 2008, she was named director of the Monroe County Public Library.
After earning an Indiana University Master of Library Science degree in 1972, Laughlin worked at IU Archives and as director of admissions at IU’s Division of Library Science. She has also served as a nationally recognized library consultant based in Bloomington. Last year, Laughlin received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.
“This is my community. This is my library,” says Laughlin, 63. “This is one of the best libraries around, and I feel a deep sense of loyalty.”
David Weber: Music Producer
David Weber, owner of Airtime Recording Studio, has recorded an eclectic array of Bloomington’s best-known musicians, ranging from the a cappella group Straight No Chaser to folksinger Carrie Newcomer to Malcolm Dalglish, the choral composer and dulcimer player. Such a range of performers perhaps befits a man who had a variety of vocations before he took up music production, including trapeze artist in a ragtag circus in Puerto Rico.
“For me, it’s foremost about the musicians, their music, and the creative process, not about microphones and amps and all the technical stuff,” he says. Weber is married to singer/ songwriter Krista Detor, with whom he frequently performs and, naturally, records.
Marc Guyer: Founder and CEO of CheddarGetter
Marc Guyer rang the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange wearing a pair of toy mouse ears. The ears were part of the branding for CheddarGetter, a company he founded that provides a web-based billing platform for businesses.
“Billing is a big deal for any business, as it should be,” Guyer says. “But we like to have fun with it. Our strategy is to be so good at what we do and so confident in our product that online billing becomes something sort of fun and cool.”
Guyer initially developed CheddarGetter for the companies supported by SproutBox, a Bloomington startup incubator he co- founded. “It’s sometimes hard to explain what makes Bloomington’s tech scene so exciting,” Guyer says, “but when you’re doing it here it’s totally obvious.”
