About Us
Panhandle Book Club Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization registered in the state of Florida. We have a 100% volunteer board that sponsors the current enrollment with personal donations and fundraising efforts. We are open to all Santa Rosa County children but currently have a cap of 400. While we work to establish widespread awareness and sustainability of the SRC program, we are also actively working to bring Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to Escambia County in late 2025.
Our Mission
We aspire to instill the joy of shared reading in our community’s youngest children by gifting them age-appropriate books through a meaningful partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
We firmly believe that if you want kids to like books, you should give them books.
Our Story
This project officially started in 2021, when three pediatric therapists decided to bring Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to the children of the community where we live, work, and raise our own families. Progress was initially slow due to the learning curve about starting and running a nonprofit, but we stayed committed. We sensed an urgency due to the pandemic leaving many children sheltered in place or without the typical exposure to language-rich experiences in the community.
What better way to meet children where they are than by mailing them high-quality books?
While social distancing has quieted in our corner of the map, there is still a need for early learning initiatives for our community's youngest children, and there is still a need for the Imagination Library.
Meet the PBC Team
Dr. Nohemi Moffatt
Board Chair
Dr. Moffatt is a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist who specializes in child language development and literacy. A life-long collector of books, Dr. Moffatt began as a student linguist, winning multiple competitive grants for travel and foreign language study through the US Department of State. She pursued her graduate degrees at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with the support of a collaborative fellowship sponsored by the Louisiana Board of Regents and the Southern Regional Education Board, ultimately getting her start in academia as an adjunct professor for Florida International University. On September 16, 2020, her home in Milton, FL, was flooded by Hurricane Sally, effectively destroying her personal library. Knowing she'd eventually rebuild it and thinking about children still sheltered in place from the pandemic, she decided to put her energy into helping children in the community start their own libraries, and the Panhandle Book Club was born.
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Dr. Moffatt's favorite children's book is "Book! Book! Book!" by Deborah Bruss. It's about farm animals who cure their own boredom by going to the library and checking out books!
Rosanna Banks is a Florida native and long time resident of Santa Rosa County. She holds an Associates Degree from Pensacola State College. After 15 years in the office of a busy real estate appraisal firm, she has taken a step back to provide end of life care for an aging parent. She is a mother and a grandmother who enjoys camping, kayaking, and the theater.
As the daughter of a teacher and an avid reader herself, she recognizes the importance that literacy plays in a successful future.
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Rosanna's favorite children's book is the "You Read to Me, I'll Read to You" series by Mary Ann Hoberman. She says it is the perfect choice for a bedtime book. Silly stories written with simple rhyming words and fun illustrations, it is made to be read by two people back and forth. Prepare for giggles!
Rosanna Banks
Treasurer
Dr. Jessica Tate
Secretary
Dr. Jessica Tate is an East Tennessee native and grew up only a short distance from Dolly Parton’s childhood home. She graduated from medical school at East Tennessee State University and moved to Pensacola, FL, to complete her pediatric residency. She and her husband fell in love with the area and decided to make Gulf Breeze their home. As a native Tennessean she had the opportunity to see the Imagination Library project blossom from the initial launch to the worldwide program that it is today. After having her son in 2018, she began researching ways to bring Dolly’s Imagination Library to children in the Panhandle. She has always had a love of reading, and knows the importance of early literacy on child development.
By putting books in the hands of children and their families she hopes to spread her love of reading and learning to this community.
Jessica’s favorite children’s book is “The Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfister. The iridescent scales and beautiful artwork captivate readers as they follow the journey of the Rainbow Fish who learns a valuable lesson about selflessness and friendship.
