Patricia Crail Brown Award Winner Announced

ProLiteracy Worldwide
Wednesday, 5 September 2001

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, September 5, 2001 —George Anne (G'Anne) Sparks from Blue Ridge Literacy Council, Inc. (BRLC) of Hendersonville, North Carolina, has won the 2001 Patricia Crail Brown Award for exemplary service as a literacy volunteer. The award is named for a dedicated supporter of Laubach Literacy who died in 1995 and is the highest award presented by Laubach Literacy International. In addition to receiving this prestigious award, BRLC, the literacy program where George Anne volunteers, will receive a gift of $5,000 as the nominating organization.

"George Anne reflects the commitment, inspiration, and dedication that are at the heart of what the volunteer literacy tutor does on a day-to-day basis," says Peter Waite, executive director of Laubach Literacy Action, Laubach Literacy's domestic division.

For the past 19 years, Ms. George Anne Sparks has tutored and volunteered at BRLC. Her computer knowledge and grant writing skills have helped bring new technology to BRLC. She introduced computers to BRLC by donating her own computer and printer. Then in 1995, she wrote a grant proposal to the Melvin R. Lane Charitable Trust and received funding for a new student computer and educational software. The following year, George Anne acquired another grant from the North Carolina Resource Center for a modem and Internet access, allowing her to work with students and other volunteers to create the council's first Web site.

While working to bring new technology and training to BRLC, George Anne also became interested in learning disabilities (LD). After working with a number of students who just "weren't getting it," she began researching LD. George Anne took training in the Orton-Gillingham method and attended LD conferences and training seminars. In 1998, she was accepted as a member of the National Learning Disabilities Training Corps. In this position, she used her training and expertise in the field to consult with other North Carolina volunteer agencies involved in the project. George Anne has been a valuable asset to the field of learning disabilities, BRLC, and most importantly to the students she works with.

Five other nominees received Honorable Mention certificates. They are: Rena Baker, Literacy Council of Northern Virginia, Falls Church, VA; Eugene E. Botelho, Maverick County Literacy Council, Eagle Pass, TX; Nancy Wettlaufer, Literacy Council of Sarasota, Sarasota, FL; Lois Reece, Literacy Council of Seattle, Seattle, WA; and Ruth Whitley, Columbus County Literacy Council, Whiteville, NC.

Laubach Literacy International is a nonprofit educational corporation dedicated to helping women, men, and families acquire the basic educational skills needed to improve their lives and communities. Founded in 1955 by world literacy pioneer Dr. Frank C. Laubach, the organization today has 1,100 member programs throughout the United States and 70 partner programs in 39 developing countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Its U.S. publishing division, New Readers Press, produces and distributes 500 titles of adult educational materials to 46,000 organizations, schools, libraries, and other institutions nationwide. For more information, please call Laubach's toll-free number (888) 528-2224.

For more information, or to contact ProLiteracy Worldwide, see their website at: www.proliteracy.org