MADISON — Wisconsin Literacy hosted its 10th Annual Celebration of Literacy on Tuesday, April 1, at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center. The presenting sponsor was Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
This year’s keynote was Wisconsin author David Rhodes who wrote The Last Fair Deal Going Down, The Easter House, Rock Island Line and Driftless. The Celebration of Literacy is a way to promote adult literacy services in Wisconsin and raise funds for literacy. The funds are used to train tutor trainers, assist agencies in recruiting more tutors, increase resources for local literacy programs, and provide on-site assistance to 67 local literacy agencies. This year, more than 3,300 tutors and teachers at literacy agencies will be serving over 12,000 students. According to the U.S. Census, an estimated one million Wisconsinites qualify for literacy services.
Award winners were as follows:
• Outstanding Adult Literacy Learner of the Year, Cassandra Rangel, UMOS;
• Outstanding English Language Learner of the Year, Paula Gomez, Racine Literacy Council;
• Outstanding Learner on a Career Pathway, Tin Hla, Literacy Council of Greater Waukesha;
• Courage Award for Achievement in a Correctional Setting, Dujuan Nash, Racine Correctional Institution and Darryl Watkins, Racine Youthful Offender Correctional Facility;
• Jessica Doyle Award for Family Literacy, Refugee Family Literacy Program, Winnebago County Literacy Council;
• Outstanding Achievement in a Workplace, Literacy Program at Future Foam, Inc., Literacy Network;
• Outstanding Achievement in Health Literacy, Security Health Plan Charitable Contributions Program;
• Tutor of the Year Sister Diane Boehm, FSPA, Literacy Volunteers – Chippewa Valley;
• Literacy Advocate of the Year, Jill Ottow, Jefferson County Literacy Council
