I can't stop raving about the Directors on our Board. Since the beginning of this year, each one has stepped up and taken the initiative on one or more things to benefit all of us.
The following are some examples I would like to highlight:
Joanne Hill applied for a grant from Wells Fargo and DVLC was awarded $2,500 this quarter. The grant will be used to purchase new books this year. Our librarian, Mary Nash, was ready to act immediately to purchase updated editions of the Side by Side books as older versions are no longer available. You should start to see the new editions in the DVLC library located at the Good Shepherd Church.
Ela Newacheck and the helpers she has enlisted, including Renee Johnson, Mary Thomas, and Rachel Sanborn, have taken over the Hospitality function for our social events in a huge way. She arranges for invitations, food, decorations, and logistics. I do not need to give this a second thought, as I know everything will be handled with care.
Rachel Sanborn saw the need for a poster to identify us at events where we recruit new volunteers. She designed a poster, got approval, and purchased the poster board and easel in time for us to use at the Dana Estates Neighbors Night Out, where we set up a booth in June.
Wendy Bojin-Liston stepped right up when we asked for a volunteer to reach out to our inactive tutors to see if there was an interest in taking on a new student. She contacted a large number of these tutors to find out their reasons and whether they want to start again. This information will be useful for us on many levels.
Denise Coyne, Ed Chambers, Mary Thomas, and Joanne Hill met with me on several occasions to hammer out new bylaws. Denise took on the task of methodically typing up revision after revision. The updated bylaws will be presented to the Board to replace our outdated and overly long current bylaws.
Our newest Board member, Sue Gannon, was quick to volunteer her talent for attracting new ESL students as we were worried that there would not be enough students to match with our newly trained tutors. The blog on our web-site dvlc4esl.org has a photo of her managing the table at the Convoy of Hope event where we signed up 19 new potential adult ESL students.
In addition to these efforts, I know I can always count on Kris Torske and Holly Sprague to lead the bi-annual workshops, and Victor Tiglao to edit and send out the newsletters and other communications. Loretta Morrison works tirelessly to distribute publicity materials at libraries and in publications, while James Keenan supports our member database.
On top of all this, we have a dedicated telephone committee handling incoming messages and, most importantly, 90+ tutors meeting one-on-one to improve the lives of adult immigrants who are honing their English skills.
THIS HAS BEEN A 40TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY WORTH CELEBRATING!
Let's keep it going
Lucy Goodell, President
