Volunteers in Bloom: Giving and Growing Literacy Council of Fort Bend County Honors Tutors

Tutors volunteering 15 years or more: Luz Bobadilla, Ed Tye, and Mine Fong

The tutors of the Literacy Council of Fort Bend are the lifeblood of the Council; therefore, they were honored for their dedication to helping another person learn to become functionally literate through basic literacy, ESL or GED instruction.  These tutors were honored at the 2009 Tutor Appreciation Brunch held Saturday, April 25, 2009 at Pecan Grove Country Club.

Rosemary Jones, Board member, introduced Peter Roussel, the keynote speaker for the event.  Peter is a native Houstonian and has served two tours of duty in the White House.  Most recently, he served as White House Press Secretary to President George H.W. Bush.  Peter spoke on the value of volunteerism in our nation and entertained the crowd with stories from the White House.

It goes without saying that each tutor has touched the life of another in a positive way.  A slide show of the tutors in action was a highlight of the morning.  Kathleen Crissman, LCFBC Program Director, said this year’s theme, Volunteers in Bloom: Giving and Growing, is a great way to describe the tutors.  “You all give so much of yourselves to help your students bloom and grow, and all of us at the Council are in total awe of how you manage to do that.”  Kathleen continued, “I like to compare the tutors to the little packets of Miracle Grow that are part of the centerpieces.”

Student speaker, Enrique Aguillon, spoke on behalf of the students describing their appreciation to their tutors.  When Enrique first came to the U.S. he worked 12-13 hour days doing landscape work.  He was determined to learn English so that one day he could own his own company.  The work paid off.  He now owns two businesses where speaking English well is a prerequisite.  Enrique says, “I would like to thank all of you for the valuable time you give doing such important work.”  What an inspiration!

Executive Director Brenda Bowman spoke about the light in students’ eyes as they have a special “aha” moment when they have an understanding they didn’t have before.  She honored the tutors by telling them, “You are the keepers of the light.  YOU share with them every day, giving them new ideas, experiences and words to put around those ideas and experiences making the light in their faces come alive with understanding.  Their success is all because of what they have learned from and with you. ”

At the end of the celebration, a drawing was held for a one-of-a-kind rocking chair, and the winner was Patricia Miranda!

Special thanks go to The George Foundation, Fort Bend ISD Graphic Arts Department/Becky Walker, Pecan Grove Country Club, Rosemary Jones (decorations), Sharon Hammond (rocking chair artist) and Marti Preuss (DVD Tutor Tribute), for their contributions towards this special appreciation.

We invite you to become a partner in the Literacy Council’s efforts to help determined adults in our county change their lives by improving reading and writing skills. With your help, we will ensure that the Council continues its life-changing work within our community.  To learn about LCFBC, please visit www.ftbendliteracy.org or call 281-240-8181 for more information.