Ontario

The North Bay Literacy Council has been busy with a year-long celebration of our twenty-fifth anniversary.

In May we enjoyed the largest-ever Student / Tutor / Volunteer Recognition Banquet with over 100 people attending. Special guests, students, tutors and volunteers were recognized with numerous awards and certificates presented during the evening.

Along with our regular tutor training workshops, meetings and raffles, we have celebrated Family Literacy Day, International Literacy Day, Adult Learners Week, played Scrabble in the Mall, and are very proud to have hosted the Laubach Literacy Ontario provincial conference in October. Birthday cake, balloons and prizes will be distributed November 15, at our anniversary celebration being held at Northgate Square.

One of the brightest reminders of our twentyfifth anniversary is the book-shaped flowerbed planted and maintained for the council by the North Bay Horticultural Society. Its prominent location at the North Bay waterfront has prompted many glowing comments from passers-by and was seen and admired by thousands of people during the North Bay Heritage Festival and Air Show in August.

...and in 2004...

Laubach Literacy of Ontario (LLO) is pleased to host LLC's next Annual General Meeting in partnership with the Barrie Literacy Council, June 11-13th, 2004. The Barrie Literacy Council will be celebrating its 25th anniversary and has lots of exciting plans in store for us.

LLO received a grant from the National Literacy Secretariat to host a three-day conference for literacy volunteers, students and council staff that will include professional development and networking opportunities through workshops, roundtable discussions and meetings. LLC's AGM and strategic planning consultations will take place on Friday, June 11th, and the workshops and LLO's AGM will take place on Saturday and Sunday.

The conference planning and steering committee is comprised of Linda Martin from Laubach Literacy of Canada, Connie Morgan from Barrie Literacy Council, Lana Faessler from Laubach Literacy Ontario, and Robyn Cooke-Ritchie, Conference Coordinator.

The conference will be held at Summer Suites and Conference Services in Barrie, Ontario. Check out www.summersuites.ca for more information. The suites are reasonably priced, and this will be reflected in the low conference registration prices. Check out the Ontario map and see how close Barrie is to Toronto!

Also visit out our website in the coming months for updates on conference activities at www.laubach-on.ca.

Dr. Bob Laubach Student Fund

Six very worthy project submissions were received this Spring for the annual Dr. Bob Laubach Student Fund which was established specifically to support student activities and initiatives. The three winners were selected and announced at the June meetings of LLC in Saint John, NB. Congratulations to:

The Greater Moncton Literacy Council’s Confidence Building Workshop
submitted by Rita Blanchard and James Mitton - awarded $750.

READ Saint John’s Creative Writing/Art Contest
submitted by Linda Hébert and Sarah Critchlow - awarded $375.

Warkworth Literacy Council’s symposium,
The Building Blocks to Literacy and Life
submitted by Keith Madeley - awarded $1375.