CCPL Board Members 2015 - 2016
|
Bruce Mack - President Vacant - Vice President Claire Schreiner - Secretary |
Kathy Newell - Treasurer Lil Mack - Director Jerome Beauchamp - Director |
Cariboo-Chilcotin Partners for Literacy Society (CCPL) was started by a committed group of volunteers in 1997. CCPL Board members are committed to literacy and work towards a vision that recognizes and responds to the literacy needs of our communities. CCPL Board members provide leadership, encouragement of diverse viewpoints and works with staff, to ensure the implementation of the Strategic Plan. CCPL Board members are caring volunteers and staff representing local businesses, service & education providers, retirees, community and other organizations who all have a passion for literacy and lifelong learning. If you would like to learn more about CCPL Board please send an email to mel@caribooliteracy.com.
"Those who can, do. Those who can do more, volunteer." ~Author Unknown
Bruce Mack --
President
Bruce Mack - CCPL President
My first interest in – and actually, my first awareness of – literacy
as an issue, was teaching adults to read in Ghana. Their passion
to learn to read the newspaper so they could, in their words,
“Become part of the world”, was truly inspiring. Growing up, I
had always enjoyed reading (the Hardy Boys, R.L. Stevenson,
Dumas) but I spent far more time with a hockey stick than with a
book. I simply assumed everyone could read!
I learned a lot working in Ghana and here in the Cariboo, about
the importance of literacy and the value of education as critical
keys to knowledge, understanding, connections, involvement and
opportunities. Assisting and supporting community development
has been my profession and my passion. Literacy and education
are the vehicle.
With my wife’s involvement in CCPL from the beginning, I was always peripherally involved, but didn’t jump in with both feet until I ‘retired’ in 2003. Working with the passionate and talented team at CCPL has continued to be both inspiring and rewarding.
My first interest in – and actually, my first awareness of – literacy
as an issue, was teaching adults to read in Ghana. Their passion
to learn to read the newspaper so they could, in their words,
“Become part of the world”, was truly inspiring. Growing up, I
had always enjoyed reading (the Hardy Boys, R.L. Stevenson,
Dumas) but I spent far more time with a hockey stick than with a
book. I simply assumed everyone could read!
I learned a lot working in Ghana and here in the Cariboo, about
the importance of literacy and the value of education as critical
keys to knowledge, understanding, connections, involvement and
opportunities. Assisting and supporting community development
has been my profession and my passion. Literacy and education
are the vehicle.
With my wife’s involvement in CCPL from the beginning, I was always peripherally involved, but didn’t jump in with both feet until I ‘retired’ in 2003. Working with the passionate and talented team at CCPL has continued to be both inspiring and rewarding.
Claire Schreiner - Secretary
Claire Schreiner - Secretary
"When I retired from teaching in 2009, I wanted to keep working with books, literacy and people. CCPL provided the perfect match for me with the Bright Red Bookshelf program and tutoring adults through the PAL program. My volunteer time is very satisfying and appreciated."
"When I retired from teaching in 2009, I wanted to keep working with books, literacy and people. CCPL provided the perfect match for me with the Bright Red Bookshelf program and tutoring adults through the PAL program. My volunteer time is very satisfying and appreciated."
Kathy Newell --
Secretary
Kathy Newell - Treasurer
What Literacy Means to Me -- Books have always been an enjoyment for me. As a child I had bedtime stories read to me by my mom each night. Thornton Burgess was my favourite author. My parents were great role models as Mom always had a novel by her bedside, and Dad read the paper before dinner each night. Reading was entertainment and my books were like friends. I often thought that once I retired from teaching I would volunteer in the elementary schools reading to or listening to children read. I wanted other youngsters to experience the enjoyment of reading. I am able to do this through the Roots of Empathy program.
My interest in CCPL was first piqued by a front page newspaper article about a colleague of mine helping an adult in the PAL program. After reading that article, I knew that when I retired I’d also become a PAL tutor. I have been a tutor for 8 years and love it. What a thrill to have someone keen to learn to read!! His enthusiasm and effort is so rewarding. Sometimes I am the learner and he is the tutor as he teaches me about things I didn’t know.
I joined the Board of CCPL also when I retired because of a friend’s passion to spread the love of literacy. She convinced me of the value of the organization. I haven’t been disappointed. We have passionate, caring, and interesting people on our Board and staff. Nowadays, I usually have a couple of books on the go. After all, our library offers a great form of entertainment, and it’s free!
What Literacy Means to Me -- Books have always been an enjoyment for me. As a child I had bedtime stories read to me by my mom each night. Thornton Burgess was my favourite author. My parents were great role models as Mom always had a novel by her bedside, and Dad read the paper before dinner each night. Reading was entertainment and my books were like friends. I often thought that once I retired from teaching I would volunteer in the elementary schools reading to or listening to children read. I wanted other youngsters to experience the enjoyment of reading. I am able to do this through the Roots of Empathy program.
My interest in CCPL was first piqued by a front page newspaper article about a colleague of mine helping an adult in the PAL program. After reading that article, I knew that when I retired I’d also become a PAL tutor. I have been a tutor for 8 years and love it. What a thrill to have someone keen to learn to read!! His enthusiasm and effort is so rewarding. Sometimes I am the learner and he is the tutor as he teaches me about things I didn’t know.
I joined the Board of CCPL also when I retired because of a friend’s passion to spread the love of literacy. She convinced me of the value of the organization. I haven’t been disappointed. We have passionate, caring, and interesting people on our Board and staff. Nowadays, I usually have a couple of books on the go. After all, our library offers a great form of entertainment, and it’s free!
Lil Mack --
Treasurer
Lil Mack - Director and Books for Babies
I vividly remember receiving books by mail from the Open Shelf Library in Victoria. For a child who had few books at home it was like Christmas throughout the year! The passion for reading grew with each passing year and I quickly “graduated” from Freddy the Pig to Zane Grey and hot, hot romance novels.
Of course, our local librarian also seeded my reading with the classics—Treasure Island, Charlotte’s Web, Tom Sawyer. And at school we read Catcher in the Rye, 1984, To Kill a Mockingbird and many others that today still form warm memories of always being “lost in a book”.
So it was no surprise that after a long career as a special librarian at a university water research institute, a school librarian in a rural Ghanaian secondary school and a very rewarding time as a public service librarian here in Williams Lake that I have come to retirement and the Cariboo Chilcotin Partners for Literacy.
My friends, Bill MacDonald and Debbie DeMare had long bemoaned the fact that our community and in fact, the province had no central identity to take on the role of “literacy”. We were so fortunate that guidance came from a number of other people in the community including a passionate literacy advocate, Shelly Joyner.
So in 1997 we formed the Cariboo Chilcotin Partners for Literacy Society and we have never looked back. My belief that books and reading can enrich everyone from babies to seniors has never wavered. The belief that reading can cross all boundaries of education, social and economic status, religion and race is as strong today as it has ever been. And now working with other passionate advocates CCPL has allowed me to fulfill that idea.
I continue to work on one of our most cherished projects…Books for Babies…but you will often see me informing, lecturing, persuading, advocating, for literacy throughout the community…so watch out….given time I will convince you as well!
I vividly remember receiving books by mail from the Open Shelf Library in Victoria. For a child who had few books at home it was like Christmas throughout the year! The passion for reading grew with each passing year and I quickly “graduated” from Freddy the Pig to Zane Grey and hot, hot romance novels.
Of course, our local librarian also seeded my reading with the classics—Treasure Island, Charlotte’s Web, Tom Sawyer. And at school we read Catcher in the Rye, 1984, To Kill a Mockingbird and many others that today still form warm memories of always being “lost in a book”.
So it was no surprise that after a long career as a special librarian at a university water research institute, a school librarian in a rural Ghanaian secondary school and a very rewarding time as a public service librarian here in Williams Lake that I have come to retirement and the Cariboo Chilcotin Partners for Literacy.
My friends, Bill MacDonald and Debbie DeMare had long bemoaned the fact that our community and in fact, the province had no central identity to take on the role of “literacy”. We were so fortunate that guidance came from a number of other people in the community including a passionate literacy advocate, Shelly Joyner.
So in 1997 we formed the Cariboo Chilcotin Partners for Literacy Society and we have never looked back. My belief that books and reading can enrich everyone from babies to seniors has never wavered. The belief that reading can cross all boundaries of education, social and economic status, religion and race is as strong today as it has ever been. And now working with other passionate advocates CCPL has allowed me to fulfill that idea.
I continue to work on one of our most cherished projects…Books for Babies…but you will often see me informing, lecturing, persuading, advocating, for literacy throughout the community…so watch out….given time I will convince you as well!
Jerome Beauchamp --
Director
Jerome Beauchamp - Director
My work in schools, as teacher and principal, has always contained aspects of literacy advancement. I constantly searched for better ways to help children improve their literacy. My move to the District office, meant that I could more fully concentrate on Literacy development district-wide and it has become my passion to see literacy develop seamlessly from the early years through to adulthood. My involvement with the CCPL began as an effort to make connections in literacy development between the school district and the work that was happening at the community level, to fill the gaps and make literacy development more seamless. Working with the CCPL Board and staff quickly made me realize their amazing achievements and value to the communities they serve. Joining the CCPL Board was a natural progression in completing the connection between school district and community work, and an opportunity to be involved with others that shared a passion for literacy development.
