PAACE Board meetings are usually pretty routine. Once every month, Board members travel from all over the state to Harrisburg, Lock Haven, Lancaster, or State College, with an occasional foray to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh--for most of us the distant edges of the state. When we arrive, we get right down to business. We approve minutes and the treasurer's report and get an update on the upcoming Midwinter Conference. Then we talk about issues that affect PAACE members: What will be the parameters for Act 48 credit at the PAACE conference--whole conference only, single days, or half days? What should be our message to the candidates for governor? What do we need to do to excite our members about taking leadership roles in PAACE? How should we honor our adult students who've gone on (or stayed around) to take leadership roles in their agencies? At every meeting, we make decisions, pass resolutions, and then hit the road again, tired but pretty satisfied that, though we're all volunteers (with the exception of our valiant executive director), we're taking care of membership business seriously and professionally. Our September 11, our meeting at Lock Haven was different. When the first plane went into World Trade Center, most of us were still on the road, listening to the radio--and were horrified and astonished, and all alone. Each of us hoped we wouldn't have to be the one to break the news to the other Board members. Well, we all had heard the first reports but by the time we assembled and called the meeting to order, the dimensions of the tragedy were pretty clear, and no one was in the mood for a meeting. We took care of essential business, watched the towers implode into rubble ("live" on TV), adjourned, and took to our cars again. We then drove for hours with distracted minds and heavy hearts. The bills got paid, however, because we're a professional volunteer Board. The rest would have to wait till next month.
PAACE Midwinter Conference 2002: 'Bridging the Gap' The Marketplace at Midwinter
Each year we try to add new vendors and exhibitors while welcoming back old friends such as Contemporary and Steck-Vaughn. Year after year, our exhibitors always speak highly of the many friendly and interested people they get to meet at Midwinter. It's PAACE members that bring our exhibitors back each year. We are always looking to expand the number of exhibitors in order to provide the best service to our membership. As such, it's those of you working on a daily basis who best know what materials, publishers, and products are out there. If you know of a vendor who would be interested in exhibiting or have a product you find useful, please send that information to Mary Kay Peterson, Exhibits Coordinator at mkpeterson@chesco.com. Letters of invitation will be going out within the next few weeks. Free Tables Too Please also consider highlighting your program in the Marketplace or joining in with your PAACE division to show off the accomplishments that have occurred in the last year. Tables are available at no cost but are limited in number. It's first come, first served! For more information on securing a table, please contact Helen Guisler at (717) 248-4942. Any ideas or suggestions on making the Marketplace an even bigger draw, please don't hesitate to contact Mary Kay with those ideas. See you at the Grand Opening! Nominations Sought for PAACE Board of Directors by Barbara Van Horn, Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy at Penn State, Remote PAACE President
* If you are nominating someone other than yourself, you must obtain their permission before nominating them. Board Meetings Board meetings are held from 10 AM through noon on the second Tuesday of each month. Meetings are held in various locations across the Commonwealth. Board members are expected to attend the meetings regularly and to participate actively in Board business. In case you are unfamiliar with the job descriptions for the open positions, the following provides a list of duties and length of commitment. Second Vice President The Second Vice President makes a commitment to the Board for five years, including serving as Second Vice President, First Vice President, President, Chair of the Budget, Finance, and Fiscal Affairs Committee, and Chair of the Nominations Committee. Duties as Second Vice President include:
Treasurer The Treasurer is elected for a 1-year term and can serve three 1-year terms. The Treasurer has the following responsibilities:
Secretary The Secretary is elected for a 1-year term and can serve three 1-year terms. The Secretary has the following responsibilities:
Western Geographic Representative Geographic Representatives are elected to 3-year terms. Individuals may serve a maximum of two 3-year terms. Geographic Representatives have the following responsibilities:
PAACE Urges Gubanatorial Candidates to Support Adult Education
Work on the proposed platform began at the Midwinter Conference. In the marketplace and during the interest group lunches, attendees had opportunities to write down their key issues. These comments and recommendations were then brought to a PAACE Board meeting for review, consolidation, and prioritizing. As legislative chair, I would like your reactions to this platform. In addition, if you have the opportunity to talk with any of the candidates, please let them know about your support for this platform and the importance of their support. The PAACE Board hopes that each candidate will respond to this platform, and their responses will be in upcoming issues of this newsletter. Send me your thoughts at JAWCFL@aol.com.
Continuing Higher Education (CHE)
The next meeting will be October 2, 2001 11:30 am - 1:30 pm at Dixon University Center of SSHE on North Second Street in Harrisburg. Contact Barbara Maroney of Dixon University center to register if you wish to attend at (717) 720-4080. Barbara Denison represents the Central PA Regional group on the CEA/PA board of directors. To receive information on upcoming meetings or if you have questions, email Denison@lvc.edu or call (717) 867-6214. Adult Basic and Secondary Education (AB/SE) There are several AB/SE coffees for members and potential members to share strategies for the GED 2002. Everyone is welcome to join us! There will be a group meeting at The Atlanta Bread Company on Gay Street in West Chester on Oct. 5th from 8:30 to 10:30. To RSVP or get more information please contact me at mkpeterson@chesco.com. The GED Network will host a tea/coffee in Meadville on October 17th prior to their regular meeting. To RSVP or for more information, please contact Libby Wilson at 814 455-9966. Chuck Klinger will also be sending out invitations for a coffee to be held in Harrisburg in October, as well. More gatherings will be scheduled in the coming months. If you have suggestions about how PAACE and the AB/SE division can help with the transition to new practices and methods, please don't hesitate to contact me! Family Literacy Division Report Have you submitted your proposal for the Midwinter conference? It is fast approaching and this year we want to offer as many great Family Literacy workshops as we can. If you have not done so already, submit your proposal to Linda Herr by logging on to the PAACE website at www.paacesite.org. Share your expertise with the state. Also, remember you are invited to spotlight your program at this year’s market place. Contact Helen Guisler to reserve a space for your display. Helen can be reached at 717-248-4942. November 1 is right around the corner, and you know what that means: National Family Literacy Day! What are your plans? Family Literacy Day is a great way to advertise your program and to celebrate your efforts. If you plan to invite an elected official to your event, it’s important to write your Congressperson, Senator, or other local official now! And always remember to take pictures of your events and send them to Stuart Roe, slr24@psu.edu, at the Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy so they can be put on the Family Literacy Web site to share. I look forward to working with all of you as Co-Chair of the PAACE Family Literacy Division. If you have any questions about PAACE and how you can become involved, do not hesitate to call me at 570-321-0200, e-mail rlove@jvbrown.edu, or Blanche Lozar at 724-452-8691, e-mail lzarbell@netscape.net. Laubach and LVA to Merge: What to Call It? On May 21, 2001, Laubach Literacy International (LLI) and Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc. (LVA) announced their intention to merge. The two organizations recognized early in the merger discussions that having to choose between their respective identities and historical legacies could become an impediment to the merger process. Both are proud of their names and their legacies, but recognize the need to consider how best to position the new organization. Without prejudice to either name, the decision to employ a naming/branding consultant to develop a basis for naming the new organization garnered strong support from the leaders of both organizations. The organizations have jointly contracted DSW Partners of Salt Lake City, Utah, for this work and welcome ideas for a new name for the merged organization. For more information on the merger and naming project, go to http://www.laubach.org/mergerfaq.html. Use the e-mail address merger@laubach.org to submit ideas about the new identity for the organization and for related publishing, domestic program, and international program divisions. Call for Participation
PennTESOL East Conference Fall 2001 Proposals concerning the intersection of technology and English language teaching are especially welcome, but all topics concerning language teaching are encouraged. Send your proposal (as an attachment to e-mail) to the Conference Chair: Ellen Skilton-Sylvester, eskilton@nimbus.ocis.temple.edu by October 15th. Be sure to include your name, and:
Ellen Skilton-Sylvester Call for Proposals
Online proposal form at http://www.paacesite.org/call_for_presenters_application_.htm 2001: A Literacy Odyssey
Workshops on family literacy, health literacy, fundraising, training, board development, ESOL and more. For full descriptions of workshops and detailed conference information, visit http://www.literacyvolunteers.org/conference/index.htm. Distance Learning: The Future of Education Conference Sponsor: Higher Education Washington, Inc. This two-day conference will explore the many aspects of online learning its effects on the education world as we know it. Featured topics to be discussed will include history and trends of e-learning, virtual educators, intellectual property in the digital age, and preparing for the global classroom. The conference will also focus on the issue of student loans, what makes a web-based course successful and the many accreditation issues facing distance education today. Contact: Anne Popovich at 202.842.4989 American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) Conference: The American Association for Adult and Continuing Education is the nation's premier organization dedicated to enhancing the field of adult learning. With members from 60 affiliates and 40 nations, the Association represents its members from secondary and post-secondary education, business and labor, military and government and from community-based organizations. National Conference on Family Literacy More information at http://www.famlit.org/conference/conf2002.html
More information at http://www.coabe2002.org 
More information at http://www.laubach.org/USProgram/biennial.html Comprehensive Conference Listing! Not on the PAACE Listserv? It's Easy to Subscribe Welcome to three new PAACE members since June 2001:
President: Karen Mundie (Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council) First Vice-President: Linda Herr (Lycoming County Library System) Second Vice-President: Debra Burrows (West Branch Technology Center, Central IU 10) Secretary: David Manzo (Luzerne County Community College) Treasurer: Mary Hohensee (Literacy Council of Lancaster-Lebanon) Immediate Past President: Jeffrey C. Woodyard (Tri-County OIC) Remote Past President: Barbara Van Horn (Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy at Penn State) Western Regional Representative: Tom Wocjicki (Somerset Co. Career and Technology Center) Central Regional Representative: Cathy Forsythe (Mifflin Co. Library Literacy Program) Eastern Regional Representative: Rose Brandt (Mayor's Commission on Literacy) Program Division Director/Adult Basic and Secondary Education: Mary Kay Peterson (La Communidad Hispana; Southeast Professional Development Center) Program Division Director/Continuing Higher Education: Mary Anne Varacalli (Delaware County Community College) Program Division Co-Director/ESL: Susan Finn Miller (Lancaster-Lebanon IU 13) and Carol Klauss (Volunteer English Program in Chester County) Program Division/Family Literacy: Ruth Love-Schooley (Lycoming County Literacy Project) and Blanche Lozar Program Division/Tutors of Literacy in the Commonwealth: Debbie Hrach (Stairways Behavioral Health, Northwest Pr |
September 11: A Very Different Board Meeting
Mark your calendars for next year's conference and, as you're circling those dates, don't forget about or procrastinate in submitting a presentation proposal. Consider sharing research, best practices, classroom strategies, tutoring tips, workplace programming, training ideas, etc. with your colleagues at the conference. The conference committee is hoping to get a nice representation of proposals from all the divisions so that all division members leave the conference feeling that there was something for them. The deadline for proposals has been extended to October 30, so sharpen that pencil or go to the PAACE website at 
A central piece of our Midwinter Conference is the Marketplace and Exhibitors Hall. While we are sure that everyone comes to Midwinter for the professional development, camaraderie of colleagues, Snowball dessert -- we suspect that the vendors and exhibitors have a mysterious draw for adult educators.
It is now time for PAACE members to consider possible candidates for four Board positions. These positions include Second Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Western Geographic Representative. If you are interested in being nominated for one of these positions - or know of someone else who might be interested in serving on the Board* - please contact me, Barbara Van Horn, Chair, Nominations Committee at 
Election year 2002 will include the race for Governor. At this time, the four likely major gubernatorial candidates are Democrats Robert Casey and Ed Rendell and Republicans Michael Fisher and Barbara Hafer. PAACE has sent each candidate a platform calling for Pennsylvania to become what we're calling a "Right to Learn" state. Please read this platform here on the PAACE site at 
It's Fall and that means the start of many new classes across the Commonwealth! As we focus on students completing their GED quest in the next few months and begin to gear up for the new GED 2002, let's not forget to take some time to renew and refresh our own energies.
Downloadable PDF of the Call for Proposals form at 
A conference sponsored by Literacy Volunteers of America in partnership with the American Library Association, Office for Literacy and Outreach Services, Laubach Literacy, the National Even Start Association, the New Mexico Coalition for Literacy and US Dept of Education.
Join us for the 11th Annual National Conference on Family Literacy at the Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The National Conference is the premier conference on family literacy in the nation, attracting almost 2,000 practitioners, administrators, policy makers and literacy experts each year. 
Whatever your interest in adult education may be, the LINCS conference calendar has something for you--actually, LOTS of things for you. Check out this thorough list of conferences and events related to adult education, technology, and affiliated topics at: 