Awards & Recognition Archives

Happy birthday – to us!

April 24, 2022 by Steve Banta

April 24, 1989

1989!
Do you remember your 1989 hairstyle? The car you were driving?
Perhaps it was your prom year. Or your first year of Little League.
Perhaps you were a baby – or not even born.

33 years ago today, Texas Adult Literacy Laubach officially came into being – the organization now known as Literacy Texas. A small group of dedicated volunteers in Travis County decided that literacy in Texas needed more attention – and the rest is history.

For a little time travel back to the 1980s, look directly below this letter.

But in the meantime, the best possible birthday present you could give us is –
– more of the same.

Keep doing what you’re doing.
Keep shining that literacy light in your part of Texas.
Keep caring for your neighbors through classes and conversation.
Keep going.

And invite others! The more people on board, the more we can do together. So share this message; invite someone to the annual conference; tweet at us. Keep raising your voice for literacy. You make so much possible, and we are overwhelmingly grateful.

Here’s to the next 33 years!

Steve Banta
Executive Director
Literacy Texas

Ready to travel back in time?

Volunteer tutor-learner pair Josephine Weatherford and Geraldine Thompson meet in the Dallas Library for reading classes. In this video from October 1989, they talk about why the classes are important to them.

Click on the picture above to see the video (1 min 45 seconds).

SOURCE: KXAS-TV (Television station : Fort Worth, Tex.). [News Clip: Portrait J. Weatherford], video, October 14, 1989; Fort Worth, Texas. (texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc904976/: accessed April 22, 2022), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections

Special issue of a weekly newsletter (c. 1988) published for employees of the Fort Worth Division of General Dynamics describing volunteer adult literacy tutors in the Fort Worth area.

Click on the picture above to see the whole newsletter.

SOURCE: General Dynamics Corporation. Fort Worth Division. GDFW This Week, Special Issue, periodical, 1988~; Fort Worth, Texas. (texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1092008/: accessed April 22, 2022), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Fort Worth.

5 Things You Might Be Missing About Awards

March 9, 2022 by Kathryn Bauchelle

Let’s face it, there are a lot of awards out there. From Student of the Year to Volunteer of the Month to Community Rockstar to who knows what else, we get offered a lot of places to nominate the folks in our programs (including the Literacy Texas Annual Awards, which open every spring and are presented every year at the annual conference in the summer). It can be… a lot.

And it’s just possible that you see these awards go by, and you think something like, “One day we should nominate someone for that… but who has the time?” You wouldn’t be alone.

But it’s also possible that you’re missing some of the reasons you really should be nominating volunteers and students for awards – and not just the Literacy Texas ones! I’m here to make the case for nominating everyone you can for every award possible. Here’s why:

5. They might win

OK, this one you’re probably not missing. In fact, it’s likely the first thing most people think of when it comes to awards: What’s the prize? Is it “worth it”? Could the agency win money?

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with any of that. Some awards DO come with money, or books, or another prize, and others come with recognition for your agency.

And winning is nice. Letting someone know they’ve won can be even nicer. And there are people who have lived their whole life and, in their own words, “never won anything”. YOUR nomination could be the first time they get publicly recognized. YOU could make that happen. Just imagine.

All of that is pretty compelling, but there are four more reasons, and I’d argue they just get more important from here.

4. You get to celebrate people you think are amazing

Hopefully you’re doing this sometimes anyway, awards or not. But there’s a saying about “not saving things to say over a coffin lid” and it’s good advice.

We sometimes think people know how we feel about them, and MAYBE they do, but pulling together an award nomination for a volunteer or student at your agency can uncover stories and sayings and other facts about them that you never knew before – and is always an excuse for a celebration (maybe even cupcakes!). Because despite everything going on right now – there is always something to celebrate.

3. You get to TELL people that you think they're amazing

One of the things I genuinely liked the most, when I was working as a program director at a volunteer-based adult literacy organization, was telling volunteers and students that we wanted to nominate them for an award. See point #5 above – many said that was the first time that had ever happened. And that was always touching.

But it just got better from there. Because as part of the nomination process, we would spend 10 minutes at the end of a staff meeting, just brainstorming as a team about what we all knew about these wonderful people. We’d gather the best of what we came up with together, complete the nomination, and submit it.

And then we’d go one step further – we’d take a few more minutes and put the nomination content together in a simple document, add our logo and any photos we had of that person in action at our agency, print it off, and give it to the nominee.

Y’all. That was ALWAYS moving. Sometimes there were tears. And usually, the person would say something like, “I never knew y’all thought all of this about me!” They had something to take home and read over again (and again!), words of praise and joy. They KNEW, without a shadow of a doubt, how much we appreciated and admired them. Volunteers knew we saw everything they did for the students, and how priceless that was to us. Students knew that we witnessed their efforts and were there alongside them cheering them on as they took steps toward the next success.

That felt like winning every time, regardless of whether our nominee actually got chosen for that award or not.

2. You model appreciation to others on your team

Remember how I said we used to brainstorm our nomination content at staff meetings, as a group? That wasn’t by accident. Of course it was a practical way to gather a lot of information in a short amount of time, so I recommend it for that reason alone. But it makes celebration, and articulating positive thoughts and compliments, a natural and accepted part of work.

The more we did it, the easier it became. Staff started to keep an eye out for fun stories that could be included in some nomination some day. One even kept a list. And it became more natural for all of us to voice that appreciation to volunteers and students throughout the week, and make positivity a daily element of our working lives.

1. You stop and feel appreciation yourself

Don’t underestimate the power of this. I don’t know you, but you’re reading this, so you probably work in adult literacy in Texas. So I know you’re tired; in fact, you were probably exhausted BEFORE the pandemic, and now – well, there probably aren’t words to describe how overworked and stressed you’ve been. And when you’re constantly exhausted and anxious, it’s very easy to fall into the habit of seeing everything with a deficit mindset – how are we going to pay for – to manage – to do – to finish – ? That’s very normal.

Being conscious of stopping, thinking, gathering positive thoughts and stories from others, writing them into a short but coherent whole, and then handing the whole beautiful account to the person you appreciate so much is all good for your body, mind, and spirit.

So – start a list of awards you can nominate folks for. You’ll have local opportunities, as well as statewide and even national awards. Take that little extra time to sit with the team and talk about what makes people wonderful. Write it up into a simple nomination. Give it to the person with a smile. So many people will be glad you did.

Nominations for the Literacy Texas Annual Awards are open now, and winners will be recognized in August. You can find out more, and submit your nominations, here.

South Texas Literacy Coalition Receives 2021 Award

October 20, 2021 by Literacy Texas

The Texas Center for the Book has announced that the South Texas Literacy Coalition is the recipient of the sixth annual Texas Center for the Book Literacy Award. This $2,000 award, which honors a qualified 501(c)(3) organization that has made outstanding contributions to increasing literacy in Texas, is modeled on the Library of Congress’ annual literacy awards. View a video about this year’s winner.

Funded by the Texas Library and Archives Foundation, Inc., the 2021 Literacy Awards also include two honorable mentions, awarded to Inside Books Project and Temple Literacy Council.

“We were delighted to receive nominations from across the state in the sixth year of this Texas award. The purpose of this award is to highlight a winning organization, while promoting a greater appreciation and awareness of literacy efforts statewide,” said Texas Center for the Book Coordinator Rebekah Manley.

The South Texas Literacy Coalition (STLC) is a small but mighty organization recognized throughout the Rio Grande Valley as a literacy champion. Their community literacy events improve the quality of life of families throughout South Texas by focusing on early literacy experiences in a fun and engaging environment. The events consist of several components such as a StoryWalk®, in which they display titles by local children’s authors, games, activities, prizes, a photobooth and the distribution of thousands of new, free books. Along with this, South Texas Literacy Coalition invites local authors and nonprofit organizations to host booths and activities to engage with youth and educate families on the services they provide.

“On behalf of the STLC staff, board of directors and countless volunteers who support literacy efforts in our community, we thank you for this award along with the opportunity to continuing creating literacy environments and spreading resources throughout South Texas,” said Jonathon Vasquez, Executive Director of Operations.

Honorable mention award recipients Inside Books Project, based in Austin, and Temple Literacy Council in Temple will each receive an award of $500 in recognition of their efforts to promote reading and combat illiteracy.

Inside Books Project is an Austin-based community service volunteer organization that sends free books and educational materials to prisoners statewide. Inside Books is the only books-to-prisoners program in Texas, where more than 140,000 people are incarcerated. Inside Books Project works to promote reading, literacy and education among incarcerated individuals and to educate the general public on issues of incarceration.

“We are thrilled and honored to have been selected as an honorable mention by Texas Center for the Book,” said Lucy Blevins, Collective Member, Inside Books Project. “This award will allow us to continue to send books to our writers behind bars during this impossibly difficult year.”

The mission of the Temple Literacy Council is to empower adults needing assistance with basic reading and writing and/or help with English as a Second Language. This award will allow the organization to purchase additional materials for its students and tutors and support its Books for Lunch program, which provides local authors an opportunity to present books they have written to the general public.

“This award will allow us to better serve our students, instructors and community,” said Temple Literacy Council Executive Director Don Stiles.

The nomination period for the annual Texas Center for the Book Literacy Award is June 1 – September 1. This award is made possible by the Texas Library and Archives Foundation, Inc. and was inspired by the Library of Congress Literacy Awards. The winner will receive the Texas Center for the Book’s nomination for the 2021 Library of Congress State Literacy Award.

Established in 1987, the Texas Center for the Book seeks to stimulate public interest in books, reading, literacy and libraries. The Center builds partnerships with library professionals, educators, authors, publishers and booksellers who provide support to our shared mission of promoting a love of literature throughout the Lone Star State. The Texas Center for the Book is under the direction of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission at the Lorenzo De Zavala State Archives and Library Building in Austin, Texas.

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The Texas State Library and Archives Commission provides Texans access to the information they need to be informed, productive citizens by preserving the archival record of Texas; enhancing the service capacity of public, academic and school libraries; assisting public agencies in the maintenance of their records; and meeting the reading needs of Texans with disabilities. For more information, visit tsl.texas.gov.