Volunteers honored at LVA Annual Dinner in SF

Tutors and students were honored by the Directors ofLiteracy Volunteers of Seneca County at their annual dinner. PresidentDick Damaske saluted Executive Director Arline Marino and ProgramCoordinator Kaaaren Gerlach for their work during the past year. Boardmember Ann Cramer was honored as Volunteer of the Year.Gerlach presented certificates to 10 tutors and their students. ZacheryRamirez was recognized for his efforts as a peer tutor. Gerlachdescribed some of the “wonderful extras” tutors have done with theirstudents, such as shopping for a suit and attending soccer, baseball andice hockey games.Guest speaker was Mike Davis of Seneca Falls, chairperson of RotaryDistrict 7120 Youth Exchange programs and former Rotary exchange studentto Finland. He talked about what it was like for him to be immersed in aforeign language for a year. He described how each day he would have toanticipate the new vocabulary words he would need for the day. FormerRotary exchange student Julie Torrey of Panama, who has returned toSeneca Falls to live, talked about how difficult it is to live in aplace where you don’t speak the language.LVA Seneca County will conduct its third annual garden tour on June 16.The organization also sponsors an annual essay and poster contest forstudents.Seneca County Literacy Volunteers was organized in the early 1970s. Itis an accredited affiliate of ProLiteracy America. The localnot-for-profit group has about 20 volunteer tutors who annually donatemore than 1,000 hours each to teach reading and other literacy skills topeople in Seneca County. Students who are non-readers of English, orpeople who speak Spanish or an Asian language as their first languageare waiting now for tutors. There is no charge for Literacy Volunteerservices. The Literacy Volunteers office is located in the Seneca Countyoffice building.For more information, or to sign up to become a Literacy Volunteertutor, contact executive director Arline Marino on Tuesday or Thursdayat 315-539-1795.