Kalamazoo Literacy Council

Do you know what many of the board members of your Kalamazoo Literacy Council get up to on a seemingly normal Wednesday night? On November 16^th, 2011, many of the KLC board members and the director found themselves cheerfully donning disguises and accepting obvious bribes, all in the name of literacy.

Ready to Read, the Kalamazoo Public Library’s early childhood literacy program, held its 11^thannual Great Grown Up Spelling Bee in the Bernhard Center at Western Michigan University. This year the event raised more than $24,000 for the program, which collaborates with other community partners and volunteers to encourage parents to read to their very young children.

Fourteen teams from area businesses and agencies competed for the coveted awards, which included Best Costumes, Most Enthusiastic, People's Choice, Most Creative Cheer and of course, Spelling. Teams consisted of two spellers, and up to six cheerleaders. This year, teams were fielded from First Day Shoe Fund, Don Seeyle Ford, PNC Bank, Kalsec, Gull Road Walmart, Stryker, Kalamazoo County Juvenile Home, Portage District Library, Kalamazoo Public Library, Public Media Network, Western Michigan University, Bronson Healthcare, Kalamazoo Gazette, Breakfast Optimist Club, Bronson Rambling Road Pediatrics, and KRESA/Great Start Plus.

Winning the spelling portion of the competition this year were the spellers from Bronson Rambling Road Pediatrics.

The cheerleaders from the Kalamazoo County Juvenile Home were voted the Most Enthusiastic.

The team from Portage District Library won Best Costumes.

The Most Creative Cheer award went to the team from Western Michigan University.

Kalamazoo Public Library won the People's Choice award.

Many members of the community were represented as volunteer judges, including spelling judges Polly Jenson from the Western Michigan School of Medicine, our own director Michael Evans (center, below), and Dannie Alexander, Client and Community Relations Director of PNC Bank.

Alexander Enyedi, Dean of WMU College of Arts & Sciences served as score keeper, and Frank Weichlein, Director of the Kalamazoo County Juvenile Home and Bobbe Luce, Director of ONEplace of the Kalamazoo Public Library served as time keepers. The master of ceremonies was Ben Zylman of the Kalamazoo Civic Theater and Karen Santamaria of KPL was the word pronouncer. The spirit award judges, who let it be known that they were infinitely bribable, were Heidi Turchan (Specialized Language Development Center), Kelly Sims (Community Learning Center), Kristy Zeluff (Kalamazoo Literacy Council), Martha Beverly (community volunteer), Bill Dimond (Kalamazoo Sunrise Rotary Club), Sheri Ritchie (Comstock Community Center) and Paula Aldridge (Kalamazoo Literacy Council).