2001 Contribution to Literacy in Alaska Award Winners

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The C.L.I.A. Awards 2001 will be presented at 12:00 p.m. Saturday, April 28, 2001, at the Business Education Building, room 101, at the University of Alaska Anchorage. This year’s honorees are:

Cook Inlet Region, Inc.,

Mr. Carl Marrs, President and CEO, Cook Inlet Region, Inc., made available special funds that were targeted for the advancement of literacy in Alaska. Cook Inlet Region, Inc., in conjunction with Southcentral Foundation, Inc., provided a grant of $45,000 to cover travel expenses for authors to travel to over 60 Alaskan communities. The authors talked about the craft and business of writing, taught workshops, encouraged kids to read more and , inspired them to write their own stories.

The Anchorage Woman's Club

Since it was founded in 1915 by Jane Mears the Anchorage Woman’s Club has supported literacy in Alaska The club raised money to build the first school-house in Anchorage, the Pioneer school house. Today the Anchorage Woman’s Club offers many programs to enhance and build literacy in our community. They provide money to the Adult Literacy partnership program, award four two thousand dollar scholarships to students in local high schools, and offer three New Beginnings scholarships to provide a second chance for individuals seeking training, from beauty schools to computer education. They also make available two First Lady Scholarships which provide two thousand dollar scholarships to students across the state. As part of the Woman’s Club National goal of providing twelve million dollars for the purchase of books and multi-media material to local schools, the Anchorage chapter has purchased over 8,000 dollars worth of material for the Anchorage School System since 1998. It was instrumental in saving and preserving the original Pioneer school house. Every year, during the month of April, the club staffs the Pioneer school house with personnel and invite students in the Anchorage school system to experience what school was like in 1915 Anchorage.

The Alaska Poetry League

The Alaska Poetry League has done an innovative job of bringing poetry and the power of the written word to new audiences in Anchorage and in Alaska. They organized the poetry slams and took a group of participants to national competitions last year. The Youth Station On-Site Creative Writing Project and Poetry Reading project reached out to many youth who are leveled “at risk”. Through this program, youth are given an opportunity to direct some of their passion and energy into creative works. The Alaska Poetry League also organized the Poetry on the Run program which inspires runners during the Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon. By taking poetry into coffeehouses, bus stations, and the trails of Anchorage, the Alaska Poetry League brought poetry back to the people.

Kathleen Putman

Kathleen Putman was involved in promotional activities aimed at building literacy in Alaska. She coordinated a program that developed contacts with librarians, educators and other hosts around the state and matched them with authors recruited to sign up for the “Authors to the Bush” program. She worked with the authors to match them with the right community, quizzing participants on everything from dietary concerns to bathrooms versus honey- buckets considerations. The number of authors and communities involved, made it a huge undertaking. The students, librarians, educators, and authors involved have universally praised the program, and Kathleen in particular, for providing a memorable experience.

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