Blue Ridge Literacy Council welcomes four members

Blue Ridge Literacy Council welcomed four new members to the board of directors at its Jan. 28 meeting.

Carlos Ruiz de Quevedo, a Cuban American, was a licensed architect and realtor in southern Florida as well as a principal in several architectural and construction firms. He has a long history of civic service including being an assistant district governor of Rotary International.

Caroline Patterson is the middle school and academically gifted director at Henderson County Public Schools. A county native, she was previously a high school English teacher, an assistant principal and a middle school principal.

David Riddel, a Western Carolina University alumnus with almost 30 years of retail management experience, is the owner of Big Frog Custom T's & More stores in Asheville and Durham.

Sally Buchholz spent over 30 years in corporate marketing and communications, the last 15 as vice president for marketing and customer service for a large publicly traded transportation company. Currently she is an associate with Laurel Park Consulting.

This year Blue Ridge Literacy Council celebrates 30 years of service. Originally it provided tutoring for low literate and non English speaking adults to ensure successful transition to Blue Ridge Community College.

Today it provides literacy assessments, Basic Literacy for adults who have low reading levels, English as a Second Language, citizenship classes, a customized life skills educational program at the Henderson County Detention Center and, in collaboration with Henderson County Public Schools, a Family Literacy program for Latino parents who want to help their children have school success.

The Literacy Council has served people from over 60 countries. Last year,  302 adults benefited from its programs.

"Because the Literacy Council is located on the community college campus, many people don't realize that we are a separate nonprofit organization" said Executive Director Autumn Weil. "About 60 percent of our revenue comes from individual and local business contributions and community grants."

Tutoring is provided by volunteers trained by the Literacy Council. No teaching experience is needed. Last year 134 volunteers donated a total of 12,724 hours of tutoring worth $314,156, the equivalent of six full-time staff members. There are three full-time and one part-time staff.

Weil says there is a special need for volunteers from medical and hotel services backgrounds. Currently the are some nurses and a doctor who need help with English in order to pass their licensing exams. But volunteers from all kinds of backgrounds are accepted. To learn more, call the Literacy Council at 696-3811.