Today is our second post from one of our readers!  Here is Darla's answer to the question "If you could accomplish, or see accomplished, one thing to further the cause of family literacy in the next five years, what would it be?" "Educate all parents about the appropriate interventions and resources available.  You're never too old to learn how to read and write.  Help older students achieve success in reading through effective remediation, not just accommodations." What do you want to see accomplished in family literacy?

[flickr]photo:2413734584[/flickr]Last week, Sharon Darling, Janet Fulton and I had the chance to travel to Atlanta and meet with representatives from the Salvation Army.  The Salvation Army has implemented family literacy programming in two cities, Atlanta and Louisville.

As promised, here's a few of our Closing Brunch highlights. Thanks to all of you for being part of this year's event. We hope it was all that you hoped for! (And if you are looking at your calendar, next year's conference will be February 28- March 3 in Orlando!)

• Martha Bozman from GED Testing Service shared a story about her travels in Nepal, and encouraged the audience that "from a little, we can learn more."
• Nathaniel Graham was the student speaker for this session.

Congratulations to the 2008 Verizon Tech-Savvy Award winner.... The Boston Digital Bridge Foundation's Technology Goes Home @ School Program at the Lilla G.

The good times just keep rolling! Here are some of the conference highlights from Monday:

• [flickr]photo:2377394563[/flickr]David Murphy of Better World Books helped open the general session with thoughts about how Better World Books is working to merge commerce and philanthropy in a way that will make the world a better place. One simple way to do that...shop BetterWorld.

[flickr]photo:2375088622[/flickr]Conference has officially begun! Opening session kicked off with NCFL president Sharon Darling, U.S. Congressman John Yarmuth, and literacy pioneer Rosa Pesqueira speaking. Pat Pineda then announced the 2008 Toyota Family Literacy Program Teacher of the Year …congratulations to Katy Kibbey! As part of her award package, Katy was featured on a jumbotron in Times Square. The featured speaker today was author Anna Quindlen (pictured with Kibbey), who reminded attendees that reading is the cornerstone of a successful society.

This morning, Louisville's The Courier-Journal ran a great story about Byron Pitts and Anna Quindlen, two speakers at NCFL's 2008 Conference.

Here in Louisville, the Ohio River was at flood stage last week. Fortunately, it's quickly receding.

[flickr]photo:2350898418[/flickr]As I think about our conference this year, there are so many exciting things. I can’t help but marvel at how different the conference is from the first one we had at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1991. For that conference, my main concern was having enough space for attendees and managing to keep most things on schedule. Today, our family literacy conference is an endeavor supported by 50+ people and each year builds upon the momentum of the last.

[flickr]photo:2350065187[/flickr]The literacy community—the teachers, students, volunteers, advocates and supporters--has evolved greatly since I first became involved some 35 years ago in a church basement. As I look back, it’s the lives that have been transformed that mean the most to me. The fathers and mothers who are now succeeding and have children who are self-sufficient because of the power of literacy…it’s what gets me up in the morning. I am excited about the progress we can achieve through technology and instant communication.