NCFL wrapped up the 19th Annual National Conference on Family Literacy on Tuesday with personal stories from bestselling author Monica Holloway and student speaker Nora Sandoval. Dr. Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana, assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education at the U.S. Department of Education, was also on hand for the closing brunch. Thanks to these speakers and everyone else who made the conference such a success!

We’ll see you next year in Louisville, Kentucky, for the 20th Annual National Conference on Family Literacy!

Here’s a round-up of Day Two at NCFL’s Conference:

- NCFL Advisory Board member and 60 Minutes contributor Byron Pitts was the keynote speaker at the Monday Morning General Session. Pitts shared his message about the power of mothers and teachers who can assume the role of angels and life-coaches—and literally prevent any child from failing. Pitts’s memoir Step Out on Nothing is available from NCFL partner Better World Books. Better World Books is donating 100 percent of net profits on sales of this book purchased at www.betterworldbooks.com.

NCFL kicked off the 19th Annual National Conference on Family Literacy yesterday in San Antonio, Texas. With more than 100 sessions offered at the conference, it’s hard to recap everything, but here are some of the highlights from Day One.

- Sean Tuohy and daughter Collins Tuohy, the real life heroes of The Blind Side, shared their story at the Opening General Session. They spoke about power of family and how we can make a difference to those who need us most.

It’s official! Priscilla Diaz (Jessica), Chris Sullivan (Shock), and Dominic Colon (aka Manny Spamboni), The Electric Company cast members, will join NCFL at the 19th Annual National Conference on Family Literacy! They will join up with the show’s producers and other team members for a special session about how the show addresses nation’s literacy issue in direct and relevant ways.

Don’t miss this or one of the hundred other sessions offered at NCFL’s conference. There’s still time to register!

Register for the 19th Annual National Conference on Family Literacy by tomorrow, March 4, and save $40! Visit www.famlit.org/conference to register online, check out our all-star lineup of speakers, and learn more about the conference.

The deadline for applications for the NCFL/Better World Books Libraries and Families Award is also tomorrow. Find the guidelines and apply online by visiting www.famlit.org/BWB-library-award.

Monica Holloway is not only a critically acclaimed author, but also the impressive mother of Wills, a child with autism. Holloway will join NCFL’s conference in April to share her personal story about parent involvement in education for a special needs child, as told through her new memoir Cowboy and Wills, a portrait of family struggle and triumph aided by a remarkable dog that coaxes young Wills into the world.

The real life heroes from the #1 motivational story in America will speak at NCFL’s 2010 Conference. Even better, the first 50 conference registrations will win the opportunity to meet them in person and will receive a complimentary copy of The Blind Side.*

In the last several weeks, audiences have swarmed to The Blind Side movie, which tells the inspirational story of Michael Oher and the Tuohy family. Oher and his adoptive father, Sean Tuohy, will be keynote speakers at NCFL’s Annual Conference.