[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 36 (Monday, March 8, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S2430]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING BERNICE SHIVLEY, FIRST BOOK COORDINATOR, PEND OREILLE 
                           COUNTY, WASHINGTON

 Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, today I rise to recognize Bernice 
Shivley in my home state of Washington for her efforts to promote 
literacy in her community. As I have traveled around Washington state, 
I hear again and again about the great strides ``First Book'' has made 
in improving children's literacy and in particular, I hear remarkable 
praise for Bernice Shivley, the First Book Coordinator in Pend Oreille 
County.
  First Book is a national non-profit organization with a single 
mission: To give disadvantaged children the opportunity to read and own 
their first new book. At the national level, First Book has developed a 
sustained network of strategic partnerships with groups and companies 
like the American Library Association and Barnes & Noble, Inc. The key 
to First Book's success, however, is the inspiration and commitment of 
local communities.
  In each locality, First Book establishes an advisory board comprised 
of volunteer leaders including librarians, teachers, retailers, and 
public officials. These boards work with existing local literacy 
programs to increase the availability of tutors, book grants, and to 
promote special events--all in the name of improved literacy. Most 
importantly, perhaps, First Book reaches out to the children who are 
most difficult to reach: the children in soap kitchens and in homeless 
shelters, in church basements and in youth centers.
  In Pend Oreille County, which is in the northeast corner of 
Washington state, Bernice Shivley has made the success of First Book 
her passion. The regional coordinator for First Book tells me that 
``Bernice is a model for what First Book is all about.'' She has 
graciously volunteered her time and has spent countless hours creating 
an advisory board, securing donations from area business, and 
identifying local literacy programs to support. For these reasons, I am 
awarding Bernice the second of my weekly ``Innovation in Education 
Awards.''
  It is the actions of people like Bernice around the country that 
should remind us here in Washington, DC that those closest to our 
children are best equipped to make important decisions regarding their 
education. I commend Bernice for her outstanding work on behalf of the 
children and citizens of Pend Oreille County.

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