Dinner to focus attention on local illiteracy problem

Various companies and nonprofit organizations in the Las Vegas Valley are hoping the International Literacy Day Dinner Thursday at the Rio Suites hotel-casino will raise awareness concerning Southern Nevada's illiteracy problem.

Sharon Ror-man, spokes-woman for the Southern Nevada Literacy Association, said illiteracy has become a crisis in Southern Nevada partly because its primary industries -- gaming and construction -- tend to draw people who aren't required to read or write.

The purpose of the dinner, sponsored by the Las Vegas chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators and Nevada Bell, is to promote ways to come up with solutions to put an end to illiteracy in Southern Nevada.

Rorman said the event also will recognize leaders in adult education including tutors, teachers, volunteers and business owners who have made strong efforts to advance adult literacy programs.

Keynote speaker John Corcoran, author of "The Teacher Who Couldn't Read," will tell his story of how he succeeded as the head of a multimillion-dollar corporation, but was unable to read or write. Corcoran has made appearances on 20/20 and Larry King Live.

The cost of the dinner is $50 per person or $500 for a table of 10. There will be cocktails and a silent auction at 6:30 p.m. in the Madeira Room followed by dinner at 7:30.

Adult illiteracy is calculated by the inability to read, write or compute math beyond a sixth-grade level. According to National Institute for Literacy 1998 estimates, nearly 17 percent of Clark County residents are lacking in skills that involve matching information and calculating simple one-step math problems.

Proceeds from the dinner will benefit the Southern Nevada Literacy Coalition.

archive