"Last September, after a lot of PR work for World Literacy Day, I had 20 tutors come to volunteer within one and a half weeks. And all of them said, 'You know, I've been meaning to do this for some time: What that tells me is that public awareness is working its wonders and now being translated into action."

"I am actually on the receiving end of Jim's public awareness campaign. So I say to Jim, 'Thank you very much', because the guy who was living in Calgary who moves to Ft. McMurray to work on the oil sands will have heard about literacy and he's going to call me - to be a student or maybe to tutor. Jim doesn't see the final results of his efforts, we do."

Nancy told me that her innate curiosity is what has kept her interested in literacy work. She is confident in her ability to learn and seeks every opportunity to continue her learning. She also prides herself in being a professional.

"Being professional has everything to do with our approach and our way of thinking. My office is in the coffee and storage room in Keyano College. People come into my office to put books on shelves and take paper from cardboard boxes. I do not feel less of a professional because I have to be in a coffee room. I started out as a mom with a half-time job and I grew into a literacy professional. I've worked very hard to acquire that status. I think that we have enough hotshot coordinators in the and in the literacy field who really are professionals because they know what they're talking about."

"It's important to recognize that yes, coordinators are humanitarians who have caring hearts and souls but we are also professionals. We have a whole lot of knowledge about the process of learning to read and write and how people can learn to read and write and improve their lot in life, that other people don't have. And that sets us apart and makes us very special. I don't think we're special because we all have soft hearts, I think we're special because we're professionals in a field. Even the new coordinators are on their way to being professionals. They have brought skills with them that will contribute to that professionalism."

"If I was to start teaching tomorrow would I feel like a professional on the first day I walk into the classroom? No, I wouldn't. Everyone goes through the stage of feeling like a rookie. Thinking professionally will come with time."

Back again in Camrose I dropped in at the Camrose Adult Read and Write Program to talk to BARB WALMAN. Almost a year had passed since Barb and I golfed together in the fall of 1990 at the first PGI; I promised I would drop by to tell her all about this year's Tournament.

The Camrose literacy program is on the second floor of a building on main street; a hair salon and fabric store are on the street level. We sat down in the comfortable "front room" of the Program office, which at one time was part of the offices of CFCW; a well-known country and western radio station which has since moved to a new and larger location. There are two offices, a library and meeting room, and a sound-proofed recording studio (for classes and board meetings) which Barb shares with the Further Education Coordinator who also has her office on the second floor.

I told Barb all about my trip to Calgary and Ft. McMurray. My head was still full of the thoughts and ideas that had been raised by Jim and Wayne and Nancy. I asked Barb for her thoughts on some of the ideas they had raised.