RVLC Names Board of Directors

The River Valley Literacy Council, a recently formed conglomeration of five county groups focused on literacy, has named its initial board of directors.

Headquartered at Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus, the River Valley Literacy Council came into being in September 2017 as a result of the merging of the literacy councils in Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Pope and Yell counties.

The members of the board of directors for the organization are:

Franklin County
Stacie Harden, fiscal support analyst, ATU-Ozark
Jackie Turner, consumer banking officer branch manager, Simmons Bank
Tamie Walthers, director, Ozark Visitor Center

Johnson County
Shirley Freeman, adult education instructor, ATU-Ozark
Jackie Ott, director, Johnson County Community Development Foundation
Regina Olson, adult education director, ATU-Ozark

Logan County
Brittany Downs, librarian, Booneville Library
Christy McCollough, Adult Education Instructor, ATU-Ozark
Judy Pennington, librarian, Paris Library

Pope County
Bernadette Hinkle, vice president for administration and finance, ATU
Danielle Housenick, adjunct English professor, University of Arkansas Community College-Morrilton
Shawn Pierce, director, Pope County Library

Yell County
Mike Merritt, human resource manager, JW Aluminum
Bobby Rehm, assistant principal, Dardanelle Middle School

Olson is serving as president of the River Valley Literacy Council board, while McCollough is performing the duties of secretary for the board and Turner is fulfilling the obligations of treasurer.

The mission of the River Valley Literacy Council is to “strengthen communities by empowering the economically disadvantaged and people with low literacy skills to learn the skills needed to be a functioning citizen in the community.”

The River Valley Literacy Council is funded through grants and donations and designed to assist adults with improving their ability to read in order to earn a high school equivalency, improve their employment options and/or improve basic life skills.

Tutors and AmeriCorps workers provide services in all five counties, often in collaboration with existing adult education facilities. The River Valley Literacy Council provides one-on-one tutoring designed to fit the needs of each individual adult they serve.

The literacy council board plans to search for a new director for the five-county region beginning in July 2018. For more information about the organization, call (479) 667-2868 or send e-mail to rivervalleyliteracycouncil@gmail.com.