1996 was our year for producing an LLC-PEI Orientation and Reference Manual, which was subsequently made available to LLC councils across Canada and related government agencies. It is updated each year and these updates are available from LLC-PEI free of charge. It was also the year in which LLC-PEI hosted the LLC Atlantic Regional Conference in Charlottetown.

In 1997, we conducted a competition for the design of a wordless poster which could exist alongside our traditional poster as an invitation to get involved with Laubach. The winning poster was chosen by a committee of LLC-PEI students and the creator was a second-year art student from Holland College in Charlottetown. This poster was subsequently shared with other councils upon request and was on display at Literacy 2001 in May.

L to R: Marion Reid, Unita Esau and Carol Fraser

Our outreach in 1998 went beyond posters to the conception and production of broadcast-quality videotape material designed to focus attention on our Reading Line. The material produced consisted, first, of three 30-second TV 'spot' announcements featuring Laubach students sharing their experiences resulting from low reading levels and the relief and revelation that came from finally enlisting for Laubach tutoring. In addition, we produced a 7-minute information videocassette for public information suitable for large-group presentation. Both of these items are available on loan at the Development Office. This was also the year we were honoured to be awarded the Canada Post Literacy Leadership Award for long-term achievement, innovation, leadership and organizational excellence. As well, our student representative Kathy Cotton, won the Canada Post Individual Literacy Achievement Award.

1999 was the year in which we finished and distributed our manual for Student-Tutor Coordinators. This long-awaited project was a most valuable experience for our organization since it forced all those involved in its creation and editing to re-examine every aspect of the learning process implicit in the Laubach method. As in the case of our other publications, we welcome comments from other users as an aid to improving our manual in future editions.

A banner year for our organization was 2000, in that we applied for and were granted the services of a Field Worker. The hiring of Irene Larkin came at just the right moment to help us cope with emergent problems in dealing with the variety of enquiries that come over the Reading Line.

From May 17th to 20th LLC-PEI's Literacy 2001 Committee hosted Laubach Literacy's national biennial meeting. In comparison to 1991's event which also enjoyed vice-regal participation, this year's version of the conference was a low-key, welcoming affair held at the Best Western McLaughlin's Inn with seamless, unobtrusive staff support throughout, which enabled the 152 participants to concentrate fully on the workshops, round-tables and special events.

The special events included a tree-planting ceremony at Government House with the gracious participation of His Honour, Lieutenant-Governor Gilbert Clements and Her Honour Mrs. Clements preceded by a tour of Fanningbank and a reception. T.R.E.E. is a Laubach student-directed project which has held ceremonial tree-plantings in several cities where conferences have been held. At the student recognition dinner, each student was presented with a framed certificate and a letter of congratulations from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson Governor General of Canada. Senator Joyce Fairbairn and former Lieutenant-Governor Marion Reid also inspired the students and their tutors with eloquent words of congratulations and encouragement, revealing an in-depth knowledge of what adult students go through on their personal odyssey.

An unexpectedly popular attraction was a display of student paintings from Prince Street School in Charlottetown that lined the connecting walkway of the Inn. The children's scenes of PEI received rave reviews throughout the conference, reflecting the viewers' sincere interest and delight in their work.

Lastly, behind the scenes, LLC's hard-working Board of Directors, staff and provincial presidents met tirelessly on numerous occasions to guarantee the successful continuation of Laubach's literacy programs across Canada and earning the undying gratitude of the 2001 LLC-PEI Conference Planning Committee.