LPQ Holds Annual General Meeting '97
LPQ held its annual general meeting on Thursday, November 6 at Dawson College when it elected the Board of Directors for 97-98. Linda Shohet completed her term as president and the new Officers are:

President, Gillian Di Vito
Past President, Linda Shohet
Vice President, Eric Diehl
Secretary/Treasurer, Jennie Peters.

Outgoing board members are:
Ann Gauvin
Rota Heft
James Routh

The new board of directors reflects LPQ's decision to reduce the number of directors and operate with a smaller board.

LPQ Annual Literacy Award
This year's AGM had special meaning for a number of reasons. One of the most significant was the presence of Senator Joyce Fairbairn, recipient of this year's LPQ Annual Literacy Award.

It was an honour to welcome Senator Fairbairn to the AGM to accept the award. She was gracious in her acceptance, and her comments about literacy were compelling. She reflected on the last 10 years and on what we, in the literacy community have accomplished noting remarkable achievements. She referred to literacy as a "national imperative" and spoke about early research in the field, notably that of Peter Calamai. She recalled how "Broken Words", Calamai's report, rattled the government and public service and led finally to the creation of the National Literacy Secretariat, which she considers to be an example to the government.

Senator Fairbairn spoke of the necessity to bring the labor force up to the new demands of technology and the standards it imposes. She referred to Lifelong Learning, noting that we must be careful about how we define it. For her, it begins at the beginning when a child can react to the word on the page and keeps on going until the very end to include seniors.

In closing, the Senator reminded us that we still face the challenge. She remains strongly committed to the issue and called upon all to continue to work together in this cause.