Equipping Adult Learners For The World Of Work

Free Stuff, Good P.R. and Cash

I don't know of anything we like better in cash-poor adult education than "free stuff, good P.R. (Public Relations) and plain, old-fashioned cash." The press release that follows this introduction tells a tale of high-tech bounty, great public relations (read advertising) and even some free, quality professional development.

How did it happen, you ask? How could you do this in your community? Read on...

• Have members of the media on your advisory boards. This is how the following event came to life.
• Don't be pushy, but let your needs be known. Ours were video equipment, training and high-speed Internet access.
• Always remember, you don't want to be a salesperson for private business, but then again, we are extremely grateful for their help and they deserve to be recognized for their altruism and generosity. Being a corporate good neighbor is a win-win situation for them and us!
• If they have a top-notch marketing person, like Cox has in Vel Allen-Williamson, let their imagination, and yours, run wild. This is how we got Bob Lilly to make a personal appearance and speech. Cox picked up the tab on all of it.
• Finally, you just have to be patient and lucky! Always be ready to recognize good ideas and trust your instincts.

Now it's your turn. Let Literacy Links or the Listserv hear about your P.R. successes.

The Lufkin Adult Learning Center hosted its annual "Give Your Heart to Literacy" event on Tuesday, February 27, 2001. This special event promotes literacy and the importance of education. The event featured former Dallas Cowboy Bob Lilly as guest speaker and was sponsored by Cox Communications, the Lufkin Daily News, and the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel.

As guest speaker of the event, Bob Lilly spoke of the importance of education and the role that education had played in both his personal and professional life. An alumnus of the Texas Christian University of Fort Worth, Lilly was the Dallas Cowboys' first draft pick in 1961. Over the course of his stellar career - which spanned 14 years - the defensive tackle was named All Pro seven times. When he retired from the NFL in 1975, the Cowboys inscribed his name in Texas Stadium's "Ring of Honor." In 1980, Lilly became the first Dallas Cowboy to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

During the event, the Lufkin and Nacogdoches Adult Learning Centers received a donation of over $3,000 from Cox Communications. This is in addition to the recent donation of new educational equipment and high-speed Internet resources. Additionally, Cox Communications provided training for tutors and staff of the Angelina College Adult Education Cooperative as part of the Cable In The Classroom program - a national initiative of cable operators that is focused on providing commercial free educational resources at no charge to educators. "We are pleased to provide these resources to the Adult Learning Center," stated Glen Parker, system manager for Cox Communications. "Because a solid education is so very important, we are happy to assist the learning centers as they help those that are taking steps to grow personally and in the pursuit of knowledge."

Cox Communications is partnering with the Lufkin Daily News and Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel in promoting the educational efforts of the adult learning centers in Lufkin and Nacogdoches. The cable operator is providing a cable connection to the center that will allow access to the Cable In the Classroom programs as well as provide a source of high-speed Internet access in the coming months. Cable operators who are members of the Cable in the Classroom initiative are committed to helping schools by providing them with cable access and high-speed Internet access, where available, and over 540 hours each month of quality, commercial-free educational programming from networks such as C-SPAN, Discovery, History Channel, and CNN. The Lufkin Daily News is providing newspapers to the Adult Learning Center as part of the Newspapers In Education program, an educational effort supported by newspapers across the country.

Providing cable connections and equipment to the Lufkin Adult Learning Center became a project of Cox Communications while preparing for a system upgrade to provide new services and products. Upon completion, the upgrade will allow Cox Communications to deliver high-speed Internet access to the Center as well as introduce new products such as Cox Digital Cable and Cox Express High Speed Internet access to the Lufkin cable subscribers throughout the community. Completion of the upgrade is projected for the first quarter of 2001.

For more information about the Lufkin Adult Learning Center, visit 107 East Lufkin Avenue, Lufkin, Texas or call 936-639-3059. To learn more about Cable In The Classroom visit their Web site at http://www.ciconline.org

Bob Quillin is the Director of the Angelina College Adult Education Cooperative in Lufkin, Texas. He has been involved in Adult Education as volunteer, part-time teacher, full-time teacher, adult learning center director and co-op. director for the past 25 years. He has served as Vice President (twice) and President of the Texas Association for Literacy Adult Education (TALAE). He is currently serving another term as Vice President of TALAE and is also on the Executive Board of the Texas Council of Adult Education Cooperative Directors. Bob was a member of the task force that developed the Texas Adult Education State Plan for 1999-2005. Bob holds a B.S. degree in history and political science and M.Ed. in Educational Administration -- both from Stephen F. Austin State University. Angela and Bob Quillin have been married for thirty-one years, have three children and three grandchildren.