The Library Foundation of MC Names Elisabeth Lahti 2014 Kiplinger Literacy Volunteer of the Year

STUART, Fla. - Aug. 29, 2013 - PRLog -- Priscilla Baldwin, President of the Library Foundation of Martin County is pleased to announce that Elisabeth Lahti has been chosen as the 2014 Kiplinger Literacy Volunteer of the Year. The award will be presented at the sixth annual Kiplinger Literacy Award luncheon on Monday, January 20, 2014, from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm at Willoughby Golf Club in Stuart.  Knight Kiplinger, Editor in Chief of Kiplinger Publications will present the keynote address, “The U.S. Economy in 2014”.

         Tickets for the luncheon are $75 per person and sponsorship opportunities are also available.

This year’s honoree, Elisabeth (Betty) Lahti, has been dedicated to inspiring learners and creating reading opportunities for everyone throughout her life.  This has been proven from the time she was a teen camp counselor and through her early years teaching fifth grade boys in the Methodist community programs in Syracuse. Betty smiles with joy when she sees a child with a book.

Betty’s mother, Bernice Rowland Illick, served as a role model for Betty’s insatiable appetite for reading, and her father Rev. J. Theron Illick instilled the thrill of discovery in his daughter. Betty’s home library collection is filled with volumes about great authors, master composers, famous artists, and current New York Times best sellers.

Thanks to Betty’s philanthropy locally, children at the Elisabeth Lahti Library in Indiantown enjoy weekly story times about fascinating characters that come to life through reading. She regularly supports the Martin County Library System’s Homework Helper program that for the past 13 years has brought success in the classroom to thousands of children. Betty is a Founding Member of the Literacy Network that supports a full time teacher for adult literacy through our libraries.

Her desire to put a book in the hands of every child was put into practice at the 4C’s children’s literacy program spearheaded by Betty Mulligan. The project involves over 75 adult tutors who provide free literacy skills assistance for grades first through fifth at four local schools: JD Parker, Port Salerno, Pinewood and Seawind Elementary Schools.

Betty’s literacy outreach includes music literacy. Twenty students are learning to play the guitar at the Elisabeth Lahti Library on guitars donated by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. Her support of music literacy also includes scholarships with the Treasure Coast Youth Symphony and Artists for a Cause student programs.

Betty reminds us that even in this age of all things technical, the ability to read – and the joy that comes from reading – are the building blocks of a fulfilling life. Betty’s voluminous library is a hint that her life is very fulfilling.

The Martin County Library Foundation established the Kiplinger Literacy Award in 2009 to increase the awareness and importance of literacy for all Martin County residents. Sandra Kimmelman was the first recipient followed by Betty Mulligan in 2010, Charlie Belmont (posthumously) in 2011, Patty Stewart in 2012, and Bridget Baratta in 2013.

The award is named in honor of the Kiplinger family to recognize their legacy of support of the Library’s educational programs and other significant cultural and civic organizations such as The Woman’s Club of Stuart and The Elliott Museum. In 1957, the Kiplinger family donated an entire city block on East Ocean Boulevard in Stuart for the site of the original Martin County Library and the Woman’s Club of Stuart.

Knight Kiplinger, Editor in Chief, Kiplinger Publications

The Board of Directors of the Library Foundation of Martin County extends a very warm welcome to Knight Kiplinger, the keynote speaker at the 2014 Kiplinger Literacy Award Luncheon. Mr. Kiplinger is one of America’s foremost economic journalists and respected business forecasters.  As Editor in Chief of Kiplinger Publications,Mr. Kiplinger offers the audience a unique ringside perspective of the leaders and policies that shape our future, the nation and the world. Speaking from first-hand knowledge forged at the epicenter of our nation’s capital and seasoned with decades of experience and perspective, Kiplinger’s annual not-to-be-missed comments are a unique and authentic spotlight of the current American financial and political scenario.

As Editor in Chief of The Kiplinger Letter founded in 1923 by his grandfather, Willard M. Kiplinger, Knight manages the most widely read and longest-published business forecasting publication in the world. Mr. Kiplinger also oversees Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine and Kiplinger.com.  The total paid circulation of its periodicals exceeds 850,000 and its website www.kiplinger.com receives more than 2 million unique visitors per month.  The company has been managed for more than eight decades by three generations of the Kiplinger family. Knight’s father, Austin H. Kiplinger, serves today as editor emeritus and non-executive board chair.

A unique aspect of the company, which contributes greatly to its success, is that it is run by editorial leadership rather than the management demands of advertising and circulation. Among other accolades, the company has received the American Business Ethics Award and was named one of America’s most ethical companies by Ethisphere Magazine and received the 2009 General Excellence Award by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.  Its website has also received critical acclaim for content and design.

         Knight’s grandfather came to Stuart in 1952 while on vacation and bought the Bay Tree Lodge in Sewall’s Point. The family rebuilt the lodge after a devastating fire in 1990 and continues to vacation there along with Kiplinger employees.

         For more information, please contact The Library Foundation office at 772-221-1409, or by email at info@libraryfoundationmc.org or visit the website at www.libraryfoundationmc.org.