ABE Class Student Interest Form

If you are interested in signing up to attend the free classes at the Grenada Adult Education Center, please complete and return a "Student Interest Form" as soon as possible.

New Student Registration and Orientation Begins October 13th

Morning class students register at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 13th, and evening students at 5:00 p.m. at the Grenada Adult Education Center (423 S. Line St.). Sign up now for this FREE upcoming 8-week class session. If you miss the Tuesday regular orientation, late registration for morning classes will be at 8:00 a.m. on Wed., Oct. 14th. Late registration for evening classes will be at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15th. If you miss orientation for the second fall session, our next enrollment date will be on Mon., January 4th.

For more information, call 227-6101 or 226-7462. Adult students must be at least 18 years old and officially withdrawn from school. Please complete a student interest form as soon as possible if you plan to enroll.

A TRIBUTE TO ROYAL GOBER

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS

by Trish Hightower
GLAD Immediate Past Chairman
August 18, 2009

Royal Gober was a Godly man of many talents. He was a leader, a people person, an organizer, a teacher, a visionary. He was a man of purpose, authority, and determination. He was a man who set high expectations and convinced others they could meet these expectations, and they did…to their own amazement! He was a man of sympathy, patience and understanding whose ability to relate to the downtrodden helped the discouraged and lifted their spirits and their achievements beyond their wildest dreams. He set worthy goals, wanting to make things better than they were before his arrival. And he put forth the effort to achieve whatever it was that could be improved. He was a gardener who shared the bounty of his crop with neighbors and friends. He enjoyed woodworking, making useful and attractive gifts for friends.

He was a Christian who saw the good in others and brought out the best in people. He was a churchman who could be counted on; a praying man, faithful to his Lord and involved in church activities. He loved his parents and siblings and enjoyed and appreciated the family he grew up with. He was a loving husband to his beautiful wife, Judy, and devoted to his children and grandchildren.

The Lord guided Royal's life to significant opportunities of service. His position as head of the Mississippi Employment Security Commission allowed him to have a broad, effective, and positive reach throughout the state. His array of skills were put to use in his position and involved a wide variety of tasks. The Commission had benefited greatly from his leadership when he retired.

Royal believed in community service and organized the Exchange Club of Grenada in order to have a means for friends and neighbors to band together to improve life for others through that club's mission. Royal was the Charter President and held numerous positions of leadership with Exchange on the local and district level. Grenada's Exchange Club has used his standard of leadership to maintain a nationally recognized reputation for excellence over many years.
Looking for community service opportunities in retirement, he was contacted about the effort to organize a literacy council. Royal believed in education and heretofore organized adult literacy training had not been available in Grenada. He agreed to become involved, and once again his talents and skills were used to the fullest. He became the primary factor in the organization of GLAD, the Grenada League for Adult Development.

As the Literacy Director for GLAD, he retired from the impressive office he had occupied as head of MESC in Jackson to literally work in a closet at the Vocational School in Grenada. From that tiny area, he developed by-laws, obtained non-profit status for the organization and began recruiting volunteers. From his example, the GLAD Board of Directors learned how to lead people, honor achievement and set realistic expectations. And Royal learned some lessons, too. He discovered that managing employees and managing volunteers required entirely different approaches. He quickly adjusted to working with volunteers and set an example that has served well those who followed him when he retired from GLAD.

Over the years that he served GLAD, he managed government financial grants that helped fund GLAD's activities and flawlessly provided the reporting and accounting that allowed continued funding. He trained more than 500 tutors matching them with students, overseeing their activities and their reporting. He saw to it that tutors and students were honored for their achievements. As a result, a multitude of people who wanted to learn to read, had the opportunity, achieved goals and received recognition for their efforts.

Royal had many other interests and accomplishments. And if Royal was in charge of anything, everyone knew whatever was planned would run well…whether it was a state agency, a civic service club, a volunteer organization or a Sunday School party! In addition, all involved would know his humor, quick smile, friendliness, welcoming spirit, and joy of life. He was truly "A Man For All Seasons" and everyone would agree that you were exceedingly blessed if you knew him and called him your friend.

Chapter K Gold Wing Road Riders 2009 Ride for GLAD

Want to read "The GLAD Tutor" monthly newsletter on-line?

Please read our adult literacy newsletter for Grenada County, MS. The Elizabeth Jones Library posts the current month's newsletter on the literacy page of their website. Click the title above to go there.

Grenada Boy Scout Troop 4018 Project

Local Boy Scout Troop 4018 working on the flowerbeds at the Grenada Adult Education Center as a community service project.

GLAD Remembers....

The article below was written by GLAD Immediate Past Chairman, Trish Hightower (also a GLAD founder), and read by current Chairman Phillip Heard at GLAD’s 22nd annual meeting on Sept. 9, 2008, honoring Maryhardy Bays McElwain and Don Connerley.

The Lord inspired a lot of people to become involved in helping those individuals in our community who need to learn to read. Two of those have passed on in recent months.

Hardy McElwain was inspired: Hardy initiated the trip by local leaders to Mississippi Governor Bill Allain's conference on adult literacy in 1986. She suggested that Don attend with her and Trish. Without this effort on her part, none of the following events would have occurred.

In 1990, Gold Wing Road Riders asked to raise money for GLAD with a Benefit Ride which became an annual event. For six or seven years Hardy and Trish would drive together to where the ride would end and wait sometimes for extended periods, sometimes in hot sun and sometimes in rain, but always with gratitude for the cyclists to return and present the contribution to us for GLAD.

Hardy made the library a key site for GLAD. She welcomed an array of GLAD activities in the library. She provided shelf space for the literacy books, study materials, and other learning aids that brought new readers to the library.

She agreed to be the agency submitting the application for the Workplace Literacy Grant in the early 90's. The library became the agency partner in the successful grant application managing the grant funds and operation. Hardy agreed to be the official on the GLAD Board who conducted the election of officers for the organization for many years. She was an active part of the GLAD Oversight Committee handling the responsibility of interviewing and selection individuals for various positions with GLAD's operations.

Don Connerley was inspired: Don named the Grenada League for Adult Development, GLAD, on the way back from Gov. Allain's 1986 Conference. The Adult Literacy Conference had made clear the serious need for communities to address the problem of adult illiteracy and provide a means to help people learn to read. Don, Hardy and Trish agreed to find a way to make that opportunity available in Grenada.

Don was inspired to seek a federal JTPA grant which allowed the hiring of the just-retired Director of the Mississippi Employment Service Commission, Royal Gober, to be a key person in establishing the new literacy council.

Don agreed to be GLAD's treasurer and had served in that post for 21 years when he passed away in December of 2007.

Don housed the GLAD program in his Vocational Education building for many years…first in a closet and then in the only teacher’s break room in the building. He allowed his shop class teacher and students to help build a float for the annual Christmas parades to promote GLAD and reading. His office kept track of the funds generated from JTPA and submitted the contract for that grant to the State of Mississippi each year on behalf of GLAD. He allowed tutoring and computer training in the “GLAD room” at the Vocational School that aided many students and inspired others to advance their education. As ABE Director, he sent students who struggled with Adult Basic Education (ABE) classes, which were then held at the Vocational School, to GLAD tutors to first improve their basic skills in order to be successful in pursuing their GED in ABE classes.

Both of these individuals were inspired to devote time and energy to a service that always proves life-changing for those who want to improve their reading skills. The Lord used both of these individuals to serve their community in a special way, and hundreds of people have benefited from their efforts.

As GLAD Chairman Phillip Heard commented at the annual meeting, Hardy and Phillip have, “gone on to live with the Lord in the past year.” We honor their vital contributions to GLAD.