JoAnne Myers named SMART Volunteer of the Year!

JoAnne Myers, a longtime staff member at Wascher, was honored as regional Volunteer of the Year by the Start Making a Reader Today (SMART) program this week.

Myers was surprised with flowers and a framed certificate by SMART staff during a break during a weekly reading session with Wascher kindergartners.

Part of a new delivery model by SMART, Wascher participates in the pilot kindergarten-focused initiative that serves every kindergarten student in a school. The students meet with volunteers twice a week for 20-minute one-on-one reading times.

Myers, a general education assistant at Wascher since 2009, organized the program outside her part-time work hours. “It’s very unusual for a staff member to coordinate a SMART program,” said Michael Finley, SMART program manager who presented the award to Myers this week.

As a site coordinator, Myers serves as liaison between Wascher and the SMART program, which includes organizing volunteer commitments and other logistics, tracking data for monthly reports, and other logistics to keep the local program running.

Myers will be recognized at the SMART Alphabet Ball, an annual fundraising dinner held at the Portland Art Museum on February 9.  She will also be honored at a regional SMART event at the Willamette Valley Vineyards on April 5.