[flickr]photo:2431663221[/flickr]NCFL needs your ideas and suggestions on student speakers for the 2009 National Conference on Family Literacy! If you attended this year's conference, you know how fabulous the student speakers were. We're already busy looking for stories that are just as inspiring as the ones a few weeks ago. Please consider submitting student speaker suggestions. We're looking for individuals with personal stories of triumph, accomplishment and inspiration. The student speakers selected will receive a scholarship to attend next year's conference in Orlando, Florida!

As promised, here's a few of our Closing Brunch highlights. Thanks to all of you for being part of this year's event. We hope it was all that you hoped for! (And if you are looking at your calendar, next year's conference will be February 28- March 3 in Orlando!)

• Martha Bozman from GED Testing Service shared a story about her travels in Nepal, and encouraged the audience that "from a little, we can learn more."
• Nathaniel Graham was the student speaker for this session.

Congratulations to the 2008 Verizon Tech-Savvy Award winner.... The Boston Digital Bridge Foundation's Technology Goes Home @ School Program at the Lilla G.

The good times just keep rolling! Here are some of the conference highlights from Monday:

• [flickr]photo:2377394563[/flickr]David Murphy of Better World Books helped open the general session with thoughts about how Better World Books is working to merge commerce and philanthropy in a way that will make the world a better place. One simple way to do that...shop BetterWorld.

[flickr]photo:2375088622[/flickr]Conference has officially begun! Opening session kicked off with NCFL president Sharon Darling, U.S. Congressman John Yarmuth, and literacy pioneer Rosa Pesqueira speaking. Pat Pineda then announced the 2008 Toyota Family Literacy Program Teacher of the Year …congratulations to Katy Kibbey! As part of her award package, Katy was featured on a jumbotron in Times Square. The featured speaker today was author Anna Quindlen (pictured with Kibbey), who reminded attendees that reading is the cornerstone of a successful society.

[flickr]photo:2350898418[/flickr]As I think about our conference this year, there are so many exciting things. I can’t help but marvel at how different the conference is from the first one we had at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1991. For that conference, my main concern was having enough space for attendees and managing to keep most things on schedule. Today, our family literacy conference is an endeavor supported by 50+ people and each year builds upon the momentum of the last.