Vickie Ronald, executive director of the Literacy Council of Benton County, can't quite remember the exact word that holds the record as the Scrabble word with the highest score at the organization's yearly "Scrabble Wars" fundraiser. It's complicated and impossible to pronounce, she says, and she had never heard of it before -- but she remembers how impressive it was.
"It was a generic drug name that took up almost all of one vertical row!"
FAQ
What —1oth annual Scrabble Wars
When —6 p.m. Jan. 28
Where — Four Points by Sheraton, 211 S.E. Walton Blvd., Bentonville
Cost — $40 to $1,000
Information — goliteracy.org
It's not surprising: Ronald says organizations like the Bentonville Public Library, Northwest Arkansas Community College, Bentonville and Bella Vista Daybreak Rotary Club and the Walmart Museum all send strong Scrabble team members to compete at the popular event. Ronald suspects some go as far as to memorize high-scoring words from the Scrabble dictionary.
"It's not cheating," she says, laughing. "After all, it's in their brain."
The 10th annual "Scrabble Wars" will be held Jan. 28 at the Four Points by Sheraton in Bentonville. Scrabble teams can register for one of two categories: The "traditional" teams will play by official Scrabble tournament rules, while the "dubious" teams can be a little more ... creative.
"Players can bribe the judges, buy extra letters or do something to win extra points, like sing a song or something," Ronald says. "This is how we started playing it, and then, after a couple of years, it was pointed out to me by someone who was a traditional Scrabble player that all you have to do to win is pay more money and cheat more. I said, 'Well, it is a fundraiser, but I get your point.' So then we split the groups into 'traditional' and 'dubious.'"
Ronald is quick to say that even those who aren't passionate about Scrabble will enjoy this evening. The Scrabble competition lasts only 40 minutes, with dinner, drinks and music rounding out the event. There is also a silent auction, with many items having a literary theme. Bob Schroeder, former Literacy Council board president, spends six months every year contacting hundreds of authors to request signed editions of their books to be used for auction items, Ronald says. The organization gets enthusiastic responses from most authors, resulting in a wealth of autographed novels -- this year including a first-edition prequel to the Game of Thrones series written by George R. R. Martin -- that will be for sale at "buy it now" prices, in addition to the silent auction. Other unique silent auction items include a handwriting analysis completed by one mystery author, who doubles as a court-appointed certified handwriting analyst, and the inclusion of the highest bidder's name in a future novel.
The game-theme night will help fund the Literacy Council's efforts in promoting literacy throughout Benton County.
"We teach adults to read, write, comprehend and speak English," explains Ronald. "Our students come from all walks of life. Some of them have professional degrees from their own country, and some of them have never been to school anyplace, ever."
The majority of the students are English as a second language learners, although a small percentage of them are students for whom English is their native tongue, Ronald says.
"For whatever reason, they never learned to read or write," she says of those particular students, many of whom are senior citizens. "Sometimes, they were just told they couldn't learn, and so they just assumed that they were not intelligent. But they really are. Back in those days, they didn't know about dyslexia or all of these different learning disabilities. We have helped a lot of people not only learn to read and navigate menus and street signs and that sort of thing, but also their self-esteem goes way up."
Those important life skills Ronald mentions are a big part of how the Literacy Council can change a student's life, says Ronald.
"We've had students who, because they couldn't understand English, have been taken advantage of in business deals and leases," she says. "We teach basic life skills. If you have a prescription that says, 'Take one pill three times a day,' do you split that pill into thirds? [We also teach] emergency skills -- when that tornado went through Rogers almost eight or nine years ago, it did some damage, and the sirens were all going off. Many of the people who didn't speak English ran out into the street because that's what they thought they were supposed to do."
Ronald has even heard a tutor explaining how 911 works to a student, she added.
The Literacy Council frequently partners with other area nonprofit agencies to extend the reach of their services, Ronald says. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville offers a shuttle service so council students can attend art education sessions, and, this year, the council will embark on a new partnership with the adult education department at Northwest Arkansas Community College to offer their services to incarcerated men and women at the Benton County Jail.
Tutor Chuck Kovach has worked with the council for 11 years. Today, he's tutoring a Vietnamese student, Quan, who moved to the United States nine months ago and has met with Kovach several times a week ever since. He and his wife sold their wedding rings to fund their move from Vietnam, where he was a fisherman, diving in frigid ocean waters for 12 hours a day, 12 months a year.
"I want to learn English for when I need to go to Walmart or the doctor," Quan says.
"Imagine, if you can, being sick and not knowing what to do," Kovach says. "It's common sense for us to find a doctor, but there's no way for someone who doesn't speak English to do that. Imagine your car breaking down and trying to find someone to fix it. No way. They'll get taken advantage of. There are a lot of good people out there ... but it's not everybody."
Quan works for Tyson Foods, and Kovach is hopeful that learning to speak more fluently to his supervisor will help him get off the chilly factory line into a job more advanced. The pair also will begin to study for Quan's American citizenship test soon.
"I ask God to forgive me for being too prideful, but when they learn English and get their citizenship, it becomes the American Dream," Kovach says.
Ronald agrees the work of the council is inspiring.
"I know that we are helping people in a positive way," she says. "Plus, the fact is [to survive], I think, first you have to breathe, and then have to have water and then you have to read. I can't imagine what it would be like to not be able to read."
NAN Profiles on 01/22/2017