Author: Lisa Ceniceros

Page Ahead is proud to present the Sarajane Beal Award for Volunteer Excellence to Diana Konaszewski Ray.

As a Story Time volunteer, Diana has brought tremendous joy to her PreK class in Port Townsend, even going so far as to make special appearances in her Pete the Cat costume. Diana’s enthusiasm as she reads to the children is a sight to behold; big-hearted, she always takes the time to make sure each small hand is seen and each little voice is heard and responded to.

In addition to sharing her love of reading with children, Diana has made other significant contributions to our Story Time program by:

• Putting her considerable thrift-shopping skills to use to stock our prop area with fun and interesting items.
• Created personalized questions for each of our 180+ Story Time books. This has enabled fellow Story Time volunteers to ask their students more questions during their sessions about what was happening in the story, a technique called Dialogic Reading. This technique helps to engage the students with print and to become active participants rather than passive listeners. Diana eagerly took this huge and daunting task on and completed it without batting an eye.

Thank you, Diana, for all you do in helping Page Ahead create a love of reading among the children of Washington state; we are grateful for you!

Page Ahead is proud to present the Sarajane Beal Award for Volunteer Excellence to Sophie Lalazarian-Truman.

Sophie is a very active and valued member of the Page Ahead family. Sophie is a dedicated Story Time Reader and Volunteer Trainer. In addition, Sophie is an acting member of Page Ahead’s Program Committee and serves on the Story Leader subcommittee. She helps select books for the program, assists in creating the program curriculum, and coaches’ teachers participating in the program.

Sophie Truman has eighteen years of experience in libraries and early literacy. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Scripps College, a Master’s of Library and Information Science from University of California Los Angeles, and has been volunteering with Page Ahead since 2010. Formerly a librarian with the Sno-Isle Library System, she is currently raising a five-year-old son, whose first word was “book!”

Page Ahead is proud to present the Sarajane Beal Award for Volunteer Excellence to María Teresa Vincens. 

María Teresa can do anything, and has done most everything for us at Page Ahead. A journalist by trade, María Teresa first offered her writing skills to Page Ahead in 2011 volunteering on our newsletter, Chapters. She has gone on to write an article about Page Ahead published in Prime Time. A native Spanish speaker, María Teresa has provided Page Ahead with invaluable translating services turning training materials from English into Spanish. After getting involved with Page Ahead’s Story Time program as a story reader, she realized she had truly found her niche. A fabulous story reader, she also helps train the new Story Time volunteers, showing them the secrets of her success with the kids. María Teresa’s warmth and humor have enriched our lives as well as our programs here at Page Ahead, and we are grateful to her for sharing her many talents with us!

Page Ahead is proud to present the Sarajane Beal Award for Volunteer Excellence to Barbara Towle.

Page Ahead’s Story Time program relies on Barbara. Where ever there’s a dancing bug with googly eyes, or a clothespin alligator, it’s because of Barbara! Barbara has been a Page Ahead volunteer since 2008, even recruiting one of her in-laws to join as a volunteer as well! Barbara not only manages all the materials for Page Ahead’s growing Story Time program, she has originated and redesigned many of the crafts, making them age appropriate for preschool age children through kindergarten students.

We are grateful for Barbara’s faithful volunteer service. It is no exaggeration to say that Story Times could not happen without Barbara! Barbara is an author in her own right; her first book is a story for children of the unlikely but true friendship between a hippo and a tortoise: How Timbo and Trevor Got Together.

Page Ahead is proud to present the Sarajane Beal Award for Volunteer Excellence to Mark Best.

Mark Best is a skilled and avid photographer, and we are fortunate to be the beneficiaries of his talent and friendship. Mark comes to Page Ahead from the Boeing Company, where he has worked for 30 years. Giving books to children in need is a fun mission, but Page Ahead needed the means to vividly show the public what we do. Mark expertly fulfills that need by taking portraits, some exquisite, some adorable, of the many children who receive books from Page Ahead. For the last seven years Mark has given us memorable photos of our events and our kids. He does this out of the kindness of his heart – and the occasional doughnut. According to Mark, “Nothing can beat the excitement and joy of a student getting their very own book that they get to keep forever.” It’s time for Mark to come out from behind the camera and into the limelight. Thank you, Mark Best, for documenting our history, and making it look good.

Page Ahead is proud to present the Sarajane Beal Award for Volunteer Excellence to Deb West.

Deb is our very own Data Dynamo and is an important part of our organization. The work that Deb does ensures that we can plan campaigns, track information accurately and communicate effectively.

Deb has volunteered with Page Ahead for the last few years and we continue to be impressed with her sense of commitment and dedication. She comes to the office almost every week and does not leave until she has completed her tasks. In addition to her regular Page Ahead schedule, Deb volunteers with us before during and after special events. What Deb does is vital to Page Ahead and we truly do not know what we would do without her. Thank you, Deb!

Page Ahead is proud to present the Sarajane Beal Award for Volunteer Excellence to Lorie Day.

Lorie Day began volunteering at Page Ahead in early 2009. Her many skills meant that she could take on any task around the office! The job of managing materials for the expanding Story Time program was quickly put in her capable hands. Lorie kept up as the number of Story Time volunteers and children grew. She even enlisted the help of her mom to sort through leftover Story Time crafts! Lori did everything from inventory, to creating databases, to picking up (and donating) office furniture. It was because of her help that last year we were able to double the size of our Story Time program, reaching more than 1,200 children in need. That means more than 1,200 children involved in fun, interactive reading experiences with books, songs, and crafts on a regular basis.

Page Ahead is proud to present the Sarajane Beal Award for Volunteer Excellence to Sanjeev Narang.

Sanjeev’s service to Page Ahead began in 1997, when no other volunteer was willing to work with the difficult Lotus program our office was using at that time. He spent his Saturdays learning the program and building us a database, and then helped us convert to a better system. In 2002 Sanjeev became a Page Ahead board member, serving in that capacity for six years. While on the board of directors, Sanjeev headed both the technology committee and the board development committee.

In addition to his work on the board, Sanjeev has singlehandedly maintained Page Ahead’s computer network, responding to computer error—as well as user error!—at all hours. Sanjeev’s humor, friendliness, and dedication make him beloved by everyone at Page Ahead. (And it doesn’t hurt that he brings treats wherever he goes!)

At the party, Sanjeev told a story about how books have impacted his life. Studying engineering in his native India, he needed an important book but it was extremely expensive. Even though it would strain the family budget, his father bought it for him, helping him get into a top school. As Sanjeev says, “Books are important. Words are important. Kids should have books—I’m just here spreading the word.”

Page Ahead is proud to present the Sarajane Beal Award for Volunteer Excellence to Brooke Graham Doyle.

It was with great pleasure that Page Ahead presented Brooke Graham Doyle with the annual Sarajane Beal Award for Volunteer Excellence at a Volunteer Appreciation party held at the Burke Museum in November 2008. Brooke was a member of Page Ahead’s Board of Directors from 2002 through 2006. During that time, Brooke served as secretary and chair of the Program committee. Since leaving the Board, she has (thankfully) continued as Program chair. Brooke’s expertise in program evaluation and children’s literacy are invaluable to the organization. With her unflappable nature and terrific sense of humor, Brooke is an extremely well-respected and well-liked member of Page Ahead’s volunteer community. Thank you, Brooke, for all you do in helping Page Ahead create a love of reading among the children of Washington state.

Page Ahead is proud to present the Sarajane Beal Award for Volunteer Excellence to Elaine Denslow.

Some people find ways to go above and beyond what is expected of them. Elaine Denslow is one of those people. Elaine began volunteering with Page Ahead in 2005, bringing her two boys along as she helped us prepare for our community fundraiser, Dish Up Literacy. She was also one of the first Story Time volunteers to be trained to present books, songs, and crafts to classrooms on a regular basis. For three years, Elaine visited Cascade Elementary in Renton every month. But while most volunteers visit one or two classes, Elaine took on four or five at a time! During her years as a Story Time volunteer, Elaine provided fun, consistent, and positive reading experiences for more than 260 kindergarteners. In addition to this work, Elaine also hosted a table at Page Ahead’s annual A Taste for Reading benefit luncheon. Thank you, Elaine, for giving so generously to children in need!