Rotary Speaker Encourages Community Literacy

The Zanesville Noon Rotary Club brought in a special guest speaker Tuesday to talk about the importance of reading.

Pam Kirst is the Co-chair of “On the Same Page Muskingum,” an organization that promotes literacy in the community. Rotary sponsors the newly formed coalition, and Kirst said those involved will read books related to local author Zane Grey and attend special discussions and events.

“I have the honor of being part of a coalition of community groups that are sponsoring a program to encourage reading in the community,” Kirst said. “This is the first year, and because Zane Grey is our native son we thought in this first year, we would focus on Zane Grey, so this Rotary was one of our first sponsors, so we’re delighted to be here with them today and we’ve had a wonderful response from the community.”

Between September 6 and October 31, “On the Same Page Muskingum” will be hosting a variety of activities & book clubs, bringing in authors from all across the country, including Thomas Pauly.

“We’re hoping we can encourage people to reach high, and we also hope through this initiative to maybe connect people in a multi-generational way, so we have children enjoying things that their grandparents might have traditionally enjoyed, and we also want to encourage collaboration in the community and we’ve certainly seen that,” Kirst said.

Kirst said the organization takes pride in celebrating local history through reading.