PEOPLE & PLACES 2
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Literary Luncheon
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BY ANNA-RHESA VERSOLA
North Carolina native and bestselling author Jason Mott spoke to about 150 attendees at the Chatham County Literacy Council’s fall luncheon on Nov. 5 at the Chatham County Agriculture and Conference Center. Jason is the author of “Hell of a
Book,” which was the winner of the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction and was on the longlist in 2022 for both the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. Other speakers included volunteer tutor Lily Brabble and financial literacy adult learner Yeraldyn “Yera” Martinez, co-owner of Carolina Cravings Co. In the last fiscal year, volunteers donated 7,200 hours to Chatham Literacy, which was valued by the organization at $218,000. Chatham Literacy helps adults living or working in the county to gain literacy and educational skills they need to function successfully in society. CM 5
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1 Jo Maeder, Jason Mott, Kate Barber, Ja’dah Spradley, Kumar Sathy and Elliot Bossen. 2 Michael Terry and Krista Millard. 3 Yera Martinez and Leslie Ocampo, Chatham Literacy program coordinator. 4 Loyda Estrada, Chatham Literacy program coordinator. 5 Janine Brignola, Chatham Literacy communication and marketing coordinator. 6 Blue Newell, Julie Cummins and Vicki Newell, Chatham Literacy executive director.
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CHATHAM MAGAZINE
FEBRUARY / MARCH 2023