As North Baldwin Literacy Council Director Marilyn Waters rides off into the sunset to the wilds of Wyoming to start her life’s next adventure, she vacates the position she has held for nine years. Waters and her husband are relocating to Hudson, Wyoming, where he will be the new pastor of the Hudson Baptist Church.

Accepting the call in October, the couple have been planning their move ever since. Leaving Bay Minette behind, the only place she has called home, Waters said she is happy to be entrusting the literacy council in the very capable hands of new director Debra Vaughn.

Jan. 6 is Vaughn’s official first day on the job even though she has been in the office for several days now learning the ropes from her predecessor. Having served as a tutor off and on for the past 10 years, Vaughn brings first-hand experience to her new position.

She has also worked with the public over the course of her working life including presently working at Walmart as a cashier, a position she plans to continue to hold. Most of us frequent Walmart on a fairly regular basis making Vaughn a familiar face even if you don’t yet know her name.

One of her goals as the new director of the NBLC is to get the program and its mission more publicity and work to show how the program will benefit the community in the long run. While serving as the assistant manager of the local McDonalds, Vaughn encountered many young people who came in to apply for a job who weren’t able to complete the job application. Filling out a job application is a skill many people don’t have and they need to be taught, she said.

Vaughn is motivated to help others obtain their GED and she brings a first-hand perspective to the process since she also earned her GED. She has since earned a Bachelor’s degree in business administration and is working on her Master’s in early education. While substitute teaching in the Baldwin County school system, she said she realized she really enjoyed teaching. “I love teaching people new things,” she said. “It is so rewarding to see the light bulb go off! It gets you excited.”

She is excited about her new position and getting out in the community to help others so they don’t have to struggle. “It took a long time to get where I am,” she said. Vaughn, who is strong willed and self motivated was able to do it on her own, but she said “there are others who need that push. They need to see how important it is. If I can help one person, if I can make that one difference in someone’s life that makes me happy.”

The mission of the North Baldwin Literacy Council is to provide instruction by trained volunteer tutors in a one-on-one or small group setting to adult residents of North Baldwin county, 18 years and older, centered around learners’ individual goals and capabilities in order to improve their basic reading, writing and/or life skills. Instruction is designed to build self-esteem, to meet learners’ goals and to raise basic literacy skills. The NBLC, which is housed inside the Bay Minette Public Library, is open Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. or you can call 937-1112 if you want to volunteer or know of someone who could benefit from these services.

Joanna Bailey is the director of the Bay Minette Public Library. She can be reached at baileyvolumes@gmail.com