Larry Stice has been volunteering at Literacy KC for five years. He currently tutors in Dianne’s B1 class, where one student extolled, “he is so patient and gives us the confidence to keep doing better”—a sentiment echoed by others in the class. Larry grew up all over the Midwest, before deciding to move to Fairbanks, Alaska, where he spent many years and still returns often. In Fairbanks, he met his wife-to-be, and together, they moved back to her hometown, Kansas City. Larry had a career as an urban planner and worked in the Development Management Division of the City of Kansas City’s Planning Department for many years, before retiring. One of his retirement goals was to volunteer with Literacy KC, because he’s, “always had an interest in literacy, particularly adult literacy.” Further, he expanded, “I visited Tokyo a few years back and while standing in a major intersection looking out at all of the flashing neon signs, I realized I couldn’t understand any of them. It helped me realize how much you can miss out on if you don’t have reading and writing skills.”
Larry’s favorite part of being a tutor is interacting and having fun with the students in class. “I’m always impressed by them,” he said. “They’ve taken the giant step of committing to learning and improving their literacy—that’s the hardest part. My job is easy…If they are going to make the effort to show-up; I want to be here to support them.” Dianne, the class instructor, had the following to say about Larry: “The students and I are ever so grateful for his commitment to us…In all my years of experience, I can truly say that Larry is an individual that stands out for the great qualities he possesses. His positive attitude is very contagious for all that are lucky enough to be in his presence. He has a sense of community, intelligence, work ethic, and teamwork…It is such a relief to have someone so dependable and flexible whenever the need arises.”
One of Larry’s favorite books is The Innocents Abroad, by Mark Twain. “I appreciate its irreverence toward pretentious social norms,” he explained.
Thank you for all you do to support Literacy KC and our students, Larry! We are so grateful to have you on our team of wonderful volunteers.