This year, the Alamo Reading Council is proud to celebrate its fiftieth year. Originally started under the name of the San Antonio Reading Council, the organization was chartered as the Bexar County Reading Association in June of 1957. The charter application indicated the association address as Our Lady of the Lake College and included an officer roster listing E.E. Arnaud as president, Mary Hull as vice-president, Lorena Haynes as secretary, and Sister M. Catherine as treasurer. On October 17, 1969, the name was officially changed to the Alamo Reading Council. In a letter from council president Donald E. Critchlow to the International Reading Association, Critchlow indicated that the name change was made in an effort to “more accurately reflect [the council’s] scope of influence and activities.”
Currently, the mission of the Alamo Reading Council is to provide leadership to educators in Bexar County for the improvement of reading instruction, the dissemination of relevant information and research concerning literacy to educators and the community, and the encouragement of life-long reading. In addition, the council maintains its affiliation with the International Reading Association and the Texas State Reading Association. The Alamo Reading Council welcomes the participation of all interested members of the community.
