Known for her humor and honesty, award winning author Mrs. Cassandra King Conroy, will speak at Governor’s Club April 29th from 11 am to 2 pm for Chatham Literacy’s Spring for Literacy” Luncheon. Tickets are $100 each; tables seat 10.
Author of five novels, many short stories and magazine articles, Mrs. Conroy’s latest work, “Tell Me a Story: My Life with Pat Conroy” details her marriage with the famed writer in his beloved lowcountry before Mr. Conroy’s death from pancreatic cancer in 2016.
At the end of the event, Mrs. Conroy will be signing this book. Buy the book now at McIntyre’s Books and 20% of the sale goes to Chatham Literacy.
Conroy’s talk at the Governor’s Club event will include details about her 21-year relationship with literary icon and master story-teller Pat Conroy. “During our time together, I came to share Pat’s love of South Carolina’s lowcountry, the region he loved so passionately and wrote about so beautifully,” she said. Pat Conroy was known as a leading figure of the late 20th Century Southern Literature. Several of Pat Conroy’s novels were made into films including “The Water is Wide”, “The Lords of Discipline”, “The Prince of Tides” and “The Great Santini.”
“I’ll talk about our unlikely meeting and courtship, the perils of merging our families (which we called the Brady Bunch on steroids), and how we managed to keep our careers and identities separate. As the title indicates, my presentation will be in the form of stories.”
Mr. and Mrs. Conroy were both teachers during their marriage and supported numerous literacy efforts near their home in Beaufort. Mrs. Conroy says literacy is a fundamental right, “I made reading a major requirement in all my classes. Pat and I both believed that reading not only enriches our lives, it has the power to change them.” She said her husband spoke continually about educational efforts that failed basic needs for students. “He found to his shock that his students were barely literate.”
Mrs. Conroy said his passion about education was constant, “He never taught in the classroom again, but was always an advocate for literacy.”
The Pat Conroy Literary Center in Beaufort, South Carolina is dedicated to Pat Conroy’s legacy. Executive Director Jonathan Haupt says Mrs. Conroy lends great support to the Center. “Cassandra is a wonderful advocate for the work we do to empower story tellers of all ages at the Center,” Haupt said. “Her efforts are very much in keeping with her spirit of generosity in helping other writers and readers.”
Support Literacy
Chatham Literacy helps adults living or working in Chatham County acquire the literacy and educational skills they need to function successfully in society. This luncheon is our most popular event and our biggest fundraiser of the year, so don’t miss it.
Lowcountry Getaway Raffle
During the luncheon, a lucky person will win a 4 day, 3 night trip to a resort in Bluffton, SC and a tour of the Pat Conroy Literary Center. Visit our Lowcountry Getaway Raffle page for more information and to buy tickets.
Buy Your Tickets
You can buy tickets online by scrolling past the following links to the “Online Purchases” form.
Microsoft Word and Email — Fill out the form using Microsoft Word, and either email or print and mail it in.
Print and Mail — Print and complete the form by hand, then mail in your registrations with payment.
Online Purchases — There are two forms below. Online payment is required to use these forms. If you don’t want to pay online, use the links above.
Low Country Raffle
Now that you’ve bought your luncheon tickets, don’t forget to buy your raffle tickets.
Sponsors
A huge THANK YOU to our sponsors. See the sidebar for the businesses and organizations that make this event possible.
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