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McMahon Supports
Nashville's "Read Me Day"
Earlier this spring, McMahon was invited to serve as a celebrity
reader at the annual “Read Me Day” assembly supporting BOOK
‘EM! in Nashville, Tennessee. BOOK ‘EM! is a non-profit organization
that provides volunteer readers to local schools and promotes the collection
and distribution of books to lower-income families.
This year’s event was held at the Park Avenue Enhanced Option School.
The Nashville Zoo led the program with the support of a number of guest
celebrity readers. Along with McMahon, guest readers included Tennessee
Titans football players, Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, GNASH (the Nashville
Predators mascot), and OZZIE, the mascot for the Nashville Sounds Baseball
Team.
“I’ve supported BOOK ‘EM! for a number of years,”
said McMahon. “I did miss last year; I was on the road with McGraw
at the time. But I love doing it, and it is always a blast! The kids are
always amazingly engaged, so I really try to draw them into whatever book
I’m sharing with them.”
McMahon continued. “This year I read Frindle by Andrew
Clements. It is this great book about a kid, the class clown, who decides
to test his language arts teacher’s patience by inventing his own
word. It begins innocently enough, but things quickly get out of control
as the rest of the world buys into his little joke!”
So how did the book go over with the students? “I had never used
this book before,” said McMahon. “It was new to both the teacher
and the class. I read five chapters, and then I left extra copies with
the teacher so the students could more easily finish the book on their
own. I couldn’t imagine the entire class trying to share just ONE
copy of the book! I heard back from every student and the teacher, and
they really dug it,” he said.
Each celebrity reader was expected to read for roughly twenty minutes
to each class, after which they would attend a brief reception in the
school’s library. McMahon opted out of the reception, choosing instead
to remain in the classroom with the students. “Yeah, we heard this
announcement for the reception while I was reading,” he said. “I
just wasn’t much interested in it. I wasn’t there for that;
I was there to read to the kids. The teacher glanced at me and said ‘It’s
fine with me,’ so I just…well, I didn’t make it to the
reception!”
He continued to share the story with the class, and then he remained
to sign autographs and answer some questions. The class graciously presented
him with the gift of a collection of their own writings, and they then
took a few photos together before he left them to the rest of their studies.
While Jeff has been a longtime supporter of the event and reading, the
sincere appreciation shown by the class assured his continued participation.
“Absolutely,” said McMahon. “If they need me next year,
I’m in!”
Nancy Garrett, this year’s chairperson for “Read Me Week,”
shared her appreciation for McMahon’s continued support of BOOK
‘EM!:
"Jeff McMahon has been a strong supporter of BOOK 'EM!'s “Read
Me Day” for many years. His love of learning and reading is obvious
and his enthusiasm for both is contagious. The children love hearing
from someone like Jeff who loves to read and who is in a non-traditional
career field. We at BOOK 'EM! believe that Jeff, and other readers like
him, are part of the spark that encourages at-risk children to read,
stay in school, and break the cycle of poverty. Thanks, Jeff, for your
enthusiastic support of reading!"
For more information on supporting BOOK ‘EM! and their activities,
visit their website at http://www.bookem-kids.org.
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