Conference News

GTE Corporation Chairman Receives National Literacy Award �If America hopes to deal seriously with its adult and family literacy needs, the men and women who head our private sector businesses must lead the way with words and action. No one understands this better than Charles R. Lee.� Andrew Hartman, Director of the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL), thus explains why Charles R. Lee, Chairman and CEO of the GTE Corporation, was selected as the recipient of the national Literacy Leadership Award. The award was presented at Literacy Liftoff �98, the national conference of Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA), in Houston, TX on October 23, 1998. The conference was held in partnership with NIFL, the National Alliance of Urban Literacy Coalitions (NAULC) and the Houston READ Commission. Although LVA has annually presented Leadership Awards at its national conferences, this is the first time the award was presented in partnership with other organizations. �The four partner organizations were unanimous in selecting Mr. Lee as the award recipient,� stated Marsha L. Tait, LVA President. �He has provided exemplary leadership in the business community for private sector support of literacy. Charles Lee knows that, to succeed in the information age, our nation – and corporations like GTE – need skilled and knowledgeable citizens and employees. He knows that it is good business to support literacy.� Accepting the award for Mr. Lee was Mark S. Feighner, President of GTE Wireless. Charles R. Lee has been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GTE Corporation since 1992. He served as President, Chief Operating Officer, and a director of the corporation since 1988. Previously, he was Senior Vice President of Finance and Planning since 1986. He joined GTE from Columbia Pictures Industries Inc., where he was Senior Vice President - Finance. A native of Pittsburgh, PA, Lee received a bachelor�s degree in metallurgical engineering from Cornell University in 1962 and a master�s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1964.