The community's obsession with reading, which drew a Time Magazine report and photographer to Tifton this week, may appear in the next issue. 

     And even before Time's readers learn of  the county's goal of achieving 1 million Accelerated Reader points, Oprah Winfrey has been informed, with an avalanched of letters pleading for her to come to the celebration Nov. 15

     As one Tift school after another has come onboard with the reading program, which emphasizes reading comprehension, the entire community is now involved.  That includes all 11 public schools, the private and home schools and many adults.    

     The accumulated points toward the big goal is posted each Monday on a billboard, which this week read 981,480.  Mike Brumby, executive director of the Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence, expects the 1 million mark to be reached by the end of October.

     Brumby, among others, hasn't forgotten that this campaign is an outgrowth of a dream a Tift County media specialist asked the foundation to fund in 1996.  Terri Nalls wanted $3,500 for the purchase of computer equipment and the Accelerated Reader software.  She promised the local foundation that she could transform her elementary school - which had all the demographic and academic statistics that spelled "failure" - into a place where the children loved to read and test scores would rise.

     By the end of the '96-'97 school year, the 392 students in kindergarten through fourth grade at the one scool had read 26,000 books and passed the multiple-choice tests administered on the computers.  Students were rewarded with prizes and recognitiion, which fueled their interest to read more.

     To get permission from the software company to offer the program at the public library in the summer of 1997,  supporters developed four goals, one of which was the 1 million points by the end of 2000.  Enthusiasm quickly expanded beyond the one school.

     Brumby hopes Gov. Roy Barnes will be present next month when students and others crowd into the football stadium for the celebration and designation as "Reading Capital of the World."

     When Brumby got no response to his invitation last month to Oprah, the community decided to get her attention.  This week Brumby pushed a wheelbarrow decorated with balloons through each school to collect letters written to the talk show host.  A video camerman documented the entire event, including the reading of several from among the estimated 5,000-plus letters picked up by UPS for delivery to Chicago.  Not surprisingly, Oprah's staff has already called to say the letters and video had arrived.

     Her presence, along with that of other dignitaries, will just be icing on the cake.  The real prize is the the feeling of success and achievement that each student has experienced.  That can't be bought.