When Bob Sweeney's now-grown children were all under the age of 5, he and his wife had a nightly ritual with their three offspring.

"In the evening, after dinner and before bedtime, we'd sit in a chair and read," Sweeney said. "I read the book, and as I read the baby would point to things and try to mimic what I was saying. I felt that was the best time in my life."

He said as his children learned to read, it opened up the world to them.

Because Sweeney wanted to open up the world to more people, he has been a dedicated tutor for the Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe for more than four years, helping adults learn to read and write in English.

"Whenever I've gone into a bookstore or a library and realized that all around me are these shelves and shelves of books, I think about all the subjects and all the knowledge in those books," Sweeney said. "If a person could only read, it's all there for them. If you can't read, well, it's just stacks of books."

It doesn't matter to Sweeney whether he has one student or six to tutor — he's going to give it his all.

Last Monday afternoon, Sweeney devoted his time to Selammawit Tesafaye, who has been taking English lessons from Sweeney through LVSF since she arrived from Ethiopia two months ago.

"He's a very good teacher," Tesafaye said carefully. "I'm thankful."

It is because of his dedication that Sweeney was recently recognized as the statewide Volunteer Tutor of the Year by the New Mexico Coalition for Literacy, said Letty Naranjo, LVSF's executive director.

"Bob shows a great deal of dedication to the mission of Literacy Volunteers," Naranjo said. "He has a strong desire to help and a willingness to give time to tutoring."

Sweeney started tutoring in 2004 after seeing an advertisement in The New Mexican calling for volunteers. He was retired from a long career in geology and wanted to do something valuable with his time.

"I had heard from other people that English as a Second Language was interesting and that you meet a lot of people from other countries that way," Sweeney said. "I also felt it was a way for me to give back to the community."

Sweeney said learning from his students has been a highlight for him.

"My life is so different from those I tutor here," Sweeney said. "It's really interesting. There's never a dull moment. ... (The students) have a way of turning things around. You ask them a question, and pretty soon you're answering their questions."

Sweeney is also taking Spanish lessons from one of his students. He goes to the student's home, and "I tutor her in ESL and she tutors me in Spanish," Sweeney said. "She's from Spain, so she really knows her stuff."

During his nearly five years of tutoring, Sweeney has tutored more than 60 students. He has helped three of those students pass their citizenship exams.

"The value is teaching people to read so they can further their education, which in a very roundabout way improves life for all of us," Sweeney said. "The reward for me is this is what we set out to do — to help you to read and to converse. There's a great self-satisfaction there. Part of it is just knowing that you helped somebody do something."

Maureen Underwood, the ESL coordinator for Literacy Volunteers, said Sweeney deserves the honor.

"He is so available and so accessible and incredibly open to having new students in his group all the time," Underwood said. "The hours he puts in are unparalleled."

"I'm obviously very pleased with (the honor)," Sweeney said. "It's nice to be recognized."

Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084 or atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com.