(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) U.S. Senator Roy Blunt was in attendance of the 29th annual Roy Blunt Literacy Award Luncheon at Missouri Western State University on Tuesday.

Sen. Blunt was joined by city and county officials, staff from the university, and representatives from the St. Joseph School District to discuss the importance of education and literacy.

Two people were recognized at this year's event for their work in promoting literacy in the community, Betty Wymore and Missouri Western President Dr. Robert Vartabedian.

Vartabedian was given the Roy Blunt Literacy Award at Tuesday's luncheon.

"Our motto is transforming lives and I think literacy is a very direct application of transforming lives," Vartabedian said. "So what this stands for is what the university stands for, which is changing lives for the better through higher education and for truly being a literate public."

Wymore was recognized for her role as the adult education and literacy director for the St. Joseph School District. Wymore was given the Community Award of Literacy.

"I've seen a lot of changes in people's lives and it's rewarding to see that somebody can pick themselves up and dust themselves off and start all over again," Wymore said.

Dr. Daniel Shepherd was the guest speaker at this year's luncheon and spoke about promoting the education of people in the community.

During Blunt's remarks, he stressed the importance of educating children about future jobs, which includes many different trades like carpentry and computer programming.