Vol. 35, No. 4
December 2005
Volunteer News
Date Set for Volunteer Recognition
Saturday, March 4, 2006, is the date for the 26th Annual Volunteer Recognition. All volunteers please mark your calendar and set aside a few hours that day to join us in celebrating the accomplishments and contributions of our volunteers. It is the only time in the year that all volunteers have a chance to see how the many and varied contributions of volunteers fit together to improve service for library readers. Individual invitations will be sent in February.
Thanks to Volunteers Helping with Digital Conversion
As the National Library Service moves towards digital talking books, so is our local recording program. We want to be able to produce all of our Arizona master recordings in a digital format in preparation for the next generation of NLS talking books. For the last two years the Arizona Friends of Talking Books have worked diligently to raise the funds needed to convert our three Phoenix and one Mesa recording booths to produce digital master tapes. Our thanks go first to the Friends. Without their efforts, the conversion would not be possible.
In late summer several library volunteers met with BTBL Library Director Linda Montgomery, Head of IT for the State Library, Tom Martin, and Special Services Staff to lay out a plan for moving from the analog recording system that has been in place almost 30 years to a new digital system. Demonstration software has been installed in one booth in the Phoenix studio to allow staff and some studio volunteers to try out several programs. The other two booths will remain operational during this time to continue analog recording and the completion of all books in process.
Many thanks go to BTBL machine repair volunteers Ted Anderson, Keith Holler and Steve Janke, and studio volunteer Ron Donnell who are giving us extra time and using their skills and experience with hardware, software and the recording process to help us with this exciting and challenging transition.
RRRB says Good-bye to Long Time Manager Alma Weatherly
On October 3, 2005, Recorded Recreational Reading for the Blind (RRRB) Board President Doug Wright and his wife, volunteer Grace Wright, held a farewell luncheon at their Sun City home for RRRB Office Manager Alma Weatherly who retired and moved to Minnesota to be near family. Alma served as the first paid staff for the organization. She was hired 10 years ago following the death of founder and long time volunteer James Geer. Alma was praised for getting in writing the information and knowledge developed under Jim Geer, but not put into written form, for future volunteers. RRRB board members and a representative of the Talking Book Library attended the luncheon.
Recorded Recreational Reading for the Blind, also known as The Greater Sun City Talking News, is a non-profit organization with a volunteer board and 19 recording studio volunteers who work in partnership with the AZ Braille and Talking Book Library. Their recording studio is located at 9447 N. 99th Ave., Peoria. RRRB produces and sends free of charge weekly news tapes including excerpts from several northwest Valley newspapers. RRRB volunteers also record American History magazine which is sent to 16 other organizations and libraries for the blind in the National Library Service Network. And they produce full length recorded books that become part of the circulating collection of the AZ Braille and Talking Book Library. The new office manager is Wyla Hohn who worked under Alma’s supervision since 2002.
Welcome to New Volunteers
We welcome new volunteers who have joined us since the last newsletter
was printed.
Jeff Barrett – annotations
Janet Campbell – reader, Mesa
Lucy Garrett – book inspection
David Gordon – home reviewer
Carol Long – director, Mesa
Wayne Long – reader, Mesa
Volunteer of the Quarter Wears Many Hats
A few minutes conversation with John Schumacher reveals two strongly held
beliefs. The first is that life is about learning and the second
is that it is important to use one’s skills to help others. His
volunteer work at the Recorded Recreational Reading for the Blind
studio provides ample opportunity to put both of these beliefs into
practice. John is currently volunteering about 50 hours per
month at RRRB to guide this program into the digital age. He
has researched and experimented with hardware and software to work
out the myriad details of digital recording for the Sun City studio.
He has begun training other volunteer directors and so far they have
three books in production. John enjoys a challenge and he finds plenty
in learning and using digital technology.
About 50 years ago John studied speech and radio and television broadcasting at the University of Notre Dame thinking that he would pursue a career in radio. He recalls that before his graduation the Dean of Arts and Letters told the students that in studying for that degree you have learned how to learn. He told them “Now, go out into the world and learn.” John took that to heart. After a brief time in radio work, John decided to return to his family’s construction business in northern Indiana. For twenty years he worked with large projects, taking them from the early planning stage to grand opening. When the family business was liquidated he joined in the development of an Indiana amusement park. John also did a lot of human resources work at the park and enjoyed participating in the training of the 300-400 youths and other employees who worked each season. Sadly the park closed in 1996 following a tragic accident on one of the rides. John found himself ‘retired’ a few years before he planned. He says that what seem like endings in life are often transitions to new opportunities to learn and grow. He decided to move to Sun City where his parents had a home since the 1960’s. John now shares his house with and oversees care for his mother who will turn 100 in April.
John heard about RRRB in an autobiography writing class. The class facilitator was an RRRB volunteer and she mentioned the group to John. He decided one day when he was driving on 99th Ave. to stop in at the studio to see what was going on. That was in October, 2000. Alma Weatherly, the Director, asked if John could run a duplicating machine to make copies for the weekly news. The volunteer who did this job had recently passed away. It was an immediate need and John figured it out and got it done. He has volunteered there ever since. He has done most of the different volunteer jobs in the studio including reading, directing and reviewing. In addition he volunteers on the Board and laughs when he says RRRB Board President, “Doug Wright had the bright idea to have me be treasurer.” Also, John says, “knocking on the door loudly came the digital revolution.” John opened the door. “It is as yet, fully unidentified where we’re going in the digital world” John says as he pushes and challenges himself to learn more. “Isn’t that what we seniors are supposed to do?” he jokes. He says he really enjoys coming back each week to the studio and seeing things progress toward the end point when all of their recording will be done digitally. What John accomplishes at RRRB is of benefit to all the people who depend on that program for their local weekly news and to all the people who access RRRB produced magazines and books through the Talking Book Library. We thank him for his commitment to learning and his willingness to share what he learns to help so many volunteers and patrons move forward into the world of digital recording.
Authors Record Their Work
In September local author Brooke Bessesen recorded her first book, Look Who Lives in the Desert, in the AZBTBL studio. Her book, published by Arizona Highways, is aimed at elementary school children. Each desert animal is described in humorous verse and “Fun Facts” offer detailed information about the animal’s traits and habitat. Brooke worked several years for the Phoenix Zoo and she currently writes and produces for cable networks.
Humorist Gene Perret has had six books published by Arizona Highways. On a recent visit from California, his home state, Gene spent a morning in our studio recording two of his books – Retirement: Twice the Time, Half the Money and Growing Older Is So Much Fun Everybody’s Doing It. Gene has been a comedy writer for many well known television shows, including the Carol Burnett Show, Laugh-In, the Bill Cosby Show and he became head writer for Bob Hope in 1969.
Author Laurie Campbell has recorded five romance novels that she has written – And Father Makes Three, Unexpected Family, Good Morning, Stranger and Home at Last and His Brother’s Baby. Laurie has made a weekly commitment in our studio since 2002. She and her husband volunteer as a studio team. They record other books in addition to those that Laurie has written. Besides writing, Laurie has a full time job with a Phoenix advertising agency.
Helen Keller Spoke Here
In July my family and I set out for a summer vacation road trip to Cedar Point amusement park on Lake Erie in Sandusky, Ohio. The development of this park began with a public beach in 1870. The first amusement rides were added in the 1880’s and the first roller coaster was added in 1892. The amusement park has been continually updated and now has sixteen roller coasters among its many other attractions, including the second and third largest and fastest thrill rides in the US. We expected to ride lots of fun, fast rides and we enjoyed doing that.
What we were surprised to find was that Helen Keller had visited this park. As we were looking for a quieter place to eat off the main ride area, we passed a large old but attractive building with a manicured lawn. A bronze plaque caught our attention. It noted that in 1925 in this location Helen Keller was the main speaker at the Annual Convention of Lions International. In that speech she urged the 3,000 Lions to become “Knights of the Blind” making assistance to the blind the club’s main service activity. The Lions are still known world wide for their work with people who are blind. The plaque did not say whether Helen Keller stayed to enjoy any of the park rides. I hope she did.
By Jeanie Pawlowski, Manager of Volunteers