Vol. 35, No. 3
September 2005
Volunteer Section
Looking for Space in Prescott for Machine Repair Volunteers
Recently we learned from the volunteers who repair talking book machines in Prescott at the Prescott Public Library that the repair group has to shut down for a year due to remodeling of the library. We are asking for help to locate temporary donated space in Prescott so that the machine repair work can continue. We are looking for a 150-200 square foot space with good lighting that includes locking storage for the machines, tools and parts. If you have any suggestions, please call Sherry Austin, BTBL machine agent, or Jeanie Pawlowski at 602-255-5578 or 1-800-255-5578.
Seeking Volunteers
Spread the word. If you enjoy what you do as a volunteer, how about inviting someone to volunteer with you? We have diverse opportunities for volunteers – in machine repair, the recording studio, as audition evaluators or home reviewers. We work with individual schedules as much as possible. We also have new information brochures about our volunteer program and would love to have your help to take them to libraries, churches, bookstores, or anyplace that is open to the public that has display space for community resources. For more information call Jeanie at 602-255-5578 or e-mail jpawlow@lib.az.us.
Our Gompers Volunteers
Every Monday we receive help in the technical services section of the library from our Gompers volunteers who have been helping at BTBL since 1996. Our current group of anywhere from 4-8 people focuses on book inspection, checking talking books to see that the correct cassettes are in the box and that all cassettes are rewound. Monday is a particularly busy day for books to be returned. Often more that 2,000 books arrive and every one needs to be opened and inspected. When this group of volunteers arrives they get right to work and get through hundreds of books in their time with us. They are accompanied by a staff aide who helps with any difficulties that arise. Some members of the group are fairly new to the library but others have now volunteered with us for several years.
These individuals volunteer as part of their participation in the Gompers Center Day Treatment and Training Program for disabled adults. Since 1947 the mission of the Gompers Center has been “To meet the unmet needs of children and adults with disabilities in our community.” Gompers Center Programs include special education, aquatic and rehabilitative therapy, dental clinic, vocational training, employment placement and community education. The majority of people who attend Gompers Center were born with multiple disabilities such as Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Seizure Disorder, Mental Retardation and Down Syndrome. Each individual is provided with opportunities to achieve their maximum potential physically, emotionally and vocationally. Opportunities include a number of different options to volunteer.
Library staff is grateful that the Gompers Center has chosen to renew their volunteer commitment at BTBL for nine years. Our service to library patrons is improved through this successful partnership. We give a great big thank you to our hard working Gompers volunteers!
Welcome to New Volunteers
We welcome new volunteers who have joined us since the June newsletter was printed.
Tami Kemper – duplicating (July only)
Jeanne Leftwich - RRRB
Robert Leftwich – RRRB
Laura McIntyre – home reader
Breah Parker – reader
Sue Raatjes - RRRB
Tina Rogers – director, Mesa
Samia Sarsam – director, Mesa
Ann Shideler – director, Phoenix
Ben Stanton – reader, Phoenix
Remembering the Payson Machine Repair Volunteers
For many years we had volunteers repairing talking book machines in seven locations around the state. A year ago, due to poor health, the last of the machine volunteers in Payson had to discontinue their work. That group was started in 1989 by Bill Kleinz, a retired Telephone Pioneer who had moved from Phoenix to Payson and wanted to contribute to the work of talking books. Bill passed away in 2003 but other volunteers continued. A total of six volunteers repaired machines in Payson in the 15 years the group was in operation. Together they gave over 9,000 hours of their time and talent to repairing machines. The Talking Book Library wants to give special thanks in remembrance of the work of these volunteers. Dates listed are the years of volunteering.
Albert Cahalan ’95-’04 over 1,600 hours
Bill Kleinz ’89-’02 over 2,400 hours
Gene Koeneman ’89-’03 over 2,200 hours
Allen Kramer ’95-’04 over 1,600 hours
Richard Malony ’01-’04 over 300 hours
Andrew Morrissey ’96-’00 over 700 hours
Volunteer of the Quarter
“Volunteer of the Quarter Dwight Brahs operates the recording machine in the BTBL studio.”
Dwight Brahs has given 21 years of service as a volunteer. He was drawn to the Talking Book Program when he was looking for a volunteer opportunity that was completely different from his daily job in middle management with a local health maintenance organization. He had already done some volunteering with two other recording programs, Sun Sounds and Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. At these organizations he crossed paths with an acquaintance from work who was also volunteering at the Talking Book Library. Dwight arranged to audition for Talking Books and he was quickly accepted with the comment that he did a particularly good job tackling some of the Native American pronunciations in the audition. For many years Dwight volunteered as both a reader and monitor in the BTBL studio. Along the way he was partnered with the acquaintance from work, Olive Swearengin, and over the years they have become fast friends through their work together in the studio. As a recording team, Dwight and Olive would alternate book projects as reader and monitor. Dwight would complete a book as a reader with Olive monitoring and then they would reverse roles for the next project. In the last few years, Dwight has focused solely on the monitor (director) job with Olive reading as his studio partner.
Dwight says he loves to read and learn new things and the studio recording has provided continuous opportunities to do both. He is equally comfortable in the reader or director role. One of the aspects of the studio work that Dwight enjoys and that keeps him interested is the wide range of topics in the books that need to be recorded. A few favorites he remembers are Harm’s Way (AZC 0836) a novel about WWII in the Pacific, a large coffee table book about the history of cartography and some of the foreign policy essays in the annual Great Decisions. Though he prefers nonfiction Dwight and Olive have recorded lots of fiction also. Together they have added over 50 books to the library collection.
In 2002 Dwight retired from his employment. He credits his involvement in volunteering as a valuable support in easing his transition into retirement. His studio commitment gave him structure and something he consistently enjoyed doing with his time. Plus he says he enjoys seeing and working with a lot of great people in the library. In addition to the library, Dwight also volunteers in his church choir, his church council and he is organizing fund raising to send members of the church youth group to a national youth conference.
Like many Arizonans, Dwight is not a native but moved here as a young adult. He was born, raised and went to college in Minnesota and decided he had had enough of the cold northern winters. A visit to Arizona during college convinced him this was the place to live. Except for two years in the army, Arizona has been his home for the last 35 years. He and his wife, a retired high school English teacher, have raised two sons. Besides volunteering, Dwight and his wife enjoy theater, baseball, and traveling. A recent trip was a baseball tour to Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, DC.
Dwight has given over 2,000 hours as a recording studio reader and director and he has no plans to stop volunteering. His long term commitment and expertise in both the artistic and technical aspects of studio work are part of the backbone of the recording program at BTBL. We express gratitude for all that he has given to the Talking Book Program.
In Memory and In Thanks
Volunteer Mel Clack passed away at his home in Prescott on July 22. Mel lost his sight due to detached retinas when he was in his 40’s. He lived his next 40 years with energy, hope and a firm belief that “Just because you’ve got poor vision, all is not lost. You can still live a good life.”
Mel was involved in numerous efforts to help individuals faced with loss of eyesight. He became familiar with the Arizona Braille and Talking Book Library as a reader of talking books. In 1999 he was one of the founding board members of Arizona Friends of Talking Books. His wife Dorothy drove him to Phoenix to attend the Friends meetings. Mel and Dorothy were both home delivery volunteers for AZBTBL. When the library signed up a new reader in Prescott or the surrounding communities, Mel and Dorothy would visit that person and demonstrate how to use the machine and talking book library service. Many talking book readers in Prescott got off to a solid start with the Talking Book Library because of the time and attention given to them by Mel and Dorothy.
In 1980 Mel founded the North Central Vision and Hearing Loss Center, originally the Yavapai Center for the Blind in Prescott, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Mel was a member of the Prescott Lions and he worked with all of the Lions Clubs in the Prescott area to help make the center a reality.
We will miss Mel Clack. He and Dorothy were dedicated volunteers and strengthened the Talking Book Library with their generous gifts of time and talent.