RADIO EYE - FALL 2005
IT'S CKRE'S 15TH BIRTHDAY
It's CKRE's birthday, and we have much to celebrate. We have grown so much in the past 15 years. As you'll read in this newsletter, we've gone
from a handful of volunteers to more than 130, and we're adding more every week. We've gone from a handful of listeners to possibly 2,000
with radios, cable television, and hospital broadcasts - all helped along by our generous community partners. Several years ago, we were
able to hire a permanent office manager, who remains CKRE's only paid employee.
In the past few months, we've installed new sound equipment in our studio at the University of Kentucky. In fact, even our
relationship with the university is evolving. We will be staying in our office on campus at least until next June, and after that our
position will be under review. We're just growing out of our skin, it seems.
We rely so much on our volunteers, our listeners and our generous supporters. Without you, this invaluable reading service would not have
been possible these 15 years. Indeed, without you, it would be impossible to continue into the future. So, please, celebrate with us!
By Dori Hjalmarson
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FROM THE CHAIR
CKRE - A radio reading service for Kentuckians who are blind or otherwise unable to read because of a physical or visual disability.
What a concept! Access to information, especially printed information, is just as important to independence as mobility training, vocational
rehabilitation, or learning to pour milk without spilling, but it wasn't always recognized as such.
Before 1990, blind and visually impaired Kentuckians had no access to the immediate and local information on which we depend. It took Al
Crabb and some forward-thinking people who met in 1988 in the then-mayor's office to give birth to a radio reading service. It also took
the University of Kentucky, who gave CKRE a home, because they too recognized how limiting modern life could be without access
to information.
Some 15 years later, CKRE has much to celebrate. We are not just a service, not just a number. We are an amazingly diverse group of friends,
including a public radio station, a public library, hospitals, numerous donors, a university, more than 30 publishers and 130 volunteers trying
to do something good for the community. Together, we are keeping a dream alive.
Margaret Chase
Executive Director
CKRE STAFF
CKRE has been happy to have Colleen Glenn as our assistant studio manager for the summer. She is a graduate student at the
University of Kentucky and has been helping our studio manager, Sarah Nix. Thanks, Colleen!
We also would like to say thank you to our summer intern Venkatesh Sudharshan, who has worked as a control board operator
and office helper. We really appreciate his dedication and enthusiasm. Thanks for all your help, Vennie!
THE SEASON TO REMEMBER
The upcoming holiday season is traditionally a time for charitable giving. It is also the season when those receiving their daily newspaper
consider making a gift to their newspaper delivery person. When you think about it, CKRE is like the newspaper carrier. Except we don't deliver
the paper to subscribers' front porches - we deliver it via radio and TV to listeners' favorite arm chairs.
CKRE is currently conducting its Annual Fund Raising Appeal. As a non-profit, volunteer organization, this is our most important fund-raiser of
the year, and now more than ever, we invite your support.
Our address for anyone wishing to send a donation is:
CKRE, University Box 1030, Lexington, KY 40506
Your donation will be 100 percent tax deductible, but best of all it will go to help a local organization continue providing a much
needed service to local people. Happy holidays, and thank you from your friends at CKRE.
Margaret Chase, Chair
SUPPLIES NEEDED
If you'd like to send a gift, please consider the following office supplies, which we need all year 'round:
- 6"x9" #55 manila envelopes
- #10 white business envelopes
- 8.5"x11" copy paper
- 1 1/3"x4" laser mailing labels
- Disposable coffee cups
- Tissues
- 2-piece prong paper fasteners (base piece only) for fastening papers in file folders
- Printer cartridges for Lexmark T420, No. 12A7415
- Toner cartridge Cannon E40 for PC940 photcopier
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THANKS TO OUR FRIENDS
Central Kentucky Radio Eye would like to express its sincere gratitude to the following:
Good Samaritan Foundation
Mildred V Horn Foundation Trust
Frances Hollis Brain Foundation Inc.
Wal-Mart, Richmond Road Philip G. Rose
Lexmark International Inc.
Anne & Bill Withington Lexington South Lions Club Jewel Vanderhoef
Stanley Schwartz Bonnie Diamond Margaret Willis Ralph & Reba Cotton
Golden Kiwanis of Lexington Charles Sydney Steve Moore Staples, Turfland Mall
Joe Conkwright Judy Engelberg Pat Esrael Diane Curtis
Special thanks to Joseph Beth Booksellers
Our volunteers and friends for gifts and supplies
PROGRAM UNDERWRITERS
Thank you Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital for supporting CKRE Health Corner Programming, Mondays at 10am.
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WE ARE CELEBRATING 15 YEARS
Fifteen years ago, CKRE went on the air with a two-hour reading of the Herald-Leader. Since then, we've grown to five hours
of daily programming on such topics as health, finances, and of course, the daily news. Here, meet a volunteer who's been here
since the beginning and a volunteer who's new to the game.
OUR FOUNDER AL CRABB
Looking back to November 1990: After three years of baby steps and backward slides, we went on the air, broadcasting to an
audience of five. A grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Service helped us buy microphones,
tape players, cassettes and control board, and special radios for the listeners. The University of Kentucky and
especially Paul Willis, director of libraries, considered CKRE an information service appropriate for the goals
and purposes of the library. So they gave us space, furniture, utilities, housekeeping, a mail box, and parking privileges for the
volunteers.
And so we grew. Our early two-hour broadcasts grew to four, then five hours, and volunteers made it possible. We scrimped and made
do and survived. We begged for our first computer from IBM, put used carpet on the walls for soundproofing, did
our own repairs and maintenance - all because our listeners told us they were grateful. It was fun.
Now as a fully developed agency with wide recognition and a growing audience, CKRE is completing its 15th year with pride. CKRE is
a teenager, but thanks to Margaret Chase, Tom Dixon and others, it works and thinks like a responsible adult! Celebrate with us.
Al Crabb, founder of CKRE
NEWCOMER GERRY ADAIR
This summer CKRE welcomed a new volunteer, Gerry Adair, to the CKRE family. Gerry is a native of Philadelphia and lived
in southern Florida for several years before moving to Kentucky in 2001. He now lives in Versailles, and is an instructor of English
at Bluegrass Community and Technical College.
Though a newcomer to CKRE, Gerry is not a newcomer to the visually impaired community. Adair, who received his undergraduate degree in
social work, worked for Lighthouse for the Blind in West Palm Beach, Florida. A work base supervisor for visually impaired employees,
he says he was humbled by the experience. He recalls that he quickly learned to appreciate the things that he took for granted in being able to see.
"I can't imagine a world where I'm not getting information," Adair says. "I'd be lost if I couldn't read. To be able to give someone
access to information gives me an awful lot of satisfaction." He says "knowing that we're helping people become more informed" is what
he enjoys about volunteering at CKRE.
Tune at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays to hear Gerry's pleasant voice bringing you The Woodford Sun. Gerry,
from all of us here at CKRE, you have been a most welcome addition to the family.
By Colleen Glenn
MANY HAPPY RETURNS
In 1990, CKRE started out broadcasting to five people, and we had no paid staff. Now we have an audience of about 2,000 listeners
and a paid part-time studio manager. What a long way we've come! Here, meet the people who keep us going.
OUR STUDIO MANAGER
Studio Manager Sarah Nix says she thinks a lifetime of experiences brought her to a job in which she serves
people who are blind and visually impaired. A native of Memphis, TN, she had been delivering Meals on Wheels ever since she
could drive. Then, ten years ago, her grandfather in Hope, Arkansas, developed macular degeneration.
"When he could no longer read, he was devastated," Sarah says.
Four years ago, she moved to Lexington and worked for a local business, which she says gave her a taste for working closely
with her community, rather than working for a large corporation. CKRE hired Sarah as studio manager just over a year ago, in
August 2004. As the station's only paid staff member, it's her job to keep the studio open and running smoothly day to day.
"I'm the link between our volunteers and our listeners," she says. "It's just a joy to go in every day and work with my
fascinating volunteers."
In addition to her work at CKRE, Sarah is a member of Second Presbyterian Church in Lexington, where she has started working
with the youth group. She also likes to read, entertain, knit and spend "tons" of time with her two amazing sons Ezra, 9, and Miles.
By Dori Hjalmarson
LISTENER AND VOLUNTEER
Joyce McGuire was there when CKRE was born, and it is an organization that has been close to her heart for 15 years.
"Newspapers were a horrendous loss to me," Joyce said. She became legally blind 25 years ago, and for the first nine years, there was
nowhere in Lexington she could turn for daily printed news.
A graduate of Lexington Theological Seminary, Joyce is a retired ordained minister and was a Christian educator before she became blind.
Since then she has been involved with the Bluegrass Council of the Blind, where she is now vice president, and various state organizations
for blind people. For 10 years, at CKRE, she coordinated volunteers and answered phones in the office. Joyce remembers a deep camaraderie
among the volunteers in those early years; she recalls trying to control fits of laughter on the air when a joke was shared among friends.
"I enjoy the people there so much," Joyce said.
"One of my goals was to develop a fellowship, a kind of closeness," with those early volunteers, she said.
Though she has stepped back her role at CKRE, Joyce still volunteers as a control board operator Thursdays for the Herald-Leader broadcast,
when her close friends Bob and Sally Kintner and Ken Kurtz read.
By Dori Hjalmarson
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OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS
CARDINAL HILL REHABILITATION CENTER
Central Kentucky Radio Eye is pleased to report that since August, CKRE has been available to all Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation
Center patients. All patients' rooms get CKRE through the in-house television system, said Cardinal Hill Executive Vice President
Beth Monarch. A Cardinal Hill board member has worked with CKRE and encouraged Cardinal Hill to start the relationship.
Though CKRE has been available there only a short time, Monarch said, "A lot of our patients are already listening to CKRE, and we know it benefits t
hem because a lot of them do have vision problems."
CKRE is proud to have a relationship with Cardinal Hill and hopes more hospitals will offer the reading service to their patients
in the future. "We are excited about the relationship and look forward to working with CKRE and anything that will benefit our patients," Monarch said.
By Spencer Conco
LOW VISION SERVICES OF KY
Low Vision Services (LVS) of Kentucky was founded by ophthalmologist Dr. William J. Wood, M.D., in the late 1980s.
Low Vision Services is a division of Retina Associates of Kentucky and offers tools and technologies ranging from books on
tape to magnifiers, electronic reading machines and prismatic reading glasses for people with impaired vision. Low Vision Services
also offers its patients help with grants for large and small devices. Good task lighting for reading is demonstrated. Devices are demonstrated
at the office evaluation and may be purchased and/or loaned to patients to determine what works for them.
Director Jeanne Van Arsdall says that Low Vision Services have been beneficial to elementary, high school and college students,
as well as adults and seniors. Working people have been able to maintain their employment through help with Low Vision Services of Kentucky and
the Kentucky Office for the Blind and Visually Impaired. "Our goal is to maximize a person's vision and to help them maintain
their independence," Van Arsdall says. Low Vision Services offers the most comprehensive list of services for people with
impaired vision in this region. In fact, many of CKRE's listeners have been referred from Low Vision Services of Kentucky.
In order to use the services at LVS, clients must have been seen within the past year by an ophthalmologist or optometrist and referred to LVS.
The Low Vision Specialists are Jeanne Van Arsdall and Diana Holcomb.
You can reach Low Vision Services at: 859-977-1129 or 800-627-2020.
Q-BOX
Beginning last summer, a group of people with disabilities from Q-Box - a company that manufactures boxes - became CKRE's
quarterly newsletter folders. After the pages are printed at Lexmark, they are taken to Q-Box, where an anonymous donor
pays a small fee to have the newsletters folded. Q-Box was found through Employment Solutions, a local
non-profit organization dedicated to finding work for people with employment barriers. CKRE is happy to have this new link to the community.
By Dori Hjalmarson
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PROGRAM NOTES
SPECIAL THANKS
CKRE would like to thank Bonnie Diamond at Harvard Health News for generously donating the following special health reports:
Coping With Anxiety and Phobias, Stress Control, and The Healthy Heart. Tune in to
Health Corner for these reports. Thanks Bonnie and Harvard Health!
BOOK SERIES
Clay's Quilt by Kentucky author Silas House will be our Fall 2005 Book Series. This page-turner will be read
in eight one-hour episodes by CKRE volunteer Keith Otterson. So please join us this fall for Clay's Quilt by Silas House.
The broadcast dates will be announced.
CKRE SCIENCE & NATURE
Join Judy Engelberg on Thursdays from 1:30 until 2 p.m. for CKRE Diary of Science & Nature. Each week
Judy will bring you interesting tidbits of news from the world of science and nature.
KENTUCKY SERIES
CKRE would like to welcome Joan Grever as our new Kentucky Series editor. She will be organizing and selecting material from
magazines such as Louisville, Cincinnati, The Lane Report, The Chevy Chaser and more. Tune in to the Kentucky Series at noon Tuesday
through Friday.
NEWSLETTER ON THE AIR
The Fall 2005 Newsletter will be broadcast on CKRE radio at 10 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, one week
after it arrives in your mailbox.
INTRODUCING OUR NEW HEALTH CORNER EDITOR
I am Barbara McGroarty, the new health issues editor at CKRE. I came to be a part of CKRE in February, though I have lived in
this area almost my whole life and attended the University of Kentucky. I am responsible for bringing to our listeners information for the
four Health Corner segments a week at CKRE. This includes separate broadcasts on women's, men's and general health, and even reports on
topics of special interest to our listeners.
I read all kinds of health publications and compile articles that are read over the air. It's my goal to keep our listeners informed on
everything being discussed today in medicine and health - not only about blindness and other disabilities, but everything, from what we
should eat to how to live a healthier life.
We talk about medical conditions that affect our listeners, the symptoms, what causes them, therapies and cures, new surgical techniques
and general information about drugs, diseases and how our bodies work. Also on Health Corner broadcasts, we love to talk about what we eat
and provide interesting tidbits of information (such as that dark chocolate can be good for us!). So please join us in the Health Corner
at 10 a.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. If you have health topics you'd like to hear more of on the program,
call CKRE at 257-2702.
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WELCOME TO NEW FRIENDS
CKRE would like to welcome the following people to our network. If you would like to volunteer, or if you or
someone you know wants information on how to get your own specially tuned CKRE radio, please call our office at 257-2702.
NEW LISTENERS
Lawrence B. Fuller Bobby R. Wilson Anne P. Kirkpatrick Edna Butler
Elizabeth Kesterson Jack G. Stone Edith D. Hawkins
Flossie Shackelford Susan Fuller Fannie M. Cobb
Patients at St. Joseph Hospital East
NEW VOLUNTEERS
Sara Kinslow Gerry Adair Art Herman
Carey Stock Diane Austin Roger Parry
Jean Amick Charles Winfield
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Radio Eye
Published quarterly by Central Kentucky Radio Eye, Inc University Station Box 1030 Lexington, KY 40506 (859) 257-2702.
Editor: Dori Hjalmarson
Radio Eye is printed through the kindness and generosity of Lexmark International.
Permission is granted to reprint any of this material as long as full credit is given, and the same permission is granted to other users.
Central Kentucky Radio Eye is an independent, non-profit radio reading service for the print-handicapped population of Central Kentucky. We always welcome contributions of time or money from any interested party.
If you want information about our free service, know someone who does, or would like to receive this newsletter,
please call us at (859) 257-2702 or email us at CKREweb@lsv.uky.edu.
CKRE Board of Directors
Margaret Chase, Chair of the Board
Dr. Daniel Fulks, Treasurer
Jo Staggs-Neel, Secretary
Tom Godell, Linda Gorton, Martha Goss, Marge Holmes, Dr. James Kemp, Barbara McGroarty, Shelly Meyer, Carl Nathe, Janell Turner.
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CKRE Staff
Margaret Chase, Executive Director
Sarah Nix, Studio Manager
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