We would also like to take this time to say thank you again to all our "Friends of CKRE" who gave us their support this past year. Whether it was a gift subscription, a piece of equipment, or a box of cookies, you made a difference along with the help of our ever faithful Lexington Lions Club and Bluegrass Runners.

And talking of faithful - we want to thank our volunteers who braved the elements this past winter. In spite of snow, intense cold, and an ice storm that paralyzed much of Lexington, our great volunteers still turned out. They are indeed the strength of CKRE, and we appreciate them and WUKY Public Radio for keeping our service on the air.

In other good news, thanks to the support of the Lexington Public Library, we celebrated the first anniversary of our two-hour broadcast of the Lexington Herald-Leader on Library Channel 20 on Lexington Insight Cable TV. CKRE thanks the Lexington Public Library, the Herald-Leader, Good Samaritan Foundation, Pearle Vision and the people at the University of Kentucky for their efforts, assistance, and contributions toward the creation and development of our TV service.

CKRE is very fortunate to have such generous supporters and dedicated volunteers. The words of Helen Keller (founder of the American Foundation for the Blind) seem to sum it up the best: "Together we can do so much!"

Margaret Chase, Executive Director

On May 12 we were pleased to exhibit information about CKRE at the Health Expo for the Seniors' Day Out at Turfland Mall. Also in May, CKRE had an exhibit, sponsored by the Lexington Herald Leader, at the Meeting the Challenges of Aging conference held at UK. Thank you to all those who helped us prepare and exhibit at these community events.

To Al Crabb - In addition to reading for us, and managing the studio every Sunday, Al stepped into the breach for many weeks when we were in need of a day manager on Thursdays. Thank you, Al, for all your help.

UK continues to provide space for our studio and office, and WUKY provides our sub-carrier frequency/ CKRE thanks Mary Molinaro & UK Libraries, and Roger Chesser & WUKY.

And on the occasion of our first anniversary of our TV broadcast on Library Channel 20, we want to express our appreciation and thanks to Gene Williams through Mark Denomme and the I.S. support staff for all their help, including equipment and services for our TV broadcast.. Also: Design & Engineering, Technical Support, Network Services, Physical Plant, and WUKY.

With the help of all our UK friends and neighbors, including Sandy Gary, T. Lynn Williamson, Robin Roenker, Gail Kennedy, Rob Aken, we have been able to reach out and serve many more listeners than ever before.

Thank you to the University of Kentucky from CKRE.

Jack Wilson is a Midwest native, having lived in Michigan and Ohio before moving to Kentucky in the mid-1970s...but he certainly took "the long way round," settling in the Bluegrass by way of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Fiji.

This world traveling reader is no stranger to volunteering. Besides eight years in the Peace Corps, where he taught English and was later an administrator, he presently volunteers with The Lexington Volunteer Recording Unit, reading college textbooks for blind or visually impaired students. He also volunteers at his church, Second Presbyterian, and is a former board member of The Nature Conservancy - all in addition to volunteering here at CKRE since April of 2002.

In January of 2002, Jack retired as director of the Water Division at the State Cabinet for Natural Resources & Environmental Protection. However, he still keeps his hand in the environmentÉ literally. He is an avid gardener (he grows anything he can eat!), and he also likes to pretend that he's a farmer with his wife, Angene, when they visit the farm in central Ohio that has been in her family for over 100 years.

Truly a Jack of all trades, Jack Wilson can be heard reading most everything here at CKRE, from Health News to the daily papers to Sports. Soon you can hear him as the featured reader in "The Lewis & Clark Expedition," a locally produced series coming this spring to your CKRE radio. We hope that you will enjoy listening to it as much as Jack enjoyed reading it!

Betty Stewart has been a volunteer reader at CKRE since 1996. And if listeners are wondering where else they might have heard this Wednesday Courier-Journal reader's voice before, they might think back to the Golden Age of Television. Back in the late 1950s, Betty was the Magic Garden Lady, hosting a half hour program of stories and projects for area children. After a year the program was replaced by Captain Kangaroo, but in years to come, whether she was out with her six children or shopping at the grocery, she was approached by friendly strangers saying, "I remember your voice...."

Now that her children are grown and gone, (although her family has since extended by ten grandchildren and one great-granddaughter named Bella) Betty is busy enjoying her independence and "belonging to herself." Although it seems that she may also belong to Lucky, a German Shepherd mix that she rescued from the Humane Society; and to Blackie, a black Chow that actually seems to have adopted her! She also continues to be a "magic" garden lady, although she has now turned her attention from children to flowers - including delicate orchids that she raises in her greenhouse.

Betty is also known as the "Cookie Lady" to the ever grateful staff at CKRE, as well as the many people she encountered every day as a trainer and boarder of standardbred horses at her ten acre farm in Lexington, where she still lives, work, and stays "lean and mean." Lean? Sure. Mean? Not by a long shot.

Individuals who are interested in seeking or maintaining employment are referred to rehabilitation counselors. Homemakers who are unable to maintain their own homes due to visual impairments would also be included in this category.

Individuals not interested in employment or independent homemaking may be referred to Independent Living. This division may provide services such as low vision aids, which could include magnifiers and/or high intensity lamps. Cooking aids may also be provided, along with large print watches, timers, or clocks. Talking watches, clocks, and calculators are available for people who cannot read any size print. Information regarding services may be obtained by calling (800) 291-8424.

HEAR THIS NEWSLETTER For listeners' enjoyment and convenience, we read this newsletter on the air at 10 am on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday one week after the newsletter has gone out in the mail.

APPLY FOR A CKRE RADIO CKRE is dedicated to providing time-sensitive printed matter and consumer information to blind, and visually and physically disabled residents of Central Kentucky. If you know anyone who could use our service, please call us at 257-2702. Our office hours are Monday through Friday 8 am to 1 pm and Saturdays and Sundays 9 am to noon.

LISTENER COMMENTS If listeners have any comments or suggestions about our service, please call us at (859) 257-2702. Or write us at CKRE, University Box 1030, Lexington KY 40506. We want to hear from you.

EYE ORGANIZATIONS CKRE has drawn up a list of over 20 eye organizations - everything from the Blind Piano Tuners to the Macular Degeneration Network. The list includes a brief description, telephone number, and a website address for each organization. The list is free of charge for any listener. So give us a call. And that number again - it's 257-2702.

CKRE thanks Joseph Beth Booksellers for their assistance with CKRE reading projects, and our thanks also to our good friends at Harvard Health for donating Special Reports for particular interest for our listeners.

2003 PROGRAM GUIDE We continue to work on our CKRE Program Guide. Thanks to Hammond Design, we hope to have this ready soon. We will announce on the air when you can expect a copy of the Guide in your mailboxes.

INTOUCH NETWORK Each day, from 1pm until 8am Monday through Friday, (slightly longer hours on the weekends) CKRE broadcasts the reading of national publications and several discussion-style programs. These programs are brought to our listeners through our affiliation with the InTouch Network, in New York.

NEW GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS Once a year we like to acknowledge and thank all the publishers who kindly donate their publications to CKRE - there is a complete list on page 6 of this newsletter, and also here on our website. CKRE also wishes to say welcome to the following publishers who just recently joined our program line-up:

WITH REGRET Due to CKRE budget constraints we will no longer be able to broadcast the reading of the Frankfort State Journal. We regret this, and we hope it will not inconvenience our listeners.

LEWIS & CLARK EXPEDITION For listener information, we plan to broadcast the book entitled The Lewis & Clark Expedition by Eleanor J. Hall. We will broadcast it in several episodes, together with other associated material, weekdays at noon in our "Kentucky Series." The first episode will begin two weeks after this newsletter goes out in the mail, and we'll announce the actual start date on the air.

MONEY SIDE OF CKRE The locally produced Saturday morning broadcast of "Money Side" has been featuring in depth articles about several leading family businesses in the U.S. Previous articles were about UPS and the HJ Heinz Co., with others such as Holiday Inn and Johnson & Johnson planned.

If you have enjoyed these longer articles, let us know. And tune in at 10:30am Saturdays, following our Sports Program.

NEW VOLUNTEERS We have some great new readers at CKRE: Laura Blackwood, Sarah Chrisinger, Travis Fritsch, Christy Howell, Oliver Leaman, Ruth & Neil Poley, Thom Southerland, Joanne Stokley, Diane Wachs, and Tom Wilmes. We encourage listeners to call CKRE at 257-2702. Please let these new volunteers (and our "golden oldies") know that you appreciate them!

WELCOME BACK We also welcome the return of Carl Frey. Gone for the winter, we are glad to say that Carl is back and he's reading Sports on Friday mornings.

WE MISS YOU We are glad to report that Margaret Heaton from our Tuesday Herald-Leader team is making a good recovery from a recent illness. We have all missed Margaret, and look forward to her return on Tuesdays.

VOLUNTEER NEEDED CKRE is looking for a Health Editor for our Health Corner. The program airs five days a week, and duties include gathering and preparing information ready for our health readers. This is an opportunity to make a difference to many people. Please call CKRE at 257-2702 to find out more.