New Jersey Recorder Fall 2004 (text)

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Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic
New Jersey Unit
69 Mapleton Road
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
Phone 609-750-1830
Fax 609-750-9653

Recorder
Fall 2004

A publication dedicated to our New Jersey family of members, volunteers, staff, and supporters of the New Jersey Unit

Providing equal access to the printed word.

New Rutgers Study To Gauge Learning Through Listening ®Success

Photo Caption: The New Jersey Unit and Rutgers University are collaborating with RFB&D ® national headquarters on an evidence based research study to evaluate the effectiveness of RFB&D's Learning Through Listening program. Shown from left are Dr. Melanie Kuhn of Rutgers University, who is leading the research, Connie Dowling, Manager, Educational Programs for RFB&D, Christine Ranaghan, Director the New Jersey Unit's Educational Outreach Center and Debra Daly Massado, Director of Special Services for the New Brunswick School District. For more information about the study, call the New Jersey Unit's Educational Outreach Center at 609-750-0595.

Avaya Satellite Studio Goes Digital

Did you know that the New Jersey Unit has a satellite recording booth at Avaya in Lincroft? The venture began in 1989 when Jim Mayer, a now-retired employee, suggested that his company adopt RFB&D as one of its affirmative action community projects. Over the last fifteen years, Avaya (formerly AT&T) volunteers have donated thousands of hours to produce upper-level computer science textbooks for our members. They also brought Avaya the distinction of being the first corporation to have an RFB&D studio located on company premises and operated entirely by its employees.

When the Avaya volunteers heard that RFB&D was converting from an analog to a digital format, they found the resources to purchase new audio equipment for their booth. In May, Jessie Falcone and Steve Montefusco traveled to the studio to provide digital audio training. Several new and veteran volunteers were taught to use the VRW (Volunteer Recording Workstation) as well as to check and edit digitally recorded files. Production of Avaya's first digital book, Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach, is now underway. The Unit would like to thank Dave Hague and Jim Mayer for their extraordinary efforts during the digital conversion. We wish the Avaya studio volumes of success!

Photo Caption: Dave Hague and Jim Mayer of Avaya outside the company's on-site booth which was recently outfitted with digital recording equipment.

Photo Caption: Christine Lokhammer, Regional Director/Senior Vice President for PNC Advisors, and Kristen Witucki of Pine Hill, NJ, winner of the Mary P. Oenslager Scholastic Achievement Award. Witucki and PNC will be honored at RFB&D's National Achievement Awards gala on October 14. See below for more about the event.

Photo Caption: James Puzio, a third grade student and RFB&D member, tells Putnam Society members about RFB&D's impact on his studies at the society's recent reception at the home of Shawn and Robbie Ellsworth as his mother Mary Beth and Putnam members Rose Marie Proietti and Tom Horstlisten. Major donors of $1,000 or more automatically become members of the society which honors the contributions of Peter and Durinda Putnam.

Volunteer Spotlight: Steve Montefusco

June 20, 2002 is one of the most important days in the history of the New Jersey Unit. That is the first time Steve Montefusco stepped into the Hibben Road studio. He had just been laid off from his job at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Linden and was looking for a constructive way to use his newly found free time. He searched the Internet and found RFB&D. It was a perfect match with his backgrounds in computers and audio engineering since he operates his own recording studio in Toms River where he records his own band, Crosscheck, and many other musicians.

Thanks to the United Auto Workers contract with GM, Steve has been paid by his employer while he has volunteered at RFB&D. He's been called back on several occasions, but whenever the lay off bug bites, Steve's first call is to RFB&D. In fact, Steve puts in so many hours that most people don't realize he's not a paid staff member.

Steve has used his auto assembly experience to streamline many of the studio's procedures and create better documents to track production. He also marks books, trains new volunteers, does corrections and is a key figure in all studio operations. And as the Thursday morning volunteers learned during Record-A-Thon, Steve also makes a world class omelette.

When he's not being a blessing at RFB&D or at home with his wife Nancy and his step daughter, Steve can be found singing with his band at clubs at the Jersey Shore, producing other acts at his Cupajoe studio, or watching any hockey game that's on TV.

Photo Caption: But does he do windows? The glass kind, maybe; the computer kind, definitely. Steve Montefusco volunteers a full 40 hour week at RFB&D and has become a key figure in the studio's operations. He also makes a mean omelette!

Movin' On, Movin' Up and Movin' Forward

From 1989 until she left the unit in June, Olivian Boon did it all. She served as volunteer, studio assistant, studio director and on two occasions, interim executive director. She opened studios in the national headquarters building, in West Windsor and served one of her stints as interim E.D., working with the board and headquarters to successfully scout and open the unit's new facilities at St. Joseph's Seminary. She cultivated relationships with some of the unit's biggest contributors, was instrumental in creating guidelines for recording elementary school books, helped write many of the reading conventions that RFB&D uses nationally and helped bring in the digital era.

Olivian's influence on RFB&D, the unit, her colleagues, the volunteers she worked with and the members who have benefited from her dedication to meet their needs is immeasurable. While she is greatly missed, she is still part of every recording the unit produces.

Photo Caption: Olivian Boon with Peter Wulff at April's 2004 Volunteer Recognition event.

Gail Clauer also had a long and varied career at the New Jersey Unit as a volunteer, assistant studio director and volunteer coordinator. She started volunteering in 1990, coming in two days a week and was the studio "cookie monitor" making sure it was well stocked with noshes for hungry volunteers. In 1996 she retired from Bell Atlantic and was asked to join the staff.

Gail's was the friendly face greeting many new volunteers and she was an integral part of the production process, making sure that volunteers produced the highest quality recordings possible.

Since July, Gail has been working for her other love, the First Presbyterian Church of Cranford, where she is its business manager.

Photo Caption: Volunteer Gail Clauer celebrates the completion of the first tape recorded at the then-new national headquarters studio with Paul Solt in 1993

Executive Director Jim Marhold left the unit in July to pursue other interests. We wish him well with his new pursuits.

Jessie Falcone is now the unit's production director. She had been digital audio coordinator.

Jessie has been with the unit since 1999 when she became the assistant studio director at the Hibben Road studio. She has trained hundreds of volunteers in the use of the new volunteer recording workstations and been responsible for all post production activities.

Jessie is a graduate of Ohio University and has extensive backgrounds with public radio and nonprofits.

Jen Weber has been promoted from part-time studio assistant to assistant production director. Jen started at RFB&D as a volunteer and joined the staff in 2003.

Photo Captions: The New Jersey Unit recorded more than 400 hours of material for our members and raised $54,000 during the 2004 Record-A-Thon held April 12-17. Highlights included (top, from left) Honorary Chair Dr. Shirley Tilghman, Princeton University President with studio assistant Jen Weber; at the Volunteer Recognition event Amy Kerlin (30 years of service), Nancy Amick (44 years), Hank van Oss (28 years) and Phyllis Branin (31 years) celebrate; President and CEO of Caliper, Herb Greenberg, Ph.D. (l.) and Regional Public Affairs Manager for PSE&G Don Tretola (r.), Record-A-Thon Corporate Co-chairs, present the 2004 Record-A-Thon Leadership Award to Lou Mercatanti, President of Nassau Broadcasting Partners L.P. during the corporate open house (Nassau Broadcasting was the event's lead sponsor and Caliper and PSE&G were studio sponsors); Debbie Faigen with poet Paul Muldoon after recording his Pulitzer Prize winning collection Moy Sand and Gravel. (bottom, from left) Rep. Rush Holt with unit board chair Cynthia Hillasand board member Sandy Shapiro, Sandi Wilson, Director of Development, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Olivian Boon, Studio Director, after Dr. Gates recorded his America Behind The Color Lines: Dialogues With African Americans; Anne Sheldon celebrates her 45 years with the New Jersey Unit; Raleigh Rigler, best selling author Peter Benchley, his wife, Princeton Borough councilwoman Wendy Benchley and Jim Hastings.

Join Us At the NAA Gala Dinner

RFB&D will honor outstanding members at the National Achievement Awards (NAA) gala dinner. This year's event, hosted by national headquarters and the New Jersey Unit is October 14, 2004 at the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village.

Photo Caption: Among the honors is the Mary P. Oenslager Scholastic Achievement Award which recognizes college seniors who are blind or visually impaired for their extraordinary leadership, scholarship, enterprise and service to others. Among this year's winners is Kristen Witucki of Pine Hill, NJ.

The Marion Huber Learning Through Listening Awards recognize high school seniors with learning disabilities who display extraordinary leadership, scholastic, enterprise and service to others. The Enabling America Award is presented to individuals or organizations that contribute significantly to the advancement of educational and career opportunities for people with disabilities. This year's honoree is PNC Bank.

For ticket or table sponsorship for this black tie fundraising event, please call (609) 520-8042.

And be sure to look for a series of articles on RFB&D and the award winners in The Times of Trenton, the media sponsor for the National Achievement Awards.

FUNdraising Opportunities!

Fortunoff will donate 10% of all pre-tax sales from its Wayne, Paramus Park and Woodbridge stores between Wednesday, October 20 and Saturday, October 23 to several New Jersey nonprofits including the New Jersey Unit. Also, enjoy 10% off all items in their Jewelry Department!

Wrapping For Dollars

During the holiday season, Barnes & Noble at Princeton MarketFair offers a gift wrapping table to be used by local nonprofits. All donations received from gift-wrapping go directly to the nonprofit.

The New Jersey Unit is scheduled Thursday, December 2 and Friday, December 3 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Volunteers are needed to man the table in pairs for two hour shifts. EXPERIENCE IS NOT NECESSARY. Bring a friend, have coffee, catch up on holiday happenings, wrap for the customers and rap with them about RFB&D. This is a terrific way to let people know about the great work RFB&D does for students who depend on us for their audio textbooks.

To be an RFB&D wrapper, call Sandi Wilson, 609-750-9579.

Clip this coupon and bring it to Ten Thousand Villages on Sunday, December 12 between 1 and 5 p.m. Tell them you are shopping to benefit RFB&D and they will donate 15% of your purchase to our programs for students with print disabilities.
Princeton Shopping Center
301 North Harrison Street

Staff
Sandi Wilson, Director of Development
Jessie Falcone, Production Director
Michael Casserly, Assistant Production Director
Tony Gruenewald, Assistant Production Director/Communications Coordinator
Jennifer Weber, Assistant Production Director
Judy Wilson-Smith, Production Assistant
Helen Fortunato, Production Assistant

Educational Outreach Center
Christine Ranaghan, Director
Sherry Deutsch, Outreach Officer
Deborah Passafiume, Member Service Coordinator
Benjamin Rivera, Professional Development Provider

Sandra Shapiro, Webmaster

Board of Directors
Officers
Cynthia Hillas, Chair
James D. Walker, Vice-chair
Douglas Moore, Treasurer
Amy Regan, Secretary
Shawn Ellsworth, Past Co-chair
Peter Gibson, Past Co-chair

Board Members
Catherine D. Brown
Debra Faigen
Jerome K. Freedman, M.D.
Marjorie Freeman
David Grant
Earl Groendyke
Herb Greenberg, Ph.D.
Margaret T. Harper
Lynn Long
Mari Molenaar, Ed.D.
Sandra Shapiro

©2004 Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.
©, TM, SM, "Recording for the Blind &Dyslexic," "RFB&D," "Learning Through Listening," the Heart and Headphones design, and all trademarks, service mars and trade names are proprietary to Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, Incorporated.

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