Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic
New Jersey Unit
69 Mapleton Road
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
Phone 609-750-1830
Fax 609-750-9653
New Jersey Unit News
Tony Gruenewald, Editor
July/August 2006
News from the production director
After a hiatus of nearly nine months, I’m pleased to announce the re-launch of the NJ Unit News. Please join me in welcoming Tony Gruenewald as the new editor. Tony’s writing, media, and desktop publishing skills make him a per- fect match for the job. In addition to his responsibilities as an assistant production director, Tony also helps to raise awareness about RFB&D by acting as the NJ Unit’s communications coordinator.
The new NJ Unit News will be published bimonthly. Please feel free to share any news items or story ideas with Tony.
I would like to extend hearty congratulations to the volunteers and staff for making this the most successful production year since our conversion to digital audio. Our recorded hours goal for fiscal year 2006 (which ended on June 30th) was 9,200 hours. Due to a highly successful Record-A-Thon and a lot of teamwork we were able to surpass our goal by over 100 hours, finishing the year with a grand total of 9,314 recorded hours! That’s over 400 titles worth of recording!
Over the past two years we’ve seen production increase by more than 2,000 hours. This is an amazing feat considering the number of technology-driven changes to the production process that were implemented during this period. (See The Newest and Most Improved Reading Conventions, on page 3.) The number of titles produced by the NJ Unit has also risen significantly due to the upsurge in recording and the addition of K-12 curriculum titles to the production queue. The NJ studio’s ability to keep up with our member’s increasing needs during a time of change is a real testament to the dedication and flexibility of the volunteers and staff.
The recorded hours goal we are shooting for in fiscal year 2007 (which began on July 1st) is 9,500 hours. In order for us to fulfill our commitment to the organization we will need to recruit a steady stream of new volunteers. Please help us to spread the word by telling your friends and neighbors about RFB&D. We especially need volunteers with backgrounds in education, math (elementary and advanced), economics, elementary science and biochemistry.
Thank you all for another landmark year. With such a strong base of volunteers, I am confident that we will smash yet another record this year.
Jessie Falcone,
Production Director
“Forgive me Father, for I have parked in your spot.”
No, you don’t have to go to Confession for parking on the grass, the side of the road or in a spot marked “Reserved.” And you also don’t have to drive around all afternoon for a legal space to open up. There are two entrances to the studio (see map) with parking convenient to both doors.
Chances are, that if you do park in any forbidden place, Father Rooney (our landlord) will come down and ask us to have you move your vehicle. Reserved spaces belong to seminary residents and employees and the facility can be fined by the fire department if cars are parked on the road.
If you are able (particularly during morning and afternoon sessions) please park in the lots by Entrance 2 and leave the Entrance 1 spots for your fellow volunteers who have difficulties climbing stairs.
Who is that? A field guide to new staff members.
Jessica Wilsonjoins us from the world of public television to take the position of Director of Development. Actually, she joined us as Jessica Lampros. The name change is nothing Homeland Security has to be concerned with. She simply married Sean Wilson in May.
Jessica takes the position formerly held by Sandi Wilson, who has left to move to Florida. (We tried to convince Jessica to take some Wite-Out and a Sharpie pen to Sandi’s old business cards, but she wouldn’t go for it. As long as she raises the money to pay for them...)
We’d like to take the time to thank Sandi for her extraordinary efforts to make sure the unit had enough money to keep it in lights, booths and staff members. Sandi came on board and was immediately given the daunting task of finding funding for the unit’s move to St. Joseph’s Seminary and the renovation of the space we now call home.
Hope VanCleaf spent five years working at RFB&D’s national headquarters in a variety of roles and now brings her contagious spirit and laughter to the Educational Outreach Center where she works with member schools as professional development provider.
Cathy Wheelerhad a flashback the first time she sat at the table in the volunteer lounge. It had been donated by her former employer, Caliper. Cathy first joined the unit as a volunteer, and is now a part-time production assistant.
SAVE THAT DATE!
Our Volunteer Recognition Luncheon will be held on Thursday, September 28th at Queenship of Mary Church in Plainsboro.
In tribute: Betty Wood, Anne Sheldon & Ruth Alampi
Three longtime volunteers passed away this past winter. All were trailblazers in their repsective fields and were recognized horti- culturalists.
Longtime volunteer Betty Wood passed away on Thursday March 23 at 93. Betty was one of the most remarkable people to lend her talents to RFB&D. She was the first female scientist at Bell Telephone Labs, where she worked from 1943-1967. Her initial efforts helped the military master the use of crystals to control radio signals during World War II.
She was president of the American Crystallographic Association (ACA) in 1957. The ACA now awards authors of the best science books for lay readers its Elizabeth A. Wood Science Writing Award. Betty wrote several acclaimed books of that type including Crystals and Light: An Introduction to Optical Crystallography (which the New Jersey Unit will record in her honor), Science From Your Airplane Windowand Experiments With Crystals and Light.
Betty first came to volunteer at the unit in 1973 and continued until 2004 when her back would not allow her to make the drive from Freehold to Princeton. Into her 90s, she would come and read for four and a half hours a week.
She was also a noted iris grower and often judged iris competitions.
The unit lost another trailblazing spirit, Anne Sheldon, on Friday, March 31, (I imagine her haranguing St. Peter, “What, I couldn’t celebrate one more April Fools’ Day?”) after a battle with lung cancer. Anne volunteered with the unit from 1958 until late in 2005.
As well as being one of the unit’s pioneers, she was an actress in the early days of live television in Buffalo. Anne was an award winning stage actress as well, performing throughout the country. She used those skills and her unmistakable voice to benefit thousands of RFB&D members through the years. Her remarkable sense of humor kept the staff and her fellow volunteers in good spirits and she was one of the best ambassadors the unit has ever had.
Like Betty, Anne was also an award winning gardener.
Ruth Alampi was also a pioneer in broadcasting. She hosted several gardening shows, including “Around Your Home and Garden” on WNBC,” with her husband, former Secretary of Agriculture Phil Alampi, himself a member of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Ruth also hosted and produced consumer related programs for New Jersey Public Broadcasting.
Ruth began volunteering with the unit in 1971 and continued for more than 20 years. Anne Young remembers Ruth as one of the Monday golfers. The links were closed on Monday, so Ruth and a contingency of fellow golfers spent the day at the studio.
The newest and most improved reading conventions
After months of tinkering, a committee of headquarters staff and production directors across the nation, including our own Jessie Falcone, took the feedback given by our members and finalized the new reading conventions for RFB&D books. These changes take into consideration the ease with which our members can navigate recordings using digital playback equipment. Among the changes are:
Bold is being handled in a new way. For example: if you encounter the sentence, “Barry Bonds is believed to have taken anabolic steroids.” It should be read, “Barry Bonds is believed to have taken bold anabolic steroids.” You don’t have to mention how many words are in bold, but use vocal inflection when saying anabolic steroids. Do be sure to say bold BEFORE the bolded type. As always, not all books require us to mention the bold type. (It has to do with whether the words are in a glossary.) Your orange tip sheet/navigation guide will tell you what is required.
We no longer have to read the http or www before web addresses. If the address starts with https we do have to read the address. It is also up to the reader’s discretion whether or not to spell the address. Do not spell common words, but continue to spell uncommon words or words with unusual spellings.
It is also up to the reader’s discretion whether or not to spell common words in glossaries of high school and college level texts. We still spell all bibliography and reference names.
In most cases figures, photos and margin items will be read at the end of the page on which they physically appear. There may be some cases in computer and math books where the figures are in the flow of the text and will be described where they appear.
If credits are given along side a photo, illustration or figure, we are now reading the credit.
And if you already think we can’t make up our minds, in glossaries, please announce the letter before each letter group, even if it isn’t printed in the book.
Of course, each book has its own unique problems and an isolated book may require something slightly different to make sense to the listener. As always, be sure to read and follow the instructions on the orange tip sheet/navigation guideand if you’re not sure what to do or cannot find the orange sheet, ask one of the friendly staff members to help.
Studio tips to keep your fellow volunteers from getting grumpy
Every time you open a file to record, fill out a new lineof paperwork.These teams did their paperwork correctly.
Sometimes volunteers put multiple files in one line of the paperwork. It makes it hard for the next team of readers or checkers to figure out where to read or check. It often takes the volunteers and a staff members a lot of time that could be used more productively to figure out where the individual files begin and end and correct the paperwork.
Please do not announce “End of File,”and if you do, please erase it. The disk the student receives plays the audio continuously.
So long, Sherry!
Educational Outreach volunteers and unit staff got together to bid farewell to Sherry Deutsch who served as Curriculum Specialist, making sure New Jersey schools got the books they needed and working with the studio to make sure any texts that weren’t already in the national library were recorded.
Sherry’s work with RFB&D began in 1999 as the first volunteer to work with Educational Outreach and her knowledge of the educational community, in particular her expertise with the ins-and-outs of Special Education made her invaluable to the growth and success of outreach’s mission. She and her husband Len were also instrumental in the creation of overlays for the digital players and other innovations adopted by national headquarters for all members.
Although Sherry will no longer be a member of staff, she’ll continue to be an important asset to the unit and RFB&D.
Welcome our new board members and officers
The New Jersey Unit had a changing of the guard in May. We welcomed new board members and officers and thanked several retiring board members for their service.
Returning board members took on new responsibilities, including new Board Chair Doug Moore, Vice Chair Rose Marie Proietti, Treasurer Dave Grant and Secretary Tom Brown.
Doug has been a volunteer since 2001 and a board member since 2003. He is a commercial lender with Peapack Gladstone Bank, an elder at his church and does volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity and Interfaith Hospitality Network.
Rose Marie has also volunteered with RFB&D since 2001. She joined the board in 2005 and is an R.N. with an M.B.A. in Health Care.
Dave joined the board in 2004. He has been CEO of Abu Garcia, Kalmaier International and Penn Tennis and his consulting firm, Grant Associates helps organizations find leadership staff. He was instrumental in helping the unit find its executive director, Stephanie Campbell. Dave’s interest in RFB&D comes from the fact that he is legally blind.
Tom became aware of RFB&D because his daughter Kathryn is a long time member. He has served on the board since 2005 and is currently managing director of Lukoil Pan Americas.
New board members include studio volunteers Ed Barry, Fred Horowitz and Winston Kirton. Ed brings his connections with the southern part of the state to the organization and Fred helps spread our influence to the northern tier of counties. Winston brings his legal and teaching experience to the organization.
Also new to the board are Bruce Gilbertson, a vice president at Educational Testing Service, Madolyn Greve has served on many local boards as well as on the selection committee for the 2004 Marion Huber Learning Through Listening Awards. Her interest in the organization came after her son Steven was diagnosed with dyslexia. Joe Maidais president and C.O.O. of the regional accounting firm of Nicholas C. Maida. He has also served as president of Child Care Connections, Inc., a nonprofit designed to promote quality child and dependent adult care through parent education, resource development and provider training.
Continuing board members include past Chairs Cynthia Hillas and Peter Gibson, Debbie Faigen, Jerry Freedman, Herb Greenberg, Lynne Long, Mari Molenaar, Janet Nagourney and J.D. Walker.
We’d like to thank retiring board members Cathy Brown, Marjorie Freeman, Amy Regan and Sandy Shapiro for their years of dedicated service to the unit. Cathy and Sandy will continue as studio volunteers and Sandy is also the unit’s web master.
Volunteer happenings
Mary Michaels’workis part of an exhibition taking place through July 22 at the Arts Council of Princeton called Landscapes and Plantscapes. To find out more visit www.artscouncilofprinceton.org.
Sandra Carson-Pricegave birth to a baby boy, Rich, in February.
Carol Galuskin and her husband left the Princeton area for Arizona.
Adina Langer recently graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio. Doesn’t it seem like, oh, a couple of days ago she was in high school?
Sheldon Freidbergrelocated to South Florida and is volunteering at the Boca Raton studio.
Bill Kastanacted as grand marshall for the North Brunswick Memorial Day parade.
Rose Marie Proietti ended her long reign as studio cookie monster and handed the keys to the yummy supply room to Juanell Boyd. Thanks, Rose Marie, for keeping that couple of extra inches on my waist with all that tasty stuff! And thank you Juanell for stepping up to take on this awesome responsibility. The happiness of your fellow volunteers depends on your choice of goodies.
Maybe we should open a studio in Fairbanks. Patty Kessler, Dave Cartaand Joeand Theresa Sellers all spent early July in Alaska. As if spending time there wasn’t enough, Joe will come home and hike the Appalachian Trail. In September his students will ask Joe to write a “What I Did On My Summer Vacation” essay.
Virginia Finley was recently profiled in the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory employee newsletter. The article featured a photo of Virginia recording at RFB&D!
If there’s any news you’d like to share with your fellow volunteers, please tell Tony Gruenewald or send him an email at tgruenewald@rfbd.org.
Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic
New Jersey Unit
69 Mapleton Road
Princeton, NJ 08540
609-750-1830
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