The TAPING RECORDER October 5, 2001 No. 10-01
News from and about Taping For The Blind Inc.

RECOVERY…We are still trying to understand the atrocities visited upon the
World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, as well as trying to figure out
how to express our admiration for the bravery of passengers and crew of an
airliner that went down near Pittsburgh preventing more destruction of our
national symbols. We grieve for those that were lost, and we are amazed at
the stories of near misses and individual bravery that have found their way
into our collective consciousness, and we know that the world has
experienced a fundamental shift. It is time to try and resume "normal"
activities, so we will go forth with this newsletter, but we all recognize
that we have been touched deeply by the events of September 11, 2001.

THANK YOU…Making information available to our audience is our mission and
you have done a wonderful job by continuing to show up and do your good
work. Thanks to our dedicated staff and to all our fantastic volunteers!

DEPARTURE…We are sorry to have to report that Nate Swerdlin, our evening
engineer, has received an offer he couldn’t turn down and left Taping’s
employment on September 14. He didn’t get to say good-bye to everyone he
wanted to, so he asked for some space in the publication he named, and we
are pleased to give him the space. By the way, he said he will continue as
a volunteer as his time permits.

FROM NATE…
I have enjoyed working with all of the volunteers at Taping For The Blind.
I met the most wonderful people...the type of people that only an
organization like this can attract. I will miss each one of you very much.
You made an impact in my life that I never would have expected. I have a
wonderful opportunity to pursue a career in real estate. A type of
opportunity I cannot refuse. I will return after I get my new career and
lifestyle in order and I look forward to seeing each one of you again!

Sincerely,
Nate

Thanks to you, Nate. We look forward to your return.

FRIENDS CAMPAIGNS…For several years we have had "Friends of the Board"
campaigns where board members are asked to send their friends a
personalized letter talking about Taping, the work we do, and giving them
an opportunity to help by sending a donation. Two years ago, we started a
"Friends of Taping" campaign and asked all our volunteers to join in a
campaign of this sort. These campaigns are very effective since they are
based on a personal message (this message is prepared by Taping so all you
need to do is provide a list of names and addresses you want to mail to,
and then come sign the completed letters). These campaigns are about to
kick off again for this year, and we have an additional need for funds as
we convert our analog equipment to digital to assure that our quality
services will continue. If you helped us with these campaigns in the past,
please do so again. The larger a network we can build, the better will be
our results, and that assures we can continue our mission of "Turning Sight
Into Sound." Contact Cynthia Franzetti for more information or to get
signed up.

NOTES FROM JIM…Jim Martinez, Manager of Radio, has given us some
information. Since September 11 Taping has kept up its regular
schedule—this seems to be unique as many other radio reading services
either chose to simulcast local NPR coverage or give regular updates on an
hourly basis. It was decided that there was sufficient coverage everywhere
else and that we could be of greater service to our clients by maintaining
our schedule. The In Touch Network of New York had their broadcast antenna
on top of one of the World Trade Center towers, so they were forced to make
changes to get back on the air. The local NPR affiliate came to their
rescue. In Touch has offices away from the World Trade Center, and all
their employees were okay, but there wasn’t any word about any of their
volunteers who may have been lost. One of our former volunteers, Lynn
Thompson, is currently a volunteer at In Touch.

REMEMBER…We welcome your comments and suggestions for this newsletter.
Send them to Bob Bartlett at rlb19@... or give them to Cynthia
Franzetti. And subscribing to this newsletter is simple—simply send a
blank e-mail message to tbi-houston-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

RLB