Sensory Garden In Spring Closed May 2017 CirCuit Vol. 35, Issue 5 The monthly newsletter for Audio-Reader volunteers CONTENTS F INDING A N EW N ORMAL 1: Finding a New By Jennifer Nigro, Normal Coordinator of Volunteers 2: Meet a Listener By now, most of you have likely heard ers. You are vital to our ability to do that, about the $200,000 in budget cuts levied and we will be calling on volunteers to help 3: May Birthdays against Audio-Reader. The first $100,000 in ways we have never needed before, or 4: Audio-Reader came in the current fiscal year; the second have not needed in many years. The service will hit in July when the new fiscal year is not going away—but we will have to do Fundraiser begins. Many of you have reached out with more with less. 5: News and Notes offers of help as well as extra donations, Many of you have approached me with and we just want to say how much we ap- questions I am not yet able to answer in full. 6: New Faces preciate your support. We ask that you please bear with us as we 7: Get on the A budget cut of this size, over such a short figure out our path forward. Rest assured, time, will have an impact on operations. we will let you know how you can help Greens Our goal remains, as it always has, to con- once we have a plan in place. 8: Picture Perfect tinue to provide core services to our listen- ’ My Swan Song By Susan Tabor, Administrative Assistant Elsewhere in this issue and in the local news, you’ve read or heard about the massive budget cuts coming to Audio-Reader. One consequence of those cuts is that my position at Audio- Reader is being eliminated as of June 30. Since I have an over- age of annual leave that I need to take or lose, I will be leaving the middle of May so that I won’t lose my annual leave. I have always said that one of my favorite things about working at Audio-Reader has been meeting and working with our won- Closed CirCuit derful volunteers! What wonderful, wonderful people you are! I will treasure all of my memories of you and will count you Editor all as friends. So if you see me in public, feel free to give me a Susan Tabor, Administrative Assistant shout! I’ll love talking with you and getting caught up on the news in your lives! Design/Layout Sally Snell Continued on page 4 MEET A LISTENER: GWEN GRAHAM By Lisa Werner, Assistant Volunteer Coordinator Gwen Graham has lived in Wichita, KS, her entire books are often set in a pioneer era and centered on life. She was born on a cold Christmas Day in 1952. female protagonists. Her first novel wasLove Comes As a child, she thought all the Christmas decorations Softly.” Gwen also enjoys light mystery stories. “I like and celebrations were for her birthday. When she got a little whodunit, but nothing violent or scary or gory. a little older and realized that her birthday was also Nancy Drew type of mystery stories is what I fancy,” Christmas, she wasn’t disappointed. “What could be Gwen shared. “I don’t watch many movies, but when I better than having your birthday the same day as your do it is usually a musical. My favorite movie is Okla- favorite holiday?” Gwen gushed. homa. TV and movies are sometimes just background Growing up, Gwen loved big holiday dinners with noise to me while I do my handwork.” turkey and ham and all the fixings. “Christmas was Of course I greatly enjoyed visiting with Gwen. always the biggest and best dinner of the year. I looked She has such enthusiasm and curiosity for all that forward to and dreamed of my birthday/Christmas she does. She seemed to find joy and importance in dinner all year.” She also dreamed of being a mission- everything we talked about. There were never any ary when she was a little girl. Gwen liked the idea of blasé responses. She “loves” everything: ice cream, helping people and traveling. She didn’t get to fulfill music, holidays, seasons, knitting, food, colors… the that dream, but she greatly admires those who do mis- list goes on and on. To every question her response sionary work and supports anyone who donates their was, “I Love That!” It was as if the world was one big time or money towards helping others. Gwen lost her candy store and Gwen a kid let loose inside. eyesight as a baby due to lack of oxygen when she was Above all, her love of color was most surprising to born, so she did have some limitations growing up and me. “I lost my sight as a baby so I have never seen would sometimes have to rely on the help of others. colors, but others have described colors to me in Music became a big part of Gwen’s life early on. She various ways throughout my life and so I feel like couldn’t read music, but around the age of four, she I understand colors and have good mental images started playing the piano by ear. “When I started out of colors,” she says. “My favorite color is pink. It I wasn’t very good, but the more I listened and the makes me happy, and other people always tell me more I played, the better I got,” giggled Gwen. In ad- that I look good in pink,” Gwen explained. Some of dition to playing the piano, Gwen also enjoys listen- Gwen's other favorite things are chocolate ice cream, ing to various kinds of music. Her favorite types of Christmas, Easter, spring, mornings, corny jokes, silly music are country/western, gospel, and 50’s rock & riddles, and teddy bears. roll. “I like to keep busy. In the evenings I can’t just Unfortunately, Gwen hasn’t had the opportunity to do sit and listen to TV or radio. I have to be doing some- much traveling, but if she could travel anywhere in the thing with my hands as well. I like to knit or string world she would ultimately like to go to London, Eng- beads for necklaces and bracelets.” land. “I have always wanted to visit England. I would Like most of us, Gwen loves food. Holiday dinners like to try their native foods like fish & chips and have with all the fixings are her favorite, but on regular afternoon tea. I don’t really care about seeing famous days she favors Mexican food or a juicy roast with landmarks or touristy stuff. I just like to see how other small potatoes and sweet carrots. She reminisced, “A people live day-to-day,” chattered Gwen. good roast with potatoes and carrots like my mom Above all, Gwen enjoys life and loves many things. made when I was a kid is the best comfort food. It At the very top of her list of life's joys are family and always reminds me of home.” animals. Gwen was blessed with her first husband, When she isn’t listening to TV or radio, you will most a wonderful man, for most of her adult life. She was likely find Gwen reading or watching movies. “Audio widowed in 2013, but then was blessed again in books are the greatest thing,” she says. Her preferred 2015 to meet another wonderful man who is her cur- reads are Janette Oke books. “Janette Oke is a Cana- rent husband. In addition, Gwen is also close to her dian author and pioneer of inspirational fiction. Her brother and sister. Continued on page 7 Page 2 Closed Circuit, the Audio-Reader Network volunteer newsletter MAY BIRTHDAYS We at Audio-Reader wish a festive Happy Birthday to the following volunteers and staff with May birthdays: 1 Karen Boyer reads Breakfast 22 Michael Rapport reads the FYI Table Times on weekends and news and the world and nation is an audio description listener news from the Kansas City Star liaison. on Wednesdays for Telephone Sean Easterly reads from the Reader. Springfield News-Leader on 23 Joyce Richards reads Kansas Sundays. City-area regional news from Mary Howe co-hosts Breakfast our location at Alphapointe. Table Times on Mondays. 12 Kimberly Morrow serves on 24 Garry Huber reads Kansas 2 John Bowden reads Motor the Audio-Reader development City-area news from our Trend magazine. committee. location at Alphapointe. Carla Tilghman reads the 13 John Davis is one of our Max Mayse reads Discover University Daily Kansan on FYEO volunteers. Magazine. Thursdays. 14 Nancy Yockey is one of our Bonnie Sullivan reads Oprah 3 Brandon Edling is one of our Emeritus volunteers. Magazine. substitute readers. 17 Jean Finch is a clean-up Gary Wilbers reads Hunting Jack Wilson reads the Sunflower reader for Telephone Reader Magazine. on Thursdays. Dailies and western Kansas 25 Julian Silverman reads eastern regional news on Thursdays. Jason Kingman reads the Kansas regional newspapers on Emma Kloster reads the Iola Dairy Goat Journal for Special Tuesdays. 4 Requests. Register Weekender edition and 26 Rob Johnson reads Kansas does the layout work for Airwaves, Rex Swartz reads the City-area news from Audio-Reader’s donor newsletter. obituaries from the Kansas Alphapointe, reads USA Today She also volunteers as an audio City Star for Telephone Reader on Wednesdays, and reads the description listener liaison. on Fridays. Joplin Globe on Thursdays.