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It Turned Out to be Tuesday.

                             

By: Lucy Stone

When I started working at Radio Eye a year ago, I was told there was one person I needed to impress if I wanted to do well here. I was told that it wasn't Amy. It wasn't Chelsey. It wasn't The Board. It was Tom Dixon. Needless to say when I met the man, I was  beyond nervous. He greeted me with a huge smile and immediately wanted to know my story.  From that moment on, I was a Tom Dixon fan.

Tom has been with us almost since the start. It goes without saying that the early years would have almost impossible with his hard work and dedication. He has brought us countless volunteers and given us over 7,000 volunteer hours. Before he cut back on his volunteer time with Radio Eye, he was reading Herald-Leader on Tuesday, The Manchester Enterprise, Disability News, and filling in for live reading whenever he could. That is on top of his countless other volunteer commitments with other organizations.There is a reason we have his picture hanging proudly on our wall. I have never met someone who is as selfless, kind, well-liked, and funny as Tom. I'm not sure if he knows it but he made my day every time he ended a broadcast. Without fail he would sign off with, "It turned out to be Tuesday..."

Maureen Wrobel, who has read Herald-Leader with Tom on Tuesdays for several years, says she has never met someone who has as much fun with the program like Tom does. She likes that he has such energy and enthusiasm for Radio Eye and the people we serve. She said it will be hard to replace him but she knows that she will still see him around. Leif Rigney, who rounds out the Tuesday Trio, said that volunteering for Radio Eye has been a life changing experience for him. "Tom's dedication, consistency, leadership, encouragement, and giving nature have been a huge part of that," he wrote out on the abbreviated program guide from the last day they read together.

We can all agree that Tuesday mornings will not be the same without him. Thank goodness for Wednesdays! Tom is a modest man but he needs to know just how much we appreciate and love him. I'm so happy that he will still be doing his Disability News (two!) segment so that we can still see him. Thank you for everything, Tom. Leif has a little bit of advice, "Enjoy sleeping in, Tom. You've earned it!"
 

Third Time's The Charm!


By: Lucy Stone

We are pleased to announce that our final Eastern Kentucky stream is now live and listenable! Our amazing engineer, Doug Collins, called us with the great news on August 13th. In the past few weeks we have gotten in touch with several listeners who have been on the waiting list for the past few months.

Linda Hudson is one of those potential listeners and when I called her she had more than a few nice words to say. "I am so happy! When I heard about Radio Eye, I just had to have it." Linda has been almost totally blind due to diabetes and glaucoma for the past 6 years and can only make out simple outlines of things. We are happy to give her our service and can't wait to pass out more radios! Our Hazard stream will enable us to reach people in  Breathitt, Estill, Floyd, Lee, Morgan, Owsley, and many more counties!

 

Eastern Kentucky Listener Spotlight!

By: Joel Scott



Ronnie Moyers is the first listener in our new Eastern Kentucky feed.  He was approached by the Kentucky Office of the Blind to test the new service out for Radio Eye. 
 
Ronnie, 55, lives in Middlesboro in Bell County, which is in the Kentucky-Tennessee-Virginia tri-state area.  He has lived there all his life.  He lives alone with an eight-pound terrier named Sissy.
 
Ronnie was born premature, weighing only two pounds, and has been completely blind in one eye ever since.  He lost vision in his other eye in 1977 at about age 18. 
 
“I was just sitting there in church one day and lost the other one,” Ronnie says.
 
Ronnie doesn’t waste any time feeling sorry for himself.  “That’s just a road you can’t go down,” he says.   “I know I went blind in 1977 for a reason.  I don’t know that reason, but God does.  I just have to make the best of it and trust that He’ll take care of me.”
 
He credits his mother for preparing him to be able to take care of himself as a blind person.
 
“My Mother spent the last 23 years of her life preparing me for this day,” he says.  “She would learn me how to take care of myself, and would learn me how to clean things right.”
 
Ronnie recalled one Saturday when his mother asked him to wash her car for church the next day.  When he finished and she went out to inspect his work, she said it wasn’t good enough and made him do it again.
 
“I know [having to do] that broke her heart,” Ronnie says,” but she was planting that seed in my head: ‘This is how you’re going to have to take care of yourself when I’m gone.’”
 
As important as self-reliance is to Ronnie, he is always appreciative of those in his life who are willing to lend a hand.  His fellow congregants at Old Yellow Creek Baptist Church are a constant source of support.  Everyone there, but especially the deacons, is willing to help out when Ronnie needs to run errands around town. 
 
“I also have a cousin who is very sweet to me who brings me dinner on Saturday,” Ronnie adds.
 

 

                          Volunteer Needs

These are all permanent open spots and needs. If you can fill any of these spots, please let Hannah or Lucy know!
  • Job Talk, 30 minute recording, can be read any day of the week
  • Herald-Leader Sports on Monday, 28 minute recording, needs to be read by 9:15am
  • Lexington Business News, 30 minute recording, needs to be read by Thursdays at 11:15am
  • Children's Story Hour, 30 minute recording can be read any day of the week
  • Control board operators for the Herald-Leader from 7:50am - 9:30am on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday; for the Courier Journal from 10:55 - noon on Monday and Thursday

Volunteer Anniversaries

Jewel Vanderhoef-24 years
Muzzy Hemken - 18 years
Betty Stewart - 18 years
Frank Lewis - 13 years
Leif Rigney - 9 years
Nancy Smith - 5 years
Roger Paige - 4 years
Michael Washington- 4 years
John Campbell - 3 years
Wayne Roberts - 2 years
Virginia Smith - 1 year
Carl Root -1 year

Office Needs

- Lysol Wipes
- 1 inch Round Mailing Seals
- Labels (5160)
- Printer Paper
- Lexmark Printer Ink
 * Black
*Cyan
       *Magenta
    *Yellow

Calendar             

  • Development Committee Meeting at 12pm, September 10th
  • Friday, September 12 New Volunteer Orientation at 10am (lead by Hannah)
  • Outreach Committee Meeting at 10am, September 16th
  • Don't Fall Fair, 1-4pm, September 19th (Central Baptist Church)
  • Lucy's one year at Radio Eye, September 24th! :)

Volunteer Birthdays           

Barb McGroarty
Laura Zimmerman
Mel Moser
Nancy Smith
Rose Marie Hackett
DeMarkus Wilson
Ashley Elston
Sarah Causey
Thomas Hafley
 

Community Events


From The Bluegrass Council for the Blind
  • Sept 17th – Medicare Information Seminar – Open to anyone interested in learning more about Medicare and options available during open enrollment. From 2p – 3p. RSVP required 859-259-1834
  • Sept 24th – VIPS Meeting
Check out our Radio Eye bulletin board for more information on these events, brought to us by our volunteers!
  • On The Verge. Much Ado (Central Christian Church)
  • Casablanca Night (Mt. Sterling-Montgomery County Airport)
  • Cyber Seniors (Kentucky Theatre. Free popcorn!)

Special Note

From September through November the Lexington Lions Club will be collecting coats for men, women, and children. Additionally, we will be participating in a drive with the Lighthouse Ministries for gently used men's and women's shoes and new or nearly new socks. Shoes should be tennis shoes or sensible daily shoes--no dress shoes or flip flops. Radio Eye is happy to be a donation site if any of our volunteers would like to bring something in!
 

Recent

  • William Rogers Beasley
  • Tom Dixon
  • Kathleen Imhoff
  • Ted Sisk
  • Frank and Carol Vaughan
  • Edwin and Freida Shoemaker
  • Lanny and Barbara Gott
  • Greg Franklin
  • Jane Blair
  • Robin Gall

    Donors

  • Frankie and Randy Daniel
  • Annette and Derriel Castle
  • M. Carey and Nancy Blaydes
  • Barbara McGroarty
  • IAAIS
  • LFUCG
  • Kentucky School for the Blind Charitable Foundation
Copyright © 2014 Radio Eye, All rights reserved.
Radio Eye is a nonprofit radio reading service for those who are visually impaired or physically disabled.

Our mailing address is:
1733 Russell Cave Road
Lexington, KY 40505

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