September 2011 Newsletter

Training Day
35 staff and volunteers attended a very helpful training day in July, facilitated by Sharon Crosbie. Sharon commended us on our broadcasting, acknowledging that what we do ‘is not easy’. She urged us to read with a voice that is ‘pleasant’ to the ear and smacks of ‘thoughtful intelligence’! We are grateful for her input & support of RRS.  
 
Annual general Meeting
The AGM was held on August 29^th and we are pleased to report that the radio Reading Service is ‘in good health’. The service continues through the generous work of the staff, the volunteers, and the board and is financially supported by NZ onAir, donations and grants. The listener base is being expanded by further developing our streaming audio capacity via the improved website. The next board meeting will look at and plan the year ahead. A summary of the annual report can be seen our website

Board members
At the AGM we said farewell and thanks to Noeline Mudge for her contribution to the board over the past 3 years. We are pleased that Noeline will continue as a reader and operator with service. Sue Clapperton has also finished on the board. We thank Sue for her work as treasurer and general contributions.
We welcomed Phil Comber as a new member of the board.
 
Over the next four newsletters we intend to profile the RRS board members, to make them more familiar to you.
 
Ken Sterne first came to Levin in 1962 when he was transferred here to form a team and help install the new
automatic telephone exchange equipment in Devon Street. He later took up a position maintaining the equipment and has been in the area ever since. He has had farming and horticultural interests during his life in the area and then purchased a printing business which together with his wife Nan, he ran for the next 19 years. He has been a Board member since 1998 and has served as Board Chairman for the last seven years.
 
Jim Logan was born in Edinburgh Scotland and grew up and attended school there. His background is engineering and he worked at sea with the Union Steamship Company, at Waikeria Youth Centre and later Horowhenua Hospital. He has lived  in Levin since 1968. He has been Secretary to the RRS board since  2004.
 
Website update
This is near completion and we are currently adding information into it. The new site is easy to follow and can be accessed on http/www.radioreading.co.nz Very shortly the .org.nz site will be discontinued and the new site will take over. On the new site it will be easier to listen on line, to keep up to date with the happenings at RRS, and to note programme changes.
 
Colds and ‘Flu’s 
With winter over we would hope we are near the end of our winter illnesses, but people are still coming down with the flu or colds. Staff have been heroic in filling in the gaps as people are unable to turn up for their reading or operator slots. Roll on summer!