Phone: 252.443.7551

Fall 2006

And the Band Plays On...
by David Edwards, Chairman of the Board

The winds continue to blow favorably on our radio reading service.  Our volunteers are nothing short of amazing in their commitment to our print-impaired neighbors and somehow enough money trickles in to keep us chugging along.  DERRS has to be the best example I've ever seen of succeeding by simply doing the right thing.  Thanks again to each of you who contributes in any way to our effort.

A few items that you might find of interest.  New neighbors for DERRS in and around our building include Sam's Club, soon to open on the former Tarrytown Mall site, a new dance studio across the way in a renovated facility, a Christian adoption agency next door, and Action Health Staffing and Home Care Services down the hall.  Wonder if we could get a kick-back from the owners for making this facility so attractive to other tenants?

Our most recent issue of Neighbor to Neighbor described improvements to our transmitter site and increases in our power output.  Seems we "under-boasted."  The tower is, in fact, 600 feet in height and, at last count, the total investment in upping our power to more than 7,000 watts is approaching $100,000.  We are eternally grateful to WUNC for the tremendous support reflected by this project.  Just goes to show what fine partners we have helping us along.

DERRS will host the annual meeting of NCARRS (North Carolina Association of Radio Reading Services) on October 27.  We are honored to bring representatives from other reading services across North Carolina to visit our facility and enjoy some down-east hospitality.

Thanks again to all DERRS volunteers and supporters for maintaining our tradition of excellence.  You continue to make an important difference in the quality of life of our listeners.

Meet Patricia Tessnear, Listener and Volunteer

If you meet her, you will notice her calm, friendly demeanor and soft voice.  If you get to know her, you will find that she is talented, accomplished and manages an enviable balance in her life.  She juggles career, marriage, teenage daughter and volunteer work in the community.  If that's not enough, she is also an accomplished violinist.

Patricia has been blind since birth.  "I'm not gong to let that stop me," she said.  "Like anyone else, there's just too much to do!"

Growing up, she attended The Governor Morehead School for the Blind.  "I learned to play the violin there when I was eight years old," she said.  From there, she earned a degree in English, with a minor in music from Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College).  At East Carolina University, she received a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling.  Her goal has always been to make life better for the blind.

To that end, Patricia has worked as a rehabilitation counselor with the NC Division of Services for the Blind since 1978.  "I work with visually impaired and blind individuals in Edgecombe, Halifax, Nash and Wilson Counties," she explained, "to help them gain employment or remain employed.  We provide training, coordinate job placement, and give help with technical equipment - everything that's involved with vocational rehabilitation."

As further evidence of her commitment to improving the lives of the blind, Patricia is president of the National Federation of the Blind for Wilson County.  "The National Federation is an advocacy group composed of both blind and sighted people," she said.  "We develop programs, encourage legislation, and educate, all with the goal of enhancing opportunities for the blind."

Patricia has been a board member of Down East Radio Reading Service since its inception.  She chairs the committee that initially surveyed potential listeners to determine what they wanted to hear.  "Of course there's news and sports," Patricia said, "but also at the top of the list were grocery ads and obituaries."

"The radio reading service is so important because it gives us a way to be aware of what's going on in our own community and with our own neighbors.  No one wants to be isolated."

Volunteers Appreciation Dinner

Listeners are the reason for this organization - the people who want and need to know what's going on in their hometown but who have no access to local information because of the inability to read printed material, whether by vision or physical impairment.  These listeners are the reason for providing local news and information to the citizens of Edgecombe, Nash and Wilson counties.  To that end, six days a week, volunteer readers are in the radio station cutting, compiling and reading the day's local news.

Volunteers are the driving force behind the organization.  Without them, there would be no service.  Each spring, each and every one of them is thanked for their hard work and dedication to this endeavor by gathering for food, fun, fellowship and entertainment.  The 2006 Volunteers Appreciation Dinner was held in May, with thanks to Pastor Connie Button and the entire congregation, at West Haven Presbyterian church in Rocky Mount.  Congratulations to Mary Oxley on being named Volunteer of the Year!