Education Today

It has been almost a year since the new leadership was named at TRRS and I can't believe that it has flown by so quickly. The energy and enthusiasm are invigorating and some days it seems as though it was just a month ago when I became the Executive Director and not almost a year! Time flies when you are having fun and indeed, Anne Glasser Arella a... nd I and the volunteers have fun every day. We laugh a lot, but we also work at double capacity to navigate our reading "ship" toward a more sustainable future. Triangle Radio Reading Service was founded in 1982 by two very different men both of whom had the same vision. Dr. Ed Funkhouser, a professor at NC State, volunteered time recording magazines for the NC Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Ben Eason, a man who was blinded by an accident in his youth, had listened to a radio reading service while visiting friends. Together, they joined forces to create a reading service in Raleigh for people that might not otherwise have access to news and information. March 21, 1983, TRRS aired the first one hour broadcast of the Raleigh Sun. The signal could just about reach the entire city. 30 years later, we broadcast 24/7 and can be heard via SCA receiver in 20 counties in North Carolina and the signal is broadcast on Time Warner Cable in Raleigh on Channel 22 and on Channel 11 in Cary, Apex and Garner. Recently The Forest at Duke added TRRS to its inhouse cable on Channel 17. And, of course, it is also available as downloadable stream or podcasts from the internet. The internet makes us accessible anytime anywhere and so do applications such as TuneIn on an i-phone! I am proud to report that TRRS provides more than 35 high quality programs which are produced by 150 dedicated volunteers. We have come a long way! Last year, we had the opportunity and privilege to honor Dr. Ed Funkhouser in person and Ben Eason (post humously) at our annual gala, which we called the Pearls of Passion Gala. Pearls are the official 30th anniversary stone. They stand for courage, ...Read More