User:Hoezerbelt/Triangle Radio Reading Service

The Triangle Radio Reading Service or TRRS is a non-profit radio reading service for the blind and print impaired in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is the largest in the state, broadcasting to Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham, Granville, Harnett, Lee, Moore, Orange, Person, Randolph, and Wake Counties. It can also be heard in significant parts of Cumberland, Franklin, Guilford, Hoke, Johnston, Montgomery, Nash, Rockingham, Vance, and Warren Counties.

History
TRRS was started in 1982 by two men, Dr. Ed Funkhouser and Ben Eason, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Dr. Ed Funkhouser, a professor at NC State, volunteered time recording magazines for the NC Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. While he felt that this had a great deal of value, he wondered how people who were blind got the in-depth news from the newspapers. After doing some research, he discovered that other states had a radio reading service that did just that, read the newspapers to people who were unable to read it for themselves. He and a student put together a proposal for a reading service and went to the Division of Services for the Blind to request funding. Dr. Funkhouser met another man with a great interest in this type of service while at DSB, a man who would become co-founder of TRRS and would also ultimately make a gift in perpetuity otherwise known as legacy giving.

Ben Eason, a man who was blinded by an accident in his youth, had listened to a radio reading service while visiting friends. He had expressed interest to the Director of DSB, and had been invited to this meeting with Dr. Funkhouser to request funding, which was turned down.

Ben spoke with Ed and they decided to go ahead with the idea. Together they raised the funds necessary to make the reading service a reality. Ben convinced the members of his Lions Club (the Sir Walter Club) to become the founding Board members. Ed was able to convince NCSU to allow the radio reading service to use the sub-channel of WKNC, the student run radio station, and the first broadcast went on the air March 21 of 1983.

The first studios were at the Gateway Plaza on Capital Blvd., concurrent with the NC Lions Foundation, and the first broadcast was for one hour – reading the Raleigh Sun. The signal could just about reach the entire city.

In December of 1988, there was a fire at the studio. The resulting publicity and the insurance payment allowed the service to move into bigger quarters and provide additional hours of broadcasts to more citizens. In 1993 the agency moved into the current Six Forks Rd. location. At that time, WUNC-FM became the signal carrier and the name was changed from Radio Reading Service, Inc. to Triangle Radio Reading Service because now, the entire Triangle was included in the broadcast area.

Since 2008, TRRS has streamed its broadcasts to the internet, and now offers almost every program as an on-demand stream or as a podcast. The streaming on-demand is hosted by i-Biblio, the collaboration between the UNC School of Mass Communication and the UNC School of Library Science. This is a donated service. The podcasts are hosted through LibSyn and that fee is paid for us by a volunteer and Board member.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of TRRS. During FY 2013, a tremendous corps of volunteers, 150 people strong, donated 11,010 hours of time in service to the blind and print impaired. According to the independent sector, one hour of volunteer time is calculated at $21.69. Therefore a total of $238,590 in in-kind contribution of time was recorded. Volunteers read the newspapers, drug and department store ads, magazines, special programs, books and more. In addition, our volunteers serve on our technical committee, program and listeners committee and gala committee to name a few.

TRRS has had three Directors. May Tran, a 13 year veteran of the reading service, was promoted from her post as production and office manager to ED upon the retirement of Linda Ornt in 2012. Linda served from 1997 to 2012. Annette Henry served as the first director on a part-time basis.

The annual operating budget, which supports primarily rent and two salaries, is approximately $150,000 and has remained such for many years. One of the goals moving forward is to increase the staff so that there is adequate back-up and administrative support for the two salaried employees.

TRRS receives funding from a variety of sources including Wells Fargo Foundation, LCI Foundation, Cary Oil Foundation,  White Memorial Presbyterian Church Community Service and Allocations Committee, The Forest at Duke, ,Civic Organizations such as the Cary Lions Club,Durham Lions Club, Downtown Raleigh Lions Club, the Raleigh Kiwanis Foundation,  and program underwriters  such as Carter Glass Insurance Agency, Capitol Broadcasting Company, to name a few.

The Ben Eason Fund of the Triangle Community Foundation (TCF) provides quarterly contributions that currently represent about 18% of the operating budget. In addition, each year TRRS is fortunate to get broadcast sponsorships, which run for a 12 month basis. In 2013, Broadcast Sponsors included Wells Fargo, Kerr Drug, Inc.,Capitol Broadcasting, Durham Lions Club, Sparrowood Jewelers (In-kind), Triangle Wine Company (In-kind), RLCB, Inc. (formerly Raleigh Lions Clinic for the Blind), Bagwell & Bagwell Insurance Co, Moore and Johnson Insurance Company, Baird Wealth Management.

TRRS board is building a New Vision for the next 30 years that includes an ever growing base of program underwriters, new sources of additional funding to support new “reading service” programs for unserved populations such as college students and children under 18 and keeping up with the technological advances that may change the method of signal transmission for those not able to access the internet. Our updated website (March 2013) is thanks to webmaster and volunteer Fred Brack; www.trianglereadingservice.org