May / June 2021 | Volume 39 Issue 3

Save The Date! Virtual Coffee Bar: May 12 (Development Update), 19, 26  June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 The All Stars Band benefiting Audio-Reader: Saturday, May 29th, 4-7 PM Audio-Reader at Top Golf June 13th, 2-5 pm  Virtual Audio Sale: June 17th at 6 pm via Zoom Virtual Book Club: June 8: The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert July 13: The Good Lord Bird by James McBride August 10: Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Denticat NEW ZOOM LINK kansas.zoom.us/j/93204272208 Password: 8644600 Dial in by phone (audio only): 312-626-6799 Meeting ID: 932 0427 2208 New Trellis in Audio-Reader Sensory Garden The entrance to Audio-Reader's Sensory Garden received a new look this month! Local aspiring Eagle Scout, Connor Ireland, along with the assistance of Boy Scout Troop 55, built a new trellis and paved an extended brick path at the entrance of the garden. Connor is a Senior at Lawrence High School and chose the Sensory Garden for his Eagle Scout Project. The trellis is constructed from upcycled telephone poles and includes wiring to allow for flowering vines. We invite you to visit the garden to see the hard work of Connor Ireland and Troop 55. The garden is beginning to bloom with beautiful spring plants and flowers made possible by the hard work of our garden volunteers under the supervision of head garden volunteer Frank Male. Thank you, Connor and Troop 55 for the beautiful Sensory Garden entrance!

Sensory Garden Party Pictures

Audio-Reader staff and volunteers had a lovely time visiting in the Sensory Garden during Volunteer Appreciation Week! The weather wasn't always a warm, but it was dry and we are grateful it didn't snow!!

Program Manager, Nick Carswell visits with volunteers Austin Turney and Helen Martin in the Sensory Garden. There is a bed of small white and purple flowers to their right. The greenery from trees forms the background of the picture with a dark green bench and picnic table behind the group.

In the background Master Gardener, Frank Male chats with volunteer Randy Austin. In the foreground Nick Carswell visits with volunteer Carl Graves and to the left Meredith Johanning, Assistant Development Director talks with volunteer Dee Dee Eccles. The Audio-Reader Baehr Building and a blue ski with fluffy white clouds is the backdrop to the photo.

Outreach Coordinator, Lori Kesinger and Meredith Johanning visit with Frank Male and volunteer Roberta Renz. Volunteer and former staff member, Billie Archer stands in the background. There are yellow flowers to the left of the group and pink and red tulips to the right.

Live Music Event Benefiting Audio-Reader

Kick off Memorial Weekend by taking in live music from The All Stars Band, featuring Audio-Reader listener William Hawkins on the drums! During this event, we will be celebrating milestone birthdays for three Audio-Reader staff: Nick Carswell, Meredith Johanning and Beth McKenzie, who all turn 40 during the month of May. May 29th, 4-7 pm Z & M Twisted Vines Vineyard Come sit outside, listen to live music and sip on some local wine. This is an outdoor event with plenty of space to spread out. While this live music event is free, we ask that you consider making a donation to Audio-Reader. To have some fun with the birthday kids, we suggest making a donation in honor of the A-R staff turning 40 years young, with donation amounts in birthday increments such as $40 or $81 (the year they were born). We can't wait to see you for this fun (and safe) outdoor event benefiting Audio-Reader.

Outreach Project

Audio-Reader is launching a new Outreach Project in Northeast Kansas. The map to the left highlights the focus area of this pilot project. Our goal is to engage community partners, publications, listeners and potential listeners in this underserved area while creating an outreach template we can deploy in other communities across Kansas and Missouri.​

By the end of this project we hope to: Connect with listeners and improve our service to them. Learn more about the post-COVID needs of our audience. Deepen our community relationships with listeners & partners. Maximize on our strengths and existing efforts. If you have connections to this area and are willing to answer a few questions please reach out to Lori Kesinger at lrk@ku.edu. If you are excited about the project and want to join our team, Nick Carswell (nickcarswell@ku.edu) will get you information about our meetings!

Audio-Reader at Top Golf!

A NEW Event Benefiting Audio-Reader Join us for a fun afternoon, with presenting sponsor McDaniel-Knutson Financial Partners! Sunday, June 13, 2-5pm  Topgolf, Overland Park Learn More Here!

Enjoy hitting golf balls from your own climate-controlled bay (similar to your own section of a driving range). We'll have some friendly competition with our tournament games and relish in much-needed safe, social time - all while helping to raise crucial funds for Audio-Reader. We hope you can join us for a fun afternoon benefiting Audio-Reader.

Virtual Coffee Bar: NEW LINK

It's hard to imagine we have been hosting our weekly Virtual Coffee Bar events over Zoom for more than a year now! We have a new zoom link for our calls, see below! We love the opportunity to stay in touch with our volunteers, and chit chat about everything going on with us all. If you have not joined yet, please feel free to log on and join via Zoom, any Wednesday. May 12th Discussion Topic: Development Update Occasionally we invite guests or have a specific topic to discuss, and this week Development Director Beth McKenzie will be giving a development update. Join us for the news at 2pm Wednesday over Zoom. There will still be plenty of time to talk about our gardening, pets and food updates from the week, but we're excited to also share news about Development Zoom Meeting link  kansas.zoom.us/j/93204272208 Password 8644600

Audio Editing & Production Training

Are you interested in learning how to edit and "jazz up" your recordings? Join us for this training and learn how to not only edit but also add production elements to your Audio-Reader programs! Volunteer Steve Grimm will demonstrate how he produces his Saturday Lawrence Journal World recordings. If you haven't already, you should listen to his show HERE! We are also launching a new volunteer opportunity. The new volunteer position includes editing, adding music, renaming and saving files for broadcast. Join this training - the first step to becoming an audio-editor/producer for Audio-Reader! Tuesday, May 25th 12:30 PM via Zoom https://kansas.zoom.us/j/95463240801 Password: 8644600 This training is geared towards volunteers who are using Audacity or Audition and an external microphone to record their programs.

Audio-Reader Network | reader.ku.edu

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