After retiring from a long career in management with Kraft Foods/Altria, I was interested in being of service to the community. Through the online bulletin board Bexar Necessities, I learned about the Low Vision Resource Center and Owl Radio.
The Low Vision Resource Center is a nonprofit offering resources and community for people with impaired vision. One of those resources is Owl Radio, where I work as the program coordinator.
At Owl Radio, our volunteers read local and national publications for those with low or no vision and those who are print-impaired. We have a long-standing format with local, state, and world news in the first hour and arts and entertainment news, life tributes, business news, opinions and editorials, and our listeners’ birthdays in the second hour. We also play pre-recorded 30-minute programs produced by our volunteers who read periodicals such as AARP magazine and Prevention magazine.
One of the biggest parts of my job is coordinating the volunteer schedule for the readers and recorders who read for Owl Radio. Because of them, we can air live broadcasts each day from 9-11 a.m., with an additional hour on Sundays. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, our volunteer readers came into our office studio an hour before airtime on their designated days to prepare their reading materials. That meant cutting articles out of the paper, then determining who would read which articles and ultimately, making their way into the studio to air and record the broadcast. It was a well-oiled machine. Then, the pandemic hit.
Our readers were no longer allowed to record in the studio. Like so many organizations at that time, we had to pivot, which for us meant requiring our readers to record remotely using whatever equipment they might have, including smartphones. Our volunteers quickly learned how to record themselves and get their programs to us in a timely manner, and Lisa Miele, the Low Vision Resource Center’s executive director, made sure it was a smooth transition.
Now, we are hybrid, with some readers coming into the studio others remaining remote. Miele and I share the programming duties which means one of us is responsible for electronically receiving and loading the files sent in by our remote readers into our software, listening to and adjusting those recordings as needed, electronically loading them into Wave Cart and starting the broadcast promptly at 9 a.m. We have it down to a science at this point.
Another important part of the resource center is the Low Vision Club, which promotes independence for people with limited or no vision. The club’s monthly meetings allow members to share their personal experiences, participate in educational discussions and receive hands-on support. Importantly, both Owl Radio and the Low Vision Club help combat isolation among people with low vision.
The Low Vision Club sponsors San Antonio’s annual Low Vision Expo and Symposium, our annual expo which draws vendors from the area who are interested in displaying their information, services and goods related to the visually impaired community. We usually attract vendors such as Vibrant Works, National Federation of the Blind, San Antonio Independent Living Services, Texas Talking Book Program, San Antonio Low Vision Clinic, Rosenberg School of Optometry, and the Retinal Consultants. The next expo is scheduled for April 6.
Though I am always “on call” to a certain extent, I am usually in the office two and a half days per week. That flexibility is a plus for me because my wife and I love to travel from time to time. As long as we travel to reasonable time zones, I can still do my job!
Working with the volunteers is hands down my favorite part of the job. Volunteers include readers with permanent days and times and those who substitute when the permanent readers are unavailable. I have watched long-term friendships form through volunteer experiences and can count many as my personal friends.
It is also rewarding to hear from our listeners about how we have played a small role in making their days better. One listener recently called just to say that she listens because she is comforted by someone reading to her. It is nice to get that kind of validation and know we’ve made a difference.
All our services at Owl Radio and the Low Vision Club are offered at no cost. We rely on grants and donations to keep the resource center up and running. Currently, we are in a transition period and need to find a permanent space that can house our office and studio as we continue to grow. For more information on how to volunteer or donate to the work we do, please visit our website.
