FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Tempe, AZ, April 1, 2009

TWO SUN SOUNDS OF ARIZONA VOLUNTEER READERS PROCLAIM, "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE!"

Good ideas come in many forms, and sometimes the seeds of ideas for our programs sprout from simple conversations. That’s what happened when two friends, both volunteer readers at Sun Sounds, started chatting about their lifestyle as retirees. Gary Glenner and Herb Isaac met through a mutual friend. In getting to know each other, Herb, a retired radio broadcaster, talked about his work as a volunteer reader at Sun Sounds of Arizona. Gary, retired from computer sales and a volunteer with the Alzheimer’s Association, found that intriguing, and became a Sun Sounds volunteer too.

As their friendship grew their conversation often turned to the other interests that retirement now allowed them to pursue. Herb and his wife spend summers back in Chicago with their family. Gary and his wife travel and spend time with their grandchildren. They also realized that in preparing for retirement, they received all the standard benefits and financial advice, but one thing was lacking - psychological advice on how to handle retirement. “When your life and identity are built around a profession, how to you go from working one day and not working the next. What do you do now? How do you make the psychological transition to retirement?” said Herb.

Together they designed a Sun Sounds program to help people embrace retirement with a love of life and time. That’s what “It’s a Wonderful Life” is all about. Gary and Herb share articles, jokes, and antidotes, as well as an occasional stroll back in time, all to demonstrate that retirement can be fun, full of life and very rewarding. Their program can be heard on Sun Sounds of Arizona at sunsounds.org/listen, and in the Phoenix metro area on HD radio 91.5 Channel 3, on the third Saturday of the month at 11am.

“It’s A Wonderful Life” and the nearly 200 other programs on Sun Sounds of Arizona are designed for people who cannot use printed material due to a disability. Sun Sounds radio reading service is available at no cost to any eligible person – including people with vision loss, arthritis, neuromuscular diseases, spinal cord injuries, or temporary illness that makes holding or reading printed material difficult.

For additional information about this release, contact:

Heidi Capriotti
Marketing Coordinator, Sun Sounds of Arizona
2323 W. 14th St., Tempe, AZ 85281-6950
480-774-8300
heidi.capriotti@riomail.maricopa.edu

About Sun Sounds of Arizona Sun Sounds of Arizona, established in 1979, is a radio reading and information access service for people who cannot read print due to a disability. A community outreach service of Rio Salado College’s Division of Public Service, Sun Sounds and 500 volunteers across the state provide information access free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week using special radios, designated cable systems, telephone and the internet.