Holiday Greeting

As we see this year come to a close, we think about all the ups and downs the year has brought us. At Sun Sounds in Tempe we said goodbye to Margie Zebell when she retired after 30 years of service to Sun Sounds. We welcomed Mike Hayden as the new Operations Manager.

We mourned the passing of Tony Keras, our control room engineer from Tempe. Volunteers who have passed away this year include Joyce Totlis, and past volunteer, Milton Wiener from Tempe, Regina Gershater from Flagstaff, Joyce Reidy, "Cactus" Jack Trustman, and Herb Erickson from Tucson.

We recruited 70 new volunteers who are eager to give of their talents. We hosted three profitable beer festivals, and saw revenue increase at each one. We won five programming awards at the annual IAAIS Conference. We launched another search for a Yuma Coordinator. Sun Sounds Ambassadors spoke to hundreds of new listeners and thousands of community members. We started crafting the Strategic Plan that will serve as our road map for the next five years. We began promoting iBlink Radio, the free Android and Apple app that streams Sun Sounds. And we helped volunteers save time and gas by teaching them to record programs at home.

Every year is a good year - because our volunteers care. We could not serve 49,000 people with disabilities without YOU! The time you give in the office, engineering, broadcast, and outreach makes our radio reading service possible.

Thank you all for your service.
Happy holidays,
Andrea

Job Opportunity: Yuma Coordinator

Sun Sounds of Arizona is seeking a part-time coordinator for its Yuma operations. The qualified candidate will help to identify and acquire funding and community partners, assist in the provision of reading and information access locally, and assist in finding appropriate space for permanent offices and studios in Yuma County.

For more information on the job posting, go to sunsounds.org/about/employment.
To apply, send an email to Bill Pasco with your resume with a cover letter which demonstrates your written communication skills and persuades Sun Sounds to hire you over all other candidates.

Reaching Out

by Heidi Capriotti, Marketing Coordinator

With a statewide Marketing and Outreach staff of one full time and one part-time person, we simply could not find and serve new listeners without the help of many volunteer Ambassadors.Here are a few statistics from our Tempe Ambassador efforts this year:

• 36 Tempe volunteers currently serve as Ambassadors.
• This year they led 43 presentations at assisted living communities, health fairs, expos, and conventions this year, where they registered more than 200 new members, and
• 5 volunteers regularly work in the Outreach office, keeping our 49,000 member records current.

Happy and Merry

by Mike Hayden, Operations Manager

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday, a merry Christmas, a happy New Year, happy Channukah, a merry Kwanza, a happy Diwali, and a wonderful Festivus! It has been an interesting year so far here at Sun Sounds. My goal going into 2012 is to make Sun Sounds the best it can be. Be on the lookout for improvements large and small.

I want to give a special Christmas shout-out to my Operations team in Tempe of Bruce Halperin, Jeannie Ost, Duart Martin, Bruce "Bruiser" Drummond, Roy Weinberg, Sue Casey, Ben Hoff, Perviz Walji, Ann Miles, Joe Mead, Kevin Palmer, & "Desert" Mike McFadden. You guys are fantastic. I couldn't do it without you.
On that note once again have a happy and safe holiday!

Great Arizona Beer Festival

Wondering what to give the craft beer drinker on your list? How about a ticket to the Great Arizona Beer Festival on Saturday, March 3, 2012?

Now through December 24 all VIP tickets are just $75 (a $10 savings), and includes free admission to the Great Arizona Craft Beer Judging held prior to the Festival. Buy tickets at azbeer.com/tempe_tickets

I Need You

We need 500 volunteers to help make the Great Arizona Beer Festival a huge fundraising success for Sun Sounds. Save the date and plan to volunteer on Saturday, March 3, 2012. Bring friends, family, and coworkers (must be 21+ years old).

Contact Andrea at apasquale@sunsounds.org or sign up to volunteer at azbeer.com/volunteer.

Holiday Hours

• Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24 - Holiday programming beginning at 1pm.
• Christmas Day, Sunday, December 25 - Morning paper, holiday programming for the rest of the day, studios closed.
• New Year's Eve, Saturday, December 31 - Regular schedule.
• New Year's Day - Sunday, January 1 - Paper recorded in morning, studios closed.

Flagstaff: Eleanor's Desk

Eleanor Mooney will be out on FMLA leave through February. Pat Carus is now working in the Flagstaff office five days a week.

Tucson: Mitzi's Desk

Happy holidays to all. I am hoping that all of you have the nicest holidays, a very happy New Year, and that we all really have a good and healthy 2012.

Thank you to all of the volunteers this year who made the Great Tucson Beer Festival such a success. We cleared $105,000 and that is great for the Tucson station. Thank you so much to our event board that worked so hard and made it the success that it was. The 2012 beer festival will be on October 6.

Soon we will set the date of the volunteer recognition dinner. Please pencil it in on your calendars for the end of April or the very beginning of May.

See you all in the new year; we will all be back to work in the new year on January 3. I am really looking for a GREAT upcoming year.

From Doug Martz and Molly Stockton

From Doug in Tucson

As one year passes and the New Year begins, I am still, as always, amazed at Sun Sounds' volunteers' dedication and generosity. You remind me of the central theme of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol:" The spirit of Christmas lives all 365 days of the year. Sun Sounds volunteers give the priceless gift of their time every day, all year, every year, enriching the lives of countless people. I know our listeners are very grateful for the difference you make in their lives.

From Molly in England
Dear Sun Sounds of Arizona volunteers,
Earlier this week I sent an email greetings card to each one of you, also to my family and friends. From various reliable sources I've learned that one of the following happened:

1. You received it and opened the attachment easily (very, very few)
2. You received it and opened the attachment with difficulty, possibly having to use Real Player (one that I know of)
3. You received it but nothing would open it
4. You never received it; it's floating in cyberspace (most of you)

So now, without the sleigh bells, Santa Claus (Father Christmas here), pretty English robins, or any decorations at all, I greet you from across the pond and thank you for your loyalty to Sun Sounds. Whether you read regularly or have been on stand-by, you are all so precious to me.

I never thought that, having left Tucson in August 2010 to settle permanently in my home town of Southampton, Hampshire, in central southern England, I'd still be the Volunteer Coordinator today. But I am, and still enjoy the contact with you.

Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, another festival, or nothing at all, I have to use this time of year to thank you and wish you all happiness and a wonderful New Year. (And I'm really sorry about that card; it had sound and music and was cute. Oh, well!!) With best wishes to all and heartfelt thanks for being there for Sun Sounds and for me.

Tempe: Programming & Volunteers

New Volunteers

Vy Armour, Jesús Gastélum, Joan Penrod, and Karen Spencer

Thank you to the following Tempe Ambassadors for volunteering at December's Vision Rehabilitation and Technology Expo (VRATE):
Dawn and Tom Leinfelder, Dick Lovins, Morrie Hesch, David Hale, Herb Isaacs, Bill Diekmann, Roy Weinberg, and Mike McFadden.

To Print or Not To Print

If you are receiving this newsletter in print and would like to receive it via e-mail, please e-mail apasquale@sunsounds.org.

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