The award-winning Talking Information Center (TIC), a nonprofit reading service located in Marshfield, MA which broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to thousands of print and visually impaired listeners, has engaged the services of Executive Service Corps (ESC) of New England to assist in the development of a strategic plan.
In their alliance with ESC, TIC has embarked on the development of a long-term strategic plan that will serve as a road map to ensure that the organization continues to provide their valued reading services to the visually impaired throughout Massachusetts and beyond.
ESC offers consulting services to the nonprofit community to enable organizations to operate more effectively to meet the needs of their constituencies. ESC consultants Marietta Joseph, Jack Wallace and Ed Haddad make up TIC’s core consulting team. Ms. Joseph recently served as Vice President of MassDevelopment, where she assisted nonprofit organizations with tax-exempt debt financing for capital projects. Mr. Wallace is a seasoned leader, marketer, mentor and business development professional with over 30 years of varied, consulting-based experience working for such national brands as Fidelity Investments, Talbots and General Motors. Mr. Haddad, now retired, is the former Vice President of Intellectual Property at New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc.
“We are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to work with ESC’s distinguished executives Marietta, Jack and Ed,” explained Jim Bunnell, TIC’s Executive Director. “Several areas that we will focus on in the creation of a strategic plan include marketing, finance, funding, organization and governance. Our vision is to evolve TIC to a more professionally organized and financially sound operation.”
With limited government funding, TIC relies on the generosity of donors and operates with the help of more than 600 volunteers statewide and approximately 200 volunteers in their Marshfield studio alone. TIC staff and volunteer readers broadcast local news, articles, and items of interest to listeners to promote independence and enrich quality of life. TIC coordinates a network of affiliates throughout the state to provide broadcasts to blind/visually impaired listeners as well as other individuals with disabilities who do not have access to the written word and who rely on this service. TIC brings not only news and information, but companionship to those who have limited access to the communities in which they live.
About ESC
ESC of New England is a 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit that provides management consulting and capacity building services to other nonprofits in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. ESC’s mission is to enhance the overall impact of the nonprofit community by enabling organizations to operate more effectively to meet the needs of their constituencies. ESC accomplishes this through the provision of affordable, high-impact management consulting and related services by senior level executives and professionals from the private, nonprofit, and public sectors who donate their time and expertise. For more information visit www.escne.org.
About TIC
The Talking Information Center (TIC), a nonprofit reading service located in Marshfield, MA, broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to visually and print-impaired listeners including those suffering from AIDS, Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, stroke, paralysis or other physical illness that makes holding a publication or turning pages impossible. TIC programming may be accessed by specially tuned radio receivers; through AudioNow by calling 712-832-7025; or via live audio stream on the TIC website, www.ticnetwork.org. Listeners with smartphones may download the free TIC app by typing “Talking Information Center” in Apple or in the Google Play store for Android devices.
In 1977, Ed Perry, the founder of radio station WATD-FM in Marshfield, MA, donated his Subsidiary Carrier Authorization signal for use as the first radio reading service in New England. Now reaching 25,000 listeners, TIC broadcasts newspapers, magazines, books, and special consumer information on subjects including medical and stock market updates, jobs, sports, supermarket specials, voting guides, community newspapers, and television programs. TIC also broadcasts cultural programming including old-time radio drama, theater, and poetry.
TIC is a proud member of the International Association of Audible Information Services (IAAIS), and is also the hub of the Massachusetts Reading Network, broadcasting to all of Massachusetts as well as southern New Hampshire and Connecticut. Operating similarly to other broadcast networks, TIC has affiliates throughout the state of Massachusetts that provide inserts of local news and information that is of interest to listeners in their area. TIC is located at 130 Enterprise Drive, (P.O. Box 519), in Marshfield, MA 02050. For more information visit www.ticnetwork.org or call (781) 834-4400.
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