The award-winning Talking Information Center (TIC), a non-profit reading service based in Marshfield, MA, which broadcasts 24 hours a day to thousands of visually impaired and otherwise disabled listeners, has appointed Anna Dunbar as Assistant Executive Director.
In her new role, Ms. Dunbar will oversee financial operations, development and marketing at TIC. She will work alongside TIC’s Executive Director, Jim Bunnell and the Board of Directors to achieve the organization’s goals for continued financial stability, while enhancing the impact and mission of its program.
Previously, Ms. Dunbar served as the Financial Manager at Gateway Arts, a service of Vinfen, located in Brookline, and as Director of Operations at Galerie d’Orsay of Newbury Street, Boston. Prior to that, Ms. Dunbar worked at Graham Waste Services of Cohasset where she had been promoted to Office Manager for the last two of the seven years she was with the company.
Ms. Dunbar holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from Bridgewater State University. In her free time, she volunteers at Rock Steady Boxing, a non-contact boxing fitness program for people suffering with Parkinson’s disease, located in Marshfield.
A native of Scituate, Ms. Dunbar resides in Rockland.
Reaching New Audiences
According to the National Federation of the Blind, 136,500 people of all ages in Massachusetts reported to have a visual disability in 2013. Two out of three aging Americans confront vision loss. Others who experience vision problems are living with AIDS, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, stroke, paralysis and other physical ailments that make it difficult to hold a publication or turn its pages. Approximately 10,000 people turn 65 every day in the U.S. and in Massachusetts, 34 percent of people with disabilities are 65 and older. Military veterans are seeking programs that have a ‘veteran’s voice’.
TIC has thousands of blind/visually impaired listeners statewide, yet there is a broader audience who can benefit. There are a growing number of seniors and veterans seeking informational, entertaining broadcasts that just aren’t available elsewhere, and that’s where TIC comes in.
TIC operates with the help of more than 600 volunteers statewide and approximately 200 volunteers in their Marshfield studio alone, broadcasting newspapers, magazines, books, special consumer information, medical and stock market updates, jobs, sports, supermarket specials, voting guides, community newspapers, and television programs. They also offer cultural programming such as old-time radio drama, theater, and poetry. Two of TIC’s newest shows include Veterans Voice Radio and Veterans Voice Story Hour, which are specifically geared toward military veterans and their families.
About TIC
The Talking Information Center (TIC), a non-profit reading service located in Marshfield, MA, broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to visually-impaired and print-handicapped 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 several ways: via live audio stream at www.ticnetwork.org, by utilizing a specially tuned radio receiver; through AudioNow by calling 712-832-7025 from a home or cell phone; or by smartphone app. 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.
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.
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. 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, Marshfield, MA 02050. For more information visit www.ticnetwork.org or call (781) 834-4400.
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