Reaching
Out...
by Annie Bradberry
Pakistan, Korea, Tokyo, London,
Germany and Belgium. We never
know where the next member is
going to come
or what bit of information we are
going to receive next. With the
advancement of technology, people
who stutter can reach many different
avenues: e-mail, the World Wide
Web, fax, telephone and snail mail.
I am still amazed by it all.
On the home front, over the last
year I sent our Bob Love public
service announcement (PSA) to TV
stations in five
major cities throughout the U.S.
From there it was passed along to
other stations until now it's being
played all over the country. From
August 1995 through January
1996, 595 people called our office
asking for information for
themselves, their spouse, their
child, a grandchild, niece/nephew
and even a coworker.
Out of the 595 calls received,
143 were generated by the PSA.
That is approximately 24% of all
inquiries received! And because this
has been such a great
success, we are now working on
producing our first radio PSA. One
day soon you may hear us on your
favorite radio station as you race
along in your car.
Even though we mail out a
complete information packet to
each person who calls or writes the
NSP, it's still important to talk to
these people personally. For this
reason, we particularly want to
thank the many members who have
helped us with new member and
renewal phone calls: Connie
Dugan, Michael Ward, Ralph
Kessler, Bonnie Weiss, Gail Lew,
Robin Deschamps, Ira Zimmerman,
Monica Paslay, Joseph Diaz, Merv
Kolb, Shannon Skupien, Cliff
Holt, Doris Dembi, Judy Johnson,
Earl Angell, Lee Reeves, Richard
Alvarado, and Susan Reed. Thanks
in part to our callers, we now have
more paid members than we did at
the end of last year's campaign.
By the way, being on the
telephone team is a great way to
simultaneously work on your
speech and meet wonderful people.
Can you remember your first
contact with another NSP member?
I remember mine. Fifteen years ago
California member Pat Feeney
called me after I wrote the NSP
office for information. We are still
great friends today!
Another benefit of being part of
our phone calling team are the little
perks we've added. This year, those
who attend the convention will
receive a free banquet ticket! Those
not planning to attend the
convention will still get nifty NSP
merchandise. And for those helping
with the Spring Drive, we have
additional tokens of appreciation.
Remember, you don't have to live near the office to help out. For
example, when long time NSP
member Merv Kolb wants to give
us a hand, he lets us know, and we
send him a list of people who have
asked about our organization. He
phones them and sends back the
contact information.
Never doubt that a small group
of thoughtful, committed people
can change the world.
Indeed, it's the only thing that
ever has.
Annic Bradbery is the NSP
Director of Development and
Administration.