In the spring of 2007, the stork brought Minds Eye Information Service the gift of a brand-new bouncing volunteer by the name of Wendy Rust. This “fowl” introduction is in homage to Wendy’s dedication to ornithology. Wendy is an avid bird watcher and a member of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the St. Louis Audubon. Minds Eye is the only non-bird activity Wendy is involved with currently and everybody at the station is “egg-static” to feature her in our volunteer spotlight.

Enough with the bird jokes! When Wendy started volunteering with Minds Eye, she was a substitute reader for the live news and joined the Thursday Live News team in Autumn 2007. When asked what prompted her to start volunteering at the station, Wendy said, “I enjoy reading and language, especially reading aloud. To have the opportunity to do something I like and have others benefit from it, is deeply gratifying...Sighted people take many things for granted like being able to read the morning newspaper or skim through shopping ads. Minds Eye provides such a benefit that I am proud to be a part of it.”

For about two years now, Wendy has been reading The Economist; which was recognized in 2009 by the International Association of Audio Information Services (IAAIS) as being the show most used nationally by other reading services through their Program Share service. Wendy is a devotee of The Economist partly because, “Many times I find that material I read will be covered on
television the next week. I feel good that Minds Eye listeners are already in the know!”

Wendy is a dedicated reader and has established a routine during her tenure with Minds Eye. “I record at the station on Friday mornings. I am a big fan of booth five. It’s larger and I can spread out my printed articles. On Thursday’s, I print out the articles I’m reading for my show, study them like a script, and then bring them in with me.” In order to bring her best performance to her
listeners, “I imagine I am auditioning for NPR.”

Even though this spotlight is to honor Wendy, she wanted to recognize Colin Havard, another volunteer who reads Comment and Commentary and Travelogue. Running into Colin at the station on Fridays when both record is one of the highlights of her volunteer experience. Wendy’s generosity of spirit is exemplary of the many volunteers that keep Minds Eye on the air and informing and entertaining our listeners.

mindsEye...bringing printed words to life