[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 73 (Tuesday, June 13, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S5024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO THE TELEPHONE PIONEERS OF AMERICA

 Mr. L. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I want to take a moment to pay 
tribute to the Telephone Pioneers of America. This tremendous volunteer 
organization has provided 40 years of volunteer labor service to the 
repair of talking-book machines for the National Library Service for 
the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress, 
Washington, D.C. Since 1960, the Pioneers have provided over $70 
million worth of volunteer labor and have repaired nearly 2 million 
machines. More than a half-million blind and physically disabled 
individuals benefit from this outstanding volunteer repair service. In 
Rhode Island alone, Pioneers have volunteered 27,186 hours and repaired 
17,146 machines since 1986.
  The Pioneers are a good-will organization of a million people. This 
international organization is led by President Irene Chavira of U.S. 
West, Senior Vice President, Harold Burlingame of AT&T, and Executive 
Director and Chief Operating Officer James Gadd of Bell South. The 
organization is further supported by countless special people who make 
up the association, headquarters advisory board, and sponsoring 
companies.
  Concerning the talking-book program itself, there are 1,500 Pioneer 
men and women who work on talking-book repair. They consist of 
volunteer personnel from AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Bell South, Lucent 
Technologies, Southwestern Bell Corporation, SBC, Communications, Inc., 
and U.S. West. They are ably supported by their Pioneer Vice Presidents 
and are also ably assisted by regional coordinators.
  Through the generosity of the sponsoring companies, talking-book 
repair Pioneers are provided facilities in which they repair the 
equipment. Further, they are provided funding for tools, while the 
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped 
provides testing equipment and parts for necessary repairs. The Pioneer 
organization also ensures talking-book coordinator leadership, 
including administrative support, management support for the program, 
and funding for travel to training and for recognition events.
  The talking-book machines provided by the National Library Services 
to blind and visually impaired Americans are nothing less than a 
lifeline. Profound vision loss and blindness can seem like an 
insurmountable obstacle to what most of us take for granted, reading. 
We live in the information age, but for blind and visually impaired 
individuals, most information would be out of reach if it were not for 
the availability of specially designed talking-book machines. With 
talking-book machines, and other forms of assistive technology, blind 
boys and girls, men and women are reading for pleasure, for academic 
achievement, and for professional advancement.
  Volunteerism is one of the greatest of all American virtues, and most 
who given their time for the benefit of others, do so without hope of 
fanfare. The Telephone Pioneers of America truly have sounded a clarion 
call for all other volunteer organizations to follow by responding to 
those in need, and I commend them for it.

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