Volunteer Spotlight

Rodney Hoffman saw an ad for RFB in "Scientific American," but there was no recording studio in Houston, where he lived at the time. A few years after Rodney started graduate school at USC, he signed up with RFB&D-LA. That has now been 25 years, and Rodney has been volunteering ever since! He currently teaches introductory and intermediate level Computer Science classes at Occidental College in the Department of Mathematics. Rodney also assists NASA scientists at Cal Tech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is a long-time member and activist in Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR).

Mel Shader has been a force for change for RFB&D for 25 years, when he first heard about the organization in a PSA calling for math readers. Chair of RFB&D's board of directors for three years and once a member of the national Technology Board, Mel is the "father" of the now twenty-year-old South Bay studio! Mel helped guide RFB&D through the digital changeover, and pioneered the "at-home" recording process where he does most of his volunteering today. A former math teacher who has always cared deeply about education, and the only man we know that can actually whistle Mozart, Mel continues to help science students with his work at RFB&D.

Charles Silverberg is celebrating his 26th year of volunteering! Charles graduated from Stanford University and Stanford Law School, and had a private entertainment law practice representing actors, producers, directors, screenwriters, published authors, and production companies for 50 years. He saw an ad in the Los Angeles Daily Journal in 1982, and became a weekly law reader ever after. Charles is somewhat of a Renaissance man: while studying electric jazz guitar he has also been collecting antique inkwells and inkstands for 30 years (many of them donated to permanent museum collections); he bicycles on the beach, travels extensively, and has been married to his wife Louise for 50 years, having two sons and one grandchild!

Larry Heineman has been volunteering for RFB&D-LA for 30 years! And talk about family ties, Larry's first brush with RFB&D occurred when his mother, Ann, began volunteering at the Hollywood studio. In fact, Ann remains a Member Emeritus on our board of directors! From an early age, Larry was involved with the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce, contributing his time to the Big Brothers organization before obtaining his Bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon and his MPA from the University of Colorado. He continues to volunteer every Saturday in the Hollywood studio and spends time with his wife and two sons when he isn't giving his time to RFB&D.

OUR GOLDEN VOLUNTEER Left to right: Maury Hill Carol Smith, E.D. Kent Shocknek, CBS2-TV

Hollywood studio volunteer Maurice Hill, the first nationally to reach 54 years of volunteering, has passed away at age 89, from a stroke. Maury, whose friendly face, loving nature and mellifluous voice filled the Hollywood studio every Wednesday morning for as long as anyone can remember, now leaves an empty space in the hearts of all who knew him. His generosity and sense of humor were built-in to his humanity. He brightened the days of staff members, while bringing a sense of real caring to the many students over the last half century who used his recordings to succeed in school.

Maury is one of very few volunteers who recorded audio textbooks for students onto records, reel-to-reel tapes, and then made the transition to digital recording. An actor and writer since 1948, he worked on television and the stage in New York and Los Angeles. In 1953, a casting director in Los Angeles noticed Maury's rich speaking voice, and suggested he might want to think about volunteering for RFB. She ended up casting Maury in his role as an RFB&D-LA volunteer. . .for life! Maury told us he always learned "a little something" while volunteering each week, even when recording one of the more tedious textbooks, and said he wouldn't change anything for the world!

Maury was honored by RFB&D-LA as their first and only 50-year Golden Volunteer in 2003, and a little later was awarded the Excellence in Education Award by United States Senator Barbara Boxer, in recognition of significant contributions to education. He was also featured in AARP Magazine's January, 2006 issue.