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CARTMILL'S
GOLDEN VOICE JUST RIGHT FOR 'GOLDEN HOURS'
Ellen Ast
The Hillsboro Argus
August 28, 2003
Addiction
treatment and radio may not have much in common. Yet Andrew
Cartmill has a voice for both.
A
Washington County senior program educator since 1997, his
life is a whirlwind of outreach and public speaking about
drug, alcohol, gambling addictions. He does about 70 presentations
each year for the county.
To
escape the rigors of his job and life, "Andy," 40,
says he needs to get a little bit silly sometimes, including
over the radio.
When
the Tigard resident closes the door to a tiny recording room
at OPB studios on Macadam Avenue in Portland, it's between
him, a microphone and a good book.
Cartmill's
latest read for a 60-minute segment of Oregon Public Broadcasting
radio's "Golden Hours" show is the final episode
of "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" by Mildred D.
Taylor.
"Golden
Hours" is a radio information service for disabled individuals
throughout Oregon, catering mostly to the blind population.
All content on "Golden Hours" is provided by volunteers
like Cartmill.
Born
in Bend to Fred and Margaret Cartmill, and brother to six
siblings, he graduated from Oregon State University in 1985
with a bachelor of arts degree in Community Health - Health
Education. He then moved to Beaverton, where he worked for
Oregon Traffic Safety Now, a sate-organized coalition; and
ETHIX Risk Management.
Cartmill
lives with Amy, his wife of 17 years, and two children, Sara,
13, and Alex, 9.
He
appeared on around 30 aired public service radio commercials
around the state and in Washington County, including on KUIK
radio, and is on cable-access television public service announcements,
including LiveLink.
He
said he chose Taylor's book because it deals with racism in
the South during the 1930s. Since 1996, he has picked books
he considers classics. These are Newberry Award winners, books
he skipped as a youth and material containing rich story material
and lessons.
"I'm
helping people and I enjoy what I do," Cartmill said.
"I don't see myself not doing this. I like knowing that
I provide a good service, and people look forward to listening
to this on Saturday, so I feel I have an obligation, too."
"Golden
Hours" was aired for the first time 30 years ago by producer
Gram Archer, who wanted to provide a nostalgic storytelling
program for the elderly.
Since
1989, 52-year-old Jerry DeLaunay, program director for "Golden
Hours," has maintained the show's original mission: Listening
to the radio of years gone by.
"If
you take a look at all the information in writing that some
people can't see, we provide that in a balanced, direct way,"
said DeLaunay.
Blind
since birth, DeLaunay lives in Portland with his wife Holly,
also blind. At the studio, his two seeing-eye dogs, Primo
and Iris, keep him company. (Ed. Note: Actually, Primo
is John Stiers' dog.)
"It's
fun to listen to Andy read. He's one of my favorites. Volunteers
have fun reading and listeners have fun hearing it,"
DeLaunay added.
Cartmill
learned of "Golden Hours" from his voice training
instructor in the mid-1990s. He says he enjoys voice work,
demonstrating an ability with character voices used while
reading "cold" (without first reviewing the text)
from books for the program.
Cartmill
does not plan to quit his "day job." He said his
county work gives opportunities as well to use his voice for
public service.
"I've
got to figure out a message to get out there that people will
listen to. When I put it out there, I make sure when people
do need help, they know where they can go."
"Golden
Hours" may be heard 24 hours a day, seven days a week
at www.opb.org on the Internet,
or by tuning in from 5 a.m. all day until 1 a.m. on Channel
10's Second Audio Programming (SAP) service. Cartmill's segment
airs from noon to 1 p.m. Saturdays.
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