For Immediate Release: Wednesday, July 11, 2012
For More information, contact Leslie Davies, (954) 522-5057
“BOARD OF INSIGHT FOR THE BLIND NAMES COREY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”
[Fort Lauderdale, Fla.] – By a unanimous vote, the Board of Directors of Insight for the Blind named Matthew Corey as its new executive director. Corey has been with Insight since 2003 and will follow Caroline Mansur in the position. Mansur was named founder and chairperson emeritus. Mansur and a small group of friends founded the agency in 1975 and she served as executive director until her retirement this past May. Insight produces recordings of books and magazines for the Library of Congress Talking Books programs and also distributes these products through the Florida Blind Services in Daytona, Beach. Talking books serve the blind, visually impaired and handicapped who have a problem reading printed materials.
Matt Corey has a long and somewhat inadvertent history with Insight for the Blind: “All through my childhood, we drove by Insight on my way to music lessons at the old Broward Band building right across the street. I always wondered what went on in there!” In 2003, Matt finally got a tour of Insight and was hired that same day by Mansur, to lead Insight through the transition to Digital Talking Book (DTB) creation and eventually to digital magazine production. At the time, all of Insight’s recorded magazines were produced on open-reel tape. “I was always impressed with how skilled the volunteers were in the analog realm. We take for granted how easy it is to make a correction now…to insert a sentence or a caption. That wasn’t the case with a reel to reel recorder. An omission like that might have meant reading a whole side of tape over again.”
Matt is most proud of the quality of Insight’s work. “The research and preparation that our staff and volunteers do before even setting foot into a recording studio is what allows us to maintain such a high level of quality. Word lists for pronunciations of uncommon names and places are not optional when you are reading a magazine like National Geographic Traveler or Smithsonian, they are mandatory, and we do this for every title we produce – every month! The technical side of things changes all the time…new specifications, new tools, new technology… but the work that goes into the pre-production of these books and magazines is still done mostly with pencil, paper, telephone, and an entire wall full of reference materials that we have accumulated over the years.”
Matt holds both a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in Applied Music from the University of Miami, and remains very active in the arts outside of Insight’s friendly confines, as a composer, sound designer, and performing musician. In 2011, Matt won his fourth Carbonell award for “Best Sound Design”, the region’s highest theatrical honor, and is a bassoonist for the Boca Raton Symphonia.
There is a strong, familial atmosphere here. I feel so fortunate to have worked alongside Caroline (Mansur), and to have been privy to her vision, and passion, for Insight. With our current staff and board, I know that we can grow: and even expand on that vision. This is an exciting time for us and I will work in earnest to make sure that Insight expands our program outreach and becomes a more visible part of the community, Corey when on to say.
Insight for the Blind is a 501 (c) (3) public charity and your contributions are tax deductible. For more information or to learn how to volunteer just two hours per week please visit www.insightfortheblind.org.