Tips & Surprises for That Keith Wann Show's Fans

 

 Being a guest on That Keith Wann Show… Cultural Bridges with Keith and his co-host, Windell "Wink" Smith, last Wednesday night was the most fun I’ve ever had on a radio show!

If you’re not familiar with it, this is a weekly internet radio show geared toward the Deaf community with the theme of bridging between the Deaf and Hearing cultures. The format is the typical audio, but there’s a chat room in which the show is being closed captioned and also a chat area for readers and listeners to interact with each other and the hosts. An audio podcast is uploaded shortly afterward. Later, an ASL interpreted video version is uploaded to Keith’s Vimeo website.

We had a lot of fun and it was an opportunity for people to learn more about the upcoming ASL Community Cruise, the CruisEUs interpreter conference cruise, our agency, how we first got involved with the Deaf community and a promised surprise for those going on either of those mentioned trips!

The hour flew by so quickly that we were in the middle of sharing some travel tips for Keith and Wink’s fans that I promised to post them. Here are 12 tips for Keith and Wink's fans:

Packing:

• Electrical power strip (there’s only 1 outlet in the cabin!)
• Zip lock bags (use them for liquid, wet & dirty items)
• Highlighter (mark what you want to do the next day on the ship’s newsletter)
• Safety pins (a “quick fix” for broken buttons, snaps & zippers)
• Extra batteries (better too many than not enough)
• One dollar bills (tipping for room service & other times when a dollar or two is good to have for tipping on the cruise, hotel, in the airport or in the port)

 Luggage Protection:

•  Be sure you have a luggage tag attached to the handle.
•  Attach a bow, ribbon or some other unique item to your suitcase so it stands out.
•  If flying, leave a paper inside your luggage that has your name, address, phone number, cruise line, ship & cruise itinerary on it.

 TSA Airport Security:

•  Remember “3-1-1” which means all liquids and gels that you carry with you into the plane must be in containers no larger than 3 ounces and all bottles must fit into ONE 1-quart Ziploc bag.

 Workshop Survival:

•  Grab a few cookies or a piece of fruit from the buffet at lunch for a mid-afternoon snack

Documents:

• A state-issued birth certificate is a valid form of citizenship. (The one from the hospital that has the cute footprints is NOT valid for travel!)

Did you hear about the surprise? Connie George Travel Associates is going to give an “ASL Rocks!” gift bag to everyone who books onto one of these two cruises by June 24. And we think it’s fairest to also include a bag for everyone who has already booked! One bag per cabin (but there are duplicates of some items in the bag.) CODA365 will distribute the bags on the ship for the ASL Community Cruise. Our office will mail the bags for CruisEUs.

Want to catch the 6/02/11 show?  You can listen to the podcast at http://www.toginet.com/show/thatkeithwannshowculturalbridges (once on that page, look on the right side for the list of "recent shows" for the one listed as 6/02/2011)or see the ASL version when it's posted on Keith's Vimeo channel.

~ Connie

Access Comes in Many Forms

July 26 was the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Our agency has an Access Travel Team which specializes in accessible cruising. Many conversations last week among our specialists and with colleagues who are involved with “access” in the travel industry were retrospective. Stories and memories that made us laugh, some that reminded us of times when we had wanted to bang our heads against walls and a few that were emotional. “Access” still isn’t perfect, but we’ve come a long way and can appreciate all that’s happened so far that has created possibilities for many more people to travel…. And to do so more safely, comfortably and enjoyably.

Clip from our interpreted commercial.

This week Connie George Travel Associates had a commercial on an internet radio station. Our commercial was about our experience of booking cruises for people who have various abilities. It was a great way to celebrate the anniversary of the ADA because of the show’s unique nature.

What made it unique is that this is the first time ever…. ever… that deaf people could enjoy a radio show focused on the deaf community.  While there have been some test pilots of a handful of broadcasts having been live-captioned such as the 2008 elections, there's never been a commitment near this level.  

Think about it. Deaf people have not been able to enjoy the radio. But Wednesday night, Toginet Radio on the internet debuted a new weekly show, “The Keith Wann Show … Cultural Bridges”, that can now be enjoyed by the deaf community worldwide. The show's subject matter is deaf culture-related and the show is live captioned during the broadcast so anyone with internet access can “read” the show as it’s taking place. Deaf people who miss the show can view an ASL interpreted version that’s posted the next day and hearing people who miss the show can later listen to a podcast. What a great way for deaf families to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ADA and also a wonderful way for hearing people to better understand deaf culture and to learn that we have more similarities than differences. How’s that for available and inclusive?

I’m not at all surprised that Keith has managed to come up with the first ever inclusive radio show. I met Keith back in 2006 when he was a workshop presenter and an entertainer for an ASL interpreter conference that our agency booked on a cruise.. I’ve never known anyone with as much creativity and energy as this guy. Keith is a coda (“children of deaf adults), comedian, actor, speaker, teacher, husband, father, entrepreneur and volunteer who comes up with innovative ways of truly bridging the deaf and hearing worlds.

The past 20 years has been a pretty wild and exciting ride for people with all types of ability levels. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next 20 years will bring!

~ Connie