There is a new radio show that might sound like a typical daytime talk show, but at the same time is unlike any other right now.
Kelly and Company, on AMI-audio, is the first-afternoon talk show to be hosted by a member of the blind community. Kelly MacDonald, a veteran radio and TV broadcaster, has been a part of the Accessible Media Incorporated family for the past 15 years.
“The show came to be on the heels of our morning show, Live From Studio 5, and the need for people who want more than just a reading service,” he says. “They want information more spontaneously.”
Unlike the morning show, Kelly and Company is a lifestyle centered show. MacDonald hosts the program with veteran broadcaster Sharon Caddy (formerly of CTV News Toronto and CTS). They are joined by a weekly group of panelists and correspondents, focusing on topics such as employment, nutrition, sexuality, personal finance audiobooks and sports.
“The Company part of our show is really our way of asking people to give us ideas, subjects and ask questions, and give their own opinions. We don’t come across as experts, but as contributors lending experiences and to combine information with entertainment.”
For Kelly MacDonald, you could say that he has now come full circle in his career as a reporter and broadcaster. A graduate of Fanshawe College in London, Ont., MacDonald started out in radio which he says is his first love. He later moved into television including a show he created and hosted for AMI TV called Blind Sighted before returning to radio for Kelly and Company.
I asked him what the secret is behind his success in a field where people with disabilities aren’t always heard or appreciated.
“I try (to be both serious and funny) because it’s too depressing to be only one way," he replies. "It has been an interesting 15 years for me to do production work, be a volunteer coordinator, do TV work, and now forging on to do what I actually set out to do when I went to college to do radio.”
Kelly and Company debuted on October 31. It airs live weekday afternoons from 3-5 pm ET on AMI-audio.
You can listen to the show live online at http://www.ami.ca/listenlive. AMI-audio can also be heard on digital TV at Bell Fibe 49 and Rogers 196.
People who have learned about Maayan Ziv through her recent TV appearances or through her online app AccessNow know she dreams of a world without physical barriers. But there is so much more to her than that.
Born with muscular dystrophy, Ziv grew up in Richmond Hill, Ontario. She credits her years spent at the prestigious Waldorf School for nurturing her creativity. During this period, she got into acting and even writing short plays. Ziv applied to Ryerson University’s Theatre Arts program, despite the fact that its building was inaccessible.
In 2013, she accepted the opportunity to act and collaborate on a production with Toronto’sSoulpepper Theatre, called Borne. “It was a good experience, and even though I’m not acting in anything right now, it’s still a part of who I am,” she says.
“Photography is my first love,” she says. According to one of her blog entries, her love of photography was established in 2006 while in New York City. Her wheelchair got damaged on the flight to New York. “I wasn’t able to make it to all the places I had planned but instead found myself spending the rest of my trip observing people, taking in the streets of New York… and taking pictures.”
She taught herself photography at age 16. Her portfolio includes everyday people, fashion models, and even celebrities (e.g. Edward Norton, Keri Russel and David Onley, former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario).
Beginning of AccessNow
In 2014, Ziv was accepted into Ryerson’s new Digital Media program. It was during her year as a student that she came up with the idea of AccessNow, an app highlighting barrier-free places. I told her about other apps focusing on accessibility similar to her AccessNow. (I sent her my story on the Wheelmapapp prior to the interview.)
“(Creating AccessNow) wasn’t scary for me,” Ziv says, adding that it didn’t discourage her from wanting to make her own app. “There are many different apps now. When I started there were three or four prominent ones, and within a year of AccessNow’s existence, they’ve been popping up everywhere.”
AccessNow was launched in August 2015. Ziv says a mobile version of the AccessNow app is in the works. “People have been asking for it since day one! It will be launching this summer. I’m super-excited about that because it will allow people to pin and share experiences or review a place from wherever you are at any time.”
Prior to taking Digital Media, she completed a Radio and Television Arts degree at Ryerson. She has presently struck up a relationship with CBC. She hosted and produced a radio special for them (Shifting Space), and occasionally writes for their website. “I’m interested in telling stories about access, and bringing forth the perspectives of people with disabilities in the mainstream,” she says.
So what enables Maayan Ziv?
“What enables me are levels of understanding, where people understand that everything is possible. I’ve believed that, and having a community of people who believe that enables me to go out and do whatever I want.”
Donald Barrie is a published writer, blogger and editor, web designer, Diamond Jubilee Medalist and aspiring podcaster/voiceover guy. His personal interests include faith, movies, music, reading, writing, chocolate, a good laugh and socializing.
Enjoy the moment, well that’s self explanatory, enjoy the present time you’re in
Donald has spent the past two years with Enables Me and has had the opportunity to interview amazing people from para-athletes at the 2015 Toronto Parapan Am Games, such as Priscilla Gagne, Canadian musicians, such as Justin Hines, and advocates such asTim Rose and picked up a variety of life lessons from them.
The definition of the word the enable, is by being a part of Enables Me, I learned a new definition healthier more positive definition
He takes great pride on the research that’s required in preparation for the interview and development of the story.
In thisEnables Me Live!talk, Donald shares his experience as a reporter for Enables Me and what he has learned from the interviews he’s conducted.
For Tim Rose, everything’s coming up roses as another Valentine’s Day approaches. What makes Tim Rose most happy, aside from being a successful entrepreneur, is that he is a person with a disability who is happily married.
Rose, a 29-year-old entrepreneur born with cerebral palsy spastic quadriplegia, met his wife, Natalie, through a mutual friend during the summer of 2010. Prior to meeting Natalie, he had attempted to have relationships with other women, but most of them weren’t interested because of the fact that he has a disability.
Natalie, like the previous women he approached, does not have a disability. Their relationship was confirmed one night when Tim and Natalie attended a party hosted by his brother. “She wanted to go with me, and we realized that we really liked each other.” After leaving the party, Natalie returned the feelings Tim had for her when she told him she had a crush on him.
“We hung out together a couple of times before I moved to England to attend university,” he says. With the exception of a three-week period, most of their communication during their first year together was done across the miles.
“It was tough at times, but it made our relationship stronger,” he says. When Tim returned to Toronto from the University of Nottingham in August 2011, he and Natalie dated for five months before proposing to her in 2012.
“I knew by the second date that she was the one,” Tim says. “I organized a scavenger hunt the night that I proposed to her. I think she knew I was going to propose but wasn’t sure how or when” he says. When he presented her with the ring at the end of the scavenger hunt, she said yes immediately.
I asked Tim what they like to do on Valentine’s Day since this interview was conducted in the days leading up to February 14. “We’re not huge Valentine’s Day people, but we always find time to do something together, either on Valentine’s Day or around that day. We may go out for dinner, play board games or do something not too extravagant.”
Tim says that since he and Natalie have become busy with their respective careers, it isn’t always possible to plan a date. Tim, however, stresses that they set aside a date night as often as they can, schedules permitting.
“We always want to maintain communication in our marriage,” he says. “We’re always talking and saying, ‘I love you’ to each other. We try not to hide too much from each other. We always find couple time during the day because it’s so important.”
While he is aware of the struggles people with disabilities experience in finding love, Tim has this advice. “A disability, while it can present challenges to dating other people, there’s also a lot of good things it can bring to a relationship.” He also adds that “once you find that one person, you find the advantages that having a disability can bring to a relationship. It makes you a better person, and more desirable in general.”
Powerlifting is considered by many to be the ultimate test of strength. The sport made its debut at the 1964 Paralympic Games in Tokyo (the 2nd Paralympics). Powerlifting was originally exclusive to men with spinal cord injuries. Powerlifting now has male and female competitors with a wide range of disabilities. Powerlifting has been part of the Parapan Am Games since it began in 1999.
The objective is to lift the most weight. Competitors are required to lie on an official bench with their head and body in contact with the bench, and their legs and both heels extended throughout the lift. Three attempts are given to perform each lift. The heaviest "good lift" (within the weight class) is used for final placing in the competition.
Powerlifting is the only discipline with 10 different weight divisions. According to the Canadian Paralympic Committee, athletes draw lots to determine the order of weigh-in and lifts.
Results from 2011 Parapan Am Games
You can click here to view the results of the men’s and women’s powerlifting events. Venue for 2015
Hershey Centre (aka Mississauga Sports Centre), 5500 Rose Cherry Place, Mississauga, Ontario.
Swimming is one of the largest and longest-standing sports for athletes with a disability. Para-swimming has been part of the Paralympics since the first official Games in Rome in 1960. There are several para-swimming competitions around the world, and the sport is governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Rules for para-swimming are adapted from the International Swimming Federation (FINA). There are some differences. Para-swimmers can either stand or sit on a platform before diving in, or they can start their race in the water. Blind and visually impaired swimmers often have people called "tappers." These tappers stand at the end of the pool and use a pole to tap the swimmers when they approach the wall, indicating when the swimmer should turn or end the race. Blind and visually impaired swimmers are required to wear blackened goggles, so they can compete at an even level with partially sighted swimmers. Results from 2011 Parapan Am Games
You can click here to view the results of the men’s and women’s para-swimming events. Venue for 2015
Kelly MacDonald (right) with co-host Sharon Caddy
