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 Christy Smith, Christy's Kids and CBS Survivor: Amazon Christy Smith may have been voted off 'Survivor: Amazon' but she is returning to TV in her own adventure show that includes teaching hearing and deaf children sign language in 'Christy's Kids'. "Sorenson VRS is my main means of booking appointments with networks, talent, and sponsors," said Smith. "I feel more independent when I use Sorenson VRS because it breaks down communication barriers with the hearing world." "Communication is key to the success of 'Christy's Kids'. I need access to immediate communication so I use Sorenson VRS everyday all day long," added Smith. "When working on funding, program scheduling, and other significant factors that affect my show, I need to be reached so that I can make decisions right away. I don't want to miss any opportunities."   Ronda Jo Miller, Pro Basketball Player with the Dallas Fury Ronda Jo Miller, part of the 2004 National Women's Basketball League (NWBL) Champions, the Dallas Fury, has found that Sorenson VRS saves her a lot of time over other communication methods such as handwriting notes, pagers, instant messaging, and e-mail. "These methods are often slow and lack the capability to convey emotion through visual cues and facial expressions," said Miller. "Sorenson VRS allows me to use my native language and I get across exactly what I want immediately," said Miller. "Now I use Sorenson VRS to call my hearing coach or teammates about practice times, coordinating events, or just to stay in touch."  Stephen Hlibok, Vice President and Senior Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch When Stephen Hlibok arrives at Merrill Lynch in the morning, he turns on his Sorenson VP-100 videophone and begins making video relay calls to his hearing clientele and point-to-point calls to his deaf clients. Before it took Hlibok-who is deaf-as much as an hour to place a text relay call, now it takes only a few minutes to conduct a video relay call. For Hlibok, a Merrill Lynch vice president and senior financial advisor for the Global Private Client Group, using the videophone and Sorenson Video Relay Service (VRS) has allowed him to communicate more efficiently with his national retail clients. "With the release of Sorenson VRS and the Sorenson VP-100 videophone in 2003, I was finally able to converse instantaneously with hearing clients through the videophone and video relay service. I was impressed by the clear picture and the ease of the conversation," said Hlibok. "With Sorenson VRS, I am now able to assist my clients and coworkers in making an immediate decision rather than waste time replying back and forth with text communication. Sorenson VRS provides an improved method of communication which is invaluable when exchanging financial advice and ideas," commented Hlibok.  Dr. Genie Gertz, Deaf Professor at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) "The minute Sorenson VRS was installed in my office, it changed my life considerably," said Dr. Genie Gertz, a deaf professor at CSUN in the Deaf Studies department. "The speed of communication exchange is unbelievable and the idea of obtaining a sign language interpreter within a minute is doubly unbelievable. The ability to reach anyone, particularly hearing people without sign language skills, is immeasurable." Gertz also uses the Sorenson VP-100 videophone to converse with her hearing Russian parents who immigrated to New York City. Sorenson VRS has allowed Gertz and her parents the ability to have a conversation over the phone; something they haven't been able to do. "Prior to Sorenson VRS, I often faxed them. I tried California Relay Service (CRS) but it was a nightmare with my parent's limited comfort of English because much of the conversation got 'lost in translation'," said Gertz. "Sorensen VRS and the Sorenson VP-100 videophone with its clear picture are heaven-sent for my videophone interaction with them. Sorenson VRS enables me to directly see an interpreter as well as anticipate and better understand what my parents are trying to say."  Jessica Thirkell, Hearing Mother of Oregon School for the Deaf (OSD) Student "With my son away at OSD, Sorenson VRS has greatly improved the way we communicate and therefore, changed our relationship for the better," said Jessica Thirkell, hearing mother of OSD deaf student, Austin Martini. "Being able to communicate instantaneously has allowed him to reach me in an emergency, when he has had a bad day, or when he has had the best day of his life. I no longer have to wait for the weekends to catch up with him. Sorenson VRS lets me know now. That is a huge relief to a mother who doesn't get to see her child everyday."  David Fleisher, Budget and Accounting Officer for the State of Utah Division of Community Development David Fleischer, a budget and accounting officer for the State of Utah Division of Community Development uses Sorenson VRS to conduct business and to converse with his hearing wife while at work. "My wife is now able to understand me better than ever and we spend just a fraction of the time it would normally take to communicate because of Sorenson VRS", said Fleischer. Additionally, Fleischer feels that having the capability to quickly and clearly communicate with his outside work associates and contacts has made him much more competitive in the workforce. "If I didn't have Sorenson VRS, I probably wouldn't have any opportunities to get any new promotions," Fleischer explained. "Sorenson VRS has made me a more attractive candidate for future promotion opportunities."  Jean Shickel, Assistant Professor at Gallaudet University Jean Shickel, an assistant professor at the university, finds Sorenson VRS helps her converse more efficiently than older Text Telephone (TTY) solutions. "Our conversations flow more naturally," said Shickel "We are able to get the emotion of the caller through the interpreter instead of seeing typed words across a screen. I am able to sit comfortably, without my computer glasses, while communicating with friends and family." Shickel continues, "It has made our phone conversations much easier and faster." Dr Bernard Bragg, Actor/Mime and Director Dr. Bernard Bragg, actor/mime and director, spent his youth trying to communicate with the outside world since he was the deaf son of deaf parents. Now Bragg turns to Sorenson VRS to communicate. "The main reason I use Sorenson VRS and the Sorenson VP-100 videophone is not any different from that of the hearing people's use of their telephones. The name of the game is communication," said Bragg. "When arranging appearances and work, I talk to several people and have noticed Sorenson VRS has changed my communication situation by improving my relationships with hearing people in general. They can hear the "tone" of my visual speech," expressed Bragg. "I believe Sorenson VRS generates good feelings between deaf and hearing people in America." |
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