Get to Know: Donna Houghton

Donna Houghton likes to paint, write and watch movies.

But the 74-year-old especially likes to read.

So much so that for the past 20 years, Houghton has spent several hours each week volunteering to read with Radio Talking Book Service.

The service provides information and cultural opportunities to people who have visual or physical disabilities that prevent them from reading or enjoying community events.

Houghton each week reads children’s books for a program called Children’s Corner. She goes anytime during the week and records her readings, which are broadcast each Saturday and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on KIOS-FM. Listeners need a special radio receiver, or a television with a Second Audio Program option, to hear the broadcasts.

It’s a worthwhile use of her time, Houghton said. “I really feel for blind people,” she said. “I got started thinking, ‘How do you cope?’”

Houghton grew up in Falls City, Neb., and moved to Omaha to attend secretarial school after her high school graduation. She married Jim Houghton and worked as a secretary until the birth of their son, Jonathan.

“I loved being home,” she said.

She and her husband, who died five years ago, volunteered with Boy Scouts, among other activities. For a number of years, she also volunteered as a swimming buddy for children with disabilities.

Now her volunteer focus is reading. She takes care selecting the three or so children’s books she’ll read each week for the book service. She goes to the Blair or Florence public libraries to browse their children’s sections. Often, she’ll pick a theme.

Some of her friends have strong voices and immense patience or are good with the elderly or with children, Houghton said.

Not her. “But I can read stories to present information, revisit morals, bring new ideas and share beauty with my radio friends,” she said. “And it’s a pleasure to do it.”

When she started volunteering, then-station manager Dick Zlab told her to always remember her audience when choosing a book.

Houghton keeps that in mind, but she also realizes that a good children’s book can appeal to adults as well.

Her volunteer service extends beyond Radio Talking Book Service. Houghton helps serve a meal once a month at the Siena-Francis House. And with the women’s group at her church, Fort Calhoun Presbyterian, she volunteers at Joseph’s Coat, a thrift store in Blair.

In her spare time, she visits Colorado each summer and meets with a group every Wednesday morning to paint.

Contact the writer:

444-1535, veronica.stickney@owh.com