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Ina Mae Wienola (319/393-8975)

Congratulations Ray!

Raymond Putz, Red Rock Club member, received the Florence Grannis Award for his outstanding contributions and assistance with “Talking Book” machine repair for the Iowa Department for the Blind on April 17th in Des Moines.

A Letter from the President

Dear Iowa Pioneers,

Welcome to our first online newsletter! I hope
you enjoy reading about the rewarding projects
and successes our Iowa Pioneer Clubs and
Councils have been involved in and consider
joining us in an upcoming activity in your area.
Please check our website for upcoming
activities.

If you are not accessing this newsletter via
your computer, I urge you to Go Green and
help us to do our part with preserving our
environment. By providing us with your email
address,  we will be able to supply you with
the mosttimely Pioneer updates and
information. 

I would also like to urge you to sign up for
Qwest's 1% program today and urge your
friends and family to do the same. Qwest's
"1% Back to Schools" program allows you
to donate the equivalent of one percent of
our Qwest bill, before taxes, every month
to the school district of your choice. I'm sure
you've seen stories about education budget
cuts. This program can make a difference.
 Help us spread the word with schools,
 teachers and parents by sharing the
information in this e-mail. Simply go to
 qwest.com/onepercent and click on
"Join Now." Just click on the
"Tools for Schools" link. You can e-mail
or download helpful materials.

I would like to commend our Iowa Pioneers.
 Our Pioneers, made up of Qwest employees,
retirees and partners, received the Chairman’s
Award for a 2008 volunteer engagement
program.

Go Green for Schools, is a Qwest 14-state
 project to support cell phone recycling. With
 Go Green for Schools, the Qwest Pioneers
successfully processed nearly 2,000 phones
75 percent of them recycled and 25 percent
fully refurbished for reuse.

I am very grateful to be part of such a fantastic
team. We have a lot to be proud of and I
would like us to continue to set the standard
for giving in each of our communities. One
way of giving back is to become an active
member of the Pioneers. Please consider
helping out with an activity in your area.

Thank you for all that you do for Qwest #17
Pioneers and your communities!

Ina Mae Wienola, Iowa Chapter President

5591 Hickorywood Ct

Cedar Rapids, IA 52411

319 393-8975

The Rebranding of Pioneers
The spark of change!

The Pioneers organization is introducing a
refreshed logo and brand positioning to
 enhance our image, awareness and presence.
This will help broaden the organization's
purpose, reflect today's business environment
and be more engaging to younger and potential
members.

Through the generous support of the AT&T
Foundation, the Pioneers have been fortunate
to work with a world leader in the branding i
ndustry to help us identify and focus on those
aspects of our business model that need
updating. Together, we've created
straightforward, easy to understand language
to define Pioneers, and developed a visual
image that reflects not only the Pioneers history,
 but also our potential for the future.

The Pioneers Signature or Logo (see the
upper left hand corner of this newsletter)
is the heart of our identity. It's the first way
we connect to our volunteers.

The signature has three components:
The spark symbol, the Pioneer logotype
and the descriptor 'a volunteer network'. T
o the left of the Pioneers Logo appears the
Pioneers Sponsor groups logo (i.e., AT&T,
Verizon, etc.) in our case Qwest.

In addition to the new Pioneers logo, and
modified name, Pioneers is also updating
and refreshing its Brand Value Proposition
and Brand Pillars to better reflect who the
organization is and what Pioneers stand
for today.

Membership Dues Increase

Thank you for being a valuable member of the
Qwest Pioneers. The Pioneers Board of
Directors approved a membership dues
increase from $15 to $22 this June – the first
 dues increase for the Pioneers since 1998.
You will see $0.85 per pay period deducted
from your paycheck – up from $0.58 – starting
June 13, 2009.

The increase will help fund the operations
of your local Pioneer organizations. It also
helps us ensure we can continue to offer
you meaningful volunteer opportunities along
with the benefits of national partnerships.
To learn more about what your local club or
 council is doing or get more involved, please
visit our website.

Additionally, Pioneers have developed
membership volunteer programs, such

as Power Up To Read and Project Connect,
that enable Pioneers to deliver valuable
educational services at little or no cost to
schools and community organizations.
These programs support the Qwest for
Education Programs.

Here's what we've done so far in 2009

Beep Beep Beep...
Beeping Easter Egg Hunt!

The Easter eggs beeped, the children
listened and, when they determined where
the egg lay, they were rewarded with a prizes.

A group of children, usually left out of Easter
egg hunts, dominated the action April 7, 2009
at the Vinton Braille School sponsored by the
Three Rivers Council.

The Beeping Easter Egg Hunt enabled 12
visually impaired and blind children, to roam
the gym in search of large plastic Easter
eggs that beeped.

The volunteers placed the electric egg and a
plastic egg in baskets throughout the gym.
When a visually impaired child found one,
he or she would take the plastic egg to a table
and pick out a prize. The participants also received
baskets filled with candy, toys and a $2 bill along
with a McDonalds gift certificates.

Readers for Life

In 2009, the Qwest Foundation made grant
money available to the Iowa Pioneer Chapter
for their Readers for Life Project. Readers for
Life is the Qwest Pioneer project to help public
school teachers and reading specialists get
supplemental books for students who are
in need of help with their reading skills.

The Iowa Pioneer Chapter provided over
500 books to students at Cattell Elementary
School in Des Moines on May 14^th. Each
student received their very own book that
was fun to read and, at the same time, will
help build their vocabulary. They were so
excited to have their very own book to take
home and read often.

Cattell students put on a program for
Spirit, the dog, Qwest state president,
Max Phillips, and Iowa Chapter president,
 Ina Mae Wienola. Students sang songs,
performed skits, and read short stories
and poems. The Iowa Pioneers were
presented with “thank yous” from the
students. At the end of the assembly,
each student received a book marker for
their book.

Talking Books

Members of the Red Rock Club meet every
Tuesday at the Qwest building in downtown
 Des Moines to repair “Talking Book” machines. T
hese machines enable visually impaired
individuals throughout Iowa the ability to listen
to books that they are unable to read. The
Pioneers continually have machines in need
of repair from the Iowa Department for the Blind.
Red Rock retirees meet four to six hours weekly,
averaging 90 to 100 hours a month and repairing
over 100 machines a month.

Each machine requires diagnostic testing to
determine the problem and then technical
knowledge and skills to fix it. Much time and
patience goes into repairing each machine.
These Pioneers are a very dedicated group
of folks that add a special service to our
communities and to the enjoyment of those t
hat use the “Talking Books”.

Caring Cards

QWEST Pioneers across the state are
signing greeting cards for residents of care
centers in our communities. The cards are
given to the residents to celebrate a birthday
or holiday, just to say “hello”, or get well soon.

In February, members of the Cedar Rapids
Three Rivers Council brought and signed
Valentine cards for three centers in the area.
Some of the cards were left blank for
residents to give to others.

Members of the North Central Council also
spent time during their April meeting to sign
cards. Other members are sending cards
to fellow Pioneers that may not be able to
attend meetings and to let them know we
are thinking of them.

This is an ongoing project that we hope
will brighten lives and to let others know t
hey are not forgotten.

Upcoming Events

Food Bank
June, 2009
Qwest & Pioneers Joint Project
Various Iowa Communities
Collect non-perishable food for our local food banks 

US Map Painting Project
July/August, 2009
Taylor & Harding Schools, Cedar Rapids
US Map painted on school playground

Back to School

September-October, 2009
Iowa Clubs and Councils
Collect school supplies for children in need of supplies to start the new school year.

Support Our Troops
October-November, 2009
Iowa Clubs and Councils
Collect items to be sent to troops in Iraq and Afganistan

Hats and Mittens
October - November, 2009
Iowa Clubs and Councils
Collect hats and mittens for children in need.

Christmas Community Service Projects
December, 2009
Iowa Clubs and Councils
Various community service "in the spirit of giving" projects