About Michelle Eyre

Michelle was born on August 15, 1968 in Baltimore, Maryland and moved to California at the age of 5. During childhood, Michelle also lived in Cobb County, Georgia and Scottsdale, Arizona but lived most of her life in Southern California in the San Fernando Valley.

During childhood, Michelle had interests in aviation, commercial air transportation, public safety, radio, computers, telephones and public transportation.

Michelle is a transgendered person due to medical reasons. She has lived for many years in a mixed role and is now living and working fully in her female identity.

Michelle started REC Networks as "California Comments", a simple telephone recording service where callers could call an answering machine, listen to a recording and leave a message. The callers would then hear their message on a future recording. This generated some very good conversations. It was like talk-radio for the telephone. REC eventually expanded into voice interactive systems and computer bulletin boards through the 80's and early 90's. In the late 90's and today, REC has an internet presence and is involved in various grassroots efforts, as well as providing a creative outlet for Michelle. REC's current slogan is "Entertain, Inform and Support", which is what Michelle does through the resources of REC. For more information specifically on REC Networks, see REC History as well as the REC entry on Wikipedia. Michelle also operates Eyretime Broadcasting, an organization that currently feeds non-commercial cultural programming to terrestrial radio stations. It is Michelle's lifelong dream to hold a radio broadcast license (either commercially or non-commercially under the Eyretime name).

Michelle spent over 20 years in the telecommunications industry including 8 years at Pacific Bell and 11 years at USWEST/Qwest with a couple of small cable television jobs in between. At Qwest, Michelle was responsible for handling the processes, procedures and system requirements for High Speed Internet (DSL) and cable television services. In 2006, Michelle was laid-off from Qwest, a fate that has happened to many managers there. She is now working an entry-level job at a major airline. Michelle also does contract work supporting SIRIUS Satellite Radio.

Michelle has held an amateur radio license since 1987. The original call sign was KC6BCY. Over the years, Michelle had been involved in 220 MHz repeater scene in Southern California, Amateur Television (ATV), VHF contesting and being a volunteer examiner. When Michelle worked for Pacific Bell, she was involved in that company's Regional Emergency Operations Center (EOC). In fact, on the day of the Northridge Earthquake, Michelle was the first person to arrive at the EOC. Over the years, Michelle has been N6UII, KN6XD and KJ7MU. Since the Vanity Call Sign program, Michelle obtained the appropriate call sign K7REC.

Michelle has had a long time interest in public transportation issues in Southern California and the Phoenix Valley of the Sun. Michelle still maintains a small transit memorabelia collection including a lot of historical information of services in the late-70's and 80's. In the Phoenix area, with the passing of various ballot measures that resulted in sales-tax increases for transit, Michelle was very involved with the staffs of the Tempe and Phoenix public transit systems to make improvements. Some of Michelle's suggestions have been implemented.

Musically, Michelle has always had an interest in the popular music from the 1970's and 1980's. She feels that popular music has gone downhill in the 1990's. Michelle also has a major interest in the popular music from Japan (JPOP) produced in the 2000 decade. Michelle also listens to other genres of music including album rock, country, jazz or as she says "whatever sounds good at the time". These days, when having to listen to terrestrial radio, Michelle seems to find herself listening to NPR or KTAR-FM, a local commercial news/talk station. Over the years, Michelle has produced several parody songs based on REC and other operations. She recently recorded parody songs for the W0KIE Satellite Network under the name Srap All Around.

Michelle had a rough childhood because of various issues. Unfortunately, her natural parents deny her medical condition and do not accept her transgendered lifestyle. Michelle is very lucky to have accepting siblings and the support of a very close circle of friends. Michelle is currently living next door to her ex- and her significant other. They all raise a 2-year old child. Michelle has in interest in Japan as well as an interest in western Europe especially her Irish heritage. Michelle is currently pursuing becoming a dual-citizen of the United States and Ireland.

In her spare time, Michelle (or "Michi" to her closest friends) is usually spending time with her close family or her close friends. You may see her at the various malls to just people watch, milling the aisles at Fry's Electronics (yes, she is a geek), at PHX Sky Harbor airport getting ready for a quick "non-rev" trip or perhaps at a local Off-Track Betting location playing 7-3-2 on a trifecta, even if the horses are longshots. She could also be hanging out with her friends from Arizona Derby Dames, an all-girl roller derby league.

Michelle has always had an interest in blindness and issues that affect the blind and visually impaired from the time when she was running the REC voice interactive systems. Michelle is currently involved in learning about many aspects of blindness including the use of assistive technology, the handling of guide dogs as well as learning Braille. It is not uncommon for Michelle to use her accessible cell-phone or to show you her slate and stylus that she uses to write in Braille. Michelle is occasionally heard speaking on blindness issues, especially around the high price of assistive technology and workplace issues. If you see someone on board a US Airways flight with a guide dog in training, that might be Michelle!

Even though she does not have a significant other in her life, Michelle is very happy with the current direction her life is going right now.

Favorite Websites and Causes
Michelle has some very diverse interests and causes including (in no particular order):
American Council of the Blind and National Federation of the Blind - While these two organizations have been in a long time dispute, Michelle takes a "fence-sitter" approach to the overall issue and how each organization feels about it. She will listen to both organization's view on the issue and form her own opinion.
ACB Radio - Webcasts operated by the American Council of the Blind including the talk network ACB Radio Mainstream as well as the music network ACB Radio Interactive that gives blind DJs an opportunity to broadcast their favorite music.
Arizona Derby Dames - Michelle has been very involved with this league as a fan as well as a contributor of mainstream graphics, banner campaigns and image concepts to attract new fans to the league and roller derby. Who knows, Michelle may be a rollergirl some day. She may have to wait until after the surgery is done though.
Foundation for Blind Children - An excellent organization here in Phoenix that not only provides blind children with the life skills they will need but also provides services to the entire blind community here in Phoenix, both children and adults.
Guide Dogs For The Blind - An excellent organization that provides blind people with a new level of independence. Michelle has visited the GDB campus at San Rafael and feels this is a top-notch organization.
Hamsexy - Hams just wanna have fun! A site that a very interesting side of the amateur radio hobby. It's not a bunch of old men who fish and collect stamps.
In-N-Out Burger - Overall, the best fast-food hamburger anywhere.
Prometheus Radio Project - An influential organization that supports the community based Low Power FM service as well as other access to the airwaves issues worldwide. REC has partnered with Prometheus in several projects in the past and they still work pretty close together.
WTND-LP Macomb IL - Official website of a Low Power FM (LPFM) station in Macomb, IL. This station provides many hours a week of local origination programming that is also delivered via satellite and the internet. Under the Eyretime umbrella, Michelle provides Japanese popular music programming every week to WTND.

Contacting Michelle
E-Mail: Contact Michelle through REC Networks - rec@recnet.com
Telephone: PSTN +1 480 968-8444 - SIPPhone 747-600-1382 - FWD 529511
My Space: http://www.myspace.com/michelleeyre
Blog: http://www.michelleeyre.com
MSN Messenger: myspace@recnet.com