Our Team.

Christine: It feels as if we've always loved audio stories. I listened to CBC Radio Mysteries as a young girl, and Russ discovered the War of the Worlds LP in his youth. These audio dramas took us to a different place where we could immerse ourselves in this other world in our imaginations for a time. 

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​Russ remembers his love for drama and sketching MAD Magazine characters as a young guy in South Africa. He was raised in a musical home, playing guitar, listening to LPs, signing around the piano. 

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I also sketched, read many books, and wrote poetry. Fast forward to having my own children, where I introduced them to the radio program, Adventures in Odyssey, which was brilliantly made. ​It's no surprise that I became a professional voice artist in 2014.

 

Audio, creativity and storytelling has been a thread that has run through both our lives. 

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Together, in 2017, Russ and I started ProDio Audio Learning - giving professionals an opportunity to enjoy learning by engaging their imaginations, with expert-led, StoryStyle audio courses. I produce the courses and Russ guides clients through the scriptwriting. It's been a perfect meeting of our skillsets and creativity. 

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The idea for MemoryBank started to ruminate after Russ travelled to South Africa in 2023 to surprise his mom on her 90th birthday. While there, they spent a fair bit of time in the car; she was singing and they were sharing special memories and stories. When he returned, he felt an urgency to save those memories. (If you'd like to hear some of Russ' parents' recording, listen the sample "D&R" on the home page). My experience volunteering in Hospice also spurred emotions, listening to patient's stories and thinking of the families who may not have had the opportunity to hear those stories.

 

Recording and preserving memories is a valuable purpose that can be cherished by families and future generations. Many people miss hearing the voice of their loved ones, which makes it even more important to preserve these memories.

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Since we were already in the audio space with ProDio, this idea and the process came quite naturally. 

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We thought that adding some nostalgia in the form of a physical keepsake that could be passed on to family or given as a gift for a milestone celebration would be quite unique and fun. So, in addition to a digital copy, we press the produced stories and memories onto a beautiful LP, the jacket adorned with personal pictures, quotes and a summarized transcript. It makes for a very unique gift!

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We're thrilled that you've found us here at MemoryBank! We look forward to having the opportunity to meet you and/or your loved one to create a special MemoryBank Audio Keepsake that can be given as a gift or passed along through your family for generations to cherish. 

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Russ & Christine Cullingworth

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