Attending Conventions

Attending Conventions

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Deane Blazie]

Attending Conventions:Deane Blazie Makes

a Statement

From the Editor: In a field as comparatively

small and inbred as the blindness field, a number of producers and vendors seem to

struggle over the question of identification with one or other of the consumer groups. Not

surprisingly, loyal members of each group would like to believe that their favorite

suppliers agree with them about the various issues on which the NFB and ACB frequently

disagree.

A company—or even an agency—may require

that its employees have nothing to do with either group, but such a policy is not very

sensible. The result is not the objectivity, which was presumably intended, but

fence-sitting of a particularly uncomfortable and cowardly sort. Blind and sighted

employees alike, if they are worth their salt, should know about and have views on the

issues big and small that shape the lives of their blind customers.

Having personal opinions and convictions,

however, need not affect the quality of the service or equipment provided. When Dr.

Jernigan was Director of the Iowa Commission for the Blind, he constantly made it clear

that the group affiliation of a blind consumer of agency services would never determine

the excellence of the services provided by his staff. In fact, it seems to me that

employees should be reprimanded for showing bias of any kind because of politics in the

field. I have no personal knowledge of what effect ACB affiliation has on the general

quality of service delivery by its members employed in the field, but over and over again

I have observed NFB members go more than the extra mile to help a blind customer just

because of their own personal commitment to the concept that every blind person should

have the chance to succeed.

Last spring Deane Blazie and Blazie Engineering

began receiving pronounced criticism for their corporate decision not to attend the ACB

convention again in 1998. On June 15 Mr. Blazie finally made a statement of his position

in an open letter which he put on the Blazie Engineering listserv. It is an articulate

statement of an eminently sensible corporate policy. Here it is:

Dear Customers,

Recently there has been a lot of discussion about

Blazie Engineering's decision not to participate in the ACB convention the last two years.

There have been e-mails, letters, Internet discussions, stories, and proclamations. Many

of them have been thoughtful and serious; many of the questions have been probing; many of

the complaints courteous.

Not all of it has been nice, of course. In any

controversy there is rumor, error, innuendo, and misinformation. Some of it arises from

heartfelt passion, some of it to further personal and professional agendas. In the hope of

answering the questions and to help in putting the record straight, I want to take this

opportunity to respond and tell our side of the story.

First, however, I want to make a critical point.

The issues involving NFB and ACB have no connection to the relationship Blazie Engineering

has with its customers. I don't like wasting words, and I don't like repeating myself, but

this point is too important to pass over lightly: The issues involving NFB and ACB have no

connection to the relationship Blazie Engineering has with its customers. None.

The relationship we have with our customers is

the centerpiece of our business. It is the reason we have survived and prospered. Making a

good product is not enough. You must build trust, create customers that become lifelong

friends, and you must listen to the people you serve.

We do.

We DO NOT ask anyone whether they belong to one

organization or another. We ask them how we can help, and that is all we ask because that

is all we need to know.

The suggestion that our support of NFB affects

how we do business is, at best, disingenuous. At worst it is an attempt to force us to

change our position by frightening our customers. It won't work because we believe in the

rightness of our decision and because our customers know better. I am sorry but not

surprised to see this tactic used, but anyone who knows us knows how shallow the charge

is.

Now that we have gotten that nonissue out of the

way, we can get to the question at hand: Why has Blazie Engineering chosen not to attend

the ACB convention for the past two years?

To understand the answer, you need to know a

little bit about me and about the origins of Blazie Engineering. I promise to keep this

part short, but it is important. My introduction to electronics and to the special world

of the blind started when I was a boy in Frankfort, Kentucky, and made friends with a

remarkable man—Tim Cranmer—a name some of you will recognize. That friendship

was one of the most important in my life, and I learned a great deal from it. Most

important in the long run, perhaps, was the role it had in helping me develop a political

and personal philosophy.

Slightly less than twenty years ago I made my

first computer for the blind, and just over ten years ago I made the first Braille 'n

Speak. In fact, I made ten of them, using all the money I had, and I took them to the NFB

convention. From a business point of view I suppose the story is that I came home with all

ten of them sold and with enough orders to start the business for real. But I came away

with a lot more than just orders. I made friends. I got advice. I got support. Anyone who

has built a business knows that these things are as valuable in their own way as orders.

I also found kindred spirits, people who had the

same views as I did about being advocates for the blind, people who were committed to the

same goals and ideals that Tim and I had discussed. I had found my place.

Blazie Engineering grew up with the NFB. Over

time the relationship strengthened, and we found ourselves active and eager participants

in many of their projects. We have supported their goals. We believe it is an important

and effective organization.

Last year we had our ten-year celebration at the

NFB convention. Because of the commitment that required from us, we decided we could not

attend the ACB convention. The ACB responded by passing a proclamation attacking Blazie

Engineering. I still do not know why they did that—don't understand why they would

have bothered.

I did not seek to be caught in the conflict

between ACB and NFB, but I am. Contrary to some of the charges that have been made, this

is not a business decision. And this is not just about loyalty. This is a personal and

philosophical decision. I have always been a Federationist. I believe in the organization.

It is the most active, aggressive, effective, and important spokesman for the blind in the

world.

ACB is largely a social organization. It is

unfortunate, but I believe it siphons off energy and resources from NFB. Despite their

proclamation, I harbor no animus or ill will toward the organization, and I remain

personal friends with many of its members. But there can be no question about which

organization I support. In the end I am not doing this because I was caught in the middle;

I am doing it because it is the right thing to do.

I know my position will not satisfy every person.

Any time you find yourself trying to make everyone happy, you can be sure that you are

doing something wrong. It isn't personal. I respect the people who disagree with me, and I

hope they return the feeling.

Deane Blazie President, Blazie Engineering, Inc.