American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections Convention Issue 2023 GENERAL SESSIONS
Showing Heart on Route 66: A Ride for Literacy
by Dan O'Rourke
Introduction by Mark Riccobono: It is unusual for us to welcome to this stage a referee from the National Hockey League. And it's not every day that we welcome to the stage someone that we didn't meet too long ago. But this gentleman came to us and said he had a dream to use his experience of riding a bicycle along Route 66 to honor his own dad, who was a blind person, and to honor the work that blind people do to be self-sufficient and live the lives they want every day. We invited him to come to our national headquarters, and I admit I was fifty percent ready to figure he was going to be a crackpot, because we get a lot of those. But if you get a chance to know him at this convention, you will find out that this gentleman is the real deal. He's not just the son of a blind person, he is blind at heart, and he wants to share the message of the National Federation of the Blind. Here's Dan O' Rourke!
That was a very gracious welcome. As a referee in the National Hockey League, that does not happen. I would probably feel more at home and more comfortable if you guys were yelling and booing me. This public speaking is not something I have done since about twelfth grade back home.
I would like to let you know a little bit about who I am and how I came to take on this Route 66 Ride for Braille Literacy. I was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I was raised in a small town in British Columbia called Summerland. Hockey has been a large part of my life for as long back as I can remember. I probably started skating at three or four years old, and I played hockey until the age of twenty-five.
I went to training camp in the early Nineties with the Oilers. Just like every other kid who grew up in Canada, my original dream was to play hockey in the National Hockey League.
Well, we don't all get exactly where we want to go, but I found another way to make it into the NHL, and that was through officiating. I learned this love for officiating back when I was around twelve years old. As I got older and more competitive in hockey, it took away the time that I had to officiate, so I had to put it on the back burner with the idea that I would come back to it when I played as much hockey as I could. I remember telling my dad when I was about thirteen years old that when I played as much hockey as I could and made it as high as I could, I was going to come back and be an official. So that actually came true.
At the time I finished playing hockey in the East Coast Hockey League, I talked to the head of the officiating department. I had heard that they were looking for ex-hockey players to become officials. We talked at the end of that season, and he hired me to work his league the next year. I was extremely lucky.
Just a quick funny story about that ... I was coming in for what was going to be the start of Game 5 in the Finals of our League, and my coach called me into his office. It just happened that the head of officiating was sitting in his office and wanted to talk to me. I had probably done something I wasn't supposed to do the night before, and he suspended me from my last game. But he also hired me for my new career. So it was a good and a bad story.
The following year I started working for him. I spent two years in the East Coast Hockey League as a linesman. Then my big break came with the NHL when they hired me on to their team in 1999. I was a linesman for two seasons in the NHL, and the league and I had decided that it might be a good idea for me to try refereeing. So, I went back to the American Hockey League to start my training as a referee. I spent four years working on my craft, and then the NHL brought me back as a fulltime referee in 2005.
I have been very lucky in my career as an NHL official. I'm closing in on fifteen hundred games in the regular season. I'm not too far away from two hundred playoff games, and this past season I worked my sixth Stanley Cup Final.
Those things that I just talked about are pretty cool, but the reason I'm here today is because I'm the son of a blind father. Forgive me if I get a little bit emotional, but when I talk about my dad, it tends to happen. He is the inspiration behind my Route 66 ride. I'm doing it to honor him and how he raised me and my brother.
My father has RP [retinitis pigmentosa), and as far back as I can remember, he had issues with his sight. But that never defined who he was or what he felt he could do. That is why I feel so fortunate to be partnered with you here at the NFB, because you guys also believe that you can live the life you want.
My dad inspired my brother and me with how we approach life. It didn't matter what we asked him when we were kids. Dad found a way to be involved, whether it was just being out and about in the backyard, or if it was coaching us in our youth sports, or getting us back and forth to any of the events that we needed to do. Dad probably drove a little longer than he should have. One thing he did, he taught me to drive at a fairly young age. We lived in a very small town with one stoplight. So, it was probably sometimes safer for me to get us home after it was dark.
My brother and I would guide Dad, especially at night, but as kids, sometimes we got a little preoccupied and probably weren't the best guides for him. There are a few stories back there. Thank God I had an aunt or uncle that was nearby, or probably I wouldn't be here talking to you.
To see this many successful people in one room reminds me of my dad and how his determination and his stubbornness helped him succeed as a blind person. He is a great father, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention his support team—which is my mom. She has been by my dad's side since they met in high school, and they have been a great team ever since.
I want to give you guys a little bit more information on my Route 66 Braille literacy ride and what I want to accomplish, which is obviously to raise funds for the NFB. Just as important I want to get this great organization's name out there in the public.
I would love for the funds to help kids come to the Braille literacy camps so they can come in and learn Braille. But I feel it's just as important for them to come in and meet other kids like themselves, and also to realize they can accomplish anything in life. You can definitely live the life you want.
So to do this, to accomplish this, we will be starting our ride on July 27th in Santa Monica, California and finishing on September 8th in Chicago, Illinois. We will be going through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. When I say "we," that is my wife, who will be driving the RV as my support crew, and our one-year-old yellow lab puppy named Bailey.
The plan is to ride three or four days in a row and try to average between fifty and fifty-five miles on each of those days, and then to take in a rest day or two along the way. The total mileage is close to twenty-seven hundred miles—as long as I don't take too many wrong turns!
We should have about thirty-five or so ride days with some rest days in between. We definitely will have some early-morning starts to stay out of the heat of the desert. That's what the original plan is. But as we all know, plans can change due to weather, mechanical issues, or just life in general. Please follow us along on the Route 66 ride. You can find more information about the ride at https://nfb.org/route66. We will be adding some social media coverage, and I will livestream as often as I can from the road. We don't have the links yet, but as soon as we do, we'll add them to the website.
We will be stopping at some of the affiliates along the route. The locations and specific times, as we get closer, will be posted. We'll have the events up so anybody that is in the area can join us and get the word out.
One other thing I have to make sure I mention—I need to thank Patti Chang. Patti was the first person I spoke with at the NFB. Her trusting me and giving me the chance to represent your organization is one of the most special things I have had in my life.
Also, I want to say to you in this room that to be here has been a great honor. It's very humbling to be in this room with you guys. I would like to thank you very much for your time today. What I'm going to ask of you is that you share this ride with as many people as possible, so we together can make this ride a great success. Thank you so much for your time!