Jay Wolf

Jay Wolf

Dr. Jernigan and Jay Wolf

Jay Wolf

October 22, 1998

A Few Good Men

As we all know by now, we as Federationists lost

one of the best early last week. We are all saddened by this, but I would like to share a

few thoughts about Dr. Jernigan and all he has meant to me and every blind person in the

world.

Last week was a tough one for me. The 14th of

October was the one-year anniversary, if you will, of losing my father to cancer, and then

the news of Dr. Jernigan's death. During this time I did a lot of thinking and

priority-setting.

Other than my father, Dr. Jernigan is probably

the man that I respected more than anyone else. He worked his entire life to make life

better for blind people in this country and around the world. Many people have asked me,

"What can we do to honor Dr. Jernigan's life and dedication?" Well, here is my

answer to them and us all.

We can rededicate our lives to the cause. Many

times as students we get hung up strictly on student issues and lose sight of the big

picture. Let's all make a recommitment to the NFB and work daily on furthering our cause.

Let's go to those local chapter meetings, those

state conventions, and of course the National Convention, but over and above that, let's

do more. Let's support each other as Federationists, and let's support any blind person

that we might come across. Dr. Jernigan didn't care if a person was a member of the NFB.

If the blind person was being treated unfairly, he would do what he could to remedy the

situation.

I believe that the best thing that we can do to

honor a great man is to carry on what he did so much to get started and continue through

the years. We will all miss him, so let's do Dr. Jernigan proud.

Take care all,

Jay Wolf, President

Texas Association of Blind Students