NFB Awards for 1998

NFB Awards for 1998

National Federation of the Blind Awards

for 1998

From the Editor: National Federation of the Blind

awards are not bestowed lightly. If an appropriate recipient does not emerge from the pool

of candidates for a particular award, it is simply not presented. At this year's

convention five presentations were made. Here is the way it happened:

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Dr. Jernigan

presents the Distinguished Service Award to Michael Marucci]

The Distinguished Service Award

At the meeting of the Board of Directors on

Monday morning, July 6, Dr. Jernigan came to the microphone to make a presentation.

Actually, he had intended to present two awards, but Angela Ugarte, mother of student

division President Ana Ugarte, was packing for a family move from Ohio to Oregon and could

not attend the convention, so Dr. Jernigan presented only one award in person. This is

what Dr. Jernigan said:

It is with considerable pleasure that I am

privileged to present an award. In this organization, as you know, we are very choosy and

sparing in the awards we present. We have given a few Distinguished Service Awards in our

time, but not very many. That makes those we do give of greater significance than they

would be if we gave them automatically.

We are giving the Distinguished Service Award to

Mr. Marucci. I want him to come up to the stage, and I want to say a few things. I'll ask

Mrs. Dyer, my secretary, to read the text of the award. I can read Braille, but somehow I

lost the text, so she will read it.

Mr. Marucci is an important part of this

organization. He functions without a very high profile. His wife is on the staff at the

National Center for the Blind and does a good job. He works on the staff too, but doesn't

get paid for it. He is an accomplished linguist—speaks several languages. He does it

professionally, without any payment and without for that matter a lot of praise or credit.

He translates books into Spanish for us. He is about to put our book on diabetes into

Spanish. He has translated other books. It seems altogether fitting that he receive this

award. I'm going to ask Mrs. Dyer to read it. Mr. Marucci, there are two things I want to

present to you as part of the award. I'm taking the pin that I have been wearing on my

lapel—the NFB pin—off, and I want to give it to you. This is a pin that has a

great deal of symbolism about it, not because I have worn it, but because of the fact that

it represents the Federation. So I'm going to hand you the pin: then we'll read you the

plaque.

Mrs. Dyer then read the text of the award:

Distinguished Service Award

In recognition of the contributions

you have made and your dedication

to our cause

the National Federation of the Blind

presents to you,

Michael Marucci,

this Distinguished Service Award.

Without expectation of public acclaim

or fanfare you have tirelessly worked to

translate material for the blind

from English into Spanish, and you have done it

on a continuing, sustained basis.

We call you our colleague with pride.

We call you our friend with love.

The lives of the blind of this nation

and the world are better

because of your effort.

The National Federation of the Blind

July, 1998

Dr. Jernigan: For whatever you may wish to say,

here, Mr. Marucci, is a mike.

Dr. Jernigan, Federationists, thank you very

much. I am stunned here. I do love Monday mornings, however. I want to thank all the

people: Mrs. Marie Marucci, who is my encouragement and support in this whole thing. When

I said, "Why am I doing this?" She said, "There is a reason." If it

makes one person's life better, by all means I am happy to do this: I am very proud to do

this.

Mr. Gildner, for putting up with me through all

these recording sessions, making sure the mike is in the proper place, all those

after-work hours, I thank you very much. All the people in the Federation who have given

me support.

This is what you can do with a foreign language

if you put your mind to it. A lot of people say, "Why study a foreign language?"

This is what you can do. Anybody who would like help in this endeavor, I would like to

think that I am not doing this alone. Anybody else, I know there are several of you who

are bilingual out in the audience. I am sure that everybody comes in contact with a

foreign language. I know there are a lot of scholarship recipients who have studied a

foreign language at one time or another. If one of you helps, it doubles the effort. We

have plenty of literature to go around, not major books—even small ones. Anything

that helps out would be greatly appreciated.

Again I thank you for the award. I walk in the

steps of fellow recipients of the award who have done much more than I have. I accept this

humbly. I thank you very much.

Dr. Maurer: Congratulations to you. Increasingly

we are distributing our literature all over the world. One of the major languages that

people wish to read it in is Spanish. Your translations of our works have been distributed

to tens of thousands of people in countries around the world. Thank you very much.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Dr. David Ticchi

receives the Blind Educator of the Year Award from Steve Benson.]

Blind Educator of the Year Award

From the Editor: Steve Benson, Chairman of the

Blind Educator of the Year Award Committee, made the following presentation during the

Board of Directors meeting on Monday, July 6.

The recipient of the 1998 Blind Educator of the

Year Award is, of course, an extraordinary teacher. This person exhibits creativity,

resourcefulness, patience, flexibility, wisdom, and clear thinking. The winner is

demanding, raises student expectations, and commands the respect of both students and

colleagues. This year's winner has gained considerable stature and respect as an elected

and appointed leader on boards and commissions in the community as well as in his church.

More than all of that, this individual has

demonstrated leadership in the National Federation of the Blind as a chapter President; as

a state officer; and as one who has served on committees, often as chairman, since the

mid-seventies.

The winner of this year's award has appeared at

legislative hearings on behalf of the Federation. He has spoken before civic, church, and

community groups; and he has represented us on radio talk shows. In each case he has

delivered the message of the Federation effectively and persuasively.

The 1998 winner has done those things or caused

those things to be done that have improved the quality of life for blind people. He has

stretched blind people beyond what society has deemed appropriate for us. In other words,

this year's recipient has understood and has emulated the example and the words of Dr.

tenBroek, Dr. Jernigan, and President Maurer, all exemplary teachers.

The Blind Educator of the Year Award

committee—Homer Page, Judy Sanders, Adelmo Vigil, and Ramona Walhof—have

selected as this year's winner David Ticchi.[applause] While David is making his way to

the platform, I will tell you that he is a cum laude graduate of the College of the Holy

Cross, and he earned his master's and doctoral degrees at Harvard University.

David is currently supervisor of the alternative

education program for ninth and tenth grades at Newton North High School in Newton,

Massachusetts. This is a program designed for potential school dropouts. David is also a

consultant for the Technical Vocational Department in his school. I might add that David

had the honor of carrying the Olympic torch prior to the 1996 Olympic games.

David Ticchi is a Federationist. He does all that

he does within the context of Federation philosophy.

David, congratulations. Here are a check for $500

and a plaque which reads:

Blind Educator of the Year Award

National Federation of the Blind

presented to

David Ticchi

in recognition of outstanding

accomplishments in the

teaching profession

You enhance the present

You inspire your colleagues

You build the future

July 6, 1998

Here is what David Ticchi said:

Thank you very much. This is something I will

cherish. When Steve Benson was reading the introduction this morning, I wasn't sure if

that sounded like me. I wasn't sure who would win the award because to me this is one of

the most prestigious awards that a blind person could earn. Our organization was started

by an educator, Dr. tenBroek, followed by Dr. Jernigan, and Dr. Maurer. If you look up the

derivation of the word "education," you will find it is based on a Latin root,

"ducere," which is to lead. In order for one to lead and be an educator, you

have to have a philosophy, a body of knowledge and information, a desire, a motivation,

and ability to convey it to others in order for them to benefit from what they learn. Our

organization certainly is illustrative of that kind of education and that kind of

leadership. To be honored in this way is something which means a great deal to me.

I will also say, too, for blind people who have

worked in public schools in particular, that I'm very thankful for this opportunity

because historically, until the 1960's, there were actual visual acuity requirements for

blind people who worked in public schools. Dr. tenBroek, Dr. Jernigan, and others changed

those laws, and made it possible for me and other blind people to teach in public schools.

They are now doing that at all grade levels. It is our responsibility to do that and to

continue that and to educate others. Frankly we are all educators. Because if we truly

think of one of our sayings, "changing what it means to be blind," in reality

that's education. That's changing people's attitudes and providing them with information

to show them that we can do what we have to do, that we are truly a cross section of

society. Thank you very, very much. This is something, as I say, I will cherish.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Sharon Maneki presents Dr. James

Bickford with the Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award.]

The Distinguished Educator of Blind

Children Award

During the Thursday evening banquet, Sharon

Maneki was called to the dais to make the following presentation:

Good evening, Dr. Maurer, Dr. Jernigan, fellow

Federationists. In 1987 we established a new tradition in the National Federation of the

Blind; we created a new opportunity to make sure that our blind children had a good

education. We established the Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award. As the

recipient begins to make his way to the stage, let me share a little of his background. He

is an individual who has taught in schools for the blind throughout the nation for the

past twenty-five years. He has a master's degree from Florida State University in vision.

He has a Ph.D. in administration from Portland State University in Oregon. But this is not

the whole story; the individual that we are recognizing tonight does the real thing about

education of blind children. As the Director of education at the Washington State School

for the Blind he makes sure that his students have the opportunity for real academics. He

promotes science and foreign languages, but he does not neglect the basic skills of

blindness and literacy. In Washington State vision teachers are required to know Braille.

Thanks to the leadership of Dr. James Bickford, Washington State is the first state to

require instructional assistants who work with blind children to know Braille.

His friends refer to him as Blue, and we in the

National Federation of the Blind are certainly his friends. Blue, I have first of all for

you a check for $500. Let me present the plaque to you, and then I will read it.

The National Federation of the Blind

honors

Dr. James Bickford

Distinguished Educator of Blind Children

for your leadership in building

educational excellence

for the students at the

Washington State School for the Blind

for creating a standard

to measure competency

in literary Braille

and for your successful efforts

in insuring that vision teachers

and instructional assistants

in Washington State are required

to demonstrate competency in Braille reading and

writing.

You champion our movement,

you strengthen our hopes,

you share our dreams.

July, 1998

Congratulations.[Applause]

Dr. Bickford then responded:

President Maurer, Dr. Jernigan, Ms. Maneki, and

members of the National Federation of the Blind, it is indeed a pleasure to be here

tonight. I am proud to be in the state of Washington, where the NFB and the Washington

State School for the Blind have worked cooperatively to better the educational programs

for all blind children in the state. Thus it is on behalf of the students, parents,

paraprofessionals, and teachers who have worked so hard to make everything work that with

humility, honor, and a great deal of pride I accept this award. Thank you very

much.[Applause]

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Rudy Savage

receives the Newel Perry Award.]

The Newel Perry Award

From the Editor: During the banquet on July 9 Dr.

Jernigan came to the microphone to present the Newel Perry Award for 1998.

This is what he said:

The Newel Perry Award (one of the highest honors

we can bestow) was first given in 1955, being presented to Governor Ed Johnson of

Colorado. The next year the recipient was Senator Jennings Randolph of West Virginia. I

received the award in 1960, and subsequently it was given to members of Congress,

administrators, and other community leaders who were deemed to have made significant

contributions to the improvement of the quality of life for blind people. In 1965 we gave

the award to Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey.

It should be noted that this award is not

routinely given. In fact, quite the contrary. In 1982 the recipient was Congressman Barry

Goldwater, Jr., of California. It was 1989 before the next presentation was made. That

year's recipient was Congressman Gerry Sikorski of Minnesota. In 1991 we gave the Newel

Perry Award to then Commissioner of Rehabilitation Nell Carney. No one has received the

Newel Perry Award since that time.

This gives special significance to tonight's

presentation. Tonight's recipient (although he has deliberately maintained a low profile

in the blindness field) is particularly deserving. Last year, for instance, without even

being asked to do so, he came to the National Office of the organization and gave $5,000

to help with our work. This was not his first financial contribution.

But it is not for this that we honor him. Rather

it is for his daily effort to make life better for blind people. As I have said, he

deliberately maintains a low profile, and some of you may not even know who he is. But if

you don't, it is time you got acquainted. Tonight's recipient of the Newel Perry Award is

Rudy Savage, who is head of the nonprofit company Talking Book Publishers, Inc., of

Denver, Colorado.

Mr. Savage was born in Denver and received his

B.A. degree in social science from the University of Denver. Acting on the hunch that many

readers of all ages and types would enjoy recorded books, he presented the idea of books

on flexible disks to the American Booksellers convention in 1966. At that time he met

Robert Bray, who was head of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically

Handicapped of the Library of Congress and who expressed interest in the concept for the

NLS program.

Mr. Savage researched and pursued the development

of high-quality flexible disk recordings with the Eva Tone Corporation. Not only could

five flexible disks be produced and mailed for the cost of one hard disk, but the

timeliness of recorded magazines could be enhanced if they were mailed directly to

subscribers instead of being sent to the regional libraries and then recirculated to blind

readers. The flexible disk program, which has been a standard feature of library service

for the blind for many years, was pioneered and developed by Rudy Savage.

In the early 1970's he continued to pursue his

work with the blind by pioneering a contract with US News and World Report to produce a

recorded edition of their magazine to be made available to the blind through NLS. At that

time he also established the nonprofit company Talking Book Publishers, Inc. He then

brought together a group of readers whose names are now household words among the blind.

Talking Book Publishers, Inc., now records

between 300 and 400 books a year, as well as many of the magazines and periodicals

available on cassette and flexible disk. Mr. Savage takes great pride in the quality of

the recording standards and research that Talking Book Publishers, Inc., maintains.

Rudy Savage has a variety of business interests

outside of the blindness field. He has created several successful companies that provide

business information to thousands of executives, and he serves as a consultant and

facilitator for a business diagnostics process.

Of particular interest to us, Mr. Savage is a

true friend of and an active participant in the organized blind movement. He encourages

those who wish to make financial contributions to programs for the blind to work directly

with the NFB, and he puts his own money where his mouth is.

During the past few years I have come to know

Rudy Savage personally and well. He rings true and is genuinely committed to advancing the

interests of the National Federation of the Blind.

Therefore, it is with real pleasure that I

present the 1998 Newel Perry Award to the head of Talking Book Publishers, Inc., Rudy

Savage. The brass plaque mounted on walnut reads:

Newel Perry Award

National Federation of the Blind

In recognition of courageous leadership

and outstanding service,

the National Federation of the Blind

bestows the Newel Perry Award upon

Rudy Savage:

our colleague; our friend; our brother

on the barricades. You champion our progress; you

strengthen our hopes;

you share our dreams.

July 9, 1998.

Mr. Savage, I give you this plaque and a copy of

my remarks. Welcome to this convention, and congratulations to you on the receipt of the

Newel Perry Award.

Doctors Jernigan and Maurer and the entire

Federation, I am really just overwhelmed by this. I didn't expect anything like this. When

Dr. Jernigan suggested that I attend this year's convention as I have done from time to

time, I thought that maybe I would receive a piece of paper or something like that. But to

receive something as distinguished as this award is just overwhelming. I don't have

anything else I could possibly say right now. Thank you very much.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Mary Ellen

Jernigan addresses the banquet audience after receiving the Jacobus tenBroek Award while

Ramona Walhof and Allen Harris look on.]

The Jacobus tenBroek Award

During the banquet on Thursday evening, July 9,

Ramona Walhof came to the microphone to present the Jacobus tenBroek Award. This is what

she said:

In 1974 the convention decided to establish an

award in memory of our beloved founder Dr. Jacobus tenBroek. This award is to be given to

one of the leaders of the organization as often as merit indicates. Since 1974 the

tenBroek Award has been presented fourteen times to leaders from eleven different states.

Tonight the committee has selected an individual who joined the Federation at a young age,

during the 1960's, and has matured and developed into one of our very best. Anyone who has

attended a National Convention during the last twenty or twenty-five years has observed

this person on the run handling large and small matters with poise, competence, and

efficiency.

I first met Mary Ellen Jernigan [prolonged

applause] when we were both teachers at the orientation center in Iowa. Dr. Jernigan

picked her as a very promising new graduate of Drake University in Des Moines. Some of her

travel students from that time are here tonight. When she and I organized together in

Kansas and Oregon, we both underrated the contributions we could make to the National

Federation of the Blind, but blind people are not the only ones who have benefited and

grown and blossomed under the direction of Dr. Jernigan and in the activities of the

National Federation of the Blind.

Early in the 1970's the then Mrs. Anderson became

Deputy Director of the Iowa Commission for the Blind. In 1978, when it was time to move

Federation headquarters to Baltimore and begin to build a new National Center for the

Blind, Mrs. Anderson was eager and able to take on a large share of that work. With her

usual high energy, thoroughness, and intelligence she began to learn and to manage the

mailings of the organization. For nearly twenty years Mrs. Jernigan has been one of the

primary builders and the administrator of one of our principal means of public education

and fund-raising. I remember when she led a small group of Federation staff members to go

and learn enough that we could purchase and install our very first computer at the

National Office. Since that time she has kept ahead in the increasing dependence on use of

computers.

Her contribution has been immeasurable in making

our headquarters operation the comprehensive and effective facility it is today. I cannot

fill in all the details of a career of more than thirty years, but we have all benefited

from the contributions she has made to the Federation. She has worked many, many hours

beyond the call of duty. She has been far more than a valuable staff member. She has

become truly a leader in her own right.

In 1986 Dr. and Mrs. Jernigan were married, and

we all shared their happiness. Mrs. Jernigan has continued to assist both Dr. Jernigan and

Dr. Maurer in the management of the National Federation of the Blind as the organization

has grown and become the most important force in work with the blind in the world today.

This year we have faced a new and frightening

problem. Dr. Jernigan developed lung cancer. To fight such a battle requires all the

strength and determination anyone can possess.

I cannot, and I hope I need not, describe the

difficult weeks and months through which the Jernigans have struggled together this

winter. We have all prayed for strength and success for them in this most important of all

efforts. But the Jernigans have had to shoulder and carry the primary weight. Dr. Jernigan

has depended heavily on Mrs. Jernigan through the treatment, and she has never wavered or

stumbled in her support, doing research on the treatment, giving injections, helping to

understand and remember the details of the doctors' pronouncements, going with him

wherever the treatment took them, counting pills, finding and preparing special

diets—these are only some of the ways that Mrs. Jernigan has participated in the

struggle against the cancer.

Most important of all has been her spirit, always

gentle and caring. She has not complained or flinched at whatever has been needed. Most of

the time you and I were not able to be there and could not know or help with the daily

battle and pain. We depended on the Jernigans together to give it their best while we gave

only love and prayers from a distance. But it has meant a lot to all of us as well as to

Dr. Jernigan himself to know the kind of support Dr. Jernigan has had from his wife. This

battle matters to everyone of us in this room and elsewhere tonight, and we are proud of

the Jernigans for the progress they have made so far. Tonight is the time to honor Mrs.

Jernigan for all she has done for Dr. Jernigan and for all of us, both this year and

throughout the many years she has been a leader in the National Federation of the Blind.

Throughout her career she has made invaluable

contributions, and therefore Mrs. Jernigan we all honor you and appreciate you tonight. We

love you and honor you for what you have done and what you are. We have a plaque here. Let

me give it to you, and then I will read it. The plaque says:

Jacobus tenBroek Award

National Federation of the Blind

presented to

Mary Ellen Jernigan

for your dedication, sacrifice, and commitment

on behalf of the blind of the nation. Your

contribution is not measured in steps, but in miles, not by individual experiences, but by

your impact on the lives of the blind of the nation.

Whenever we have asked, you have answered.

We call you our colleague with respect;

we call you our friend with love.

July 9, 1998

Now I'm going to give Mrs. Jernigan the

microphone to hear what she has to say.

President Maurer, Dr. Jernigan, Mrs. Walhof, and

friends. I have grown up in this organization; and I, like so many of you, have gained far

more from this organization than we've ever given. I want to say a word about this year. I

want to thank all of you for your love, for your prayers, for your support. I want to say

a special word about President Maurer. President Maurer has been there early and late and

every day. President Maurer has carried on all of his work, all of Dr. Jernigan's work,

most of my work, and, while he has been doing that, he's been by the bedside. He's never

too busy to do any tiny thing that he even thinks Dr. Jernigan would have wanted done. I

want to say to him thank you, and I want to say to all of you: we picked right; we have

one of the most wonderful presidents this organization could ever hope to have.

I also want to say thank you to the staff at the

National Center for the Blind because each of them has also done during this year a lot of

Dr. Jernigan's work and a lot of my work.

It's not easy to keep a secret from me in this

organization, and I must say that I had absolutely no inkling of this. I've often said

that there is really only one speechmaker in our family, and it's not me, so I will close

with this. Thank you very much.