The 2001 Awards

The 2001 Awards

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The Braille Monitor, August/September

2001 Edition

The 2001 Awards

Presented

by the National Federation of the Blind

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 six

presentations were made. The first three took place during the Board of Directors

meeting Tuesday morning, July 3. The first of these was presented by Steve

Benson, who chairs the Blind Educator of the Year Selection Committee. This

is what he said:

Ed Vaughan

and Steve Benson are seated, and Steve displays the Blind Educator

of the Year plaque.

The Blind

Educator of the Year Award

Thank you,

President Maurer, and thank you, Judy Sanders, Adelmo Vigil, and Ramona Walhof

for your participation on the Blind Educator of The Year Award Committee.

The

Blind Educator of the Year Award is presented only to those individuals whose

talent, teaching skill, contribution to the field of education, and leadership

in the community and in the Federation merit such singular recognition. The

recipient of this year's award has authored five books, has published more

than sixty articles in professional journals, and has delivered papers and

lectures in his area of study on three continents. In addition this educator

has captured nearly three quarters of a million dollars in research and other

grants for work in sociology. He has earned the respect of peers and university

administrators alike. In fact, the dean of his school described this year's

honoree as the best department chairman he ever had.

The

winner of the 2001 Blind Educator of the Year Award has operated a building

supply business, served on the city council, and run for mayor in his community.

Over

and above his professional credentials and his community involvement, this

Federationist has learned well the lessons taught by Dr. tenBroek, Dr. Jernigan,

and Dr. Maurer. He has conveyed the Federation's message to the academic community

and to the public clearly and concisely. He has stretched blind people beyond

what society deems appropriate. He takes an active role in our organization's

activities, including the Associates Contest.

The

Blind Educator of The Year Award Committee has selected as this year's honoree

Dr. C. Edwin Vaughan of Missouri. While Dr. Vaughan makes his way to the platform,

I'll tell you that he earned a master of divinity at Union Theological Seminary

and then master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Minnesota. He is

currently a professor of sociology at the University of Missouri at Columbia,

where he has taught for thirty years. He has also served as a visiting professor

in Shanxi, China. Dr. Vaughan will shortly assume a post at Menlo College in

California.

Dr.

Vaughan, congratulations! Here is a check for $500, and here is a plaque that

reads:

BLIND

EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

National

Federation of the Blind

presented

to

C.

Edwin Vaughan

IN

RECOGNITION OF OUTSTANDING ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE TEACHING PROFESSION YOU ENHANCE

THE PRESENT YOU INSPIRE YOUR COLLEAGUES YOU

BUILD THE FUTURE

JULY

3, 2001

Ladies

and Gentlemen, I give you C. Edwin Vaughan.

Thank

you, Steve. I very much appreciate this honor. About twenty years ago Dr. Jernigan

asked me to do my sociological research about the Federation and to try to

publish it in outlets other than the Braille Monitor--in other words, to publish

in the general media. So I have done that, and I have learned a great deal

from the Federation and a great deal about the rigidity of organizations that

resist the kind of goals we champion.

In

the current issue of the Braille Monitor are the wonderful voices of Dr. tenBroek

and of Newell Perry as they sent Dr. Jernigan off to Iowa. Dr. tenBroek describes

the resistance there was at that time on the part of the American Foundation

but also of a great many other agencies. He wished Dr. Jernigan well and asked

him to see if he could show a new way that agencies could operate. He obviously

did that in Iowa. The fruit of his work is in a lot of the national leadership

here today. I became interested in studying the nature of the resistance to

movements like ours and am pretty pleased about the development of our three

rehabilitation centers, as well as the ascendancy of Joanne Wilson to continue

her leadership at the national level. We have shown that organizations don't

have to be paternalistic and regressive, and I am going to continue to try

to shed a little bit of light on the rigidity of the throw-back agencies that

still exist.

Thank

you very much for this award. I appreciate it very much.

Denise Mackenstadt

displays the Distinguished Educator of the Blind Children Award plaque

while Sharon Maneki addresses the audience

Distinguished

Educator of Blind Children Award

Later in

the Board meeting Sharon Maneki, who chairs the Distinguished Educator of Blind

Children Award Committee, made her committee's presentation. Here is the way

it happened:

Good morning,

Mr. President, fellow Federationists. The committee of Jackie Billey, Allen

Harris, Joyce Scanlan, and I are pleased to bring you a truly distinguished

educator of blind children. Today we are recognizing one of our own, one of

our fellow colleagues and friends. She is a member of the National Federation

of the Blind and has been one for thirty years, a notable achievement. Today

we are recognizing her for her role in education. Since the inception of this

award we have recognized administrators of programs for the blind; we've recognized

itinerant teachers; we've recognized orientation and mobility instructors and

resource teachers. Today for the first time we are recognizing an instructional

assistant or what they like to call a paraprofessional.

As

the first in that class, she is truly a leader. Instructional assistants have

a great deal of influence on the student or students they work with. They see

the student every day. Frequently they see the student more than the actual

vision teacher does. So they can help that student, as this person does, to

be more independent. As she puts it, she wants to put herself out of a job

so that the student won't need her services anymore.

But

in typical Federation fashion she doesn't just influence the one individual

that she works with. As a leader she has seen to it that all professionals

in Washington State take a Braille literacy competency test. She is also a

member of the Board of Directors of the Washington State School for the Blind,

and her accomplishments really have had an effect on both Washington state

and the nation. Join me in congratulating Denise Mackenstadt.

I

have for you, Denise, a check for $500 and will hold up the plaque. I'm going

to read the text, and don't criticize my Braille afterwards.

The

National Federation of the Blind honors

Denise

Mackenstadt

Distinguished

Educator of Blind Children for your skill in teaching Braille and the use of

the white cane for generously devoting extra time to meet the needs of your

students and for inspiring your students to perform beyond their expectations.

You champion our movement. You strengthen our hopes. You

share our dreams.

Congratulations,

Denise.

Denise

Mackenstadt then came to the microphone to speak for a moment:

I

have been blessed by many things. I have been blessed by family, who tolerate

my passion. I have been blessed by very dear friends, who help me. I have been

blessed by this organization. I have been blessed by a mentor and a teacher

whom I never properly appreciated or thanked; that would be Dr. Jernigan. This

award is of such incredible importance to me because you are my peers, and

to be honored by your peers is the height. I appreciate it and thank you very

much.

Linda Hindmarch

addresses the audience while Bruce Gardner looks on.

Distinguished

Service Award

Late in the

Board meeting Bruce Gardner came to the podium to make a special presentation.

Bruce chairs the Affiliate Action Committee, whose members work to resolve

problems at national convention before they become problems. This is what he

said:

Nineteen-eighty-seven

was a memorable year for me. We in the Arizona affiliate had the opportunity

to host our National Convention in Phoenix. That was the year of the Cactus

Kid. [For those whose memories do not reach back to that convention, the Cactus

Kid was a character that Bruce invented and played during the convention. He

adopted a western accent that you could cut with a knife and a set of quaint

expressions that made us all guffaw.] That was the year that I began wearing

a big black hat to National Conventions. But 1987 is memorable and significant

for a far more important reason.

In

1987 Linda Hindmarch began serving as the NFB nurse at our National Conventions.

In 1987 our conventions had grown to the point that we felt it was important

for us to have a full-time nurse on staff at our National Conventions to give

peace of mind in addition to first aid and practical advice around the clock

and twenty-four hours a day. In 1987 Homer Page was the chairman of the affiliate

action committee, and he was asked to find someone who would be willing to

donate his or her time to go to Phoenix, Arizona, in the middle of the summer

and be on call around the clock to serve the blind. Homer Page contacted Linda

Hindmarch, who at that time was living in Boulder, Colorado, and supervising

a staff of licensed practical nurses at the Center for People with Disabilities.

I think Homer may have been surprised when he described the tasks and the assignment

and asked Linda, "Could you possibly have some recommendations or know

of anyone who would consider doing such a thing?"

Linda

said, "I would be interested in doing that." Linda brings to the

National Conventions a unique blend of technical medical training, common sense,

and genuine caring and concern for individual people. This is now the year

2001 and the fifteenth consecutive year that Linda Hindmarch has served as

Unit 17 on the radio and served as our NFB nurse. [applause] This is the fourth

convention at which I have had the pleasure of working closely with Linda and

observing the way that she gives out first aid, practical advice, and TLC.

It

is a pleasure for me on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind to present

a token of our appreciation to Linda Hindmarch. Linda, I have here a beautiful

plaque if you will turn it for the audience to see and for the cameras to photograph.

The plaque reads:

Distinguished

Service Award

presented

by National Federation of the Blind

to

Linda Hindmarch, RN

for

outstanding selfless service to the blind. We call you our colleague with respect.

We call you our friend with

love.

Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania, July 3, 2001.

When

Linda Hindmarch stepped to the microphone, she said:

Thank

you, Mr. Gardner, President Maurer, and all of you people. I should have guessed

when you asked me to come up here that you had something up your sleeve. This

is unusual for me to have to be up here. I am usually in the trenches and much

more comfortable at that level. This is really an honor, and thank you very

much.

Tim Cranmer

displays his plaque.

Louis

Braille Memorial Award

Early in

the banquet Master of Ceremonies Allen Harris called Professor Michael Tobin

from the United Kingdom to the podium to make a presentation. Professor Tobin

is a member of the International Braille Research Center Board and last year's

recipient of the IBRC's Louis Braille Award. This is what he said:

Ladies

and gentlemen, thank you. This is my second visit to the National Federation,

and I am particularly pleased tonight to be with you because it is my very

great pleasure to make presentation of the Louis Braille Memorial Medal. The

recipient this year is Dr. Tim Cranmer.

Tim

left school at sixth grade. He then had a variety of jobs including in the

Kentucky State government. He became director, I believe, of the Kentucky Institute

for the Blind in the 70's and 80's. He was director of research at the National

Federation of the Blind and was the first chairman of its research and development

committee. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Louisville.

He is the inventor of numerous devices, and I understand that CBS's "Sixty

Minutes" show last year called him the "Thomas Edison of technology."

Among

his many inventions are the Cranmer abacus, the modified Perkins Brailler,

the first audible portable Braille calculator, and also the pocket Brailler

now known as the Braille 'n Speak. He was the president, chairman, and founder

of the International Braille Research Center in Baltimore and was one of the

principal developers of the Unified English Braille code. He was, I understand,

also the mentor of Deane Blazie, so he has many great honors and achievements

under his belt. Last year, of course, you in the National Federation of the

Blind awarded him your highest honor, the Jacobus tenBroek Award. It is my

very great pleasure tonight to present to Dr. Tim Cranmer this gold medal,

which I am just about to open and award. For the sighted among us, I am holding

up this glorious gold medal for everyone to see. It has in it, of course, the

embossed letters BRL, which I think some of you will know what that means.

In addition is this very lovely Braille plaque, which he will be able to hang

up. It says:

Braille

Research Center, Inc.

International

Braille Research Center Louis Braille Memorial Award

Presented

to

Dr.

T.V. Cranmer

In

recognition of outstanding contributions to research related to Braille Literacy

and education of the blind.

Presented

by the Board of Directors

Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania

July

6, 2001

I

have great pleasure in presenting both the medal and the plaque to Dr. Cranmer.

Tim

Cranmer then replied:

Thank

you, Dr. Tobin. Thank you, International Braille Research Center. Thank you,

fellow Federationists. This is the most coveted award that I could have selected

because Braille is the most important tool ever invented for the blind.

So

thank you very much. I appreciate being here, and I would point out that there

is always a surprise or two at a Federation convention. Thank you.

President

Maurer addressed the audience while Betsy Zaborowski and Jim Gashel together

display their Jacobus tenBroek Award plaque.

The Jacobus

tenBroek Award

Following

the scholarship presentations at the banquet, President Maurer came to the

microphone again to say:

The

tenBroek Award, of course, is named for our founding president Dr. Jacobus

tenBroek. It is given to those who have done significant work inside the Federation

to build within the organization. It is intended to symbolize Dr. tenBroek's

efforts and to recognize their continuance in those who have come after him

and who have been inspired by him. We do not give this award every year. We

give it only as often as we find that somebody within the organization deserves

to receive it. This year we have to receive the award, not one individual,

but two. And I say that because the two of them work together. Each of them

is capable of independence and independent work, and they do make efforts on

behalf of the organization in separate spheres. But the reality is that they

are a team. They have operated as a team for some years now. Not only do they

operate as a team, but they operate as an effective team. Membership in the

Federation is not new to them; they go back awhile. But the work they do is

often new to them. They take on new tasks. They undertake to build what has

not existed in prior times. I would like to invite Jim Gashel and Betsy Zaborowski

to the podium.

Jim

Gashel joined the Federation before I did. He is one of those people who come

out of the 60's. And, as we have observed at this convention, there are fewer

of us from that era than there once were. Betsy Zaborowski joined later, but

her commitment is as deep. At the beginning Jim Gashel looked upon the tutelage

of Dr. Jernigan with mixed feelings. He wondered whether or not he was being

expected to do what he should not reasonably be called upon to accomplish,

but he came fairly shortly to know the meaning and the necessity for it. Then

he began to try to teach others. Betsy Zaborowski wondered whether or not the

organization was real when she came upon it. But she has come to be one of

the most supportive human beings in the organization. And she is undertaking

a task which nobody so far has done sufficiently, that is, to make us well

known in corporate America. And she is accomplishing it with considerable skill.

Jim

Gashel's talents lie in writing regulations and laws that can help to change

the face of the world for the blind, then taking those regulations and laws

and frightening the pants off people who didn't think they wanted to obey them.

He also has skill in persuading people in various parts of the world to make

substantial contributions to us, and Dr. Zaborowski has emulated this characteristic,

helping to bring us during this past year an appropriation from the state of

Maryland of one million dollars this year with a promise of five million more.

As

I have said, they work independently, but they work effectively as a team,

knowing when to take on their own responsibilities and when to share ideas,

to have joint action in support of the Federation. I want to give to the two

of you this plaque. I will hold it up so it can be observed. It says:

Jacobus

tenBroek Award

National

Federation of the Blind

presented

to

James

Gashel and Betsy Zaborowski

for

your dedication, sacrifice, and commitment on behalf of the blind of this nation.

Your contribution is measured not 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 colleagues with respect, We

call you our friends with love.

July

6, 2001

Jim

Gashel was the first to respond.

You

won't believe this: I am speechless. But I always have a speech with me. This

is truly one of the two or three most incredible moments of my life: to stand

before you and to be honored in this way when we are doing only what all of

us ought to do--we're working for the movement. All I would ask is that all

of you remember that it's all of our responsibilities to go out and work for

the movement. We can't all go out and climb a mountain like Erik did, and we

can't all do the wonderful things that every one of you do all the time or

raise five or six million dollars like Betsy did, but we can all work for this

movement. We all have a place in it, and we love every one of you. Other than

that, I am totally speechless. I thank you. I love you forever.

Then

Betsy Zaborowski made a few comments.

As

a good wife I think I'll let my husband mostly speak for me. I can't tell you

how touched we are. As Dr. Maurer was beginning to make this award, we were

passing names back and forth at our table, never dreaming--because as Jim said,

there are so many, many gifted and talented people in this organization, so

many of us who give our heart and soul--so let us just thank you very much

and share our gratitude with you tonight.

Allen Harris

presents the Newell Perry Award plaque to Erik Weihenmayer.

The Newell

Perry Award

Near the

close of the banquet Allen Harris made one final presentation. Here is what

he said:

It

is now my pleasure to present the next award which the National Federation

of the Blind gives from time to time to people who achieve some significance,

some salient goal beyond the Federation, individuals who in some way or another

contribute to opportunity, security, and equality for blind people whether

they have participated directly with us over a period of time or we've come

to know them more recently in a specific activity. Whatever the case may be,

there are those who, working beyond our Federation, accomplish deeds, achieve

goals that are so significant that we in the National Federation of the Blind

take the opportunity to honor them. The award that we are going to present

now is the Newell Perry Award.

Some

of you, like me, got to hear Dr. Perry's voice in the cassette edition of the

June Braille Monitor. What a wonderful surprise it was for us to open the Monitor

and have it begin with the voice of Dr. tenBroek followed by the voice of Dr.

Perry. It was a wonderful treat. When Dr. Perry was referring to Dr. Jernigan

as Mr. Jernigan and giving him advice about things he should do when he got

to the Iowa Commission for the Blind, toward the end he said, "By the

way, I am not that busy these days. If you have work, work that pays pretty

well, I would be available. Give me a call." It was both very poignant

and very much like the Federation. Dr. Perry really was a person who inspired

Dr. tenBroek. Dr. Perry, Dr. tenBroek, Dr. Jernigan, President Maurer, Jim

Gashel, Dr. Betsy Zaborowski--all are people whom we associate with excellence

within the Federation.

We

present the Newell Perry Award to a person who has distinguished him- or herself

working on behalf of the blind, but beyond our organization. It is our privilege

tonight, yours and mine, on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind

to present the Newell Perry Award to Erik Weihenmayer.

Erik

is holding up the plaque. We are pleased and happy to be able to recognize

Erik's feat of climbing the mountain. Let me read to you what the plaque says:

Newell

Perry Award

National

Federation of the Blind

in

recognition of courageous leadership and outstanding service, the National Federation

of the Blind bestows its highest honor, the Newell Perry Award upon Erik Weihenmayer

our colleague; our friend; our brother on the barricades. You support our progress;

you strengthen our hopes; you

share our dreams.

July

6, 2001

Erik

then came to the microphone and said:

Thank

you. This is the greatest honor anyone can ever receive. I am really touched.

Thank you very much. To walk in the footsteps of so many great people is a

huge honor.

I

don't know if this is the right time, but I also have something to give to

the NFB. I want to present this flag that we flew on top of the world, the

National Federation of the Blind flag. To me this is a symbol of opportunity

created and facilitated by the National Federation of the Blind in the hopes

and dreams and accomplishments of so many blind people like me, who have benefited

greatly from the many great blind people who have come before us and from the

collective blind movement. Thanks.

Allen

Harris: We accept the flag in the spirit of all those blind people who were

with you on the mountain. We display the flag as a commemorative element of

a tremendous exploit and the symbol of the climb all of us intend to make in

the decades to come. Thank you, Erik.

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