National Federation of the Blind Awards for 1999
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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 three presentations were
made. The first took place during the Board of Directors' meeting Friday morning. Sharon
Maneki, who chairs the Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award Committee, made the
presentation. Here is the way it happened:
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Debbie Baker displays her plaque while Sharon Maneki addresses the audience and Diane McGeorge looks on.
Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award
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Good morning, Mr. President, fellow Federationists. As we advance in our march
toward equality and opportunity, sometimes our methods in the National Federation of the
Blind may be categorized as using the stick. Sometimes our methods are categorized as
using the carrot. This morning it's a great pleasure to be in the carrot category.
About eleven years ago we started the Distinguished Educator of Blind Children
Award to recognize outstanding teachers who worked with the students in the vision
programs throughout the country. This morning the committee of Allen Harris, Joyce
Scanlan, Jackie Billey, and me are bringing to you a truly outstanding and distinguished
educator of blind children.
She has been teaching for twenty-two years. She teaches students from kindergarten
right through high school. Of course, she teaches academics, as a teacher would. She
teaches the skills of blindness--Braille and so forth. Isn't this an interesting thing: I
didn't know this but it really turned out that we picked out a very fine person. The other
day, when I was perusing the newsletter of the National Association to Promote the Use of
Braille, there was her name on the back as a lifetime member of NAPUB.
This individual happens to be from Springfield, Ohio. She teaches her students how
to stand up for themselves, how to advocate for themselves, and while it can be lonely for
a blind person to be a teacher in the vision field because her attitudes may be somewhat
different from those of her colleagues, she is true to our philosophy and true to
independence. Join me in congratulating Deborah Baker from Springfield, Ohio.
I have just handed Deborah Baker the check for $500, and I'm going to read her
plaque:
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The National Federation of the Blind
honors
Deborah E. Baker
Distinguished Educator of Blind Children
for your skills 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.
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After receiving her plaque, Debbie Baker said:
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Hello, fellow Federationists. I am deeply honored to be here. I thank you all and
give special thanks to my supporters from Ohio, particularly our President, Mrs. Pierce,
and Eric Duffy. I do teach my children about sight--the same sight that you and I have. I
teach the youngest members of the NFB, and I teach them that foresight (a good name is
luck) and insight are always necessary, but hindsight is the best because we all have
twenty/twenty, and it enables us all to learn. Thank you.
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Mike Romeo and Betty Niceley display his Golden Keys Award.
The Golden Keys Award
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At the banquet Betty Niceley, President of the National Association to Promote the
Use of Braille, came to the platform to make a presentation. This is what she said:
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The National Association to Promote the Use of Braille takes great pleasure in
recognizing excellence. It is a special pleasure to find excellence among those quiet
people who work in the background to make things happen. While trying to keep abreast of
the continuously growing field of technology, we are extremely delighted to see that
Braille has benefitted from all of this. There is one who has played a vital role in the
development and evolution of personal and mass-production Braille embossers. In the late
1970's the Kentucky Modified Braille Embosser was developed. But this prototype machine
had little potential for ever becoming available to many blind consumers.
Then along came someone who performed a remarkable re-engineering job on this
prototype, changing it into the world's first useable embosser in the low-price range.
Many hundreds of blind consumers were then able to own a portable Braille embosser because
this prototype was transformed into a viable commercial product. Because of this
experience a young man was led to great creativity, which resulted in such things as the
Braille Blazer embosser, the undisputed leader in the personal Braille embossers in the
United States and in some foreign countries.
He also designed technology that led to a number of other things such as the Romeo
Brailler, which quickly led to the Juliet Brailler and certainly influenced other Braille
embossers.
Then this young man turned his attention to refreshable Braille displays and the
machines that use them: the Braille 18, the Braille Lite 2000, and the Braille Lite 40.
Each in turn has contributed significantly to the production of Braille and its use. There
is no doubt that this individual is an engineer with rare talent for developing and
improving Braille products for the blind.
Tonight the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille wishes to honor him
for the years of his continued dedication and for his contribution to Braille. Tonight we
are pleased to add to the very short list of distinguished individuals who have received
the Golden Keys Award the name of Mike Romeo. Mike, this is only the fourth Golden Keys
Award that NAPUB has given in its fifteen years of existence. Please understand this award
is not given lightly. This plaque says:
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The National Association to Promote the Use of Braille
To
you, Mike Romeo, we award these golden keys in recognition of your commitment to Braille
and to the Braille readers who depend on it. To these readers you have given keys that
unlock doors to the temple of knowledge.
July 5, 1999
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Mike, we are pleased to present this award to you, and we trust that you will keep
up the years of dedication that have gone before and that many more will come.
Congratulations.
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While Mr. Romeo was coming to the platform, Betty explained that in addition to the
text the face of the plaque includes seven keys in the configuration of those on a Braille
writer. Mike Romeo accepted the award but preferred not to speak.
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Ramona Walhof addresses the audience. Beside her Allen Harris holds his Jacobus tenBroek Award plaque while his wife Joy looks on applauding.
The Jacobus tenBroek Award
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Near the close of the banquet, Master of Ceremonies Allen Harris called Ramona
Walhof, who chairs the Jacobus tenBroek Award Committee, to the microphone for a
presentation. This is what she said:
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Dr. tenBroek was the founder of the National Federation of the Blind and served as
our leader from 1940 until 1968. In his memory we have established the Jacobus tenBroek
Award to honor one of our leaders who has made contributions beyond the call of duty to
assist other blind people and the organization. This award is given only as often as there
is someone who especially deserves it. This year the Committee to select a person for this
prestigious recognition consisted of Joyce Scanlan, Jim Omvig, and me.
This year's tenBroek Award recipient has been a member of the NFB for thirty years
and a state officer from the beginning. At his first Federation meeting in 1969 he was
elected Secretary of his state affiliate and the next year President of his local chapter,
a position he held for five years. Some of you have guessed that I am talking about Allen
Harris. Allen was elected President of the NFB of Michigan in 1976 and re-elected every
two years, eleven times. From 1983 to 1991 he served on the Board of the Michigan
Commission for the Blind. In 1992 he was selected National Blind Educator of the Year by
the NFB.
He was first elected to the Board of Directors of the NFB in 1981. In 1985 he
became Secretary, and in 1988 he was elected Treasurer, and he has been re-elected to this
position every two years ever since.
In 1985 he was selected as one of two outstanding teachers of social studies in
Michigan by the National Council of Social Studies. During a full career of teaching Allen
Harris was chosen year after year by his colleagues as Chairman of the Social Studies
Department at Dearborn High School. He was held in high respect by both students and
teachers.
When he coached swimming and wrestling teams, they won. Seldom has any coach taken
as many champion teams to district and state competitions as Coach Harris did.
I well remember the day in 1969 when I knocked on the door of Allen Harris's house.
We were organizing in Michigan, and he had been recommended as a prospect. He was cordial
and pleasant, but he was not sure what commitments he was ready to make. Yesterday he told
us more about his perspective at that time. Many of us understand that feeling in the
beginning. He promised to come to the organizational meeting we were planning for the
following weekend, but I did not expect to see him there. Only a few months ago I asked
Allen why he had actually made the trip from Detroit to Lansing for that meeting, and his
answer helps to show why he is a leader. He said simply: "I gave you my word."
Allen Harris has always kept his word. He does not let people down within the Federation
or elsewhere.
After twenty-three years as President of the NFB of Michigan, this year he resigned
that position. He built the Michigan affiliate into a strong and enthusiastic one. Now he
has moved to a new post for serving the blind. He is Assistant Director of Rehabilitation
for the New York State Commission for the Blind. It is an exciting opportunity for him and
for the blind of the nation. If this state agency is run in the way that Allen Harris
knows how, not only will it bring tremendous advantages to the blind in New York, but it
will also help set the tone for rehab throughout the country.
So tonight we have chosen to honor our Master of Ceremonies and our Treasurer for
all the ways he has served the blind and for what he is. Allen, we honor you, and we love
you.
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Ramona then read the text of the plaque:
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Jacobus
tenBroek Award
National Federation of the Blind
presented to
Allen Harris
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 5, 1999
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Allen then said:
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Thank you very much. I am going to ask Joy--you want to step up here with me? When
you marry someone active in the Federation, you marry the Federation. However it goes, and
in our case it goes each way. So I would like Joy to be here to share this moment with me.
I could not have been more surprised. I love secrets, but mostly when they involve other
people. I could not be more surprised. I thank you very much Dr. and Mrs. Maurer, Mrs.
Jernigan, and all my friends and colleagues in the Federation.
I have always considered myself just an ordinary member of the Federation who had
whatever responsibilities I had. One of the things I was talking to someone about today
was when Dr. Jernigan called me, I never said no. I used to plan how I might say no if he
asked me to do something when I was busy or whatever, but I could never say no to him. And
you know what? He never said no to me unless I suggested something that was off the wall.
Like each of you I have tried to contribute in what ways I can. I have explained on
many occasions just what the Federation has meant to me, how it has changed my life, how
it has defined who I am. And to the extent that I possess energy and some intellect and
capacity to do things, I have learned them within the Federation. And to the extent I am
committed to anything in my life, continuing what has begun, giving to others what has
been given to us by the blind people who came before us, I want to continue doing that. I
am humble in my gratitude for the thanks and support, the tremendous honor that this award
represents. I thank you very much and look forward to many more years of working together.