Mary Schnackenberg, Divisional Manager, Adaptive Support for the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind has been awarded a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for services to the vision-impaired community. Born blind, Mary has worked at the Foundation of the Blind for more than three decades and was the first blind New Zealander to earn an MBA.

"This is a tremendous honour," says Mary. "It's been exciting and satisfying to have positively contributed to the lives of blind, deafblind and vision-impaired New Zealanders. While gains have been made in areas such as technology, access to information and employment, we still have a long way to go. I look forward to continuing to support and encourage the blindness community to reach their potential and enjoy the same rights and opportunities as their sighted peers."

Don McKenzie, Chairman of the RNZFB Board of Directors congratulates Mary on her award and notes the significant contribution Mary has made.

"Mary is an inspiration," says Don. "She is tireless in her work for the blindness community and continues to amaze all who know her with her skill, compassion and dedication. There are few who have done so much to advance the lives of blind, deafbind and vision-impaired New Zealanders - we acknowledge and thank her."

Mary completed a BA in History at the University of Auckland in 1973. From 1973 until her appointment as Divisional Manager, Adaptive Support in 1999, Mary has worked as a librarian, as Manager Braille Services, and then as Library Services Manager. Under Mary's guidance, the Foundation's Library delivers more than 7,000 talking books and talking magazines to members every week, and also provides information in braille and other accessible formats to Foundation members. Mary is leading an enormously important project that will see the Foundation move from analogue to digital media in the near future. This Digital Talking Book development project, being done in cooperation with HumanWare, is truly a world-leader. A strong advocate for the rights of blind people, Mary uses her persuasive skills to break down barriers, retain services and improve access to information. She has written and presented over a dozen papers at national and international conferences on accessible information, compiled catalogues of both Braille and talking books, and has been an active member of the Association of Blind Citizens Of New Zealand since the early 1970s. She has also served on the Auckland Regional Land Transport Committee representing the interests of access and mobility.