Features
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Celebrating past achievers
At the time you receive this copy of Outlook, the Blind Achievers Awards for 2002 are being announced. The names of the winners will be on our website. We've taken the opportunity with this issue to celebrate past winners, including poems by two 1999 winners on the back cover and featuring on this page another two achievers whose lives have moved on since their awards.
Glen Putze won the sports category in 1999, the same year he broke a world record for water skiing at the world championships. It was a peak year in his life. The recognition and honour seemed to flow in from many sides, increasing his profile and popularity in his local South Auckland community.
Since then, Glen returned to the world champs in 2001, bringing home a couple of silver medals. His focus however has turned to his family - his children are aged 10 and 8 - and to his business. Glen wants to spend time helping his children achieve their own goals in life, as he's done. He's also started up a second physiotherapy clinic, to treat injuries, and his clinics are attended by a number of water skiiers. Being blind has given him greater awareness in the way he uses his hands to treat people.
Watch this space though; another sport that Glen has just turned his attention to is tandem track cycling. While at age 38 he might not make the world champs this time, as with everything else Glen does, he'll be an inspiration for what's possible.
Caitlin Smith won the performing arts category in 2000 for her achievements as a vocalist and voice teacher. She tours and has recorded two CDs with the Fondue Set, the most recent being In a Blue Vein.
When at home in Auckland, Caitlin teaches more than 30 hours a week with private students, at UNITEC and at Auckland University's SCAPA performing arts school. On top of her teaching, Caitlin's schedule has included performing at European and North American jazz festivals and appearing as a soloist at last year's Christmas in the Park concert. Caitlin has been legally blind since birth and doesn't believe that her blindness has been overly relevant to her musical talent or achievements. Receiving the award was a real encouragement and she believes the awards are part of the Foundation's work to inform members and the wider community of what other blind and partially sighted people are up to.
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Funky Eye Friday
In September, as part of the Save Our Sight campaign, the Foundation held a Funky Eye Friday for schools, to promote the importance of regular eye checks. With prizes up for grabs, students were asked to make the funkiest pair of eyeglass frames out of whatever materials they could find.
The 300 or so pairs of funky frames that came rolling in from a wide range of schools around the country, when the spring term holidays ended, were a glittering, gorgeous sight. Built, knitted and baked with everything from pastry and boiled lollies, to glitter and sequins, coins, feathers and miniature toys on pipe cleaners and wire, they proved to be a serious dilemma for the judges. Who to award the prizes to?
In the end, Dirty Dog eyewear gift packs went in the North Island to:
1. Cade Tariau of Lincoln Heights Primary,
2. Tyler Palmer of Pollock School and
3. Matthew Cooper of Tiniroto School,
and in the South Island to:
1. Dale Riches and
3. Grace Mitchell of Mairehau Primary and
2. Alisha Smith of Balclutha School.
The first place winners, Cade and Dale, each also received $400 worth of books from Dymocks Atrium on Elliot Booksellers for their school library.
Karen Lindsey, a participating teacher, wrote "We had great fun, and many laughs, at our 'Eyewear Fashion Parade for the WITH IT DUDES'. Proving that wearing glasses is nothing to be embarrassed about".