Profiles
- Focus on Employment
- Blind Sailors Top of Their Class!
- Lawrence E Blaha Award
- 'Three Blind Mice'
- Chairman's Award 2006
- Top Honour for Kylee Maloney
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Focus on Employment
John Stratford is an entrepreneurial kind of character. You're more likely to find him running a marathon, racing across the Auckland Harbour Bridge or inventing a new method to speed up the production of coathangers than sitting around waiting for the phone to ring.
Despite that, John just retired from answering calls for the past 20 years. Ten years ago he was a founding member of the Department of Social Welfare's new national call centre. The Department is now called Child Youth and Family. "We get all kinds of calls from youth justice, adoption, home alone cases and child abuse, to people who just want to know what the time is," says John. "It's very varied."
John was blinded in an accident at age four. He was the first person to get an entire secondary education in a mainstream school, at Auckland Grammar. After that, he started a university degree in physiotherapy but was more drawn in the early 1960s to playing music and to running. John trained with some of New Zealand's iconic athletes such as Peter Snell and he won the Bill Baillie trophy.
A brief career in sheltered workshops ended when John came up with a method for making three coathangers at once. Workshop members were paid by the piece and John started earning more than the workshop manager! He transferred to the Foundation Library, then on the reception desk and in the adult rehabilitation unit. His focus was the three-month course for newly blinded adults, teaching braille and mobility skills.
As for retirement, John has no firm plans. "I'll see what life holds," he says.
Contact Thomas Bryan about Employment Services on 0800 24 33 33 or visit www.rnzfb.org.nz
Blind Sailors Top of Their Class!
Blind Sailing New Zealand ventured to the New York Yacht Club and had outstanding results in the 2006 International Federation of Disabled Sailing World Blind Sailing championships. To recap the official results:
B1 (totally blind) Division: NZL 2nd Rob Aislabie, Rotorua, helm; Dave Allerton, Urenui, mainsheet; Wayne Holdt, New Plymouth sighted tactician; Simon Holdt, New Plymouth, sighted help.
B2 (sight perception to about 25 cm) Division: NZL 1st Paulien Eitjes, Tauranga, helm; Dick Lancaster, Taumarunui, mainsheet; Gary Smith, Tauranga, sighted tactician; Scott Burling, Tauranga, sighted help.
B3 (legally blind with restricted
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vision field) Division: NZL 3rd Eddie Moree, Rotorua, helm; Shannon Leslie, Rotorua, mainsheet; Brian Trubovich, Auckland, sighted tactician; Tony Poolman, Rotorua, sighted help; Tony Thompson, Rotorua Manager Sailing; Don Mason, Auckland, Manager administration. From 10 nations competing, NZL won the Team Trophy and are now World Champions of Blind Sailing!
The B2 Crew received a Yachting New Zealand Merit award and Tony Thompson has been nominated for a Yachting New Zealand Honour Award. In addition New Zealand has been awarded the hosting rights for the next IFDS World Blind Sailing Championships which will be held in Rotorua in February 2009. Many thanks to everyone that supported the team and helped them achieve their stunning success.
Lawrence E Blaha Award
For the first time in its 40 year history, a prestigious award for orientation and mobility has been given to someone living outside of America.
Steve La Grow, Professor of Rehabilitation at Massey University, won this year's Lawrence E Blaha Award.
The award was set up by the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind (AER) and is the highest award that can be given by the O&M division. It honours people who have made outstanding contributions to the profession and shown their dedication to serving people with vision impairment.
Steve was brought to New Zealand nearly 20 years ago from Western Michigan University by the Foundation. His task, with the help of an RNZFB grant, was to set up the Orientation and Mobility (O&M) training programme at Massey University, which he still runs. It was the first programme outside of
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the USA to train O&M specialists to the high standards expected by the AER. It also means the Foundation can employ local graduates from the course instead of having to recruit from overseas.
"This award confirms that not only are we playing at the same level as the rest of the world, but the research and service we do here are being recognised as leading the field," says Steve.
Over his 30-year career, Steve has also been a consultant to seven international blindness foundations and research centres worldwide and has written extensively on the subject of O&M.
Ex-student Elizabeth Morrison, who nominated him, said, "Steve is a man whose work ethic, strength of character and generosity of spirit shine through in all that he does."
The award is named after Larry Blaha, who was a pioneer educator in the field of O&M.
Each recipient holds the Sir Francis Campbell cane. Dr Campbell founded the Royal Normal School for the Blind in England over 100 years ago.
'Three Blind Mice'
For three men in their nineties, being blind and in a rest home has turned out to be a whole new beginning. They call themselves the "Three Blind Mice", and Ray (91), Alex (95) and Dick (92) say it was literally the sound of music that brought them together. Alex gave up playing the mandolin he was once so passionate about when Glaucoma and Age-Related Macular Degeneration took away his ability to read music. With a bit of encouragement from Dick he learned to play by ear. One morning Ray heard the pair playing and followed the sound of the music until he found them.
"I introduced myself and it turned out we have a lot in common. We are all blind and love music and since that day we have become great friends," says Ray, who lost his eyesight 17 years ago when blood vessels suddenly burst in his eyes.
Every morning the trio can be found playing music and singing. Ray even records them sometimes. "Being blind can be isolating at times but now I look forward to our morning get-togethers," says Ray.
"We chat about our younger days and about music, share a laugh and talk about the things we experience being blind and which
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of the Foundation's talking books we are listening to."
They have a strong bond and are enjoying their time together and we're told their wives are all happy because it gives them someone else to talk to!
Chairman's Award 2006
Failing eye-sight from Retinitis Pigmentosa has not stopped Doug Johnston, the 2006 RNZFB Chairman's Award recipient, from raising a family, having a productive career in the Public Service and leading the community by example.
"More than 30 years ago Doug started losing his sight so he joined the Foundation to learn new skills and carry on his busy lifestyle," says Don McKenzie, RNZFB Chairman.
"He is not the kind of person who lets limited vision get in the way of his love of life and commitment to public and community service.
"With his personal resourcefulness, positive attitude, fair-mindedness and a straight forward approach Doug is a leader in both his paid and voluntary work. He is someone I greatly admire."
Says Doug: "I was really thrilled to be presented with the award. It's quite a prestigious award and even though I'd done a few things with the Foundation and in the community I never expected anything like this."
Currently, Doug gives tenancy advice for the Department of Building and Housing throughout New Zealand, a job that entails diplomatic adjudication on the differences between tenants and landlords. This is where his sense of humour and effectiveness as a communicator come into their own - easing many a tense moment!
In the past, Doug worked for the Kapiti Coast District Council, Work & Income New Zealand and other government departments in various roles. He has also owned and operated his own fish and chip shop (at age 19).
His voluntary roles include membership of the RNZFB's Kapiti Advisory Committee for more than 25 years including 10 years as deputy chairman; RNZFB Board Trustee for three years;
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Association of Blind Citizens (ABC NZ) President for seven years and executive member for 15 years; and champion for mentoring young blind and vision-impaired leaders.
He has been a trustee for the Kapiti Welcome Trust (housing project for disabled people) and trustee for Paraparaumu Primary School and chair of its Parents Support Group. Doug has also held various roles in Jaycees, Scouts, Toastmasters and Rotary.
Top Honour for Kylee Maloney
RNZFB member Kylee Maloney was awarded in August one of the 2006 Voice Awards sponsored by the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Writers Guild of America West. Kylee is the first international recipient of the award.
The Voice Awards honour entertainment industry writers and producers who have given "voice" to people with mental health problems by incorporating empathetic and accurate portrayals of the issues in their work.
Kylee, who has also experienced mental illness, won the award for her work as producer and presenter of One In Five, National Radio's disability issues programme broadcast on National Radio on Sundays at 7.06 pm.
At the awards Kylee was presented with a specially designed trophy.
"It was an amazing experience. The ceremony in LA was very Oscar-like but very welcoming at the same time," said Kylee.
Other recipients include the hit television programmes ER, Larry King, Scrubs and Monk. On her return to Wellington, the US Ambassador to New Zealand, William McCormick, marked the occasion with an event at the US Embassy. Over 50 guests attended including the Minister for Disability Issues, the Hon Ruth Dyson.
A graduate of the New Zealand Radio Training School, Kylee undertook a period of training at Radio New Zealand supported by the State Services Commission Mainstream programme before being appointed solo producer and presenter of One in Five in September 2005. She is also a musician, whose debut album First Light was released by Warner Brothers in New Zealand and the UK in 1998.