The President’s
Corner - The Final Chapter
By Jim Jirak,
President
As I
put the finishing touches on what is my final installment of The President’s Corner this Ground
Hogs Day, I do so with mixed emotions.
Not only do I wonder whether Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow, I
also wonder who will assume the presidency in April. While there are many qualified candidates that should give strong
consideration to running, we will, at least at the time of the distribution of
this newsletter, know if Phil saw his shadow and whether the next six weeks of
winter have been as good to us as the first six.
Before
I get into my remarks, I begin on a somewhat somber note. On January 30, this organization lost one of
its charter members, Leonard Weiland.
Leonard, without question, exemplified the true meaning of “People First
– Causes Second.” Having been active as
a blind vender, serving on The Governor’s Advisory Committee to the Services
for the Visually Impaired, being an active member in the Masons to serving as
chairman of the Share A Fare committee, Leonard’s presence, advise and words of
wisdom will be sorely missed. I think I
can speak for the membership when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with
Glennie and her family during this emotional and stressful period.
On a
positive note, ACBN has come along way in the past four years. When I assumed office in April of 1998, we
had just secured, with thanks to Mary Susan Orester, a bequest from the estate
of Elenora Norman. Resulting from a
stipulation associated with this bequest, on June 3, 2000, from the direction
of the membership given in Nebraska City during the state convention that same
year, Lleana Messer presented the ceremonial check to the Lions Foundation,
during their state convention in Kearney, to assist with diabetic
screening. Also, we had just seen Bob
Doulas put together, and pull off with overwhelming success, a retirement
dinner for Dr. James Nyman, former director of SVI. ACBN also found itself going hi-tech; or dare I say in cyber-space
with the creation of acb.org/nebraska/.
But perhaps the most important accomplishment of my presidency is
securing a $50,000 grant to better transportation options for rural visually
impaired Nebraska citizens. While the
next president will assume the enormous responsibility of ensuring its proper
implementation, it goes without saying that this grant could not have been
secured without the expertise of both Bob Doulas as program director and Steve
Speicher who helped author the grant request.
As
any good historian will tell you, the key to the future is the past. I am convinced this organization has a
bright future and whoever is elected president will undoubtedly carry the torch
well. And while I have my thoughts on
what issues need urgent attention after the election of the new regime at our
state convention next month, I can only hope membership recruitment is near the
top of that list.
Speaking
of next month, plans are being finalized for our state convention in Bellevue,
Nebraska. Your convention committee has
worked diligently to ensure the same overwhelming success for this convention
as last years saw. Chris Gray, newly
elected president on the national scene, is this years national representative. His remarks promise to be informative as
well as entertaining. Other highlights
promise to be the presentation of the Carl T. Curtis award and our banquet
entertainment Peter, Paul & Maurie.
If you have Internet access, check ppmfolk.com to learn more about this
year’s entertainment.
Watch
your mail for the convention registration.
It is coming soon to a mailbox near you. Please return the registration by the date indicated on the form. Not only will this ensure an accurate count
for the banquet, but also helps the hotel determine the size of the meeting
room needed. Calling The Days Inn at
(402) 292-3800 will allow you to make room reservations. To receive the discounted room rate of $49
plus applicable taxes, be sure to mention ACBN. The dates for the convention are April 19-21. Mark your calendars. The state convention is one event you won’t
want to miss.
And
finally, I leave you with a true story received via E-mail from a family
member. It appeared in the September 19 edition of The New York
Times. And with the events of September
11, this story hits home in more ways than one.
“Dog rescue (get your Kleenex out!)
ALL HEROES ARE NOT
PEOPLE:
True story from
9-11-01.
James Crane worked on
the 101st floor of Tower 1 of the World Trade Center. He is blind so he has a golden retriever named Daisy.
After the plane hit
20 stories below, James knew that he was doomed, so he let Daisy go, out of an
act of love. With tears in her eyes she
darted away into the darkened hallway.
Choking on the fumes of the jet fuel and the smoke, James was just
waiting to die.
About 30 minutes later, Daisy comes back - along
with James' boss, who Daisy just happened to pick up on floor 112. On her first
run of the building, Daisy leads James, James' boss, and about 300 more people
out of the doomed building. But she
wasn't through yet. She knew there were others who were trapped. So, highly against James' wishes, she ran
back in the building. On her second
run, she saved 392 lives. Again she
went back in. During this run, the building collapses. James hears about this and falls on his
knees into tears. Against all known
odds, Daisy makes it out alive, but this time she is carried by a firefighter.
"She led us
right to the people before she got injured." the fireman explained.
Her final run saved
another 273 lives. She suffered acute
smoke inhalation, severe burns on all four paws, and a broken leg, but she
saved 967 lives.
Next week, Mayor
Guilaini rewards Daisy with the Canine Medal of Honor of New York. Daisy is the
first civilian Canine to win such an honor.”
Until next month,
thank you for your support and your confidence in me as president. It has been an honor and a pleasure.