[Flagdu] sharing the news of the passing of Mike Sergeant, friend and trainer to many

[Sherrill O'Brien]

Hello to all,

Our Vice President Merry Schoch called this morning to let me know the sad
news of the passing of Mike Sergeant. We have no concrete details, but he
passed away in his apartment just a couple days ago. There is no obituary or
announcement of services at this time.

As some of you will recall with great fondness, Mike was the "Top Dog" at
Southeastern Guide Dogs for many years. He then moved his talents to Guide
Dog Foundation in New York, and had a passionate interest in GDF's  program
which serves our returning veterans.

When I first attended Southeastern  in 1987, I was fascinated by the stories
Mike told about his service in Vietnam and how he trained and worked with
the wonderful dogs who saved the lives of many soldiers and kept many more
from harm's way. I felt all the more confident in my choice of training
programs since he had been dedicated to training dogs for important service
from the time he was a young man.

If anyone would like to share their memories of Mike, feel free to post them
here. I realize many of you never met him, but I know you appreciate our
desire to honor an excellent and passionate guide dog trainer, and
especially one who was always willing to listen to and show respect for
blind consumers.

I'll send more information if it is forthcoming.

Warm regards
Sherrill