[NFBMO] Something I was not paid to put here

[Gary Wunder]

The Blind Educator of the Year Award

Presented by Robin House

Robin House: Thank you so much, President Riccobono and the Board of
Directors. Good morning, everyone. How many of you have had a good-no, not
good-a great teacher in your life [applause]? And how many of you have had
to take what is a high school requirement, United States history? [Applause]
Yes. So I am happy and honored to present the Blind Educator of the Year
Award this year. And first, I want to thank the committee for their hard
work in making this decision. The committee includes Vernon Humphrey, Cayte
Mendez, Melissa Riccobono, and Adelmo Vigil. I thank them for their work on
the committee.

The Blind Educator of the Year Award is a longstanding tradition in the
National Federation of the Blind because we know how important education is
and how important educators are. And for all of us who are lifelong
learners, that is part of what teaching is all about. Not only is there
academic growth that happens in a school year, but there is social growth,
there is personal growth, and yes, there's physical growth. And all of those
things this year's recipient of the award demonstrates. So this is a
surprise to him. And let me tell you about him. He is a United States
history teacher at Northeast Christian High School in Kirksville, Missouri.
He will, as many educators do, go on to graduate school and work on a
master's degree in education. So he's currently doing that as well. He
brings his passion, his dedication to his profession. And not only that, he
is very active in the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri, and let
me tell you, in many ways. He serves on our board of directors. He also
serves on our scholarship committee, and he serves as the president of the
Show Me Chapter. I think most of you know Missouri is the Show Me state.
Yeah. So our Show Me Chapter is our virtual chapter. So anyone in the state,
because Missouri has its big cities and it has its small, small towns. In
fact, just learned about one at our caucus yesterday from Houston, Missouri,
way down, I think near the boot heel. Anyway, so that was fun.

So the Blind Educator of the Year is Dennis Miller. Dennis, I'm going to
give you a plaque and I'm going to read you the inscription on the plaque.
And it is both in Braille and in print. And it has the National Federation
of the Blind logo or insignia on there. And it says: "Blind Educator of the
Year, National Federation of the Blind, presented to Dennis Miller in
recognition of outstanding contributions in the teaching profession. You
enhance the present. You inspire your colleagues. You build the future. July
5th, 2026." Additionally, and before Dennis has a moment to talk to you, he
will also be receiving a $1,000 check from the National Federation of the
Blind in support of his efforts. Congratulations, Dennis. Congratulations.

Dennis Miller: Thank you all so very, very much. I cannot even tell you how
much this means to me. I was called to be a teacher. I spent a lot of time
in my life trying to figure out exactly what it was that I was put on this
earth to do. And it was later in my life that I determined that I was put
here to be a teacher. And it is the most rewarding thing that I could have
ever done. I am just so grateful to the National Federation of the Blind.
There are so many people who I wish could be here that helped me get here,
but I know they're looking down on me. I must thank my parents for
instilling in me the importance of being who I am and not letting blindness
stand in the way of accomplishing whatever it was I wanted to do.

I had an amazing resource teacher by the name of Francis Webb, who when I
started school in 1973, 1974, it was right after the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 had passed. And my parents refused to send me to the Missouri School
for the Blind. So the school system had to scramble to find a resource
teacher. And they found a lady by the name of Francis Webb who was totally
blind herself. She actually knew Dr. Jernigan. Dr. Jernigan was her English
teacher at the Tennessee School for the Blind. And so I learned about Dr.
Jernigan at a very young age. And Mrs. Webb looked like a second mom. She
really taught me how to be blind, if that makes any sense, and how not to
ever let my lack of vision stand in the way of anything that I ever wanted
to do. She insisted that I was totally mainstream. She insisted that all the
teachers teach me the same way, treat me the same way that they treated all
the other students. I was never given any special treatment or anything like
that. Everything that I needed in Braille, I had in Braille. And as I've
gone through my teaching career, so many things that she taught me are
things that come back to me when I'm teaching. And just the whole idea of
never, ever letting your blindness stand in the way of what you want to
accomplish.

We've all dealt with situations where we were told we couldn't do something.
And through my parents, through Mrs. Webb, through many other incredible,
incredible mentors like Gary Wunder, Shelia Wright, so many others, I've
learned to never ever let my lack of vision stand in the way of anything
that I wanted to accomplish. And I am just so honored and privileged to
receive this award. There are so many other blind educators out there that
are doing outstanding work. And I don't accept this award just for me. I
accept it for them because we are changing what it means to be blind. We are
living the life that we want to live and we are doing what we feel, what we
know we were called to do. And I'm just so incredibly grateful to the
National Federation of the Blind. Thank you all for this incredible,
incredible honor. I was not expecting it. And I'm just so, so blessed to be
part of such an amazing Federation family. Thank you very much.

 

 

Gotta love these fine people, and yes, the Braille Monitor. Go Chris
Danielsen!

 

 

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