From chrisvinson1 at gmail.com Thu Oct 2 12:08:14 2025 From: chrisvinson1 at gmail.com (Chris Walker) Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2025 08:08:14 -0400 Subject: [NFBV-Winchester] Press release for white cane awareness Saturday, October 4, 2025 Message-ID: WHITE CANE MONTH/PEDESTRIAN SAFETY FOR ALL One of every seven traffic deaths in Virginia involves a pedestrian. Local law enforcement officials, representatives from the National Federation of the Blind and local community leaders will hold a press conference Saturday, October 4 at 10 am on Winchester’s Pedestrian Mall in front of the Civil War Museum. The most vulnerable pedestrians are the blind or those with low vision . Many use a white cane as a tactical tool t o function in different environments, with the cane providing guidance to the environment around them and alerting drivers and sighted pedestrians to exhibit extra caution when seeing them used. White cane users undergo specialized training on their usage and members of the Winchester Federation of the Blind in association with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) will provide demonstrations from 10 am to 1 pm Saturday to demonstrate their efficacy. The event is being promoted by the Winchester Host Lions Club which includes supporting the blind as an integral part of their daily mission. Speakers will include Chris Walker, president of the W inchester Federation of the Blind; Winchester Police Chief Ronnie Williams ; Chief of Patrol Warren Gosnell of the Frederick County Sheriff’s Depar t ment , and Winchester Mayor Les Veach . For more information please contact Winchester Host Lion Tom Crosby at 704-649-9377 or Crosby.tomr at gmail.com . Christopher Walker President, Winchester Chapter National Federation Of The Blind of Virginia 540-303-0080 chrisvinson1 at gmail.com NFBV.org nfb.org Follow us on Facebook National Federation Of The Blind of Virginia Winchester Chapter