In This Issue:
Carpe Diem, By Pat Cannon
Corda Moss Graduates with High Honors
Stephanie Lwanga Completes Her First Half-Marathon
Pat Cannon and Michelle Visscher Honored at Rehab Conference
Website Update
Letters and E-Mails
Staff News
MCB Staff Profile: Christine Boone
MCB Insight Contributors & Publication Information
Carpe Diem
By Pat Cannon
Over the past several years, many of you have occasionally heard me introduce myself, or refer to myself, as "the current MCB Director." Once in a while someone asks me why I do so, and I'm always pleased to offer this brief explanation, which I'd like to share with you now.
I think of myself as the "current" agency director, first, because it is simply true--I am fortunate enough to be the one currently in this position. More importantly, though, I recognize that as the current director, I am in this position for a limited amount of time. This is not a lifetime appointment and I know that someday, someone else will have the privilege of serving in this role. In the meantime, though, while I am the lucky guy to be here, I will treat this opportunity entrusted to me with care, passion, and diligence and dedicate myself to do all that I can to be as effective as possible in supporting our staff to provide top-quality services to our clients.
The notion of making today count due to the uncertainty of tomorrow has been expressed in numerous ways, some of which may now be viewed as clichés (which reminds me of the English professor who gave a writing assignment to his class and warned his students that clichés should be avoided like the plague). I'm sure that you can think of many phrases or sayings which remind us to make the best of today, such as you've got to make hay while the sun shines; gather ye rosebuds while ye may; tomorrow is promised to no one; life is uncertain, so eat dessert first; and on and on. You probably have some favorite aphorisms of your own which help to inspire you, center you, or maintain perspective, and, if you're so inclined, I'd be pleased to hear them.
Just in case anyone is thinking that I'm writing on this theme today because of my recent cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment, let me assure you that such is not the case. My treatment has been successfully completed and my prognosis is great. And, no, I am not contemplating retirement! The fact is that my parents gave me the message many years ago to make each day the best it could be, because we don't get to go back and do it over again.
There have been many instances since my youth which have reminded me of this thinking, none more profoundly than the loss of my son, John, 18 years ago. His death was a stark reminder that life is fragile and that we had better make the very best of each day while we have the chance. Or, to put it in the words of one of my favorite aphorisms, today is a gift, that's why we call it the present.
In Robin Williams' 1989 role in the popular movie "Dead Poets Society," he portrayed John Keating, an English teacher at a boys' prep school. Keating urged his students to live life with passion, live deliberately, live with joy, and seize the day. Carpe Diem!
Corda Moss Graduates with High Honors
Corda Moss graduated on October 6 with a bachelor of arts degree in family life education from Spring Arbor University. As if that's not enough, she graduated with high honors, or magna cum laude, and she's the first in her nuclear family to earn a college degree.
Corda says she had always wanted to earn a college degree. She heard about Spring Arbor University from Ella Harrington. When Corda found out about the degree program in family life education, it seemed perfect for her. "I've always liked to share information and help people get the resources they need," said Corda, "so this field is perfect. It's not social work, but there are some aspects that are similar, and what I've learned helps with my work at the training center when I need to direct people to other agencies and organizations."
Corda spent five years of evenings and weekends attending Lake Michigan College and Kalamazoo Valley community colleges, completing paperwork and exams for College Level Equivalency Program credits, and using bits of annual leave here and there for daytime classes. Once she got to Spring Arbor, Corda had about six hours of classes a week along with 15-20 hours of homework per week.
Corda says that one of the best things about graduating was having all seven of her in-state grandchildren present at the ceremony, along with her mom, sister, niece, and husband. "I had a whole cheering section," she added. "In my thank-you notes to my grandchildren, I told each of them that I'm looking forward to attending their graduation ceremonies."
Corda especially appreciates the help of her husband, Rick, who cheerfully became the chief cook and bottle washer, grocery shopper, and more during Corda's years in college. Corda says, "I couldn't have done this without him."
Stephanie Lwanga Completes Her First Half-Marathon
Photo: Stephanie Lwanga holds up her medal after completing her first half-marathon race last month. (Details below.)
Stephanie Lwanga, a Rehabilitation Counselor at the Michigan Commission for the Blind Detroit office, ran in the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Half Marathon on October 21. This was her first half-marathon race. After training for three months, she finished the 13-mile race with a time of 2 hours and 26 minutes! More than 16,000 people participated in the event.
Pat Cannon and Michelle Visscher Honored at Rehab Conference
Two MCB staff members received awards at the 2007 Michigan Rehabilitation Conference in Grand Rapidson October 25. MCB Director Pat Cannon and MCB Rehabilitation Counselor Michelle Visscher were honored in two separate ceremonies.
Pat Cannon received a Michigan Rehabilitation Conference Excellence Award, presented by the Michigan Rehabilitation Association and the Michigan Association of Rehabilitation Organizations (MARO). He was presented with the award at the October 25 evening banquet at the Amway Grand Plaza. He was honored for his many years of service on behalf of people with disabilities, including his service as director of MCB since 1997, bringing a new level of collaboration to the agency through the agency's VISION 2020 initiative; director of the Michigan Commission on Disability Concerns for 10 years, where he was instrumental in gaining passage of the 1990 amendments to the Michigan Handicappers' Civil Rights Act and advocating for enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act; State ADA Coordinator and Disability Policy Advisor to Governor Jennifer M. Granholm; a member and chair of the U.S. Access Board, appointed by President Bill Clinton, working on issues of architectural and transportation access; and for being a role model for individuals who are blind and possess other disabilities, and being a tireless advocate for full inclusion and full citizenship for individuals with disabilities. Pat said, "It is a particular honor to be recognized by my colleagues in the disability and rehab community. I find immense satisfaction in effectively serving our customers and helping them to achieve independence and employment. This is meaningful and satisfying work, particularly so due to the outstanding MCB staff."
Michelle Visscher, a Rehabilitation Counselor at the commission's Grand Rapids office, received the 2007 Michigan Rehabilitation Counseling Association (MRCA) Job Placement Division (JPD) Placement Specialist of the Year Award at the MRC/JPD luncheon on October 25 at DeVos Place. This award is presented annually to the person who excels in assisting persons with disabilities in obtaining employment, staying employed, and advancing in their employment. Michelle Visscher has excelled in all of these in her work with MCB, serving people who are blind and visually impaired in Kent and Muskegon counties. Michelle said, "It's wonderful to be recognized by my supervisor, colleagues, clients, and vendors that I work with every day. This work is a team effort, so I share this honor with everyone at the Michigan Commission for the Blind."
Website Update
There are several new items on the MCB website at www.michigan.gov/mcb:
-
MCB Insight--Back issues are now archived online. At the main menu, click on Resources and go to the link at the bottom of the page titled
Information for MCB Staff
. Use "find" to locate the "MCB Insight Newsletter Archive" and click on the edition you want.
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MCB Consumer Information Packets--The list of items included in this packet has changed, because some publications are now out of print and one new item has been added. For details, see
Information for MCB Staff
and note the item titled "Consumer Information Packet Items."
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Technology--Roger Yake has compiled an extensive list of IT resources, which is located in the Resources section as a Microsoft Word file under
Technology Related to Blindness and Visual Impairment
.
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New Commissioners---Complete biographies and photos of MCB's two new commissioners, Mr. Mark Eagle and Ms. Margaret Wolfe, are now online. From the main menu, click on MCB Board, and then on
MCB Commissioner Biographies
.
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Media Articles--Press clips sent to MCB staff are also posted online under
Press Room
in the top section, titled "Michigan Commission for the Blind in the News."
Letters and E-Mails
Michelle Visscher received an email from one of her consumers, which included this expression of appreciation:
"…thanks so much for all of your help. I never expected the level of assistance that you were able to provide…"
Staff News
On September 10,
Patrick Duthie
became the new Business Enterprise Program promotional agent, based in the Grand Rapids office and working with BEP operators on the west side of the state. Patrick is returning to Michigan from Wisconsin. He is a native of the Grand Rapids area and a very proud graduate of Michigan State University's School of Hospitality Business. Patrick brings to us his experience in various segments of the hospitality industry. He has worked for HDS Services (a longtime BEP partner) as a food service manager in health care and retirement facilities, and has experience in property and project management. Patrick's e-mail address is duthiep@michigan.govand his phone number is (616) 356-0180.
Marla Walker
began working at the MCB Training Center in Kalamazoo on October 8 as a Domestic Services Aide, filling the position formerly held by Chris Rasmussen. Marla is in the process of relocating from Edwardsburg, Michigan, which is about an hour to the southwest from Kalamazoo, near the Indiana border. Previously, Marla worked as a maintenance person with the Edwardsburg Public Schools. Marla has just completed her training at the center under the blindfold, and she was amazed at how much she learned in two weeks. "It gave me a lot of insight," she said. When she's not working at the center, Marla spends much of her free time visiting her grandkids in Whitehall and Edwardsburg--especially in Edwardsburg, where she helps to care for her two-year-old granddaughter Teigan (TEE-gun), who has been critically ill since birth. You can reach Marla at walkerm10@michigan.gov or through the main MCBTC phone number, which is 269-337-3848.
MCB Staff Profile: Christine Boone
MCB Training Center Director Christine Boone has just celebrated her one-year anniversary with the commission, as of October 9, and she's glad to be here.
"Pat Cannon was the reason I decided to come to Michigan," says Christine. "He has great persuasive powers. I've known Pat for a long time, through the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind. I knew that he wanted to continue to improve the training center, and he knew the kind of work I find rewarding."
Christine has lived and worked at various places around the United States. Born in Massachusetts, she grew up in New Jersey and went to high school in Colorado. She earned a bachelor's degree in history and political science at the University of Colorado and got her first job at the Denver Public Library as the general resource librarian and teacher for the Kurzweil reading machine.
Asked about her early years in rehab, Christine says, "I didn't really intend to get into rehab! I wanted to work for the Social Security Administration and then eventually become a college professor. I applied to Social Security, but they didn't think a blind person could do that kind of work. I was offered a job as a secretary, which I wasn't qualified for! Then I was contacted by someone in Nebraska, and he called and asked me to apply for a rehab teacher job. Back then, blind people weren't being admitted to college rehab programs. I applied for the job and got it. At that time, in order to work for the Nebraska Services for the Visually Impaired, you had to go through a three-month training. During that training, a position opened up as a home management instructor, and I applied and got the job. Then I began getting more training at the center, almost like an apprenticeship type of learning."
Christine continued, "Then a man working at a blind research agency in England got interested in what we were doing. At that time, blind O&M [orientation and mobility] instructors were very controversial--there were only a couple of us in the country. This researcher was Allan Dodds, then a Senior Research Fellow at the Blind Mobility Research Unit at the University of Nottingham. Later he coined the term "Discovery Learning" and wrote a book titled Orientation and Mobility: A Person-Centered Approach, and he dedicated the book to me, which was very cool!"
Christine then went to law school in Nebraska, and she received her J.D. and became a member of the Nebraska Bar in 1996. She practiced law for about 10 years, working in labor and employment defense law as well as doing plaintiff work in labor and employment and in human rights and disability law.
She went from Nebraska to Oregon, to New Mexico, and back to Nebraska again, working as a rehab teacher, counselor, transition coordinator, directing summer youth programs, and organizing summer training and employment.
She combined her legal and rehab experience into one job when she became Director of the Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services in Pennsylvania. Then she left that agency to work for a nonprofit organization, Blind Industries and Services of Maryland, doing legal work, grant writing, and program review. From there, she came to MCB.
Now, after a year at the MCB Training Center, Christine continues to be enthusiastic about the center and all it is and can be.
When asked about her family, Christine says, "I have an amazing family, I met my husband when we were both working at Nebraska. We have two kids. Edward is 19 and a sophomore in college majoring in pre-law, doing ROTC, and working and doing a great job. Kate is a high school senior, and wants to major in environmental engineering. They're great kids. Doug and I have never had a vacation without them--we all travel together. There's nothing more enjoyable to me than spending time with my family."
Christine also loves the outdoors, hiking, folk music, and reading, especially historical fiction and classics like David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.
And if you'd like to talk with Christine about folk music, the works of Dickens, or Christine's approach to breaking new ground and treading where others have not, you can reach her at 269-337-3852, or boonec@michigan.gov.
MCB Insight is a bimonthly e-mail newsletter published by the Michigan Commission for the Blind (MCB) and distributed to MCB staff during the first week of odd-numbered months. If you have articles or ideas for MCB Insight, please send them to Susan Turney at
turneys@michigan.gov
anytime. Your suggestions and comments are welcome. This publication is available in alternative formats upon request to persons with disabilities.
Contributors and others assisting with this issue: Christine Boone, Pat Cannon, Sherry Gordon, Stephanie Lwanga, Corda Moss, Michelle Visscher, Marla Walker, and Constance Zanger.
Editor: Susan Turney, Communications & Outreach Coordinator, MichiganCommission for the Blind, DLEG.
Associate Editor: Bob Robertson, Manager of Organizational Development, Michigan Commission for the Blind, DLEG.
The Michigan Commission for the Blind, a part of the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth, is an equal opportunity employer/program.
Michigan Commission for the Blind
Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth
201 N. Washington Square, 2nd floor
P.O. Box 30652
Lansing, MI 48909
Voice (toll-free) 1-800-292-4200
TTY (toll-free) 1-888-864-1212
www.michigan.gov/mcb
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