Second Post of the Day
My friend Kathy is back in the news again. She asked me not to share until it was announced publicly, but the announcement has been made and I can now unseal my lips.
She has won another award.
Kathy does not look for awards; they find her. And this one is huge. Former winners include Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles.
Yeah. Really.
When she shared the news with me, we were sitting in my car waiting for the nail salon to open so we could get pedicures. (Pedicures are our monthly girls outing/catch up time.) Kathy had just been notified about the award and was so scrambled, she did not know what to say or do. Her voice shook and I think her hands were shaking, too.
"I just have to tell someone, but please don't share this. Lynn, I never applied for this; I have no idea how they knew about me or why they felt I was a candidate."
And then she shared that she had just been informed that she was to receive the 2026 Helen Keller Achievement Award from The American Federation for the Blind in New York City this coming April.
I know why she was on their radar. It's a no brainer. Indiana Teacher of the Year, 2015. National Teacher of the Year Top Four, 2015 with a White House meeting with President Obama.
Winner of Dolly Parton's Chasing Rainbows Award. Olympic torch bearer. National Federation for the Blind Teacher of the Year. Sagamore of the Wabash (the highest civilian honor in Indiana), Purdue University Distinguished Alumni Award, and so on.
Helen Keller, one of Kathy's heroes, was a member of The American Federation of the Blind and the award that Kathy has won is named in Helen Keller's honor.
Here is a link to the press release.
One of the things I like best about Kathy is her humility and, dare I say it, her innocence. And I mean that as a compliment. Her goal is never about herself, the limelight, or the awards, but to help others achieve their best. To serve. To make a difference in our world. And she does it all as a blind woman.
In a huge twist of irony, I think her blindness makes her visible and opens doors, for her and for others. She is not what most people expect when they learn that someone is blind. As a result, Kathy has broken so many barriers to blindness in so many arenas that sighted people like you and me have to adjust our own personal definitions of what blindness is and what a blind person can accomplish.
And in doing so, she has led the way for other vision impaired people to follow.
Kathy, you make a difference and you are very deserving of this award. I am happy for you and I am so, so proud of you.
Well done, dear friend.
