Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind

Spaghetti and Meatballs All’Amatriciana

(an entertaining dish)

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

Meatballs:

6 ounces uncured applewood-smoked bacon (about 6 slices), diced

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

2 pounds ground beef

2/3 cup chopped drained roasted red peppers from jar

2/3 cup breadcrumbs

2 large eggs

1/2 cup coarsely grated onion

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon minced fresh marjoram

2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Sauce:

2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

6 ounces uncured applewood-smoked bacon (about 6 slices), cut crosswise into thin strips

1 tablespoon (or more) extra-virgin olive oil

3 cups finely chopped onions

1 1/2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper

2 cups dry white wine

1 tablespoon minced fresh marjoram

Pasta:

1 1/2 pounds spaghetti

2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh marjoram

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

For meatballs (DO AHEAD): Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover 7 chill.
Place bacon in processor. Using on/off turns, grind to coarse paste. Transfer to large bowl. Using garlic press, squeeze in garlic. Gently mix in beef and all remaining ingredients. Let stand 15 minutes.

Line large baking sheet with plastic wrap. Using moistened hands and scant 2 tablespoonfuls for each, roll meat mixture into 1-1/2 inch meatballs. Arrange meatballs on sheet. (Do Ahead).

For sauce:
Puree tomatoes with juice and garlic in batches in blender until smooth. Cook bacon in large pot over medium heat until crisp; transfer bacon to plate. Add 1 tablespoon oil to drippings in pot and heat over medium heat. Add half of meatballs. Cook until brown on all sides, turning carefully with small metal spatula, about 9 minutes. Transfer meatballs to baking sheet. Add more oil to pot if needed and repeat with remaining meatballs. Increase heat to medium-high. Add onions and crushed red pepper to pot.

Sauté until golden, about 6 minutes. Add wine; boil until reduced by half, stirring up browned bits, about 8 minutes. Add tomato puree and marjoram. Boil until sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Mix bacon into sauce. Add meatballs; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until meatballs are heated through and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

For pasta:
Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain; transfer to large bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons oil and marjoram, adding more oil to moisten, if desired. Divide spaghetti among bowls. Top with meatballs and sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and serve, passing additional cheese separately.

This article was brought to my attention by its writer, Donna Hill, who is also a Ziegler reader.  It was originally published by Suite 101.

The Blind Driver Challenge: How Will Virginia Tech’s Car for Blind People Affect Society

Written by: Donna W. Hill

First published Feb. 18, 2010 by Suite 101

In January, England’s Daily Mail reported the Portsmouth City Council decision to provide taxi applications in Braille. This caused quite a chuckle worldwide, making it to NPR’s humorous weekly news retrospective Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me. But, will blind people have the last laugh? Virginia Tech and the NFB are developing a car that blind drivers can operate.

Virginia Tech Accepts Blind Driver Challenge

In 2004, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB): http://www.nfb.org, challenged America’s universities to design a car that blind people could drive. They didn’t want a car that did everything for its occupants; but one with which the driver would have to interact. Virginia Tech accepted the challenge.

The NFB is working with the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) on a “buggy” which relays information non-visually. Last summer, Mark Riccobono, Executive Director of the NFB’s Jernigan Institute (Baltimore), was the first blind person to drive the car. Then, twenty blind kids drove it around a University of Maryland parking lot during Youth Slam:

http://www.blindscience.org/ncbys/Youth_Slam.asp?SnID=1059802266

NFB’s two-week summer camp for blind teens.

Why are Blind People Pursuing a Drivable Car?

Initially, the idea that the NFB would be interested in developing such a car seems contradictory. The nonprofit organization stresses that blindness, with proper training and tools, can be reduced to a nuisance. The fact that blind people travel independently without driving is often used to illustrate the human capacity for finding alternative ways to accomplish goals. The Blind Drivers Challenge (BDC) is not looking for a quick fix for basic mobility.

The primary motivation is the belief in the inestimable value of scientific research. Office workers using scanners are already benefiting from technology developed to enable blind people to access print. Nonetheless, there is a gap between non-visual access technology and general technology.

In an interview with Suite 101, Riccobono said that in an effort to be sleek and visually appealing, technology is moving in a direction which reduces accessibility for everyone. Modern engineering is more strongly biased toward visual access than ever. This makes things harder for sighted people as well as the blind.

“On the one hand,” says Riccobono, “We are passing laws to encourage drivers to keep their eyes on the road, and on the other, manufacturers are using new systems that force the driver to look away.”

Riccobono points to radio, heat and air conditioning controls on newer cars. It is not necessary for them to be visual.

“You used to be able to reach down without looking and turn a knob or use a slider switch,” he states, “but now these controls are on flat-panel screens.”

Blind Imagination: Changing Minds to Help Everyone

The technological trend toward visual access creates the need for adaptations and separate devices to make products accessible to blind people. Since the market is small, costs are high. Designing products that work for everyone lowers costs. In addition, sighted consumers benefit from non-visual access.

Sighted people already want technology developed for the blind. Talking calculators are easier on the eyes than confirming every entry visually. The KNFB Mobile Reader, a Nokia-phone-based application developed by Kurzweil and the NFB, can take a picture of a French menu and read it in English.

“When sighted people realize what it does,” Riccobono says, “they want it.”

The NFB-BDC wants to make non-visual access part of every engineer’s imagination. Projects like the Virginia Tech car excite scientists. Through their interactions with blind people, they become open to new approaches.

Blind Drivers: Breaking the Bonds of Low Expectations

The NFB-BDC seeks to reframe the general public’s perceptions of blindness. The need is overwhelming. Despite the successes of blind people working as engineers, chemists, lawyers, mechanics and professionals in many fields, unemployment among blind Americans is seventy percent. With many schools refusing to teach Braille, blind children, of whom little is expected, are forced to settle for a substandard education. The NFB hopes that putting blind people behind the wheel will open doors for talented people to contribute to society, regardless of their visual acuity.

The automobile has powerful symbolic meaning. Driving and the independence it suggests are so fundamental, that many can’t imagine life without it. This perspective creates more barriers for the blind than lack of sight.

In his Braille Monitor article  “Driving Independence and Innovation through Imagination,” (December, 2009) Mark Riccobono writes that Through the Blind Driver Challenge, the NFB, is “creating opportunities for the public to view the blind as individuals with capacity, ambition, and a drive for greater independence.”

Driving Blind: the Future

Riccobono states that the NFB plans to have a safe, road-worthy, American-made blind-driven automobile, by its July, 2011 convention in Orlando. Of his driving experience he says, “It was a Glimpse into the future. The possibilities are endless! It gave me the tangible sense that we could build the technology that does put us in the driver’s seat and allows us to use our capacity to think.   The only things stopping us are our imagination and determination.”

After surviving the January 12, 2010 catastrophic earthquake of Haiti ,the Desarmes family jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. Just 2-weeks after the natural disaster, Pierre Desarmes, a family member who happens to be a famous entertainer, used his connections in order to have 9 members of the family cleared to escape their native land.

Unfathomably, after joining him in Chile, they would endure the same horrific experience in the South American country approximately one month later. Once again they all survived, but some family members remain haunted and plan to relocate as soon as possible. Desarmes’ younger brother Stanley Desarmes, 32, is already pondering life elsewhere for him and his family. He said, “I could die and I could lose my family. I have to leave. I don’t know where, I don’t know how. But I don’t want to die with my family here.”

Although he is finding it extremely difficult, Pierre Desarmes tries to keep his family as calm as possible. When aftershocks are felt they can not bear to remain inside, as they seek refuge in a garden. Desarmes tries to convince his family that the country is safe and can withstand a natural disaster, but he understands that their trauma has become psychological.

To read the original article, please go to http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/03/04/2010-03-04_family_flees_earthquakeravaged_haiti_only_to_get_caught_in_chile_nightmare.html

To contact Romeo, you can email him at romeoedmead@gmail.com

While video games aren’t brought up here very often, this article was just too good to not write on. 

Recently, Jordan Verner, a blind teenager who is a fan of the Legend of Zelda video game, posted some videos of him completing parts of the game on youtube.  At first it was just for fun, but it did gain the attention of a decent amount of people in the gaming community.  So he decided to start asking for tips on how to beat the game.  Initially, he wasn’t expecting much from the people who had found his videos, nor did he expect that their help would be able to assist him through the game.

However, another gamer that he had met online made it his mission to help Jordan through the complex levels of the game.  By using Skype, an internet-based communication tool that enables people to talk and see each other online, Roy Williams and three other gamers were able to help Jordan out.  The four gamers would play different sections of the complex three-dimensional game, recording every necessary move to navigate through every piece of every level.  Then, they would send it to Jordan in a word document and his computer would read him the detailed instructions, acting as a perfect guide for him to move through the game.

While the average gamer is said to be able to complete the game in about two weeks, it took Jordan and his online gamer companions nearly two years to get him to the end of the game.  All of the instructions given to him totaled roughly one hundred thousand keystrokes.

When he finally reached the end, Jordan was elated.  “It felt great,” he said.  “I felt strong, I felt like the sky’s the limit.  Our school’s motto–and I live by it–is the impossible is only the untried.”

There’s no word on what Jordan’s next gaming conquest will be, but he now has people that are willing to help him and a great attitude to achieve his goal.

To read the original article, please go to http://www.geekologie.com/2010/03/brings_a_tear_to_my_eye_three.php

Reprinted with permission from the May/June 2009 issue of Lifeglow magazine.

The Starting Point: One Woman’s Journey to Independence

Nichole Kraft

“It all started with my dreams,” she says. When 30-year-old Adrijana Prokopenko dreams, she dreams with a depth and breadth that might intimidate others. But Adrijana isn’t one to be intimidated-not when her dreams are a reflection of her passion for personal independence. On February 2, 1979, Adrijana greeted the world three months earlier than her parents had expected. Her early arrival meant that Adrijana would be required to spend two and a half months in the hospital in. The state-sponsored hospital in Skopje, the capital city of the Republic of Macedonia and Adrijana’s hometown, wasn’t the most ideal setting for an infant born three months premature. Adrijana lived in an incubator, which she says was “pretty old and made some time after the Second World War.” Also, there was only one nurse for every 15 babies. In her out-of-date incubator and with less care than she required, Adrijana was exposed to high levels of oxygen. The result was oxygen toxicity. Two and a half months later Adrijana emerged from the hospital healthy, but with no vision. Adrijana’s parents, although saddened for their daughter, were proactive. “I am sure they went through the grieving period,” she says, “but at the same time, they did all they could to learn more about blindness and get some professional help.” Professional help came in the form of Dimitar Vlahov, a school for blind and visually impaired children. Adrijana remembers that her mother and father got to know one of the school’s teachers. The teacher showed them how to care for, teach, and interact with Adrijana. Though they were grateful for the help, they knew their daughter would need more. “Unfortunately,” recounts Adrijana, “they didn’t get much support. The state didn’t have any other programs to help parents of blind children. Therefore, I never had the chance to go to a regular kindergarten or attend any kind of preschool program.” The world Adrijana and her parents had found themselves thrust into was a challenging one. “If one is blind and lives in this country, he or she mainly relies on family and friends for almost everything-from getting around, to getting help with schoolwork, to shopping. We don’t have any blind professionals who are knowledgeable in the fields of orientation and mobility and there are not any guide dog training schools,” Adrijana says. Adrijana’s chances of an independent life didn’t look good. But, she was a bright and inquisitive student, and she didn’t care. Throughout most of her elementary and secondary education, there were no materials in Braille. This meant extra effort on Adrijana’s part. “I had to transcribe my own textbooks into Braille with the help of my parents,” Adrijana remembers. Adrijana had begun to carve out personal independence, despite the obstacles. It was during this time of hard work that Adrijana’s dreaming became more focused. By age 15, she had fallen in love with the English language and aspired to become an English teacher. A year after graduating from high school, Adrijana was awarded a scholarship from Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia. Always eager to experience life fully, Adrijana was attracted to Overbrook’s International Program. “I could imagine myself in all kinds of situations,” she says, “doing all kinds of things I desired to do.” But besides being thrilled about traveling overseas and learning a new culture, Adrijana realized the practical side of studying at Overbrook. “I also knew it was very necessary for me to acquire all the skills they taught, because I knew [learning them] would help me throughout university and in the future.” Adrijana attended Overbrook for nine months. She studied leadership, English, computer skills, and orientation and mobility. But that wasn’t all. Adrijana was also exposed to American culture. She and her fellow Overbrook students participated in choirs, went skiing, and toured historical American sights such as the Liberty Bell and Capitol Hill. “There was never a dull moment in my life while at Overbrook,” Adrijana says. Adrijana was granted another scholarship-this time to the Eastern Mediterranean University of North Cyprus. Starting in 1999 as an English language teaching major, Adrijana recounts that she was a new experience for the university. “I was the first blind student they had there, and although they lacked most of the resources [I needed], such as materials in alternative formats, readers, and orientation and mobility professionals, they accepted me as no different from the rest of the students.” Adrijana was back to brailing most of her academic materials, but this was the least of her challenges. While most people were friendly and welcoming, life in the dormitory “was not the best.” Most of Adrijana’s fellow dorm residents only spoke Turkish “and their attitudes towards blind people were not [as accepting as] the ones most university students would have….I constantly faced problems and often had to keep some amount of food, water and other basic necessities in well hidden places, in case all else that was in the fridge or kitchen was mysteriously gone.” Adrijana’s determination and desire for independence had gotten her this far, and she was focused on making her time at the university worth it. “Despite all odds,” she says, “I tried to enjoy my life there, with a few of my good friends.” Adrijana graduated with her degree in 2003, and found herself drawn homeward to Macedonia. “I was sure that many blind people could achieve much more, if they were given the proper training and support. I just had a strong desire to help people and make their life a bit easier.” And so Adrijana returned to where her dreams for independence began-the city of Skopje. “Very difficult” are the words Adrijana uses when describing her job search in Macedonia. Despite being a competent woman holding an English teaching degree, Adrijana’s blindness kept her on the fringes of the job market, even though in Macedonia the demand for English teachers is high. “I was able to find hundreds of jobs,” she remembers, “but as soon as I had to make that call or submit that application and tell them I was blind, that was the end of it.” Most traditional schools in Macedonia “could never imagine a blind person working as a teacher and were not eager to listen and learn how that can be possible.” About three years passed. Adrijana’s dream of teaching and helping students like herself seemed far off, at best. In 2006, however, Adrijana stumbled upon an ad placed in a newspaper by her old school, Dimitar Vlahov. The ad described the ideal job applicant to be an English teacher skilled in Braille. The position fit Adrijana perfectly. Her dream had finally materialized. Another three years have passed, and Adrijana now teaches children aged five to 17 in 19 different grade levels. Adrijana is now realizing her dream by doing what she loves-teaching children who are blind and visually impaired. “I am glad that some of my dreams became reality,” she says. “[I'm] doing what I have always wanted.” But Adrijana is quick to admit that her dream of independence wasn’t easy to attain and isn’t easy to maintain. But having a clear picture of the goal helped. “I knew what I wanted to be and do,” she says. Adrijana insists that being interdependent is actually helpful for one’s independence. “When I feel I need help, I usually turn to family, friends, colleagues, and even blindness magazines and online groups. I am a people person and when things become difficult, I try to talk to, write to, read and listen to people I admire a lot,” Adrijana says. Her personal independence is strengthened through others’ advice, support, and outlook, which is something she can give back to people around her who may be facing similar challenges. When someone seeks her counsel, Adrijana says, “I try to spend long periods of time talking to them and helping them learn things. I also do not forget to tell them to follow their dreams and desires and stay brave.” It’s a way for her to give back, a manifestation of her gratefulness to “all the people who have helped me get where I am today.” When 30-year-old Adrijana Prokopenko dreams, she dreams with a depth and breadth that might intimidate others. Or inspire them. “I face all kinds of obstacles, challenges, and drawbacks at times,” she admits. However, that doesn’t mean one should stop dreaming or stop aspiring to personal independence. After all, she says, “It all started with my dreams.”

Age-related macular degeneration, known as AMD, is a disease that affects the central area of the retina, causing sight loss.  The Centre for Eye Research Australia has just done a study showing that by incorporating olive oil into your diet, the risk of developing AMD is reduced drastically.

The study found that people who consumed roughly seven tablespoons of olive oil per week were fifty percent less likely to develop AMD as they begin to age.  The doctors say that the reason olive oil slows the onset of AMD is because it is rich in antioxidants like Vitamin E and also contains an anti-inflammatory which helps protect blood vessels in the eye.  Other foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids are also beneficial.  These include fish, like salmon and tuna, as well as most nuts.

While this study proposes a potential preemptive strike against the disease, it also gives future researchers insight into what causes the disease in the first place.  By knowing what can help prevent it, they may be able to develop something that could target the underlying causes and eliminate it entirely.

To read the original article, please go to http://cera.unimelb.edu.au/news/Media%20Release%20-%20Good%20fats%20prevent%20blindness%20in%20old%20age.pdf

Seventeen year old Chelsea King has been in the news ever since her disappearance in a California park roughly one week ago.  Now, police have discovered a body buried in a shallow grave that they believe is hers.  They have held a man named John Gardner as a suspect in the case since only a few days after she went missing.  Prosecutors are now planning on filing official charges against him.

What makes this case so frustrating is that John Gardner is a convicted sex offender.  In 2000, he was charged with beating and molesting a 13 year old girl.  For that crime, he served 5 years of his 6 year sentence and was put on parole until 2008.  A psychiatrist who analyzed Gardner warned prosecutors that he was and would continue to be a danger to underage girls.  Gardner was also positively identified by a girl as the man who ambushed and almost raped her back in December in the same park where Chelsea King disappeared.  She elbowed him in the face and was able to get away.  Police are also investigating whether or not he is connected to the disappearance of another California teenager who went missing roughly a year ago.

Normally, this type of article is something I would choose to leave out of the magazine because it is being covered by nearly every news outlet in the country and is, unfortunately, a very sad tale for one California family who lost their child.  However, I feel that it’s necessary to ask this question: Why was this allowed to happen?  The man, convicted of a crime against an underage girl in 2000, was given the minimum sentence.  Despite all of the testimony from a psychiatrist specializing in criminal profiling who claimed that he would still be a danger to society, he was allowed to be released on parole one year early.  Afterwards, unbeknownst to his parole officer, he spent most of his time at his mother’s house, located within terribly close proximity to an elementary school.  Since his release, he is now connected to at least two crimes against underage girls and possibly a third, two of which are murders.  I ask again, why was this allowed to happen?  Every possible warning sign was given by experts put in place to advise on these matters.  Yet, he was allowed back into the public domain.  Failing that, how is there not a system put in place to monitor people who have been deemed “high risk?”  It feels like multiple agencies really dropped the ball on this one, and it’s a tragedy that a girl had to pay for it with her life. 

I’m not expecting that the systems put in place regarding sex offenders will be perfect, but serious flaws like this need to be fixed.  Right now, it seems like all there is protecting us from them is a screen that’s spread large enough for the bugs to still get through.

Aside from the millions of American Toyota owners who have had to deal with the massive recall from the Japanese automaker, there are also some interesting things happening on the side as a result.  One man is hoping that it will get him out of prison.

Koua Fong Lee was driving home from church in 2006 with his pregnant wife, daughter, father, brother, and niece when he claims that his car, a 1996 Toyota Camry, suddenly accelerated without his control, causing him to strike two vehicles and kill three people. 

He claimed that he was pumping the breaks as he approached the intersection at between 70 and 90 miles per hour.  The prosecutors disagreed, saying that his foot was on the gas as he came up to the red light.  The mechanics who investigated the car testified that the brakes and the engine were fine at the time of the attack.  Though, they did note that the throttle was set at 15 percent open, which was odd.  They dismissed the throttle position as something that resulted from the crash.  Lee was charged with vehicular homicide and sentenced to eight years in prison.

Lee’s 1996 Camry is not part of any existing recall, but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t other similar problems reported with that model.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration complaint database, there have been 526 incidents reported for the 1996 Toyota Camry.  Roughly two dozen of them were related to vehicle speed control.  In one incident, a woman claimed that when she was driving at 65 miles per hour on the highway, she pressed the brake to slow down but the car accelerated on its own instead.  Only by aggressively pumping the brakes was she able to pull the car over to a stop.  Another incident involved a woman stopped at an intersection.  Her car suddenly lurched forward into traffic, causing an accident with a motorcycle that resulted in the death of the rider later on.

What’s more interesting about this case is that the families of the victims of Lee’s crash are on his side.  They say that they want the truth to be revealed and that they don’t feel that Lee was responsible for the accident, citing that his whole family was in the car with him at the time and it wouldn’t make any sense.

 To read the original article, please go to   http://http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/02/toyota.recall.appeal/?hpt=C2

While the deadly earthquake that rocked Chile on February 27 absolutely moved the Earth around quite a bit, the powerful shaker also knocked our planet off of its axis and shortened our day.

According to a NASA scientist, the Earth’s axis was altered by roughly 3 inches. A short search on the internet revealed that the Earth weighs an estimated 13 septillion pounds. That’s a 13 with 24 zeros after it. So, while in the grand scheme of things 3 inches may seem very small, that’s one big boulder to be tilting over.

However, while the Earth is a huge rock to be moving, this quake was nothing to scoff at. With a magnitude of 8.8 on the Richter scale, it produced roughly 67 exajoules of energy. As a basis of comparison, if the United States could have harnessed that energy, it would power the entire country for over four and a half years. The violent event was also equivalent to the explosion of 15.8 gigatons of TNT, a blast roughly 316 times more powerful than the largest nuclear explosion in history. In short, it was rather large and shook Chile quite a bit.

As was mentioned before, this quake also shortened our day. While it is probably impossible to perceive, our day is now 1.26 microseconds shorter. It’s a measurement of time that not even the Olympic judges would pay attention to. But again, keep in mind that the Earth is a pretty large object to be jostling this much. This effect, called the “ice skater effect,” is due to the massive amount of rock being moved, which changes the overall mass distribution of Earth, and thus the way it spins. They call it the ice skater effect because if you watch a figure skater spin, they rotate faster as they bring their arms closer to their body and change the distribution of their mass.

Other effects of the earthquake may be more perceivable. Santa Maria Island of the coast of the Chilean city of Concepcion may have lifted as much as 6 feet, and the resulting tsunami that swept across the Pacific has hit the Hawaiian Islands some 6,500 miles away and forced Japan to issue its own warnings another 4,100 miles away.

The current death toll sits at about 720 people, but as many as two million are displaced from their homes in the country that’s been rattled to its core.

To read the original article, please go to

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-01/chilean-quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-nasa-scientist-says.html

Various numbers were acquired using calculations from www.wolframalpha.com

Last week, I announced that Peggy Trail of Paragould, AR is the 2009 James H. Veale Humanitarian Award winner.  Since I was running short on time, I had to make the announcement a quick one and couldn’t really detail why she had bee chosen as the winner.  However, I would like to highlight a few reasons why she was given this award.

One person wrote that they sincerely appreciated all of her work at the state convention of the Arkansas Council of the Blind, as well as the national convention of the American Council of the Blind.  In both instances, she was said to go above and beyond the call of duty to encourage and assist everyone around her.  She was especially helpful regarding transportation, and would pick up everybody and bring them from building to building instead of leaving them to walk.  She also brought people on a shopping trip during some downtime at the convention.  She is very active at her local senior center as well.

We had another person write in expressing how appreciative they were of her work at the Arkansas School for the Blind Alumni Conventions and the amount of support she gave to everyone around her.

Many other submissions reflected similar experiences, all of which mentioned her kindness, patience, and unwavering willingness to help those who needed it. 

It is because of the resounding opinion of her character by those who have met her that we chose her to win the award.  Thank you for your service, Peggy, and please continue your very successful work within the blindness community.