Twenty-seven Center members braved the cold for a meal at Groton Townhouse on January 16. We shared jokes, stories, and even the healthiest appetites were sent home with snacks and dessert for the following day. One of the revelations of the night was when we learned that we all enjoy a slice of cake or pie, for breakfast. 

Michael McCulloch, Founderof iBUG Today (Blind Users Group) visited with 17 Center members to talk about how their nonprofit formed and the training, social activities, and mentoring they offer. Michael, a former NASA engineer who began to lose his sight in his late 20’s, was impressed with the accessibility features that the iPhone offered and wanted to share this with other folks in the blind community.

From these humble beginnings iBUG currently hosts about 23 no cost virtual programs each month. They also offer one-on-one mentoring for iPhone users and a twelve-week Mac Voice Over course, this program is so good that folks who train others on Voice Over come to take this course. Both aforementioned opportunities currently have waiting lists. If you are curious, I highly recommend checking out their Friday virtual movie night, if you can burn the midnight oil, as they are on Central time.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch of BBQ chicken sandwiches, cucumber salad, potato salad, and an assortment of cookies.

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Over 70 members gathered for the Holiday Awards Dinner at Langley’s on December 19. The elegant room was beautifully decorated for the season, with white tablecloths, red napkins, evergreen centerpieces, and crystal snowflakes hanging in the windows.

While attendees enjoyed cheese and crackers, Wendy presented awards to our Volunteers of the Month and volunteer drivers, recognizing their invaluable contributions. Scott honored Wendy by presenting her with the Executive Director of the Year award from the Eastern CT Chamber of Commerce.

Guests enjoyed a festive dinner featuring prime rib, stuffed chicken, stuffed shrimp, and vegetarian pasta. Scott also introduced our new Executive Director, Renée LaBonté. Renée is enthusiastic and eager to lead the Center into a bright and promising future. Tammy inspired us all with her closing remarks.

The evening was delightful, filled with great conversation, delicious food, and heartfelt appreciation for our amazing volunteers.

A lively group of 10 members gathered to create beautiful marbled holiday ornaments using acrylic paints. The process required patience, as members carefully poured paint into the small opening of each ornament and swirled it inside to achieve full coverage. Each ornament turned out uniquely, showcasing individual creativity.

Several members were inspired to try recreating this craft at home. After the activity, some participants stayed to enjoy a pizza lunch together, adding a delicious ending to a fun and creative session.

Mark Arenson, Director of Social Emotional Support at Hadley, joined us via Zoom to share the wide range of free programs offered by Hadley. These include technology training, daily living skills, recreation, workforce preparation, braille, and support for adjusting to vision loss.

The 12 attendees were impressed by the variety of resources available through Hadley, whether online, via audio, or through the mail. Hadley’s website, hadleyhelps.org, is designed for easy navigation with minimal text, and their helpline, 800-323-4238, is staffed by knowledgeable representatives ready to assist or guide you through their courses.

After the presentation, members enjoyed pizza, salad, and cupcakes.

We gobbled ‘til we wobbled at the annual Thanksgiving Dinner, graciously hosted by the Ledyard Lions at the Gales Ferry Firehouse. Their only request was for each of us to bring a nonperishable food item to support the local food pantry.

As always, the dinner was delicious with heaping plates of turkey with all the fixings. The 62 members in attendance were warmly served by the Ledyard Lions and a local Girl Scout troop. The evening ended on a high note with seven lucky winners taking home raffle baskets!

We are thrilled to share that Wendy Lusk has been honored as Executive Director of the Year by the Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce! While Wendy was away on vacation, President Scott Skinner kindly accepted the award on her behalf at the Chamber Breakfast on November 7. The event celebrated many remarkable individuals for their contributions to the nonprofit sector, including Petra the horse from High Hopes Therapeutic Riding. Rather than a traditional crystal award, Petra received a well-deserved bucket of vegetables!

Receiving the Executive Director of the Year Award from the Eastern CT Chamber of Commerce is an honor beyond words…
Wendy Lusk

Christine Telford from the Helen Keller National Center spoke about the origins of haptics, a form of non-verbal communication that uses touch to convey information. This method is primarily used by individuals who are deafblind. Christine demonstrated how structured tactile signals, or touch cues, are applied to different parts of the body to communicate emotions, responses, directions, or environmental information. She also shared two helpful resources: the Haptics: Pocket Edition app for iPhone and the book Haptics Communication: Helen Keller National Center American Edition, available on Amazon.

Lunch was homemade chili with cornbread muffins made by chef Chris.

Each year we hold a pancake breakfast in recognition of White Cane Safety Day. This is a national observance celebrated on October 15 of each year since 1964. The date is set aside to celebrate the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired and the important symbol of blindness and tool of independence, the white cane.

Our third annual pancake breakfast fundraiser was a great success. This year’s event was held at the Gales Ferry Firehouse. Breakfast included pancakes with maple syrup, eggs, and sausages in generous proportions. Positive reviews for the “best pancakes ever”.

The success of the breakfast was due to the combined efforts of multiple volunteers including seven Coast Guard cadets and chef Chris Lusk and family in the kitchen to name just a few.

There were many raffle prizes and fabulous door prizes courtesy of local businesses and donors. One lucky winner scored a $250 gift card to Bob’s Furniture! Other prizes included a stay at Foxwoods Casino, Alexa Dots, and gift cards for everything from restaurants to hair salons. Mitlitsky Egg Farm in Lebanon donated the eggs and Nanette Budick donated the juice, coffee, and milk.

We are looking forward to an even better White Cane Pancake Breakfast next year.

Wendy’s dedication and resourcefulness never cease to amaze! Upon learning about local inventor David Holmes from Waterford, who is developing technology to replicate vision with a camera, Wendy immediately tracked him down. What followed was serendipitous! She invited David to speak at our Macular Degeneration Support Group, where he shared his ideas and sought input from our members on the challenges they face when navigating, especially outdoors.

David discussed his innovative work, including an app designed to help the visually impaired navigate more effectively, as well as technology that uses motion detectors, cameras, and sonar—similar to echolocation—to identify obstacles. Our members raised important questions, such as how to navigate in snowy conditions, which provided David with valuable feedback for his work. Everyone is eager to hear more from him during his next visit.

David’s ultimate goal is to develop a system that can autonomously assess distances to objects in complex and ever-changing environments. This involves adjusting for varying light conditions, ground clutter (including snow), and atmospheric interference such as fog, by scaling a photograph from limited reference points to offer a broader perspective.