October Newsletter
October 15, 2010 by Mike Hingson · 1 Comment
Please check out our online version of our October Newsletter
2010 Race for Independence – Blind Driver Challenge
June 1, 2010 by Mike Hingson · 1 Comment
The tall sandy-haired man walks to the new, shiny red car. He opens the driver side back door as his yellow lab hops in and settles on the floor behind the front seat. As he activates the keyless ignition, the engine begins to purr. “Welcome Mr. Hingson” the car speaks in a melodious yet professional voice. “Ready to engage.” Michael gently accelerates as his Guide Dog Africa begins to snooze. Michael, a man who defies stereotypes and enjoys leading others to do the same, is a WTC survivor. He is also blind since birth. And he is driving a car!!!!!
No, this is not a futuristic dream. This is a soon-possible reality. This July, at the National Federation of the Blind Convention in Dallas, a blind driver will take to the road. Michael Hingson’s goal is to be that driver. Michael’s very life this far has defied all odds. Surviving the 9/11 WTC Terrorist attacks with his guide dog Roselle was perhaps the most dramatic. But blind people are breaking barriers and stereotypes each and every day.
The 2010 Race for Independence – Blind Driver Challenge is an event guaranteed to change the very definition of being blind. Advancements in technology combined with the spirit of innovation and the power of keeping an open mind are being brought together to turn our attitude about “abilities” and “disabilities” on its head!
Join Michael in making history by supporting him in forging a new “first” with your donation. Select the “Support” button and help him reach his goal, while demonstrating that together we can make a difference and change history.
All of the money raised from this event will be returned to National Federation of the Blind state and local affiliates in the form of grants and direct funds to help in educating the public about blindness, provide scholarships for blind students, and to aid in the development of new technologies to help blind persons in all walks of life including an automobile which can be driven by a blind person.
It will also be used to support the NFB Jernigan Institute’s programs for children, youth, college students, adults, and seniors.
Together with the National Federation of the Blind, you and Michael will change what it means to be blind. Let’s rev up those engines!
Michael is a proud member of the National Federation of the Blind which raises funds to educate the general public about blindness. This organization is of vital importance to Michael and countless others, as it has played a vital role in redefining what it means to be blind.
Michael’s fund raising team for this challenge is “NAGDU,” or the National Association of Guide Dog Users, of which Michael is Vice President. Michael is an ardent advocate and teacher on the importance and value of the human-animal bond, and what it can show us about teamwork. After all, it was his Guide Dog Roselle that led Michael and others down from the 78th floor of Tower 1 of the WTC to safety on 9/11.
The NAGDU’s team goal is $30,000, which they must reach before the NFB Convention on July 1st of this year. Click on the support button now to be directed to the donation page. Michael and his current Guide Dog Africa thank you in advance and will keep you informed of their progress.
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National public speaker, teamwork and assistive technology expert, Michael Hingson is Vice President, National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU) and President of the Michael Hingson Group, Inc. www.michaelhingson.com
Help Michael make history and by assisting him in his goal of raising $30,000! Speed on over to the Race for Independence and donate today!
Keep an Open Mind – Part 2
June 1, 2010 by Mike Hingson · 1 Comment
The Road to National and Personal “Recovery”
The need for keeping an open mind is evident in every area of our lives, whether related to medical breakthroughs, national healthcare, economic recovery and our personal qualify of life. For example, as our nation is reportedly emerging from the economic recession which touched us all, has our response resulted in any substantive change? Even as the government is proposing widespread reforms, we have yet to hear leadership within the banking system taking any responsibility for the problems. Nor are we seeing evidence that the banking industry is willing to open up small business lending. Without a change in mindset within the banking industry, new regulations will likely fail to initiate policies which could foster the creation of new small businesses, creating jobs and generating profits that return to the community.
Self-assessment should be a part of our everyday lives, not just corporately, but individually. “Did I do the best job here?” “How could I have handled that conversation better?” “How can I better teach my kids so they will grow up to be the kind of adults that any parent can admire?” Truly looking at one’s actions is hard to do. There is a reason why we are our own worst critic. Nevertheless, taking a minute or two several times a day to examine what we are doing and how we are doing it with an eye toward finding ways to improve will lead us towards becoming better workers, better family members, better friends, and better people. The process starts with an open mind and a willingness to learn.
The enemy of growth and progress is a rigid belief structure that allows no room to learn from others or even ourselves. As a suggestion, start each morning by asking “what can I do differently to improve myself today?” Before going to bed at night ask what did I do differently to improve myself today?” The very act of asking these questions will set you on a course towards progress. As you genuinely look for answers, you may be pleasantly surprised.
Keep an Open Mind – Part 1
June 1, 2010 by Mike Hingson · 1 Comment
The Key to Breakthrough
This past March, I learned of the death of Dr. Arnall Patz at the age of 89. Most people have never heard of Doctor Patz or his work. I never knew him by name until three years ago.
In the late 1940s, Doctor Patz began to observe that babies born prematurely who were subjected to pure oxygen for two or more weeks exhibited a much higher incidence of blindness than babies who were not subjected to continuous pure oxygen for the same duration. Upon definitive analysis and observation of 75 prematurely born children, Dr. Patz was able to establish a direct correlation between pure oxygen environments for some of these babies and blindness.
He applied to the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation for grants to study this phenomenon. As he told me when I met him in 2007, his grant application was rejected by both organizations, saying that there could not possibly be any correlation between pure oxygen and blindness since, after all, we all breathe oxygen and that it was breathing oxygen that keeps us alive. He was told that his observations could not possibly be scientific in nature.
By the mid-1950s, retrolental fibroplasia, (known today as retinopathy of prematurity) was recognized by many ophthalmologists as the leading cause of blindness in the United States. In fact, it was so widespread among premature births that it lowered the average age of blindness in the United States in 1955 from 67 to 65 years of age. Notwithstanding the original lack of support from the NIH and the NSF, Doctor Patz’ findings were validated and his position was vindicated.
I was one of those premature babies who became blind because of retrolental fibroplasia. I was fortunate that my parents decided that they would not be using the “pity approach” to blindness to raise their child.
Today, retinopathy of prematurity still causes blindness, but only when a prematurely born child must receive continuous pure oxygen to survive. It is now a “given” that if a newborn in an incubator can live without being subjected to ongoing pure oxygen for weeks, then irregular air supply should be utilized as much as possible in order to prevent the blindness we now know can be caused by pure oxygen.
You may be asking what relevance does this story have us personally and the for the world in which we live today. The answer is quite simple if you take a look at the dynamics: On the one hand we had a lone doctor who observed something radically different than what traditional science believed to be fact. On the other hand we had the predominant leaders of the scientific world who rejected scientific facts because they were unwilling or unable to keep enough of an open mind to objectively study Doctor Patz’s data. As history revealed, Dr. Patz was correct and the so-called scientific community was wrong. The delay on the part of science certainly caused more children to go blind than were necessary.
How often do we decide that something told to thus or even some observation we make ourselves cannot possibly be true because it goes against our established pattern of experience and belief? How often do we fail to keep an open mind and thus miss a chance to learn something new? A closed mind is a form of blindness. If we close our minds to new ideas and concepts other than those we have come to accept we may never experience the growth and benefits that those new ideas and concepts potentially bring.
By “keeping an open mind” we can avoid unnecessary blindness figuratively, and as Dr. Patz’s life demonstrated, literally.
News Update – SPCA Keynote Speech
April 13, 2010 by Mike Hingson · 1 Comment
Blind World Trade Center Survivor to Address SPCA
Human-Animal Bond and Life-Saving Teamwork
On April 16, 2010 Michael Hingson will speak at a formal dinner and fund raiser on behalf of the Concord-Merrimack SPCA in Concord New Hampshire. “It was teamwork which permitted me and my guide dog Roselle to work together to escape from the terrorist attacks on 9-11, 2001,” states Michael Hingson, president of The Michael Hingson Group. “My guide dog and I each have a job to do which together permits us to travel safely.”
“Most people take having a pet for granted when, in fact, animals have at least as much to teach us as we have to teach them. Roselle’s and my story is living proof of the interdependent relationship which can be enjoyed by every pet owner. I hope to inspire the Concord-Merrimack SPCA donors to increase support for the local shelter and to work to become closer to their own pets.”
Michael and Roselle’s teamwork saved not only their own lives, but the lives of the others whom they led to safety the morning of September 11, 2001. Michael Hingson was working in his office on the 78th floor of Tower One of the World Trade Center when the building was struck by the first plane. At the time, Hingson was the Regional Sales Manager for Quantum Corporation, a Fortune 500 computer firm. His guide dog Roselle received recognition as a true hero.
Michael Hingson was selected to address SPCA supporters to bring awareness of the importance of the human-animal bond, and to enhance appreciation of the unsung “heroes” that enrich our lives every day. While Michael is in Concord New Hampshire, he will be available for media interviews.
Hingson is an internationally recognized public speaker and authority on teamwork and team building. His company, The Michael Hingson Group, INC., provides diversity training to corporations, as well as national distribution for the KNFB Reader Mobile, the only fully portable device which permit blind persons to read any printed material anywhere. More information about Michael Hingson is available at www.michaelhingson.com. Michael can be reached at info@michaelhingson.com or by phone at (415) 827-4084.
