by Bonnie Rennie

The year 2016 has seen the passing of many true CCB treasures, several are household names to most of us. I believe that something should be said in recognition
of them, and also of those early leaders who have gone before.

As a history buff, I think that the achievements of the past directly relate to our present and future. So in the poem below, I attempt to weave two concepts
together; encouragement to mourn and remember those we have recently lost, and a sense of how much we owe the visually impaired pioneers who blazed the
trail for us. Often, younger or newly vision-impaired people do not know of the past struggles that enabled our current rights and opportunities. It is
my hope that more folks with vision loss will want to help secure these rights and opportunities and will follow the example of the leaders we here acknowledge.

For Those We Have Lost

We are standing on the shoulders of our brothers and sisters in CCB,
Those who went before,
Caring advocates for their fellow blind,
Champions of the Cause,
True comrades in arms.
Toiling for equal opportunity,
Bringing down barriers we face,
They did more,
With positive action,
Were not content to complain,
Not merely sound the alarms!

So much of what we with vision impairment have today,
Gains in rehab, education, employment,
How we're seen and treated in the communities where we live,
Came by their efforts,
Too often going it alone,
In the classrooms,
Jobs,
Halls of Legislation,
In services for the blind,
Carrying their dignity, and white cane in hand,
They knew society would benefit,
Because we with vision loss have a great deal to give!

As we mourn the departure of a fresh batch of pioneers,
We can hear our role models' voices
Calling for our contributions,
As the world changes,
New battles call us together,
To fight the good fight.
Our mentors urge,
Keep going forward!
Not to squander their sacrifice,
Show the sighted the way,
With our leadership
And our own brand of light!