Greetings from the Durward K. McDaniel (DKM) Fund Committee:

We are happy to present to you, the Class of 2022 DKM First-Timers who have met all requirements to be considered for and selected as recipients of this prestigious honor.

While honoring the legacy of ACB’s founding father, Durward K. McDaniel, since 1996, the Durward K. McDaniel (DKM) Fund Committee seeks to identify and honor two ACB members who demonstrate leadership potential, with the DKM First-Timers award on an annual basis, one from east and one from west of the Mississippi River.

The American Council of the Blind’s (ACB) Scholarship Program was established in 1982. The American Council of the Blind (ACB) and the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) have partnered together to offer educational scholarships ranging from $2,500 to $7,500 for legally blind students attending a technical college or who are an entering freshman, undergraduate or a graduate student. This program awards students with scholarships to help with post-secondary education financial needs such as tuition, fees, room and board and other additional costs associated with adaptive techno

By Kenneth Semien, Sr.

The Durward K. McDaniel (DKM) Fund Committee marks 2022 as a remarkable and historical year, with 3 classes of DKM First-Timers and ACB/JPMorgan Chase Leadership Fellows being given the privilege of attending the first-ever Hybrid ACB Conference and Convention and the first-ever induction ceremony of the Durward K. McDaniel (DKM) Leadership Select Honor Society officiated by Cindy Hollis, ACB Manager of Member Engagement.

On June 22, 2022, the federal government announced a new initiative to expand the availability of testing options that are more accessible for people who are blind or low vision and who use a smartphone. Now, people who are blind or low vision may order more accessible COVID-19 at-home tests. When connected to a smartphone application, these tests are capable of providing audible testing instructions and results to make the COVID-19 testing process more private and independent for people who are blind or low vision.

Testing is a critical part of the fight against COVID-19, but some people who are blind or have low vision face barriers using many of the COVID-19 tests on the market. 

The American Council of the Blind (ACB) is proud to announce the winners of the 2022 BADIE Awards (Benefits of Audio Description In Education), a “Listening Is Learning” initiative of the Council’s Audio Description Project (ADP) and the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP).  

The winners of this year’s honors (all young people who are blind) are:

Held Virtually

Monday, August 8 to Friday, August 12, 2022

1:00 pm - 5:00 pm Eastern each day

Audio Description (AD) makes visual images accessible for people who are blind or have low vision. Using words that are succinct, vivid, and imaginative, media describers convey the visual image from television and film that is not fully accessible to a significant segment of the population (more than 32 million Americans experience significant vision loss).

ALEXANDRIA, VA (June 13, 2022) —The American Council of the Blind (ACB) proudly announces the 2022 Achievement Awards in Audio Description, an initiative of the Council’s Audio Description Project (ADP).  

The awards will be presented on July 4 during ACB’s 61st annual conference and convention, held as a hybrid event from June 23 through July 8, 2022.

Saturday, June 18 at 7:00pm ET

Broadcast on ACB Radio Mainstream - ACB Media One

Thanks to the Bay State Council of the Blind ($250), Merrilee Hill-Kennedy ($100), Council of Citizens with Low Vision International ($100), Illinois Council of the Blind ($50) and ACB Students ($50) for their generous donations for shipping.

Segment One: Cindy Hollis and Kolby Garrison

100 Two HomePod Minis

Donated by ACB Board Director Chris Bell