Bush puts Utahn on Access Board
Blind Bountiful attorney to push for accessibility
When you're born blind, people say things like that to you.
But Gardner, 56, who graduated from Brigham Young University's law school in 1978, holds no malice toward those who assumed less of him.
Instead, he lives his life to slay the perception that just because a person can't see, he can't have a meaningful life and contribute to society. It's a perception not only among the public at large but among blind people as well.
On Dec. 13, the White House announced that President Bush has appointed Gardner to the U.S. Access Board, an independent federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities.
Board members include a dozen U.S. citizens and representatives from a dozen federal agencies.
The four-year appointment will give Gardner a national pulpit to talk about access to information and how better access can be given to people with disabilities.
Case in point: Search engine Google and Harvard University have teamed up to digitize a large number of Harvard's library books that are out of copyright and to make them available to Internet users.
"What an absolute wonderful resource and base of information for America," Gardner says. "The problem is that it's not going to be accessible to the blind."
And there's no reason for that, he says, because software is available that can easily translate text into Braille.
During an interview with the Deseret Morning News, Gardner demonstrates how he uses a Braille computer (basically a small laptop with no screen) to check his appointment and address book.
"It is such a great time to be a blind guy," he says.
He can surf the Web, but many Web sites, including that of discount retailer Target, aren't translated into Braille yet.
Gardner says discrimination used to be the buzzword when it came to providing services to people with disabilities.
But discrimination has been dropped for the more accurate "lack of access," Gardner says.
It's estimated that about 1 million people in the United States are blind, though about 90 percent have some usable vision.
In Utah, up to 13,000 people are blind or visually impaired.
And Gardner is dedicated to helping them realize their potential, mostly through example.
Gardner, who didn't learn to read Braille until he was 50, volunteers as president of the National Federation of the Blind of Utah and serves as the national federation's director of field services.
Recent comments
HEY WAY TO GO, HOPE ALL IS WELL AND ECT... MISS SEEING YOU CRAZYINESS...
JODY | Jan. 8, 2008 at 3:42 p.m.
Way to go Ron. I'm sure you'll do an excellent job. How are...
Todd Richardson | Jan. 7, 2008 at 5:57 p.m.
Ron Gardner has long been a mentor of mine. Blind or not, his list...
Louise Walch | Jan. 7, 2008 at 12:40 p.m.
