Southern California Regional Group president Ken Asam reports that despite a slow and late arrival of spring this year to the lower portion of the Golden State, his fellow veterans were motivated to “spring into action” this month with their own version of March Madness. 

First, it was off to the Anaheim Marriott Hotel in their own backyard for the 38th Annual CSUN (California State University, Northridge) Assistive Technology Conference, held this year March 13-17. The conference is internationally recognized as the premier event in the field that brings together technology and persons with disabilities.

During his two-day visit at the conference, Ken reviewed more than 100 exhibits of products and services for the disabled, many of which focused on the blind and low vision. Products that most caught his attention were:

• No-jab graphite folding canes that eliminate those “gut shots.”
• All-terrain canes that are designed for navigation on a rough surface.
• Walk signals that make every pedestrian traffic light accessible. An iPhone app will illuminate the phone’s screen with a red or a green to reflect the light’s “Walk” or “Don’t Walk” signal.
• JAWS for kiosks, such as those placed in McDonald’s establishments, creating self-service experiences that can be accessible to all.
• RealSam Pocket Phones—a single button, voice-controlled device that is ideal for less technologically-savvy individuals.
• Gemini Super Print, which prints Braille and ink text simultaneously on parallel lines on the same page with a single pass through the printer.

Next on the calendar for the regional group was a March 25-26 BVA display in front of the local Stater Bros. Market (Saturday and Sunday) located in Santa Clarita. The venue was selected because Santa Clarita has the highest percentage of veterans of any city in California. The objectives of the exhibit were three-fold:

• Increase community awareness of BVA.
• Recruit new members of the Association.
• Raise funds for the Southern California Regional Group.

“We made use of the Bronze Braille American Flag to gain the attention of many, including that of a 6-year-old boy who donated $2 after learning about the flag,” Ken said. “It wasn’t our largest donation, but we considered it our best one.”

Ken also recounts conversing with a woman who donated to BVA last November when the group had set up a similar exhibit. “She told me we’d given her the information about where to purchase a Braille flag and that she had purchased two, one of which went to her visually impaired father who was overjoyed to receive it.”

On March 28, the regional group put up the display at the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center in commemoration of National Blinded Veterans Day. The center, which serves hundreds of older veterans, is ranked one of the best senior centers in the country.

On March 29, interested regional group members attended a luncheon commemorating National Vietnam War Veterans Day.