The Lawrence E. Blaha Memorial Award

The Lawrence E. Blaha Award was initiated in 1968 to honor people who have shown exemplary behavior in the field of O&M, made outstanding contributions to the profession, and shown dedication to serving people with visual impairments. It is the highest honor that the O&M Division can bestow.

History
The Lawrence E. Blaha Award was initiated in 1968 to honor people who have shown exemplary behavior in the field of O&M, made outstanding contributions to the profession and shown dedication to serving people with visual impairments. It is the highest honor that the O&M Division can bestow. Each recipient of this award is the Guardian of Sir Francis Campbell’s cane until it is passed along to the next award recipient. The handle of the cane was used by Sir Francis Campbell, and can be seen in a photograph of him that is displayed in the C. Warren Bledsoe Orientation and Mobility Archives.
This award was named in honor of Lawrence Blaha who was a pioneer in the field of O&M. He is remembered for his wit, athletic abilities, philosophy, technical skill, and his high standards. He was an educator whose ideas are remembered and continued through this award. In 1948, he began his career working with people with visual impairments at the Central Blind Rehabilitation Center for Visually Impaired and Blinded Veterans, VA Hospital, Hines, Illinois. He was one of a group of six individuals chosen for training to become the original O&M specialists at Hines. In 1961, he joined the faculty of Western Michigan University; from 1964 until his sudden death, he was Director of the O&M program at California State College, Los Angeles. The first Lawrence E. Blaha Award was given to him posthumously in 1968.
Sir Francis Campbell, whose cane handle is passed along to award recipients, was an American expatriate who was knighted by King Edward VII. Campbell was born in Tennessee and accidentally blinded before he was six. He was educated at the Tennessee State Institute for the Blind and at the University of Tennessee. Campbell taught music at the Perkins School for the Blind. At Perkins, he was involved in early efforts to teach Orientation and Mobility.

Past Recipients of the Lawrence E. Blaha Memorial Award:
1968 Lawrence E. Blaha, posthumously
1969 Dr. Richard E. Hoover, MD
1972 W.G. Debetaz
1973 Stanley Suterko
1975 Russell C. Williams
1977 Donald Blasch
1979 John D. Malamazian
1981 John R. Eichorn, Ed.D.
1983 Leicester W. Farmer
1984 C. Warren Bledsoe
1986 Walter G. Olenek
1988 Richard L. Welsh
1990 Hugo Vigoroso
1992 Everett “Butch” Hill
1994 Berdell “Pete” Wurzburger
1996 William Wiener
1998 Bruce B. Blasch
2000 Gala Saber Brooks
2002 Billie Louis Bentzen
2004 Dona Sauerburger
2006 Steve LaGrow
2008 Janet Barlow
2010 Eileen Siffermann
2012 Richard Long
2014 George Zimmerman
2016 Sandra Rosen
2018 Rod Kossick
2020 Nora Griffin-Shirley
2022 Laura Bozeman
2024 Rona Pogrund