The Manly Daily, outside Sydney, Australia, profiled Bob Hinds, who as a 13-year-old met Helen Keller at a public reception in her honor at the Sydney Town Hall in 1948.
At the age of 12, Hinds had been diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative condition of the retina, and was going blind. He says in the story that his meeting with Keller turned his life around, because after meeting the famous deaf-blind woman who had achieved so much, it encouraged him to pursue his own dreams.
"People with blindness are always looking for something to lead them onwards," Hinds said. "Helen Keller brought with her a revolutionary approach to disability. In an age when she could have sat back and taken it easy, she never stopped achieving and wanting to learn."
His professional career spanned 40 years; his last job before retirement was working in public relations with Public Works.
