Two features on blind people as leaders in recent days. The Times in Tigard, Oregon, reports on a church that has its first blind pastor, Janine DeLaunay: "In September DeLaunay became the first blind pastor for Metzger and West Portland United Methodist churches, and is convincing her congregation that lack of sight doesn’t shade one from God’s glory."And The Morning News in northwest Arkansas a long feature on Gerry Nichols, (pictured) who is legally blind and the marching band director at Prairie Grove High School: "The Tigers Marching Band has seen steady growth in the last three years and with that growth has come a reason to stay in your seats at halftime. 'When I first got here, I would go up and introduce myself as the new band director,' said Gerry Nichols, in his fourth year at the school. 'I got a lot of reaction, but mostly, ‘Good luck. You’ve got a lot of work ahead of you.’
"Nichols attended the Arkansas School for the Blind in Little Rock through ninth grade. 'Back when I was a kid, education didn’t know how to deal with people who had problems, whether it was hearing problems or vision problems, or whatever,' Nichols said. 'Eight weeks through my ninth-grade year my parents moved me back into public schools. I was one of the first kids in Arkansas that was considered to be mainstreamed, which is something we do all the time now.'"
The Morning News Web site also has a slideshow of the marching band, complete with music from the band.