The 5th Annual Dateable Image Awards

	June 1999

D.
Rick Douglas with Dr. Lucy Waletzky
and Robert Watson.

The 5th Annual Dateable Image Awards
by Gregg J. Donaldson
The 5th Annual Dateable Image Awards were held in Washington, D.C., in April. This year's awardees were a pretty diverse group. Award Areas included: Investment Management: Russell Redenbaugh, who is Blind, Animal Medicine, Temple Grandin, Ph.D., who has Autisim, Public Service - Tony Coelho, who has Epilepsy, and Corporate - Microsoft, Pete Hayes, General Manager, who accepted on behalf of the Corporation and the Disability team.
Mr. Rick Douglas was once again, the Master of Ceremonies. He was given a special Image Award for being a mentor to Robert Watson, Executive Director of Dateable and his work in the disability community.
Dateable was founded by Dr. Lucy Waletzky in 1987, as a nonprofit social organization for both people with and without disabilities, creating a social outlet for them to form new friendships, relationships and marriages.
Investment Management: Russell Redenbaugh
Mr. Redenbaugh told the audience that he "dealt in the future, not in the past." He also encouraged us to continue breakdown stereotypes saying, "This is not a Ken and Barbie perfect world," and he encouraged us to follow 'our own heart's desires.'
He has taken his own advice. He is a partner with Cooke & Bieler Inc., a Philadelphia investment firm that manages over $6 million in stock and bond assets. He played a key role in the development of the firm's advanced information systems and is currently editor of Cooke & Bieler Investment Quarterly. He also has held many other positions within the company.
Russell graduated magna cum laude and third in his class from the University of Utah. He was denied enrollment into both Harvard and Stanford MBA programs because of his blindness. He was then accepted into the University of Pennsylvania as the first non-sighted student in the Wharton MBA program, graduating sixth in his class in 1969. He has been a Chartered Financial Analyst since 1972. His other interests include being a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, as well as serving as director on four entrepreneurial companies.
Animal Medicine, Temple Grandin, Ph.D.
Dr. Grandin is an Assistant Professor of animal science at Colorado State University. She earned a Ph. D. in animal science at the University of Illinois. She is the designer of equipment, (among them a circular ramp), used extensively by the meat packing industry for the humane slaughter of cattle. Her efforts won her the 1995 Industry Advancement Award from the American Meat Institute.
She is also the author of "Emergence: Labeled Autistic and Thinking in Pictures," and has been instrumental in describing the emotional and sensory perceptions she and other people with autism experience. Dr. Grandin said she is, "sensitive and heightened to extreme noises, that's why I believe I have so much empathy with animals, because my nervous system is wired like theirs are," she told the audience.
D.
Public Service - Tony Coelho
Mr. Coelho has had a long and distinguished career in both the public and private sector. He was elected to U.S. House of Representatives in 1978. Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from 1981 to 1986, and served as Majority Whip from 1987 to 1989. He also co-authored the ADA and served in senior positions on the Agriculture, Interior and Admistration Committees.
After Congress, Coelho joined the investment firm of Wertheim, Schroder & Co., where he served as their Managing Director and CEO of the company's Investment Services. He also was appointed by President Clinton to the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, as well as the National Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities. He also serves on many boards including the Epilepsy of America.
Tony praised the work of Datable and told how important it was to have an organization like it. He then what it was like having epilepsy; how his parents denied it, how he was denied the priesthood because of it, and how he was afraid to tell his future wife to be, because he had been rejected by previous girlfriends, when they told. "Her reaction was "So, we'll deal with it," he said.

D.
Pete Hayes and Gus Estrada.
Microsoft formed the Accessibility and Disability Group of more than 30 professionals in February 1998, to respond to our needs. The Group's areas of responsibility include product development, program management, testing, documentation and marketing. They also has an Advisory Committee periodically to critique MS Product work. Mr. Hayes also showed a short demonstration of their enhancements to the Encarta Encyclopedia which included visual enlargements and closed caption descriptions.
They have a website: www.microsoft.com/enable, listing their Products.
Another technology factor of interest: Two of the introductions were done by Mr. Bob Williams, Assistant Secretary Health and Human Services and Mr. Gus Estrada, works for United Cerebral Palsy Association, as a Policy Analyst, both use computers to speak. Gus also has a dog as an assitive partner. They introduced Tony Coelho and Pete Hayes respectively.
D.
Robert Watson and wife Lynn talking to Senator,
John (Jay) Rockefeller, Chairman of the 1999 Dateable I
mage Awards.
For more information on DateAble, Address: Suite 205, 35 Wisconsin Circle, Chevy Chase MD 20815, Phone: 301-657-3283, Web: www.DATEABLE.org E-mail: Robert@DateAble.org

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