VisionServe Alliance Honors Don LoGuidice with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award
Celebrating A Pioneer in Vision Rehabilitation
UTICA, N.Y. – VisionServe Alliance is honored to bestow the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award to Don LoGuidice, who served as an exceptional leader in the blindness and vision impairment (BVI) field, distinguishing himself through his creativity, determination, and dedication to improving the lives of the people who are blind or visually impaired.
LoGuidice was the CEO of the Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABVI) for decades, expanding the organization’s staff and budget exponentially during his time there.
LoGuidice joined CABVI in 1969 and served for almost 39 years, retiring in 2008. During his time at CABVI, he helped develop and professionalize vision services.
While he was executive director, CABVI acquired 507 Kent Street as a donation from General Electric in 1979, Bleecker Street from the City of Utica in 1997, and the Kenneth Thayer Production & Distribution Center from a variety of economic development agencies in 2006. CABVI also opened Base Supply Stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine during his tenure. “Don’s leadership and vision paved the way for much of the success we enjoy today at CABVI,” said Ed Welsh, current president and CEO of CABVI.
LoGuidice was also a founding member of VisionServe Alliance and held positions with the New Jersey State Commission for the Blind and the New Hampshire Association for the Blind. “Don is a giant in this field,” said Lee Nasehi, president and CEO of VisionServe Alliance. “He created an amazing legacy at CABVI, and many of our current leaders credit him with encouraging and mentoring their careers in service to people who are blind and have low vision. He is a visionary who believed in Networking Leadership before it even had a name and built a strong foundation for all who have followed him.”
VisionServe Alliance extends its deepest gratitude for LoGuidice’s tireless support for people who are blind or have low vision.
About VisionServe Alliance VisionServe leads an alliance of 130+ member organizations that vastly improve the lives of people with blindness and low vision. VisionServe Alliance collaborates with leaders to enhance the health of the BVI field by maximizing engagement with life-changing vision rehabilitation training and services, addressing strategic issues impacting the field, cultivating leadership, enhancing management systems, sharing best practices, increased capacity-building and sustainability, informing public policy, developing
groundbreaking data reports highlighting profound issues impacting people with blindness and vision loss, and more. VisionServe Alliance also leads the Aging and Vision Loss National Coalition (AVLNC), a consortium of leaders advocating for the needs of adults 65+ with blindness and low vision. Learn more at VisionServeAlliance.org.
About CABVI
The Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired is a social enterprise established in 1929 by community leaders in Utica, New York, who recognized a need to provide services and employment to people who are blind or visually impaired. CABVI serves more than 2,000 people of all ages, generally free of charge, who are blind or visually impaired, in a 10-county region of Central New York. CABVI provides employment opportunities and a variety of vision rehabilitation services including low vision examinations, vision rehabilitation therapy, orientation and mobility, instruction in the use of assistive
technology applications, employment training, adaptive recreation and sports, and social work. For further details, please visit http://www.cabvi.org/video.
