An Introduction to
NFB Idaho Board Member -

Mary Ellen Halverson

Hi, my name is Mary Ellen, and I am a board member for the National Federation of the Blind of Idaho. I would like to tell you a little about my background and experience in the National Federation of the Blind.

I was born in the Lone Star state of Texas, but spent my growing-up years in the Midwest. I lived in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa until my husband Ray and I moved to Idaho in 1973, with our two year old son.

Although I loved school as a child and looked forward to a new year each fall, it was always difficult for me to read the blackboard, to read text books as the print grew smaller, to read lightly printed tests and to recognize friends in the school halls. I was legally blind by the time I was in junior high and attended a Sight Saving program during my high school years. At that time I was very embarrassed about being blind and about having to read large print books. My parents read many assignments to me in the evenings.

My high school teachers were kind for the most part, but really didn't know what to do with me. I spent many hours studying and graduated from Rock Island High School, Rock Island, Illinois, with a 3.5 grade-point. I went on to attend the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, and graduated from there with a BA degree. My major was Spanish.

In the middle of college, I took out a year to attend the Orientation and Adjustment Center at the Iowa Commission for the blind in Des Moines. By that time I was not able to see at night and had great difficulty taking notes in class and trying to read them back. Little did I know how that year would change me and affect the rest of my life.

The director of the Iowa Commission for the Blind was Kenneth Jernigan, a man who developed the greatest training program for blind individuals in the world. While there, I learned the skills of blindness such as Braille, how to travel about with a long white cane, typing, home management, and most important of all--I learned that it is respectable to be blind. In July of 1967, I attended my first NFB national convention in Los Angeles, where I had the honor of meeting Dr. Jacobus TenBroek, the founder of the National Federation of the Blind. I have been an active member in the organization ever since.

I met my husband Ray, who is also blind, at a meeting of blind students at the University of Iowa. He had also attended the Iowa Orientation program. Ray accepted a job in Idaho in the fall of 1973, so we moved West. Our son was two years old at the time, and our daughter was born in Boise in 1975. By this time, I was totally blind, and I believe that I had no more difficulty raising our children than any other parent. Our children both have normal sight. Ray and I became grandparents in June of 1999. Our little granddaughter, Emma, is a great joy in our lives.

During our years in Idaho, I have held many positions and served on numerous committees for our local NFB chapter and in our state affiliate, the NFB of Idaho. The NFB has given me so much, with it’s belief in the abilities of blind people and its work throughout the country to improve the quality of life for the blind. I want to do my part in encouraging other blind people and parents of blind children, and I want to pass on the wonderful news that it is respectable to be blind.

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