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The Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award

Letter of Recommendation Form
Thank you for your support of the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards program.
Please complete the form below to submit your letter of recommendation in support of the award nominee. Recommendations cannot exceed 800 words. You will not be able to submit your recommendation if the maximum word count exceeds 800 words.
Please note that recommendations should come from someone other than the person who nominated the candidate. Please note that required fields on this form are indicated by an asterisk (*).

* Nominee Name:
* Your First Name:
* Your Last Name:
* Your State:
* Your Phone Number:
* Your Email Address:
* Your Relationship to Nominee:

Please enter your letter of recommendation in the text area provided below: National Federation of the Blind, Bolotin Award 2024 RE: Donald Winiecki, Handid Braille Services I would like to introduce myself; my name is Cindy Olmstead and I am a Board Director for the National Braille Association (NBA). I am currently serving as Secretary and up until November 2023, I was the Chairperson of the Tactile Graphics (TG) Committee. I am also the President/CEO of the Michigan Braille Transcribing Fund; a non -profit 501(c)(3) corporation. I am writing this Letter of Recommendation in support of Donald Winiecki's application for The NFB Bolotin Award. The NBA provides continuing education to those who prepare braille and braille materials to persons who are visually impaired. This organization is well known for providing training information from the experts in our industry. Donald was a member of my team and we worked on the tasks and responsibilities assigned to us. This involved researching, gathering, and developing training information, authoring new educational material for webinars and workshops, creating the tactile graphics, and then proofreading (several times) the documents to be presented. In addition, Donald is the coordinator of "Ask the Expert"; which is a platform that members (worldwide) may ask questions about how to best design and format tactile graphics; expecting a prompt response in order to continue their own production. Donald would respond to the inquiry unless he felt input from the TG Committee was necessary to clarify the best format design. This requires a thorough knowledge of the tactile graphics standards and production methods. Working with Donald was an absolute pleasure. He was the one I could rely on for responding to every correspondence sent. He is knowledgeable in several areas of the braille codes required to produce braille and tactile graphics, especially non-English languages (which is the major part of his work at Handid Braille Services). He is meticulous to details and recites code when making suggestions for change. His professionalism and approach to constructive criticism is done in a way that does not offend, but actually encourages the recipient to view the materials differently. Donald has never missed a deadline, he's willing to share his knowledge and experience, and has proven to be a tireless worker. Please keep in mind, his work is done as a volunteer; NBA is an organization made up of volunteers. In respect for his skillset and willingness to share his knowledge, I nominated Donald for a NBA board position, to which he is now a Board Director and the Chairman of the TG Committee, as well as an active member of the Foreign Language Committee. Donald has shared his vision and plan for Bolotin Award with me. His plans to grow Handid Braille Services are in line with goals for increasing the availability of braille in languages other than English. He is an advocate for braille literacy and independence of visually impaired persons. This makes "disability" an essential part of "diversity". His vision of meeting the needs of those who have vision loss later in life and ensuring they have a means to continue leading a life with independence, self-respect, and self-worth, is what he will be accomplishing. Donald works on an international level with the organizations he is actively involved in. His passion in education and training, finding numerous avenues to share his knowledge and skillset, and his philanthropic views is a true testament of who he is. If I may quote The Dalai Lama, "Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects." Given the opportunity to affect change by awarding Handid Braille Services this prize will be felt by all who are fortunate enough to meet Donald Winiecki. Please feel free to contact me if you'd like to discuss my Letter of Recommendation further. Thank you for the opportunity to send my support for Handid Braille Services, specifically Donald Winiecki. Best regards, Cindy Olmstead, Secretary National Braille Association 517-780-5096 Office 517-262-6473 Mobile colmstead@nationalbraille.org
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The Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award

Letter of Recommendation Form