In the News: GDA at 2016 IAM Grand Lodge Convention

Guide Dogs of America President Dale E. Hartford was interviewed by CBS Chicago during the 2016 IAM Grand Lodge Convention held September 4-9 by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

“Guide Dogs of America was founded in 1948 when a blind machinist went to his union to ask for their help in creating a guide dog school,” said Hartford. “He was denied a guide dog because of his advanced age – at that time 57 was deemed too old to have use for a guide dog. So they created a school with no upper age limit and we’ve been providing guide dogs free of charge ever since.”

CBS Chicago’s feature on GDA includes an appearance by GDA Director of Training and Licensed Instructor Dan Rollings working with a GDA dog in formal training. Watch the video at http://chicago.cbslocal.com/video/category/spoken-word-wbbmtv/3515148-guide-dogs-of-america-support-the-visually-impaired/

Together, IAM members provide the largest donation received by GDA annually to support our programs that provide blind and visually impaired individuals with guide dogs and instruction in their use, free of charge. For recaps of the 2016 IAM Grand Lodge Convention, plus photos and videos, visit http://convention.goiam.org/