James (Jim) lives in South Dakota with his wife, Linda and is the parent of two adult children. He partnered with Fidelco guide dog, “Dax” in May 2022. Diagnosed with glaucoma in the early 2000’s, Jim was declared legally blind in 2013. He is a retired forester and veteran. When Jim’s doctor told him he was eligible for services through the Veterans Administration, he decided to take advantage of these services and traveled to Chicago where he received six weeks of orientation and mobility training and support at the Hines VA Blind Rehabilitation Center. As a result of his training, Jim became a proficient white cane traveler and utilized the life skills training that he received to continue his hobbies of gardening (he’s a master gardener) and woodworking. Jim recognized that in his small community, people needed to be better educated about white cane travel by individuals with vision impairment and how to support them. With a retired teacher, Joanna Jones, who was also a parishioner at his church, Jim co-authored a children’s book, Grandpa’s White Cane, which was published in 2003. To further his goal of educating the community about white cane travel, Jim and Joanna began making presentations to students in local elementary schools. While Jim had become a proficient white cane traveler, he wanted to gain even greater independence with a Fidelco guide dog. Jim has said that having a literal set of second eyes to help him navigate has been a game changer. Busy man that he is, Dax has enabled him to travel more quickly and safely.

Photo by Spearfish Creek.  Photo of Jim in classroom with Dax with “Grandpa’s White Cane” book cover on screen behind them.