Cone named top volunteer by NFB Georgia
GPLS News, December 2008
Stella Cone (left) accepts the 2008 Volunteer of the Year Award from Jo Ann Weaver, president of the National Federation of the Blind's Atlanta Metro Chapter.
The National Federation of the Blind of Georgia (NFBGA) has selected Stella Cone, director of the Georgia Library for Accessible Services (GLASS), as its Volunteer of the Year for 2008. Cone accepted the award at the organization's seventh annual Black Tie/White Cane Appreciation Banquet in Atlanta on Oct. 25.
"In addition to her full-time work as the director of GLASS, Stella volunteers her time in the evenings and weekends to help us fulfill our mission of equality, opportunity and security for the blind," explained Anil Lewis, president of NFBGA. "Stella most recently helped coordinate the registration for our 2008 annual state convention. By processing preregistration information and staffing the registration desk at our recent state convention, she played an essential role in one of our largest state conventions to date. In addition, Stella has performed a variety of tasks during the year with joy of spirit and without hesitation. She is truly a committed member of our federation family."
Lewis said he and the members of the selection committee are consistently impressed by Cone's lack of a caretaker mentality. "She believes in the true potential of the blind," he said, "and she gets actively involved in the lives of the blind in ways that empower us to take control of our own destinies."
Also contributing to Cone's selection were her efforts in proactively employing and promoting competent blind people as GLASS employees and her work in fostering the development of the Library Consumers Advisory Council (LCAC), a representative group of library patrons who assist in the planning and provision of high-quality library services for the blind and print disabled.
"We may express our appreciation to Stella with a plaque, but our true gratitude is manifested through the love that all members of the National Federation of the Blind of Georgia have for her," Lewis said.
"I am really surprised and touched by this award," Cone said. "I was not expecting it at all. There are many dedicated members of NFBGA; it is an honor to be so completely accepted as a member of their family."
Cone is the second GLASS employee to receive the Volunteer of the Year Award in the past three years. Vanessa Meadows, a library assistant and readers adviser for GLASS, won the award in 2006.
GLASS is funded by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to GPLS under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act.