We are excited to announce that Dr. Walter Wittich, Associate Professor at the University of Montreal in the School of Optometry, and chair of the Deafblind International Research Network is the recipient of the 10th Annual JT Award.
The JT Award was established in 2011 by Rotary Cheshire Homes and the Canadian Helen Keller Center @CHKCinfo to recognize the efforts and achievements of individuals, consumer groups, or service providers who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the Canadian Deafblind community in the areas of Awareness, Expansion, and Involvement.
Dr. Wittich joins an illustrious list of past winners:
2010 JOYCE THOMPSON (JT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE)
2011 Jane Sayer (Manitoba) Past President of the Canadian National Society of the Deaf-Blind (CNSDB) and Coordinator at the Resource Centre for Manitoban who is Deaf-blind
2012 Elio Riggillo (Ontario) Consumer Relations Coordinator at the Canadian Hellen Keller Center (Ontario)
2013 Eddy Morten (British Columbia) Canadian Paralympic athlete, Coordinator of the Deafblind Services Society of British Columbia’s Volunteer Intervention Program
2014 Joan Mactavish (Ontario) Interpreter of Mae Brown, the first Canadian women with deafblindness to get a University degree (Ontario)
2015 Roxanna Spruyt-Rock (Ontario)CEO at DeafBlind Ontario Services (Ontario)
2016 Cindy Accardi (Ontario)Executive Director, Rotary Cheshire Homes, now merged with Canadian Helen Keller Centre (Ontario)
2017 Megan McHugh (Ontario) President of the Canadian National Society for Deafblind (Ontario)
2018 Warren Wakefield (Ontario) Member of the Rotary Cheshire Homes Board of Directors
2019 Stan Monroe (Nova Scotia) Founding Member of the Canadian Deafblind Association and Information Officer for Deafblind International
2020 Walter Wittich (Quebec) Associate Professor at the University of Montreal in the School of Optometry, Inaugural Chair of Research Network at Deafblind International
The award will be presented virtually on October 27th, 2020.