Welcome to the Taking the Lead podcast where we empower people to be unstoppable. I'm Christina Heppner with my co-host, Leslie Hoskins and Timothy Kune. I cannot believe we're at the end of the year already. It is flying by so fast. I always say this every year. It just keeps getting faster. I know. I think the older you get, life gets quicker.
Yeah. I feel like that same, and I know we've said it on the podcast before, but it's how I'm living my life right now is the days are long, but the years are short. Yes. And that is, I just feel that every single day. Well, glacier's getting ready to turn seven, which is nuts. So, I mean, I'm living through her.
Yeah. And she's seven years old. Yeah. Yeah. And come early January. That would be our fourth anniversary of the podcast. Well, it'd be technically, we just went through our third year. Third year. So we're gonna gone starting our fourth beginning. Our fourth. Fourth. Yeah. I was gonna say we started in 21.
That's, that's insane that we've been on that long. Ooh. And we have things to talk about. Yeah. And we've had to deal with each other for that long. Well, it's, I'm just kidding. It has been easy. I [00:01:00] know. Um, speak for yourself, Timothy. I know I'm not there. I'm not always there, so I'm totally kidding. I don't know how you do it, Liz.
I really don't. We are really fortunate that we all do get along so well and work well together. We, I know divvy up topics and work responsibilities and. I we're lucky and when I started, I mean, you guys were both strangers to me, so you guys just let me in. Well, you didn't, you never met me till about a year into this.
Yeah. Then when you finally met me, so we act like we were best friends. I, I know. I don't know who this person is. That is true. But yeah, people would always ask like, oh, like how long have you known Timothy? I'm like, I've actually never met him in person. I know we've only talked on, and now we've got a very consistent group chat message going.
Here we are three years later, almost going into our, well, going into our fourth. Yes. Um, wild. That's wild. So, so what was your year like? What did everybody do? I mean, how would examine Yeah, yeah. Biggest accomplishments or things I. To talk about. [00:02:00] Yeah. I'll say one of the biggest things that I've really been working on and we've been working on, I shouldn't just say I, but as an organization, is accessibility.
Yeah. And I know we've always been, you know, very proactive and accessibility has been a priority, but this year we, you know, created an internal accessibility committee. We've just really been focusing on how we can do better and then holding one another accountable. And so I think it's something that we are definitely really proud of and I'm excited to see where we go with it.
And. How much we can accomplish. You know, we've definitely got an accessible residence, we've got the bump dots, we've got tactile markers, we've got Alexas, we've got all these different things, but there's just a little bit more that we can do. We need to update our signage, you know, here and there, and making sure that all of our events are accessible, whether it be virtual or in person.
Um, so getting every department to think about accessibility. And the buy-in. Right? Yeah. Why it is so important and how it impacts people's lives when [00:03:00] there is a barrier and they can't access something and the frustration. And so, um, it's just been a really exciting year because people are getting excited about accessibility and identifying, Hey, wait a minute, I think we could do this better.
Yeah. And that's been pretty cool. And it's constantly changing with technology as well. I mean, on the digital side. Mm-Hmm. Um, we've been working, Leslie has been great in helping us identify different. Topics with our emails and the website is a huge one that we've been really working on as well. And, um, social media, we've actually brought in a platform that we did research on that was accessible not only on the user side, but the end user side as well.
So, very cool. Yeah, and Leslie's been like spearheading a lot of this, so. You know, the best thing about it is we've got representation from all the departments and everybody is bringing such good experience to the table that the conversations are really great, the, his, you know, the, um, the education that team members are bringing back.
And it's just, it's really, really exciting and, you know, uh, [00:04:00] making our. Whole organization more accessible so that hopefully one, our clients, of course, uh, utmost priority, feel that they have access to everything, but team members, volunteers, donors, anybody who steps foot on our campus or interacts with us in any way that they have full access.
And that's talking about people with all disabilities, not just blindness and low vision. So, uh, really just exciting year and I'm excited to see where we go in, uh, 2025 and what we accomplish there. Yeah. Well, it's nice that you guys keep evolving because it's, you can think you got everything solved and oh, well, we got a new thing.
So it's, it's it, you guys grasp it and keep on going with it. That's such a good point. We talk about accessibility as being a moving target and we're never gonna get it all fully. Right. Right. Because things keep changing, technology keeps changing and everybody wants access in a different way or different format.
Um, but if we keep striving towards that goal and keep recognizing that we have to keep changing, I think we're on the right track. Yeah, Lear Dog's really good about that. I'm pretty excited about [00:05:00] that. Yeah. What about you, Christina? Yeah. Um, so professionally, I'd say Timothy's laughing at the way I said that.
Um, I would say with marketing, we have a newer team and it's been so much fun to kind of get different perspectives. They both came from. Outside organizations, different places and have brought really good perspectives and just getting them to know about leader and our mission, it's been really cool.
And um, my team is also raising a puppy together, so I think that's a huge accomplishment. It's been a great team building activity. It really. Helps you to work together as a team, because we all have to be raising this puppy. Yeah. And knowing what each other is doing, doing the same thing. So it's been such a great year, and I think that's a big accomplishment is starting to do that as a team, doing more team building, um, without, you know, a team that's cohesive and together.
You know, it's, we can't do what we do, you know, so it's been great to [00:06:00] build this team and, um, take it to the next level in marketing. I think one of my favorite things about having new team members and especially your two new team members, is seeing like Leader Dog through their eyes for the first time.
Like watching other people get just as excited about the mission and learning and going through, you know, a blindfold walk experience or interacting with clients and having conversations and hearing their stories and watching them get excited. Yeah. And have ideas and wanna, you know, give back and just be such a part of the mission is so much fun and you've got a really great team who is motivated and.
Definitely, uh, invested in the mission. Yeah, I would say so. Yeah. That gave me a warm feeling inside. Yeah, it's good. Marketing's doing really well. They're, uh, they're exciting. That's good for you, Christina. You've, you've done that. Mm-Hmm. So, congratulations. Well, thank you guys. Yeah. Look at being nice for, to me, for watching.
I know. It's the holiday season. We gotta do it. Enjoy it. It's gonna be real any second. I know. And the new year starts. You guys are gonna be like, all [00:07:00] right, we're back on it again. We'll give you a moment. Yeah. We're getting ready for that. The, the run that Johnny's gonna win in the future again, so. Oh goodness.
Oh, we can't even get into that. Oh. Personally though, I ran a marathon. Heck. So we go, okay. That's fantastic. I don't know how you do it. So you cannot say that Johnny ever wins in these races? Oh no. My gosh. We can't get into it. Yeah, we don't get, I can't just gonna point that out. Okay. Timothy, what about you?
What, what did this year bring for you? Well see, in April I joined the Lion, so you can call me Lion Timothy. Lion Timothy. We joined the MD multi-district 22 in, uh, Maryland. Uh, I did that, uh, for my friend Bob Jones who. Passed away early this year. Mm-Hmm. That's wonderful. I wanna be part of the club. He was very important to me.
And leader dog. That's a really great way to honor somebody. So, uh, he will be missed. And so, uh, we did a lot of traveling and, uh, went on a cruise to Canada. We enjoyed that cruise, of course. And Glacier went Mm-Hmm. She's really good on those cruises. And so I can't go without my dog [00:08:00] that you can take your dog on.
So, uh, uh, just, just life. Just life and being around you guys and seeing you guys earlier this year. Yeah. And, uh. And, uh, being, doing this podcast is very, very nice. And meeting people that, uh, listen to the podcast. When my travels, I've had several come and see me when I'm out and about. And so it's exciting that I feel like I'm doing something and, and you are.
And helping somebody's life because you know what? We all have struggles. Mm. And uh, I went through it and there's somebody out there was just like me six years ago. Mm-Hmm. And, uh, I just wanna keep on 'cause I don't want something to happen to somebody. Yeah. That we could have helped. So many people relate to you and your story and feel inspired by you and you being on this podcast for one.
And being vulnerable and sharing your experiences and your stories has been fantastic. But also you are a client speaker. You are going out all the time, um, on our behalf and speaking to Lions or other clients and just sharing, um. Your journey really. And it's been fantastic and so many people relate. So many [00:09:00] people ask us all the time like, ah, when can I meet Timothy?
Or, I love his story, or this and that. So you are definitely making an impact and we are very grateful for the work you do. I appreciate the opportunity 'cause I want to give back. Mm-Hmm. And, uh, I feel like I can, I can do that. And I feel like I don't do enough. So that's just mad. I mean, I can't even probably name off how many places you've gone just this year on our behalf.
Yeah, I know. It's amazing. Well, when I go with the Lions, they, they love Leader Dog. They absolutely love Leader Dog. Yeah. And, uh, so they do anything that as much as they can for us and, uh, becoming the lion, they invested in me, so I wanna be a part of them. And that's why I joined the Lions also, so I, I'm loving being a lion.
That's cool. Do we need to change our intro to Lion Timothy? No, no. Only only when I'm at a Lions meeting, I guess. Oh, yeah. All right. Uh, you, you've got posted his podcast on, right? Okay. Yeah. Right now I'm doing Leader Dogs though, so, but this counts as my, uh, [00:10:00] as my, uh, community work. The podcast is for sure.
That makes sense. Yeah. That. That's good. You're spreading the mission, spreading awareness, advocating, educating. That absolutely is an effort in that direction. But you know what? I'm still learning myself every day. I learn about technology and stuff, so it is ne I'm never done. Mm-Hmm. Yeah. There's always so many new things and it is cool to be in this space and learn and see what the technology is bringing.
And Leader Duck specifically is trying to stay on the front of everything, and so we have. Kind of, I don't know, made ourselves aware or, um, available to be like beta testing for a lot of new technology. And so a lot of like GPS devices or wearable devices or things like that, a lot of those companies reach out to us because we have access to so many clients and they wanna come and experience.
Things or they wanna trial things with a guide dog and see how their technology would work. And so this has been a fun year. We've worked with a couple of different companies and kind of learned what they're working [00:11:00] on and technology's going in a very exciting place. And I think there's a time and a place for it right?
When it's appropriate. And it's not something that we wanna fully ever rely on, but it is pretty cool, right? Yeah. To give more access to different things and, and see the progress. And so. I am excited about the future. I think there's gonna be a lot of new things that are gonna be really impactful on people's lives.
Oh, remember, I'm still working with Georgia Tech on that robotic guide belt. Right? Right. So I'm going up there in February, I believe, to do some more of that. So looking for, and they, and they listen to my ideas and they implement them. Right. And that's cool. And they wanna learn from the source, right?
Like, what's the point of them making a guide, a robotic guide dog, that's not actually gonna be beneficial for somebody who's blind or visually impaired. Yeah. So it's fantastic that they're reaching out to a guide dog user. And they're listening to the podcast. Yes. That is fantastic. Well, now looking into the new year, do you guys have any goals, resolutions, anything I.
2025, [00:12:00] I think. Let's see. Well, I talk about accessibility. I definitely still wanna, um, be a part of that and continue to grow and develop and learn new things. I'll tell you, I'm really excited, you know, right now, um, or this fall we've barely been talking about the unmet needs survey results and we've been having some conversations internally and kind of what we learned from all of that.
So I'm exce excited to see where that goes and hopefully to be a part of it in some way. Especially as outreach, you know, my main goal is to spread the mission and resources of Leader Dog and let people know about our organization and how they can get involved, whether a client, a volunteer, or donor. So I'm excited to have hopefully some new information or new programming or something kind of coming in 2025 that I can be a part of.
Yeah, it is very exciting. I'm very excited to hear about all of the unmet needs, 'cause we've been talking about that for so long. I guess for me it would be really expanding our marketing efforts, taking it to the next level. Um, there's so many opportunities that we have [00:13:00] and we've been working so well with.
All of the teams, 'cause we market literally every department with in leader dogs. So I'm excited to kind of continue the work but also take it to the next level in this new year with new technology, having social in-house and all of that stuff. So, oh, that's nice. Yeah. I think that's one thing that everybody realizes about marketing for us.
It's, you know, not just about getting, uh, donations right, to keep our mission going, but you're marketing to people who need services. Yeah. You're marketing to volunteers to get involved and help us. We can't do it alone. Um, so there are so many avenues and things and different audiences that you have to think about in that department.
So I just think that's really cool. And something I did not realize until I kind of. Joined the marketing team. Yeah. And now you share an office with me. I know, I know. Now I can't get rid of marketing. Like, oh, now I've got Christina in my head all the time of like, well, should I do this? Or what do I need to do?
I gotta ask her opinion on things. I was living a very peaceful life before I just, [00:14:00] just shake things up. Yeah. Bliss of not knowing. But, um, no, I, I've learned a lot and it's been really good. Well, I'm gonna try to go to a convention this year with a C, B or NFB. Okay. I haven't been one in a couple years. Oh, I can't even think where they are.
I think, uh, the a CB, I don't know about A-C-B-N-F B's gonna be in New Orleans. New Orleans? Yep. New Orleans. Yes. I'm gonna gimme some, uh. Some of those powdered donuts that, that, I forget what they call them. Beignets. Beignets, yeah. I, when I went last time it was in New Orleans, I got beignet sugar all over Glacier.
That is funny. 'cause she has a black lab. So Yeah. It probably looked like it was snowing on her. Which is still funny to begin with that glacier is a black lab. Yeah. So I wanna do maybe a convention this year and then all the line stuff that I, hopefully I'll do and, and just my personal travel, I like, I like traveling.
Yeah. And it just, uh. Just emphasizes how much importance glacier is in my life. Yeah. I have traveled so much in the past, almost three years now. Oh my gosh. Yes. And I cannot imagine. That my cane or glacier. Right. [00:15:00] Well it Kennedy, it was so funny when we picked you up from the airport when you were here, um, glacier knew the leader dog van.
She was, and she saw Leslie pull up and all of a sudden she's, boom. I know it. We were just standing there and all of a sudden she's like, we're going. She knew the van, she knew where we were going. She knew the van. I could not believe it. And there were so many cars Yeah. Where we were. And it was so that was really fun.
It was really cool to see. That was fun. Yeah. Leslie Pop put liver all over it so she could get better. Yeah. I was like, she will know this vehicle. No, just real quick, I wanna go back and make sure everybody understands those conventions. NFB and A CB. Those conventions are the National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind, and they put on giant conventions every year and it is a great way to learn about blindness and low vision.
It's a great way to get involved with advocacy efforts and just learn what's going on in the community and also just meet other people. Um, so if you do have an opportunity. It sounds like National Federation of the Blind's gonna be in New Orleans, and I'll have to look up maybe really quickly where, um, a CB is going to be because it [00:16:00] is, it's a great opportunity to go and we always send representatives from, um, our organization to be there and talk about our programs and services.
And last year, I know, um, Melissa Wise, our CEO and Dunny land, our Chief Impact officer, um, attended and it was fantastic. It's a great opportunity. Yeah, it's a good opportunity. And I learned so much at the, uh, conventions when I go to them and you get to hang around people that has the same problem as you.
How uplifting is that? 'cause you know you're not alone now. And uh, that was my first thing I did with that cane when I didn't know how to use it. Leslie, if you remember, that's you found us. That's when that's how I found leader. God. Yeah. I stumbled up and Meredith goes. Have you ever thought about getting a guide dog?
And I looked at her and said, I don't know how to use this thing. So that's not even in the book. And that's how it all started. So Leader Dog helped me out so much at when I went to the convention, so there's so much there with technology and stuff. So if you get a chance, an opportunity, I would go to the at least one and you'll see how, [00:17:00] what it's all about and how much it can impact your life.
Those are some great New Year's goals. Yes. So good time to be thinking about that too. And I'm gonna get older in about two weeks. Oh, my birthday's coming up. Yeah. And so is Glacier. She's right behind mine. Oh my gosh. Yeah, that's, she'll be seven in at the end of January. Oh my gosh. I know. That's wild. It is.
Time's going by fast. I'm telling you. The days are long, but the gears are short. Keeps applying. I know. To everything. All right, but it's been good. You guys, what another fantastic year. We have done so much. We have, we have shared so many stories of fantastic clients and volunteers and team members and donors, and to be a part of this podcast with you two is so much fun.
I learn something every single time. I'm so delighted that we have this platform that's accessible and available to everybody, and that we get to share these fantastic stories of these wonderful people and our great organization. So thank you for both of your work. Throughout [00:18:00] the year. Happy holidays to everybody and how you, uh, celebrate this time of the year.
Happy Holiday and hopefully you stay safe and happy New Year. Absolutely fantastic. And thank you to our listeners because we wouldn't do this podcast without you. We appreciate you so much. Thank you for listening to this shorter episode of the Taking the Lead podcast. I'm Leslie Hoskins with host Timothy Kyo and Christina Hubner.
We hope you enjoyed this episode, and please join us next time as we continue to dive into the world of blindness. Yes, and if you'd like to learn more about applying to our free services at Leader Dog, you can head to leader dog.org or call us at (888) 777-5332. Don't forget you can reach us at taking the lead@leaderdog.org with any questions or ideas.
If you like today's podcast, make sure to hit subscribe and check us out wherever Podcast Stream.