"AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY"

One of the things that Chris Tompkins will miss most about the Foundation for Blind Children is his daily morning walk.

“For all these years, I’ve tried to walk through at least one classroom everyday just to see the kids,” the former FBC Executive Director said. “It’s helped to remind me of what we’re all about and has helped me never to lose sight of the most basic, common bond we have. It’s kept me balanced.”

And for two decades, Chris Tompkins has helped keep the Foundation for Blind Children balanced.

Friends said goodbye last week to the man who has demonstrated a life-long commitment to helping individuals who are blind or visually impaired lead lives of independence at a retirement celebration held for him at the Calvin Charles Gallery in Scottsdale.

As Executive Director of the Foundation for Blind Children for the past twenty years, Chris has experience many milestones, one of which he will always remember.

“I am most proud of building our permanent home which opened in 1993 in Phoenix,” he said. “It was a big milestone that helped create a belief in ourselves. The facility became a clear and visible symbol that we were an important part of the community. It empowered us.”

From a staff of 17 members in 1987, to one that now exceeds 125, Chris said one of the reasons for the FBC’s success is because the agency has been very proactive in identifying unmet needs in the community.

“Developing programs and services to meet the needs of people with visual impairments has been a major factor in our growth,” he said. “Over the years, we have dramatically increased the number of kids that we helped by developing a stronger identification with hospitals, schools and social service agencies. When I started, we served about 250 kids. Today, we serve ten times that number.”

Some of the programs that Chris helped create include the Sports, Habilitation and Recreation Program (SHARP) in 1994, the Technology Center in 1995, the FBC Store in 2001, the Low Vision Clinic in 2002, and the Skills, Mastery and Adjustment in Rehabilitation and Transition (SMART) program in 2005.

Staff has always had a way of motivating Chris on a daily basis.

“Staff members inspire me everyday,” he said. “They inspire me by the passion they have for what they do and the creativity that they show in helping kids and families learn. I think that our blindness profession is a special niche. The people that are attracted to it have shared values. Giving is what we do and we receive through our giving. Seeing the difference we can make with those kids and adults is what we receive in return. The people who are attracted to do that are the ones that inspire me.”

Chris Tompkins and Elaine Baldridge

One new staff member who has been truly inspired by Chris is the man who will succeed him.

“Through his stewardship, the FBC now has three campuses, an incredible library serving the whole state and the most comprehensive state of the art assistive technology center in Arizona,” said Marc Ashton, the Foundation’s new Executive Director. “He has attracted a dynamic, dedicated Board of Directors and some of the best teachers and staff in the country.  Although we serve people of all ages, it’s the babies that still melt his heart.  He told me upon my selection as his successor, ‘Marc, don’t ever forget the babies and their families.  They need us the most and we are all they got.’ As a parent of a blind child, he is so right.”

And Chris had this to say about Marc:

“I think that Marc has a real passion for the organization and its mission. He has a personal interest because of his son, Max, and that’s what gives him his passion. He also has a real enthusiasm and I think he will do well with and for the FBC. In time, he will develop his own vision of where he wants to lead this organization. I encourage everyone to give him the time to develop that vision and then to support that vision for the future.”

The look in his eyes at his retirement celebration spoke volumes of the love Chris feels for the people who make up the Foundation for Blind Children.

“We really are a model agency throughout Arizona and the country,” he said. “Our whole mission is helping others realize a fullness in their lives. I’m glad to have been a part of that. It’s been an incredible journey, just incredible.”

One that started with a morning walk twenty years ago…

by Rich Kenney

June 29, 2007

The Foundation for Blind Children is a 501c(3) non-profit organization.