Board Member Tribute
In 1988, when ETTAC was very new, an amazing man traveled from Kingsport to
visit us and to learn what we knew about equipment for people with visual
impairments. As it turned out, he knew as much as we did, but he didn't escape
our very small office located in the basement of Claxton Education Building at
U.T. without promising to serve on our Board of Directors. That was 21 years
ago.
In the ensuing years, Dr. Hubert Hill was part of our growth and development.
He taught all of us to focus on our customers and how to continually strive to
improve our services, and he was also instrumental in the development of a
statewide network of technology services for people with disabilities, now
known as TTAP (the Tennessee Technology Access Program).
Hubert was a friend, too, and we spent many hours laughing at jokes in between
(and sometimes during!) meetings in Knoxville, Nashville, and upper East
Tennessee.
Hubert died September 17, and we've all lost something of value because of it.
His memorial service program included a quote from George Bernard Shaw: "I am
of the opinion that my life belongs to the community and as long as I live, it
is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up
when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its
own sake. Life is no 'brief candle' to me. It is a sort of splendid torch,
which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly
as possible before handing it on to future generations."
From his hospital bed, Hubert was directing his hospital staff to contact us
for help with family members with disabilities. His family has requested that
donations in his honor be made to ETTAC (www.discoveret.org/ettac) or to the
Kingsport Association for the Visually Impaired (KAVI). On behalf of all who
knew and worked with Hubert, we raise a glass in tribute to his life.