Guide Dogs Association honours legend
PAULSHOF - Members and friends of the South African Guide-Dogs Association gathered in memory of the man who dedicated his life to the visually impaired.
The ceremony took place on a sunny winter’s morning a year to the day after Ken Lord’s death. Family and friends gathered in front of the College of Mobility and Orientation, which was renamed in Lord’s honour.
Lord was a fixture at the Guide-Dogs Association for half a century, and its executive director for 35 years. He founded the College of Mobility and Orientation in 1974, training practitioners to impart everyday skills to the visually impaired. Lord remained devoted to, and actively involved in, the college throughout his life, where he continued to work after his retirement, until shortly before he passed away.
The event honoured the impact that the dedication of Lord and his wife Arlene (who still lives and works at the association) had on the lives of the visually impaired both at the association and throughout South Africa.
“This has never been a centre,” said Lord’s son Anthony. “It has always been a home. And that’s testament to [my] mom and dad.”
Following a short ceremony, a plaque in Lord’s honour was unveiled by his daughters, and the community gathered in the college to share memories.
Current executive director, Gail Glover, and Lord’s longtime colleague, Moira Higgerty, paid tribute to a man described as a legend in his own lifetime. Higgerty honoured Lord’s “enthusiasm, compassion, genuine concern for others, wonderful sense of humour, great wisdom and humility”.
Guide-dog owner and association board member, Johan Loos, expressed the importance of the work done by Lord and Arlene to create an environment where visually impaired people were taken seriously and treated with respect.
Loos emphasised the modesty with which Lord treated his achievements and his modesty in the face of a great legacy. “Ken was never interested in building a monument to himself,” said Loos. “We are using our memories of Ken to signify to the public that we are investing in the future of the College of Orientation and Mobility.”
