Reaching Higher
by CP Staff, photos courtesy of Athens Banner-Herald
Roger Keeney recently won a contest to drive a 2010 Ford Mustang along with racer and TV host, Tommy Kendall.
Keeney was given an all-expsnses paid trip to Phoenix, AZ, to drive the car after winning an essay contest. A closed track and professional driving coach promised some exciting times for the New York native.
As reported in the Athens Banner-Herald, Keeney hadn't been behind the wheel of a car for more than twenty years. He was looking forward to this adventure.
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Keeney's essay, "Impossible Possibility," described how he'd fumble in his pocket for car keys, press a button and wait to hear the "beep" that would help him find the car. At the car's side, he'd fold up his cane, slump down into a leather seat and peel away like other drivers do every day.
Keeney was blinded in an accident two decades ago, but that only converted him into an advocate for the blind.
While in Phoenix, he visited the Arizona Center for the Blind, where he had volunteered and helped create the sport of blind archery years earlier, and took ten blind people to the testing facility to drive the car, too.
While Keeney entered the contest believing Ford would think it was a joke, Team Mustang thought the story stood out and saw that there were other ways customers could enjoy a Mustang.
"That just really caught our attention. There was absolutely no doubt that this was one of those submissions we wanted to follow up with," said Patricia Piedrahita, who works on the Mustang campaign for the Ford Motor Co. "The fact that he could provide us a different point of view was part of what made him so interesting. It sort of forced us to look at our own vehicle from a different point of view."
Aside from a wild ride, the visit gave Keeney the chance to teach auto manufacturers about the 1 million legally blind Americans who don't have reliable transportation.
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