Activist Patti Cox honored with Rider/Shaw White Cane Day Award 

The TARC Accessibility Advisory Committee (TAAC) this week recognized a community advocate for her work to support individuals with visual impairment and other disabilities.

Patti Cox received the TAAC’s Rider/Shaw White Cane Day Award, given annually on White Cane Awareness Day to recognize a local visually impaired citizen who has made a significant contribution to the community either on a local, regional, or national level.

Cox, a Louisville native who was born visually impaired, is well known for her work with the visually impaired. She is a former member of the Elderly and Disabled Council, which preceded TAAC and received the Margarine Beamon Award from the American Council for the Blind and the William A. Routh Award for long-term service to the Kentucky Council for the Blind.

October 15 is annual White Cane Awareness Day, established in 1964 to celebrate the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired and the important symbol of blindness and tool of independence, the white cane.  

Nominations for the Rider/Shaw White Cane Day Award are submitted to TAAC, and the TAAC leadership votes on the winner. The ideal candidate should have demonstrated commitment, dedication, and service to the community and achieved or excelled in a field, sport, or other role. TARC is proud to support, and help facilitate TAAC’s Rider/Shaw White Cane Day Award annually through our ongoing relationship with TAAC.    

All of us at TARC congratulate Patti Cox!