West Columbia resident Frank Coppel touts the achievements of iconic Blind Center that is celebrating their 60th Anniversary.

He is confident that the next six decades will be as noteworthy for the Federation Center of the Blind as was the first 60 years.

That is his upbeat assessment. Coppel, a distinguished member of the state’s blind community, has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Center for many years. In addition, he was state president of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina (NFB of SC) from 2015 to 2020.

The Center, which is affiliated with the NFB of SC, will officially observe its 60th anniversary with an open house on Friday, Oct. 15.

“I proudly salute the Federation Center for its outstanding service to the blind of Columbia and South Carolina,” Coppel says, noting that among other services, the facility offers cuttingedge instruction in assistive technology and related areas of blindness training.

“The very first event I attended at the Federation Center of the Blind was a Christmas party in December of 1976,” he remembers. “I will never forget it! There were approximately 150 blind and sighted people in attendance enjoying the holiday festivities.”

Coppel adds that having recently relocated from Baltimore, Maryland where he was a member of the Maryland affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind, he was extremely impressed with the fact the NFB of South Carolina had a facility owned and operated by the blind which provided the blind community with the opportunity to hold chapter meetings, seminars, blindness training and recreational activities.

“As the NFB of Maryland did not have a facility of this type during the early to mid-70’s,” Coppel continues, “I thought that it was pretty “cool” that the blind of South Carolina owned a building where blind people could come together to mentor each other, network and engage in fellowship.”

Coppel, who moved to South Carolina in 1975 to accept employment in the field of rehabilitation at the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, was first invited to attend a meeting of the Columbia chapter of the NFB of SC held at the Federation Center by the legendary Donald Capps who then headed the state affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind.

“Mr. Capps was a charismatic and persistent individual who you just couldn’t say no to,” he recalls with a smile.

“On a more personal note,” Coppel observes, “my first wife, Gail, and I had a chance to meet blind parents at the Center who were raising their kids. These blind parents served as role models and inspired us.”

He points out that initially, the Federation Center provided a place for the blind to fellowship, network, but more importantly, hold meetings and offer programs intended to improve the quality of life of blind or visually impaired people.

Through the programs of the NFB of South Carolina, Coppel states that the Center helped groom future leaders like current NFB of SC State President Jennifer Bazer and many others.

“Going forward, I would like to see the Federation Center through the NFB of South Carolina offer comprehensive programs in the areas of blindness skills training, which would include orientation and mobility training, Braille, developing independent Living skills such as cooking, and activities of daily living,” he says.