Listen to On the Other Side, sung by Dan Dillon in remembrance of, and tribute to, his late wife Brenda.
Brenda was born in Georgia, raised in Florida and attended school in Alabama. She was valedictorian of her graduation class at the Alabama School for the Blind. Later she was a resource teacher at the Alabama School for the Blind. In 1982 she moved to Nashville to try her hand at song writing. Soon after arriving in Nashville she joined the Mid-Tennessee Council of the Blind (MTCB), and was very active in this organization, the Tennessee Council of the Blind (TCB) and the American Council of the Blind (ACB) up to the time of her death on July 11, 2013. She was President of MTCB for six years and then President of TCB for another six years and then later was elected Second Vice President of ACB for a number of years.
She was always very active in her church. She had three children, a natural born son and daughter and an adopted son. Over a period of seven and a half years she was foster mother to seventeen foster children.
She was not only a good song writer, but a great story teller and a wonderful speaker. She had a special way of moving and motivating people to advocate for the blind. Her passion was to counsel individuals experiencing vision loss for the first time. She would tell them that it was not the end of the world, but a beginning of a new world. She had a special place in her heart for blind students and was very supportive of the ACB Students.
She started the ACB Auction and had a knack for getting auction items donated to the auction. She also did an outstanding job at raising money for the ACB Walk. She wasn't afraid to ask anyone for a contribution, no matter who they were.
This is the way she was. Few people have the commitment and dedication that Brenda had to the American Council of the Blind. She will be sorely missed by everyone.
* *
ACB Angel Memorial Tribute - Brenda Dillon