My name is Wally Dutcher and I live in St. Petersburg, Florida. If you want more details, you can read my autobiography;
The Dawn Of A New DayYou can see my family on my
Picture PageSince retiring, I became involved in a number of different organizations. In 1992 I organized
Caring & Sharing Center for Independent Living, Inc. , a center for independent living (CIL). A CIL is a private non-profit organization that is a community-based, consumer driven service that helps persons with disabilities to live independently. You can find a list of all the CILs in the U.S. and its territories by looking at the CIL List .In 1996 I was appointed to serve on the City of St. Petersburg's
Committee to Advocate for Persons with Impairments (CAPI) .In 1997 I became involved with, and helped formally organize the National Alliance OF The Disabled, Inc. NAOTD was formally dissolved on June 19, 2002.
When I was in high school, I became interested in architecture. I even studied it my first foray into college at the University of Illinois in Urbana, IL. What's interesting about this is the fact that the Univ. of IL was one of the first colleges in the U.S. that was accessible and had a disabled student organization. While I was not disabled, I did see folks playing basketball and other sports in wheelchairs. So how does this relate to me? Well, shortly after my first year in college I went into the Navy and, while stationed at Newport, RI, on May 12, 1956 I dove into the pool and broke my neck. The result: quadriplegia. I used my training, albeit limited, to design accessible houses. You can see some of my copyrighted designs on my
Accessible Home Designs Page .My other interest is singing. Since 1985 I've been with a choral group called
The Alumni Singers. It's been a wonderful and continuing experience.If I can be of help or you simply want to say
Hi, just drop me a line at: wdutche1@tampabay.rr.com