Celebrating 50 Issues

By Raymond D. Cohen

ABILITIES magazine has come a long way since it was first a twinkle in my eye in Calgary, back in 1986. And it has taken the participation of a lot of great people and truly dynamic organizations to see us through to where we are today.

Central to the effort is the crowd above (moving from left to right): Florence Guo, who assists Tim Lynne-Davies (next to her), our technical advisor and financial consultant; Gillian Lynne-Davies, Manager of Project Development; Keira Enneson, Design Production Assistant; Lisa Bendall, Managing Editor; Peter Enneson, Art Director; Christine Staddon, Volunteer Coordinator; and me, Ray Cohen, chief cook and bottle-washer. (Missing from the mix is Kate George, our copy editor.)

Also not pictured above are our board of directors, our volunteers, our contributing writers and the hundreds upon hundreds of individuals, organizations and government departments who, over the years, have participated in our efforts to bring information, inspiration and opportunity to you, our readers.

So, in addition to reflecting on the many issues represented by each of our covers on the front of this milestone issue, we at the Canadian Abilities Foundation (CAF) have taken some time to cook up some fun for you. Our celebration mascot, "Nifty Fifty," has been hidden on various pages inside this issue of ABILITIES. All you have to do is find all fifteen mascots (count the one on this page!), and match their page numbers to the corresponding letter using the decoder key below. (If you find more than one Nifty Fifty on a page, that letter is used more than once.) Next, unscramble the 15 letters to figure out the secret message. If you would prefer, you can play online too! Visit our website, EnableLink, at www.enablelink.org.

Once you’ve discovered the secret message, send it to us by fax, e-mail or mail (see our masthead on page 4 for contact information), along with your name, address and phone number. We will do a random draw from all correct entries. Winners will receive great prizes, such as gift subscriptions to ABILITIES magazine, a copy of Daryl Rock’s book, "Making a Difference: Profiles in Abilities" (see page 23, this issue), a fantastic oversized universal remote control to make it easier for people with low vision or limited mobility to enjoy their TVs and VCRs, beautiful frame-worthy prints, signed and numbered, by wildlife artists... and the list goes on. Play today!

Don’t forget to check out the CAF Forum section of this and every issue. You’ll find frequent word from our leading disability organizations, educational institutes, government departments and corporations. They are in ABILITIES because they want to share with you their information and opportunities. And be sure to visit EnableLink, Canada’s online community of people with disabilities. In addition to information on virtually any subject under the sun, you’ll find many other folks using the message boards and chat rooms to meet and greet. In fact, 15,000 unique visitors popped by last month - for just such reasons!

We do hope you join us in this celebration of 50 issues of ABILITIES, and that you continue to celebrate with us the culture, diversity, advocacy and life struggles we all must address as we move into the future. Stay in touch!