3 Military-Family Stories Inspire Others Raising Blind Children: Musicians Support Scholarship

Raising blind children presents challenges for any family. Dealing with medical issues, finding the best educational programs and fighting society's low expectations can be overwhelming. With frequent re assignments, these problems can be even harder for military families. If the families of USAF Chief Master Sergeant Larry Chatters, USAF Major Carl Eckhardt and Major Rudy Gazarek (ret´d) of the Canadian Armed Forces are any indication, however, career military families are doing an excellent job.

Lisa (Gazarek) Ostrow, Seria Chatters and Craig Eckhardt (all blind from childhood), though their paths never crossed before, recently became three of only eighteen blind musicians selected to contribute tracks to a ground-breaking recording. "Sound in Sight" is a project of the nonprofit Performing Arts Division (PAD) of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). Sales of this multi-genre compilation of original works and covers supports PAD's projects which include a scholarship fund, subsidies, mentoring program and networking: http://www.padnfb.org

"Craig was born with congenital cataracts which were removed just weeks after his birth in Omaha," recalls Major Eckhardt, now retired, "he later developed glaucoma requiring multiple surgeries in Los Angeles, all apparently due to a very rare genetic condition known as the "Nance-Horan" syndrome. Our assignments took into consideration his condition to insure we were stationed where we could get the best possible medical care and education for him as he grew up. We realized he had a gift for music at a very early age."

Singer and arranger Craig Eckhardt, now of New York City, completed his masters in jazz studies at the University of Miami in Florida.

Tampa Bay area singer-songwriter Seria Chatters, legally blind from Albinism, has two solo albums plus "Burb-Hop" with her brother, rapper Lawrence (XL), as the hip-hop duo Kemistry. She came in third in the 2001 Tampa Bay Idol competition. Her dance single "Body Heat" reached the top of several dance charts in 2008.

Her life isn't all music and performing, however. Seria, a wife and mother, has a Bachelors Degree in Marketing from Midland Lutheran College and a Masters in School and Mental Health Counseling from University of South Florida. She is pursuing her Doctorate in Counseling Psychology. She is now on PAD's board of directors.

"As a military child you must learn to adapt quickly to new situations," says Seria, whose Dad was stationed at Holomon AFB, Offuit AFB, Macdill AFB, Seymour Johnson AFB, Rhein Mein AFB and AFB in Valdosta GA, "You must also be accepting of constant change. Our father and mother always made sure we did not ever act as disabled children."

Life wasn´t always easy for Seria & her brother, who also suffers from Albinism. Being African-American, they do not have the typical physical characteristics of Albinism: the white skin, pale eyes and platinum blonde hair.

"I was the tallest, skinniest girl in the class with the thickest glasses ever. They used to call me Skippy because my hair was the color of peanut butter. Black people questioned our race, but we didn't appear white either. So, we just hung around each other and made music."

Lisa and Craig also come from musical families. Easy jazz/easy pop vocalist Lisa Ostrow, who holds dual citizenship in the US and Canada, was born at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs where Major Gazarek served as part of the NORAD band. A Harvard grad with a cum laude degree in Slavic Languages and Literatures, Lisa, now in the Boston area, was born blind due to Leber Congenital Amaurosis. She has been honored for her excellence as a pianist and vocalist in the U.S. and Canada.

Major Gazarek says of his daughter´s contribution to "Sound in Sight, "Lisa's rendition of "Once Upon a Time" demonstrates her unique ability to interpret and express a warmth and sensibility, reflective in not only her obvious musical talent, but also the true nature of her inner soul. "

Lisa is now the scholarship coordinator for the Mary Anne Parks, Performing Arts Scholarship, partially funded through sales of the "Sound in Sight" CD. She is donating the proceeds from her first CD, "Unconditional" to both PAD and the Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Foundation. Lisa and her husband have three daughters, two of which have PKD.

"Craig´s mother studied piano at the University of Alaska-Anchorage while we were at Elmendorf, AFB," says Major Eckhardt, who served four years in the USMC prior to joining the Air Force as a lawyer, " I played trumpet in the marching band at Washington State, University, now play guitar and mandolin (self-taught while in law school, as trumpets and apartment dwelling didn't mix), and have been singing barbershop harmony for many years."

For a free MP3 from "Sound in Sight," contact information and bios on all 18 musicians visit: http://www.padnfb.org

To hear clips from "Sound in Sight" visit: http://cdbaby.com/cd/padotnfotb