Dunedin woman honoured for heroic attitude

Dunedin woman honoured for heroic attitude

Julie Woods (48) gives the term ‘superwoman’ new meaning. She’s a mother, a disability advocate, a cook extraordinaire, a keen traveller – and she’s blind.

The Dunedin woman is a finalist in the ‘Spirit of Attitude’ category in the 2014 Attitude Awards. The national awards celebrate the excellence and achievements of Kiwis with a disability.

At age 18, during her first year of study at Otago University, Julie began to lose her vision. Her remaining eye sight went in 1997 due to inflammation of the retina. As a result, Julie had to learn to live without sight. This included carrying out day-to-day tasks like cooking, answering the phone and getting around, all while caring for her two toddlers.

Julie says: ‘I felt I had two choices, I could either be pitied or admired and the first simply wasn’t an option for me.’

During a ‘tough time’ in her life Julie wanted to do something positive, so she learned Braille. She enjoyed it so much she went on to work at the Blind Foundation as a Braille Awareness Consultant, introducing Braille to other blind people.

Julie’s goal is to ‘normalise’ blindness in the community and she’s doing so with a sense of humour. She has created a successful brand ‘That Blind Woman’ to address her disability and help people feel more comfortable when talking about blindness. ‘That Blind Woman’ has become a local celebrity in Dunedin – running ‘cooking without looking’ workshops, hosting a radio show and even refereeing nude rugby!

Humour aside, Julie is serious about taking her brand of disability into schools. Through ‘operation truffle’ she has visited intermediate schools nationwide to demonstrate her capability in the kitchen and help break down barriers about what’s achievable with a disability.

“If I can do one thing to remove the fear of the blindness, I’m winning,” she says.

Julie lives life to the fullest and is passionate about travel. Her goal is to visit the Seven Wonders of the World, which she has just completed with a trip to South America. When she’s not globetrotting she remains an ambassador for the Blind Foundation.

Julie’s nomination as an Attitude Awards finalist is testament to her positive spirit. She will find out if she has won the award at a black-tie gala on World Disability Day, December 3 at Auckland’s Viaduct Events Centre.
There are eight categories in the 2014 Attitude Awards: Sport Performer of the Year, Courage in Sport, Artistic Achievement, Youth, Spirit of Attitude, the Attitude ACC Employer Award, Making a Difference award and the inaugural Attitude Junior Award. The overall winner of the Attitude ACC Supreme Award is selected from the category winners and a People’s Choice winner and a Hall of Fame inductee are also announced on the night.

Attitude Awards Trustee Dan Buckingham, a member of the elite national wheelchair rugby team the Wheel Blacks, says: “This is such an exciting time for everyone at Attitude Pictures because we find out who the finalists are. We have started travelling the country to film the finalists and even though this is the seventh year their stories continue to amaze us.”

Dan encourages everyone to visit AttitudeLive.com, an innovative web platform created by Attitude Pictures, in early November to see the short films of the finalists and to vote for the person most deserving of the coveted ‘People’s Choice Award.’

The Spirit of Attitude award is sponsored by Drake Medox. Other sponsors supporting the awards include: Invacare, ACC, Barfoot and Thompson, Wayne Francis Charitable Trust, IHC Foundation, Ministry of Health, Air New Zealand and Westpac.

Chief Executive of ACC Scott Pickering says ACC is proud to be principal sponsor of the awards for the seventh year, including sponsorship of the Attitude ACC Employer Award and the Attitude ACC Supreme Award.

"I'm really looking forward to this year's Attitude Awards, which are a significant event on New Zealand's calendar. Through celebrating excellence in the disability community and the important contributions made by New Zealanders with disabilities, the awards have the power to shift perceptions and to enhance lives."

For tickets to the Attitude Awards gala evening on Dec 3 contact Sue Wales-Earl at sue@attitudeawards.org

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