The Kentucky School for the Blind (KSB) Alumni Association cordially invites you to attend the KSB Founders Day Program as we celebrate 184 years of providing quality educational services to students who are blind and visually impaired students in Kentucky. This program will take place Thursday, May 14 at 1:00 p.m. in the Samuel J. Richie Auditorium on the KSB campus.
This year’s program will celebrate the history of the KSB Colored Department (1884-1957, highlighting past administrators, educators and alumni of the school. The school educated African American students that were blind and visually impaired in a three-story structure nearly a quarter of a mile on the northeast side of the KSB campus for over 70 years, until the Brown vs. Board of Education decision that mandated the desegregation of public schools. KSB was one of the first schools in the state to comply with this decision.
The Founders Day celebration will conclude with the presentation of the Paul J. Langan Distinguished Service Award. This award is presented to a Kentuckian who displays qualities that have had a strong, positive influence on the lives of individuals who are blind or visually impaired and KSB. The recipient of the 2026 Paul J. Langan Distinguished Service Award is John E. Musick, OD FAAO.
Dr. Musick is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry. He is a co-founder of the Ditto and Musick Eye Care Center in Nicholasville, KY, where he specializes in laser procedures for various types of glaucoma. He is certified by the National Board of Optometry and the American Academy of Optometry. He was the first and currently is the only Kentucky doctor to achieve diplomate status in the low vision diplomate program in the American Academy of Optometry.
For nearly fifty years, countless Kentuckians of all ages have received exemplary low vision services under his care. In addition, he has provided superlative training for ophthalmologists, optometrists and low vision professionals. He served as a consultant and provided low vision evaluations for KSB and the Charles W. McDowell Center for many years, traveling many miles to do so. Dr. Musick was instrumental in the passage of laws that permit Kentuckians to drive with the use of a bioptic telescope, enabling nearly 500 individuals since 2001 to gain life changing independence. He continues to perform annual evaluations for many of these drivers as mandated by law, as well as potential candidates for the program.
Dr. Musick’s passion for the field of low vision has provided countless Kentuckians, greater opportunities for employment and independence. He remains a constant reliable source for exceptional informative evaluative services where many Kentuckians travel to benefit from his recommendations.
Please join us in celebration of KSB’s rich history and honoring Dr. Musick.