Keith Bundy is a familiar name on the Aira Explorers email group. He was one of the early adopters of Aira and remains enthusiastic about the technology.

Origins

Keith grew up in Indiana and now lives in Maddison, South Dakota with his wife, Peg. His blindness is the result of a brain condition. It didn’t stop him though from pursuing careers as a vocational rehabilitation counselor, pastor, accessibility consultant, and sports announcer for the local football team. Keith is the pastor of a small church and continues to teach part-time along with his announcing duties.

Early Adopter

Keith began his journey with Aira in 2018 as the service was growing. He listened to a feature about Greg Stilson attending the Super Bowl using the Aira Horizon glasses and was intrigued. Then he tried Aira at a blindness convention.

“Being able to get a cup of water then find a trash can … “ Keith marvels. “Independently. That’s life changing.”

Every-day life enhancements

Picking out produce at a local farmer’s market stand is just one of the regular tasks Keith completes with Aira.

“It’s on the honor system so you pick what you want and pay but there’s no one there to help. I’m now able to handle this myself with Aira.”

Convenience is at the heart of Keith’s appreciation of our service.

“I can spend 45 minutes trying to book airline tickets, or I can have the Aira agent go into my computer and do it much more efficiently.”

He noted that he’s able to run into a store for a few quick things, saving his wife time and effort. He appreciates the Walmart access offer when they need to make more involved grocery trips.

“I unload the groceries. One day they were put into the trunk and every time I tried to pick up a bag, I had a handle from one bag and the other handle from another. Things were falling out and I was getting frustrated.” he recalls. “My wife said, ‘Why don’t you use Aira?’”

With the assistance of our professional visual interpreters, he was able to sort out the mess, get the groceries inside all without stress.

“I just felt that tension go away as we worked.”

Keith also enjoys using Aira to traverse airports. Conference hotels are a breeze when you have the visual info you need. He recounts working with a visual interpreter to handle the dreaded buffet line.

“A lot of blind people avoid buffets. This time there was no one around to help me so I thought, why not use Aira.”

The interpreter told him how to locate the various items, serving spoons and then guided him to a seat. “Aira is truly life changing.” he repeated.

A Very Special Event

Keith’s most memorable use of Aira involved his son’s wedding. As the wedding officiant, he asked the couple about using our service to describe the ceremony. They enthusiastically approved.

“It was the first time I was able to see the bride’s dress as she came down the aisle.” he paused, “She was beautiful.”

Sports podcast for the blind

Keith shared his latest venture, a new podcast called “Sports from the Blind Side,” which aims to explain sports to people who are blind or have low vision. He discussed his inspiration for the podcast, which came from an AiRA cast about football before Super Bowl 55. Keith mentioned that he had been considering this idea for a few years and recently met with a friend who encouraged him to pursue it. The podcast features interviews with various sports figures, including players, coaches, trainers, and referees, to explain the basics of different sports. Keith also plans to have a detailed football podcast with his son, who is the head coach of Madison High School, and Tom Farrell, his spotter for college football.

“Sports from the Blind Side” aired its first episode on October 27th. He mentioned that the podcast is available on various platforms like Apple, iHeart, Amazon, and Spotify, and emphasized that it remains free for listeners, though they are seeking sponsors or donations to cover expenses. Upcoming episodes will feature interviews with John Sterling, a retired Yankees broadcaster, and a local basketball broadcaster, as well as a podcast about volleyball coaching. You can visit their web site at https://sportsfromtheblindside.comOpens in new tab or window.

Conclusion

Keith cannot express enough his support of Aira. He’s also very supportive of other explorers via our email list and looks forward to working with our AI product.