Lou was present with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the VisionServe 2019 conference in Atlanta
Lou Moneymaker, former President of BOSMA Enterprises
Lou Moneymaker has dedicated his life to service. For 50 years, Lou has worked to create equal opportunities and independence for people who are blind or visually impaired. His passion is evidenced by his work and service to many organizations to empower people experiencing vision loss.
His career began at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI) where he was a teacher and a coach. Over his tenure, he also served in several leadership positions. As a track and field and wrestling coach, he fostered students’ abilities and their confidence until they believed they could accomplish anything they put their minds to. After 33 years, Lou retired from education.
In 2001, a career change was presented to Lou. He left ISBVI but did not leave his service to people who are blind or visually impaired. He became the president and CEO of Bosma Enterprises. Under his leadership, Bosma has undergone explosive growth from a $2 million to a $70 million company. To date, Bosma is Indiana’s largest employer of people who are blind or visually impaired. Under Lou’s direction, the company positioned itself as a national leader in the field of employment of people with vision loss by becoming the first not-for-profit in the country to build a fully-integrated, end-to-end business system on the Salesforce platform that is accessible to a person with vision loss. The new system allows a person who is blind to work in any position throughout the company and opens opportunities that may not have been available before.
Improving the Workplace
Additionally, under Lou’s leadership, Bosma Enterprises moved into a brand-new state-of-the-art headquarters that was designed to be accessible. His leadership has also allowed for the growth of Bosma’s programs and the development of the Center of Visionary Solutions for the Blind, a new facility that increases space for programs and expands training of people who are blind. His entrepreneurial spirit has permeated the organization which has challenged every employee to look for new ways to grow the business and to further Bosma’s mission to create opportunities for people who are blind or visually impaired.
His commitment to serving others does not stop at his work. In 1976, Lou, along with three other leaders saw an opportunity to create more opportunities for athletes who were blind. During the 1976 Olympics for the Disabled (renamed the Paralympics in 1988), the first to include athletes who were blind, this small group noticed nearly every other participating country had an organization for the development of athletes with vision loss. This group went on to found the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA). Lou was named the first vice president of the USABA and continues to serve and support the organization in many ways.
Lou Moneymaker’s devotion to students, athletes and employees have been critical to dispel the stereotypes surrounding people with disabilities. Lou has brought an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to creating opportunities for people who are blind or visually impaired.