Prevent Blindness Adds Member, Appoints New Treasurer and Secretary to National Board of Directors
Kevin Bakewell, Mary Blankenship Pointer and Torrey DeKeyser Take on Leadership Roles within Group
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CHICAGO (Dec. 8, 2014) – Prevent Blindness, the nation’s oldest volunteer eye health and safety organization, has announced that Kevin Bakewell, senior vice president and chief public affairs officer of AAA – The Auto Club Group, has been appointed as the Prevent Blindness Board of Directors Chief Volunteer Officer (CVO) Association Chair. Current National Board Members Mary Blankenship Pointer, senior vice president and corporate relationship manager of Republic Bank and Trust, will serve as the new Board of Directors Treasurer, and Torrey DeKeyser, executive director of the EyeSight Foundation of Alabama, will serve as the new Board Secretary.
At AAA, Bakewell oversees all public, government and community relations for The Auto Club Group’s service area which includes 11 states and two U.S. territories. He is also chairman of the Auto Club Group Traffic Safety Foundation, Inc. as well as the Board of Directors Chair of Prevent Blindness Florida. Bakewell has a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida.
As CVO Association Chair at Prevent Blindness, Bakewell will help facilitate and foster effective communication between the national organization and its affiliates as well as represent affiliates at the national board level.
As Board Treasurer, Blankenship Pointer will oversee the financial management of Prevent Blindness. She has served on the Prevent Blindness Board of Directors since 2011. Blankenship Pointer has more than 30 years of experience working in the banking and finance industry. In addition, she has served on the Board of Directors of Prevent Blindness Oklahoma, including serving two terms as Board Chair.
DeKeyser, who has served on the Prevent Blindness Board of Directors since 2013, will take over responsibilities of Board Secretary, including assuring that the minutes of the meetings of the Board are recorded and that notices are duly given in accordance with the provisions of the bylaws or as required by law. DeKeyser joined the EyeSight Foundation of Alabama in 1999, following a 20-year career in university advancement and administration within the University of Alabama system. She recently teamed with Prevent Blindness on the current CDC-funded glaucoma education project with the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“We want to thank all of our Board of Directors Members for their time and dedication to our organization,” said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “Through their service, we are able to continue our mission of protecting the gift of sight for generations to come.”
For more information about the Prevent Blindness Board of Directors or general eye health information, please call (800) 331-2020 or visit advocacy.preventblindness.org.
Download a copy of the board of directors press release.
