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Alumni Spotlight
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Confidence is Key, by Guest Writer Jaret Bozigian
- Published in: Update - Issue 1 - 2010
- Listen to Article
Photo caption: John relaxing at home with this 3rd Leader Dog "Izzy."
After Lexington, Nebraska's last Election Day, the people had spoken and they wanted John Fagot as their mayor for his fourth term.
John Fagot (pronounced Fay-go) is in his 15th year as mayor of Lexington. Yet, he also moonlights as a bookkeeper at Fagot Refrigeration and Electric, is on the board of the State of Nebraska Department of Labor and is Chairman of the Solid Waste Agency. This equates to one very busy man.
While working at a fertilizer company in 1983, John was blinded when a hose exploded with 120 lbs of force spraying a chemical that was 251 degrees below zero into his eyes. "After I went blind, I spent the first few years feeling sorry for myself but then I decided to get out and do something," says John. He participated in the making of a safety video which sold over 5,000 copies. "One day a women came up to me crying and said that I had saved thousands of people's sight and possibly their lives."
Though some people may view him as a sight-saver and a possible life-saver, others may not think John has what it takes to be mayor of a city. When asked if some people look at him differently because he is blind, John replied "I know in my mind that some question my ability."
One way John remedies this view is to be prepared. "I always, with the help of my wife, memorize the layout of the room an hour before a meeting or a speech. Then I enter and walk right up to the podium without any help and people always wonder how I do it. But they don't see the hour of preparation before," John says with a laugh. "To get people to show confidence in you, you have to show confidence in yourself."
The following is an excerpt from a letter we received from John on 11-24-09:
Dear Leader Dog,
I wanted to give you an update on how Izzy [current Leader Dog] and I are progressing. We are not the seasoned team that we will become, but we have made major strides in accomplishing that goal… When attending meetings, making presentations and being around the general public, Izzy is a pro. Her patience and calm appearance is amazing everyone. We have just returned from a national convention in San Antonio and I can tell you that we were amazing — not ego just fact.
Izzy and my retired Leader Dog "Bailey" are getting along great. I think Izzy has put a spring back into Bailey's step when the three of us play in the back yard.
I am giving us a grade of A and we are closing in on an A+... Thank you for everything you have done for me and thank you for Izzy, she is great.
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