[Blindvet-talk] National Federation of the Blind to Hold 2008 Celebration Celebrating Thirty Years of Building a Brighter Future in Baltimore and Beyond

[David Andrews]

>
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
>CONTACT:
>Chris 
>Danielsen                                                 Beth Mullennex
>Public Relations 
>Specialist                              Barb Clapp Advertising & Marketing, LLC
>National Federation of the Blind                      (410) 561-8886
>(410) 659-9314, ext. 
>2330 
><mailto:beth at barbclapp.com>beth at barbclapp.com
>(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
><mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org
>
>
>National Federation of the Blind to Hold 2008 Celebration
>
>Celebrating Thirty Years of Building a Brighter Future in Baltimore and Beyond
>
>Baltimore, Maryland (March 24, 2008): The 
>National Federation of the Blind (NFB) will host 
>its annual celebration of the history, growth, 
>and achievements of the NFB in Maryland and 
>nationwide.  This year marks the thirtieth 
>anniversary of the establishment of the NFB’s 
>headquarters in Baltimore.  The 2008 Celebration 
>will take place on Friday, April 4, at the NFB 
>Jernigan Institute in Federal Hill.  More than 
>five hundred friends, colleagues, and blind 
>people from across the nation are expected to 
>attend.  The event promises an evening of food, 
>fun, and entertainment.  Close to twenty 
>Baltimore area restaurants, including Bonefish 
>Grill, La Scala, Matsuri, Rub Authentic Texas 
>BBQ, and more, are set to cater the event, while 
>a Beatles tribute band will provide music and entertainment.
>
>Beginning at 6 p.m., attendees will be able to 
>enjoy food from some of Baltimore’s finest 
>restaurants, along with the opportunity to bid 
>on silent auction packages.  A live auction 
>(including Beatles memorabilia) and brief 
>program will begin at 7:45 p.m.  Gerry Sandusky, 
>sports director of WBAL Channel 11 in Baltimore 
>and the voice of the Ravens, will be the master 
>of ceremonies.  A citation from Baltimore Mayor 
>Sheila Dixon recognizing the National Federation 
>of the Blind for its thirty years in Baltimore 
>will be read, and Congressman John P. Sarbanes 
>will briefly address the gathering.   The 
>program will be followed by entertainment from 
>Beatlemagic
the ultimate beatles 
>experience.  This nationally acclaimed Beatles 
>tribute act will provide an entertaining program 
>spanning the career of the legendary Beatles, complete with costume changes.
>
>The event is sponsored by nearly forty 
>companies, including Deque Systems, IBM, M&T 
>Bank, Microsoft, and Smith Barney.
>
>Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National 
>Federation of the Blind, said: “The National 
>Federation of the Blind is pleased and proud 
>once again to welcome the Baltimore community to 
>our Jernigan Institute facility for what is sure 
>to be a truly memorable evening.  Although each 
>Celebration is special, this event is 
>particularly exciting because it commemorates 
>our thirtieth year in Baltimore.  In 1978, we 
>purchased a dilapidated factory building and 
>turned it into the most modern facility 
>providing resources and services to the blind 
>anywhere in the world.  We expanded upon this 
>achievement in 2004 with the opening of our 
>beautiful Jernigan Institute.  Our facilities 
>draw thousands of visitors each year to 
>Baltimore.  We are delighted with our location 
>in this great city and we look forward to 
>continuing to serve our community and the nation 
>throughout the twenty-first century.”
>
>The NFB Jernigan Institute is truly one of a 
>kind.  It is the first research and training 
>center in the United States for the blind, led 
>by the blind.  The goal is to better understand 
>the challenges encountered by those who are 
>blind or have low vision, and to develop 
>technologies, products, services, and 
>educational programs to foster independence.
>
>The NFB Jernigan Institute welcomes over four 
>thousand people every year to innovative 
>training programs for those who are blind or 
>have low vision and their families, as well as 
>for those who work in the blindness field.  The 
>institute is particularly focused on 
>traditionally underserved groups of blind 
>people, such as children and the elderly.  In 
>addition, researchers continually test existing 
>technologies for the blind and develop new 
>ones.  Recently, the NFB launched the knfbREADER 
>Mobile, a cell phone application that allows a 
>document photographed with the phone’s camera to be read aloud to a blind user.
>
>The NFB was founded in 1940 by a convention of 
>sixteen participants from seven states.  Today, 
>there are affiliates in each state, the District 
>of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; seven hundred 
>local chapters; and fifty thousand members nationwide.
>
>For more information about the 2008 Celebration, 
>please contact Jerry Lazarus at (410) 659-9314, 
>extension 2297, or by e-mail at 
><mailto:jlazarus at nfb.org>jlazarus at nfb.org. 
>Tickets may be purchased online at 
><http://www.nfb.org>www.nfb.org or through Liz 
>Makowske at (410) 659-9314, extension 2419 
>(<mailto:emakowske at nfb.org>emakowske at nfb.org). 
>For more information about the NFB or the 
>Jernigan Institute, visit <http://www.nfb.org>www.nfb.org.
>
>
>###
>
>About the National Federation of the Blind
>
>With more than 50,000 members, the National 
>Federation of the Blind is the largest and most 
>influential membership organization of blind 
>people in the United States.   The NFB improves 
>blind people’s lives through advocacy, 
>education, research, technology, and programs 
>encouraging independence and 
>self-confidence.  It is the leading force in the 
>blindness field today and the voice of the 
>nation's blind.  In January 2004 the NFB opened 
>the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan 
>Institute, the first research and training 
>center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.
>