APH Reaches 150th Year!

APH employees (l-r) Ron Gadson, Phyllis Williams, and Jim Hill, each of whom have worked at APH for over 40 years, prepared to speak to colleagues at the January 4th Employee Kick-Off event.

Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson congratulated APH Board and staff members on 150 years of service to people who are blind and visually impaired. APH President Tuck Tinsley is in the back left of photo.

Kentucky Senator Gerald Neal (right, rear) introduced Tuck Tinsley and Gary Mudd to the Kentucky Senate before presenting the Senate resolution recognizing APH.

Founding Day Luncheon guest speaker, Mike May (right) with dog guide Miguel, spoke with Rick Ricks, Dean of Students at the Kentucky School for the Blind.

The 150th year of the founding of APH began with a flurry of activities, several official proclamations, and lots of great publicity.

On January 4, an employee kick-off program included a 5-minute film produced at APH by Reader's Digest in 1958 on the occasion of our 100th anniversary. This priceless film, entitled "America's House of Braille and Talking Books," is available on our website in Windows Media Player (.wmv) and Quicktime (.mov) formats.

On January 16, Louisville's Mayor Jerry Abramson visited APH and presented a proclamation to Tuck Tinsley, President, and Jim Lintner, Chairman of the APH Board of Trustees, in recognition of APH's 150th anniversary. APH employees gathered in the braille production plant for the Mayor's presentation, and several local television stations covered the event.

On January 23, the official date of the founding of APH by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1858, Tuck Tinsley, Gary Mudd, Vice President of Public Affairs, and Nancy Lacewell, Director of Government and Community Affairs, traveled to Frankfort (Kentucky's capitol) to accept proclamations from both the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives.

Also on January 23, resolutions were offered in Washington, D. C. by the Kentucky delegation. U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell gave a 4-minute speech about APH history on the Senate floor. Congressman John Yarmuth, in whose district APH is located, presented a similar resolution on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The APH Board of Trustees hosted a Founding Day Luncheon in Louisville on January 25. Approximately 160 corporate leaders, APH donors, and professionals in the field of vision gathered at the Olmsted, an historic building near APH, to hear guest speaker Mike May, Co-founder and CEO of Sendero Group. May lost his vision at three years of age as the result of a chemical explosion. When he was 46, revolutionary stem cell transplant surgery restored some of his vision. May spoke to the group about his experience of shifting from totally blind to partially sighted, and showed a video highlighting his life's journey, including footage of his many years as a downhill snow skier. A recently published book on his life, "Crashing Through," is being prepared as a feature film.

Read about more APH 150th anniversary celebration events