APH News & Press
Annual meeting of Ex Officio Trustees of American Printing House for the Blind to be held at Hyatt hotel, October 12- 15, 2000
News Release: Louisville, Kentucky, October 10, 2000
Nearly 400 Ex Offico Trustees* and "Special Guests"* of the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), Louisville, Kentucky, will attend this year's annual meeting. Keynote speaker for the meeting will be Canadian speaker, singer, and songwriter Terry Kelly. Kelly, who is blind, will make his "We Can do Anything" presentation which has been given before tens of thousands of students, teachers, government employees and business people across Canada.
In addition to numerous meetings and lectures, the conference will feature displays open to the public from 8:00 AM until 4:00 PM, Friday Oct. 13, and Sat. Oct. 14:
- InSights 2000, an exhibition of artwork by artists who are blind or visually impaired that has been organized by APH. It features seventy-nine artworks by artists from the U. S., Canada, and Argentina. This was the ninth year for the competition. Participants range from preschool children to senior citizens, and include professional artists as well as hobbyists and school art classes. Judges selected the art works from 414 entries in a wide range of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture and photography. First, second and third place winners, along with several honorable mentions, were chosen in each of nine categories, along with a selection of entries be included in the exhibition.
- A display including information on creating custom products in accessible media (menus, reports, etc.) and new products such as Audio Accessories, Motion Pad, Art History through Touch and Sound, and ISAVE (an instrument designed to test functional vision and potential functional vision in children ages 0 to 5 who are cortically impaired, have diagnosed low vision or blindness, or who are at risk of low vision or blindness).
*ABOUT APH EX OFFICIO TRUSTEES AND THE ANNUAL MEETING:
In 1879, the U. S. Congress passed the Act to Promote the Education of the Blind. This act set up a system to provide free schoolbooks and other materials for blind students and named the American Printing House for the Blind as the national central source of these educational materials. The system through which these specialized materials are distributed is known as the Federal Quota Program. American Printing House for the Blind Ex Officio Trustees are responsible for overseeing the implementation of this program in the various states and regions they represent. The Ex Officio Trustees come to Louisville each year for the Annual Meeting during which they provide insight and exchange information about developments in the field of blindness. "Special guests" such as parents, teachers, and administrators and other educators involved with the field of blindness may also attend this meeting.
Contact Roberta Williams, Public Relations Specialist, for more information. Telephone: 1 -800-223-1839 or (502) 895-2405; e-mail: rwilliams@aph.org