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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNoSpacing><a name="_Hlk73693572"><b>CONTACT</b><o:p></o:p></a></p><p class=MsoNoSpacing><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'>For more information about this event, please contact<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'>Peggy Chong<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'></span><a href="mailto:chongpeggy10@gmail.com"><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'>chongpeggy10@gmail.com</span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'></span></a><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'>303-745-0473<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'>2233 W Shepperd AVE<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'>Littleton CO, 80120<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'>Long-time Volunteer for the Blind to be Honored<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNoSpacing><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><b>For Immediate Release</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNoSpacing><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><b> </b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><b>Littleton, Colorado (June 4, 2021):</b> The National Federation of the Blind of Colorado (NFBCO) today announced that Julie Hunter, a long-time member and mother of a blind child, will receive the Minoru Yasui Award for her decades of volunteer service to the blind of Colorado. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'>The award will be presented at 10:30 AM on June 12, 2021 at the Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB), 2233 W Shepperd Ave, Littleton, CO.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'>When, in the 1980’s, Mrs. Hunter learned that her child was blind, she decided that the only way to remedy the significant lack of braille materials for her child was for her to learn to read and write braille.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'>Julie joined NFBCO in 1988 after attending a seminar for parents of blind children sponsored by the organization. She served for many years as the president of NFBCO’s Parents of Blind Children division: testifying locally and nationally in support of legislation to improve the availability of braille instruction, writing numerous articles for state and local newsletters for parents of blind children, and helping other parents of blind children to understand that blindness was not a barrier to success and independence for their offspring.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'>After her daughter graduated from high school and college, Julie remained a member of the NFBCO. She worked on a variety of projects to enhance possibilities for blind children and adults across the state.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'>In the past two years, Julie has taken on the task of coordinating the work of numerous volunteers to transcribe the more than 200,000 inaccessible documents left after the digitization of historical records documenting the history of the organized blind in Colorado. The age of the scanned material (some dating as far back as 1915) and the frequent use of handwriting in the historical records have made it next-to-impossible for optical character recognition technology to convert what was scanned into text that can be read easily by today’s screen reading technology.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'>The five-year Preservation of Historical Documents project is nearing the end of its second year. Julie continues to look for more volunteers to continue this huge undertaking.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'>The NFBCO and the CCB invite one and all to attend the award ceremony celebrating Julie Hunter’s ongoing dedication and generosity to the blind of Colorado. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 12, 10:00 a.m., at the Colorado Center for the Blind, 2233 West Shepperd Avenue, Littleton, CO.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNoSpacing><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'>The National Federation of the Blind of Colorado is the oldest and largest organization of blind people in Colorado. The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNoSpacing><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-align:center;line-height:106%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk73693572'><b>###</b></span><b><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>