[Nfbk] FW: NFB President Marc Maurer to Receive Award from University of Notre Dame

[Cathy]

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From: Freeh, Jessica [mailto:JFreeh at nfb.org]
Sent: Monday, November 02, 2009 2:26 PM
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Subject: NFB President Marc Maurer to Receive Award from University of Notre
Dame


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

cdanielsen at nfb.org



NFB President Marc Maurer to Receive Award
from University of Notre Dame



Award Honors Maurer's Outstanding Contributions in Public Service



Notre Dame, Indiana (November 2, 2009): The National Federation of the Blind
(NFB), the largest organization of blind people in the United States, today
announced that its president, Dr. Marc Maurer, will be presented the Rev.
John J. Cavanaugh, C.S.C., Award from the University of Notre Dame Alumni
Association in a ceremony on November 5.  Maurer, a 1974 graduate from the
University of Notre Dame, will be honored for outstanding contributions in
the field of public service.

Maurer earned his law degree from Indiana University in 1977 and began
focusing on representing blind individuals in the courts.  A member of the
Bar in Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, Maryland, and the Bar of the Supreme Court,
Maurer is one of the most experienced lawyers in the field of civil rights
and discrimination against the blind.

Maurer has been president of the National Federation of the Blind since
1986.  In that capacity, he has joined President George W. Bush in the Oval
Office in 2001 to celebrate the organization's Everest Expedition, and was
present for Bush's signing into law the Help America Vote Act of 2002.  He
has promoted new technology for the blind, including the knfbReader Mobile,
a revolutionary cell phone application that scans and reads aloud most
printed material, and the prototype vehicle for the Blind Driver Challenge.
He has overseen the visionary expansion of the NFB Jernigan Institute, the
first training and research institute for the blind, led by the blind.  He
has also previously served as president of the North America/Caribbean
Region of the World Blind Union.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "I
am honored to receive this award from my alma mater.  As president of the
largest organization of blind people in the United States, I have been
fortunate to play a role in many exciting and life-changing developments for
blind people in America.  While we have made much progress, there is still
more to be done.  Only 10 percent of blind children are learning Braille in
this country, and this directly contributes to a 70 percent unemployment
rate among blind people in the United States.  I humbly accept this award on
behalf of blind Americans and pledge to work harder than ever to ensure that
the blind are not left behind in today's society."



"In his role as president of the National Federation of the Blind, Marc
Maurer continually demonstrates unwavering determination in his effort to
better the lives of the world's blind through innovative technologies and
services that support their independence," said Charles F. Lennon Jr.,
executive director of the Notre Dame Alumni Association and associate vice
president for University Relations.  "The Notre Dame Alumni Association is
pleased to honor Marc for his personal character and outstanding
contributions in public service.  He is a living example of the integrity
and generosity of spirit that Notre Dame instills in its graduates.  His
leadership of the NFB has made the University proud."



For more information about the National Federation of the Blind, please
visit www.nfb.org.



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