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<font face="Garamond"><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=5><b>FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE<br><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"> <br><br>
CONTACT:<br><br>
</b>Chris Danielsen<br><br>
Director of Public Relations<br><br>
National Federation of the Blind<br><br>
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330<br><br>
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)<br><br>
<a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</a><br><br>
<br><br>
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NFB President Marc Maurer to Receive Award <br>
from University of Notre Dame<br><br>
<br><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"><i>Award Honors Maurer’s
Outstanding Contributions in Public Service<br><br>
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<font face="Garamond">Notre Dame, Indiana (November 2, 2009): </b>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
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica">Rev. John J. Cavanaugh, C.S.C.,
Award from the University of Notre Dame Alumni Association in a ceremony
on November 5.</font><font face="Garamond"> Maurer, a 1974 graduate
from the University of Notre Dame, will be honored for outstanding
contributions in the field of public service. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.”<br><br>
</font><font face="Garamond" size=5> <br><br>
</font><font face="Garamond">“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.”<br><br>
<br><br>
For more information about the National Federation of the Blind, please
visit <a href="http://www.nfb.org/">www.nfb.org</a>.<br><br>
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