[stylist] Youth writing contest PR update

Thu Aug 4 15:24:24 UTC 2011

Hi Dan,
Bless you for doing this. I know it must have taken some time to straighten
it all out. I really appreciate your help, especially since I am so far
behind and still not back to my old self.
Donna

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Dan Burke
Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2011 11:02 PM
To: newmanrl at cox.net; Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] Youth writing contest PR update

It came through after all Donna.  Here it is, I opened on the gmail
web site with the "View as HTML" option.

It's a funky PDF and it's likely in newspaper style columns, saved no
doubt from a professional newspaper publishing application.  Lots of
hyphenation.  It obviously didn't retain any paragraphs, so the
paragraph breaks are mine.  And I spell-checked it to break up all the
words that were run together.

*****

TIMES-COURIER. ELLIJAY, GEORGIA
THURSDAY, JULY28, 2011
Local blind student wins national writing contest

National Federation of the Blind

Isabel Nieves, a 13-year-old from Ellijay, recently won first prize in
the middle school poetry category of the Youth Writing Contest of  the
nonprofit National Federation of the Blind(NFB) Writers' Division.

Her success was first announced at the NFB's annual convention in
Orlando, and her winning entry is entitled "Directions to Music Land."

Nieves, who will be attending Clear Creek Middle School this fall, is
the daughter of Ramon Nieves, who has been with Home Depot in Blue
Ridge for 20 years, and Elizabeth Nieves, who is a stay-at-home mom.
She has two siblings: Emily, age14, and Raymond, age 7.This talented
young lady is also a music lover and is especially fond of such
classics as Doris Day.

Nieves is herself a singer and self-taught pianist. She won first
place for her solo performance of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" this
past year at Gilmer Middle School.  She occasionally sings with the
Good Samaritan Catholic Church choir.  She is also an excellent
Braille reader and loves reading all kinds of books, especially
mysteries and Nancy Drew, which she borrows from the National Library
Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

Nieves was born premature at 24 weeks and weighed just one pound eight
ounces.

"She's definitely a miracle," stated her father.

She suffered from a lack of oxygen and has Retinopathy of Prematurity
(ROP), the most common cause of blindness in children. Despite four
surgeries, she is totally blind.

The annual NFB writing contest promotes Braille literacy and
excellence in creative writing. Despite strong evidence that Braille
literacy significantly improves a blind person's ability to obtain
employment and advanced degrees, only 10percent of America's blind
children are taught to read it.

Contestants were required to hand emboss their entries using either
the slate and stylus or a Braille writer (no computer generated
Braille was accepted). Entries were judged on creativity and quality
of Braille.

The NFB Writers' Division encourages all blind people to adopt a
"can-do" attitude and learn the skills that will enable them to live
full, productive and independent lives."

We are all impressed and delighted with Isabel's creativity and
Braille skills," said Robert Leslie Newman, president of the NFB
Writers' Division, "and we are thankful for the support she is
receiving at home and in school."

Nieves will receive a cash prize of $25 and the chance to be published
in "Slate and Style," the quarterly literary magazine of the NFB
Writers' Division.

With more than 50,000members, NFB is the largest and most influential
membership organization of blind people in the United States. It
strives to improve blind people's lives through advocacy, education,
research, technology and programs encouraging independence and
self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today
and the voice of the nation's blind.

In January 2004, the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind
Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center in the
United States for the blind led by the blind. For more information
about the NFB organization, visit
www.nfb-writers-division.net.

Dan

On 8/2/11, Robert Leslie Newman <newmanrl at cox.net> wrote:
> Donna and others:
>
> That is one weird PDF! I'm not knowledgeable about how the process of
> creating a PDF and so, I sure can't fathom why it now acts like it does.
> Anyone else out there who can?
>
> 	
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Donna Hill
> Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 6:00 PM
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: [stylist] Youth writing contest PR update
>
> Hi Friends,
>
> The Times Courier of Ellijay, Georgia has published an article about
Isabel
> Nieves, who won first place in our middle school poetry category with her
> poem "Directions to Music Land." It appears on the site as a PDF, and even
> when I saved it as text, it was jibberish. I'll attach the file in the
hopes
> that one of you will have a better way of making this accessible.
>
>
>
> I've also heard from several reporters who want to do stories on Ethan
Fung,
> Nicky Lentz and Lindsay Adar. Lindsay, who is the daughter of NOPBC
> President Laura Weber,  is having an interview this evening with the
Houston
> Chronicle. Hopefully, we'll be able to read that one.
>
> Donna
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Sponsor me in this year's National Federation of the Blind Race for
Independence!
Visit my Race Page at:

http://www.raceforindependence.org/goto/dan.burke

Dan Burke, President
Montana Association for the Blind,
An Affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind

My Cell:  406.546.8546

_______________________________________________
Writers Division web site:
http://www.nfb-writers-division.org <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>

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