The National Federation of the Blind of West Virginia planned a "Braille

Readers Are Leaders" proclamation ceremony on March 26 to coincide with

other such events throughout the nation marking the release of the Louis

Braille commemorative coin. At the last minute, however, Governor Joe

Manchin was called to an emergency meeting in Washington, and the event was

rescheduled.

As a result, the governor attended last month's meeting of our Agency

Partnership program, at which time he issued the proclamation and made a

personal commitment to work with us on our Braille literacy initiatives. At

the same time, we presented him with coins--both chocolate and silver--along

with a copy of the report on the "Braille Literacy Crisis in America."

The NFB of West Virginia has conducted these Agency Partnership meetings

under a variety of names for nearly fifty years. They bring together

representatives from several state and private agencies which provide

services to the blind of West Virginia, and they offer an opportunity for

consumer input into the quality and delivery of such services. Virtually

all of the state's "movers and shakers" in education and rehabilitation of

the blind were on hand for this meeting, and so it turned out to be an

excellent opportunity for the governor to join us and focus attention on

Braille literacy issues. During the same meeting we also presented video

excerpts from the coin release ceremony at the Jernigan Institute on March

26.

The Agency Partnership event took place at the State Capitol in Charleston,

and I distributed a news release in advance to all of the Charleston area

media. Nevertheless, no reporters actually attended.

We were able, however, to secure photos of the event from the governor's

office. Thus, after somewhat more delay than I had anticipated, I have

distributed a comprehensive news release along with the photos to nearly all

of the daily and weekly newspapers throughout the state. We do not yet

know, of course, how much response we will get, but I hope that at least a

few papers will consider the story to be newsworthy and use all or part of

the release.

For anyone who may be interested, the text of the release appears below. I

will not risk clogging the list with the photos but can send them to anyone

upon request.

############################################################

CONTACT: Ed McDonald, First Vice-President

National Federation of the Blind of West Virginia

151 S. Mineral Street

Keyser, WV 26726

Phone: 304-788-0129

Email: ed@eioproductions.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TWO PHOTOS + TEXT OF RELEASE ARE ATTACHED; INFORMATION FOR PHOTO CAPTIONS

APPEARS BELOW

* GOVERNOR SUPPORTS BRAILLE LITERACY INITIATIVES

* MEETS WITH BLIND ADVOCATES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS

* CELEBRATES LOUIS BRAILLE BICENTENNIAL AND COMMEMORATIVE COIN

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin has pledged his support for new

initiatives to enable more blind West Virginians to read and write Braille.

Meeting at the Cultural Center with a group of blind consumers and service

providers, Manchin called for a cooperative effort to make West Virginia a

leader in the nationwide campaign to promote Braille literacy.

The year 2009 is the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Louis

Braille, the inventor of the raised dot system of reading and writing that

bears his name. The meeting in Charleston was one of many bicentennial

events taking place throughout the nation to recognize Braille as the key to

literacy for blind persons. It was organized by the National Federation of

the Blind of West Virginia (NFBWV) as part of its Agency Partnership

Program. On hand were representatives from several state and private

agencies that provide specialized services to the blind. They included the

Division of Rehabilitation Services, the Department of Education, the West

Virginia School for the Blind, the Marshall University training program for

teachers of blind children, and the West Virginia Library Commission. The

gathering was hosted by the Library Commission which offers a variety of

informational services to blind West Virginians.

Governor Manchin took part in the event by issuing a proclamation

recognizing the role of Braille in helping blind persons achieve

independence, productivity, and success. The proclamation noted that

Braille is a tool for bllind persons "to be productive and imaginative

contributors to society."

NFBWV first vice-president Ed McDonald of Keyser chairs the organization's

Agency Partnership program. "Today we're here to celebrate Braille and to

remember the life and work of Louis Braille," McDonald told the gathering.

"But we're also here to recognize a crisis in Braille literacy and to

consider what this partnership can do to change it," McDonald said.

The governor also recognized the Braille literacy crisis in his remarks.

"Despite its efficiency, versatility, and universal acceptance by the

blind," Manchin said, "the rate of Braille literacy in the United States has

declined to the point where only 10 percent of blind children are learning

to read and write Braille. Just as a literacy rate of 10 percent among this

nation's sighted children would be rightly viewed as a crisis and as cause

for national outrage, the decline in Braille literacy is a crisis and swift

action must be taken to reverse this dangerous trend," he continued.

"I would like for all of us to accept that as a challenge for West Virginia

to be the top in the nation as far as leading and fighting for literacy in

Braille," the governor said. "That's an achievement we can all accomplish

if we commit ourselves to it."

NFBWV secretary Karen McDonald of Keyser accepted the gubernatorial

proclamation on behalf of the Federation. "As a pianist, I could not play

Chopin, Beethoven, or Scott Joplin if I could not read the Braille music

score," McDonald said as she handed the governor a copy of a comprehensive

report on the Braille literacy crisis in America. "I read everything from

cookbooks to novels in Braille, and without Braille I would be illiterate."

On March 26 the United States Mint unveiled a commemorative coin that bears

the likeness of the young Frenchman whose invention has made it possible for

blind people around the world to read and write. The reverse side of the

Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar also contains the raised dot

characters BRL, the Braille symbol for the word "Braille."

After giving the governor a chocolate reproduction of the coin, NFBWV second

vice-president Sheri Koch presented Manchin with the real thing--a Louis

Braille silver dollar in a protective case. Koch, who works for the West

Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services as supervisor of statewide

programs for the blind, also shared her personal story of learning and using

Braille.

"I grew up blind but with enough residual vision to get myself in and out of

trouble," Koch said. As a result, she said she learned to read Braille with

her eyes, rather than with her fingers. She explained, however, that as an

adult, she has relied primarily upon the use of large print. "The more

vision I lost, the bigger the print got," she acknowledged, "and it became

evident that I needed to learn to read Braille with my fingers." Thus, in

honor of the governor's appearance, she used Braille for the first time in

public to read the notes for her presentation.

"This is a very special coin," Koch said. "It is more precious than the

silver it is made of. It is special in that it honors every blind person

who has achieved the ability to read and become literate in Braille--to take

that gift that Louis Braille left us and become literate.

"We hope that every time you look at this coin, you will remember the power

behind it--the power that Braille gives to us, and the power that your

proclamation means to us--that if we all work together, we can make Braille

available to any blind person who wants it," Koch said.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each Louis Braille silver dollar

will help fund the Federation's "Braille Readers are Leaders" campaign. One

goal of this campaign is to double the literacy rate among the nation's

blind children by the year 2015. The campaign also includes initiatives to

promote awareness of the importance of Braille and to increase the

availability of competent Braille instruction and Braille reading materials.

In conclusion, Governor Manchin called upon "all public officials,

educators, and citizens throughout West Virginia and this nation to

recognize the importance of Braille to the lives of blind people and to

assist the National Federation of the Blind in its efforts to increase

instruction in and use of Braille in West Virginia and across the United

States."

The Federation's Agency Partnership meetings are held semiannually for the

purpose of offering positive consumer input concerning the quality and

delivery of vital services to blind West Virginians.

More information about Braille literacy, the National Federation of the

Blind, and the Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar can be found on the

web at www.braille.org or www.nfbwv.org.

--30--

####################################################################

PHOTO CAPTION INFORMATION GOV0528.JPG: Karen McDonald, Secretary, National

Federation of the Blind of West Virginia (NFBWV) presents to Governor Joe

Manchin a copy of a comprehensive report on the "Braille Literacy Crisis in

America" along with chocolate reproductions of the Louis Braille

Bicentennial commemorative coin.

PHOTO CAPTION INFORMATION GOV0558.JPG: Governor Joe Manchin accepts from

NFBWV Second Vice-President Sheri Koch a "real" Louis Braille Bicentennial

Silver Dollar during a recent meeting on Braille literacy at the State

Capitol.

From: "Ed McDonald" <ed@eioproductions.com>

To: "Braille Readers are Leaders contest support list" <brl-coordinators@nfbnet.org>

Subject: BRAILLE EVENT IN WEST VIRGINIA WITH NEWS RELEASE . . . LONG

Date: Monday, May 25, 2009 6:30 PM