* Jack Wright Memorial Scholarship Fund

AADB E-News

July 2007

In This Issue:

* Dedication

* Jack Wright Memorial Scholarship Fund

* Memorial Service for Jack Wright

* New! AADB Brochure

* AADB in Action---Presentations, Sorenson Task Force, and Training, Coalition for Accessible Technology

* Special Magazine on Aging

* Lifetime Memberships

* Did You Know Helen Keller or Her Family?

* Schedule of Events---SERID Conference, 2nd Annual Conference on Aging and Hearing Loss

* Shop and Support AADB

* Contact AADB

* Dedication—This July AADB E-News is dedicated to William K. Edmond, a deaf-blind survivor of Hurricane Katrina, who passed away on April 19, 2007.

Mr. Edmond’s passion was building fine furniture. He sanded and polished his furniture--he used no nails, but simply fitted the pieces together like a puzzle. He was very active in a small Baptist church for the deaf in New Orleans, where he worked as a church handyman, building pulpits and other furniture. Amazingly, even though the church was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, one of the pulpits that Mr. Edmond built survived. Mr. Edmond lived briefly in Columbus, OH upon evacuating New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit.

* Jack Wright Memorial Scholarship Fund—We are saddened by the news that Jack Wright, a former AADB board member, passed away on June 7, 2007, in Columbus, OH, after living for many years in Maryland. The family of Jack Wright and AADB have established a scholarship in his name. The purpose of the scholarship is to give deaf-blind people with low incomes and opportunity to attend AADB’s national conferences they, otherwise, could not afford to attend. Contributions can be made to this fund any time and are tax-deductible. If you wish to make a contribution, please make a check payable to AADB and write “Jack Wright” on the memo line or contact AADB to request a donor form. Credit card payments and/or monthly contributions are also accepted.

* Memorial Service for Jack Wright—A memorial service for Jack Wright will be held on August 25, 2007 at 2 pm at Christ United Church of the Deaf in Baltimore, MD. For more information, contact the Rev. Peggy Johnson at , or at 410-247-5045 TTY/Voice.

* New! AADB Brochure--We have a brand new AADB brochure! Please contact the AADB Office if you would like a copy.

* AADB in Action

* Presentations—Jamie Pope, Executive Director of AADB, co-presented a workshop and poster session featuring support service providers at the American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association conference in St. Louis last May. She also was the keynote speaker at Northern Illinois University’s training on deaf-blindness last June.

* Sorenson Task Force and Training—AADB was invited to join a task force with Sorenson Communications, which provides video relay services to deaf and hard of hearing people. Sorenson set up a task force to examine how they could improve video relay services to people who are deaf-blind, and AADB is a member of that task force.

Elizabeth Spiers, Director of Information Services, and Randy Pope, AADB Webmaster, also attended a training for Sorenson at Helen Keller National Center, where they reported on an informal survey AADB did on the problems that deaf-blind users face when using video relay services.

* Coalition for Accessible Technology—Randy Pope, AADB Webmaster, represented AADB at a coalition on how technology can be accessible to deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind users. He attended two meetings in which he discussed how deaf-blind people can receive access to telecommunications services and other technology. For more information, check out their website at http://coataccess.civicspaceondemand.org/node .

* Special Magazine on Aging—The July-September 2007 issue of The Deaf-Blind American will feature seniors with both vision and hearing loss. If you are not already a member, become one today! Just go to our website at http://www.aadb.org, print out a membership form, and send it to us. Or you can contact the AADB Office to request a membership form.

* Lifetime Memberships---AADB is now offering lifetime memberships for $500 until December 31st this year. We can accept partial monthly payments as long as the full $500 is paid up before December 31st. Contact the AADB Office for more information and to receive a form. Become an AADB lifer today!

* Did You Know Helen Keller or Her Family? Television Documentary is seeking individuals with unique personal or professional connection to Helen Keller or the Helen Keller family. They want to know your story, if you knew Ms. Keller or she touched your life in some way. Please send your story and contact information in an email to . Please write “Helen Keller” in the subject line.

* Schedule of Events

* Persons Aging with Hearing and Vision Loss: 2nd Annual Conference: “Psycho-Social Aspects of Adjustment, Communication, and Community Integration: Issues and Solutions”, August 15 to 17, 2007. Co-Sponsored by Mississippi State University, Helen Keller National Center and San Diego State University. For more information concerning the conference, contact
BJ LeJeune, Project Director, RRTC on Blindness and Low Vision, P. O. Box 6189, Mississippi State, MS 39762, , 662-325-2001.

* Southeast Regional Conference on Deafness (SERID)—The 2007 Southeast Regional Conference on Deafness will be held on September 30 to October 4, 2007, in Greenville, SC. For more information, go to www.serid.org, or contact Jerry Francis, VR Counselor and Deaf-Blind Consultant,

via email at , or at 1-800-922-2222 TTY/Voice.

* Shop and Support AADB! Here is your opportunity to shop and support AADB at the same time. You can go to our website at www.aadb.org, and click on our marketplace button. There, simply follow the instructions for purchasing what you want. A percentage of your purchases goes towards supporting AADB. This Marketplace has over 1,000 stores, including such stores as Amazon.com, Eddie Bauer, and Bath and Body. Thanks for supporting AADB!

* Contact AADB!

AADB is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization and depends on the generosity of donors to keep its services and programs running. All donations are tax-deductible and can be designated in memory of a loved one, in honor of someone’s special occasion (graduation, retirement, birthday), and/or for any current AADB services. For a donor and/or membership form, please contact AADB Office. Thank you for your support!

American Association of the Deaf-Blind

8630 Fenton Street, Suite 121

Silver Spring, MD 20910

Email:

Phone: 301-495-4402 VP/TTY: 301-495-4403 Voice

Website: www.aadb.org

Editor: Elizabeth Spiers; Layout and Design: Chad Metcalf