ADVISORY/Famous Blind Mountain Climber, Erik Weihenmayer to Speak at Ohio State School for the Blind in Columbus.Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers ADVISORY for...July 9 (Tues.) WHAT Erik Weihenmayer Erik Weihenmayer (born November 19, 1968) is the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on May 25, 2001. He also completed the Seven Summits in September 2002. His story was covered in a Time article in June 2001 titled Blind Faith. , the first blind mountain climber to conquer Mt. Everest, will be speaking about his incredible achievements and on the latest assistive technology Hardware and software that help people who are physically impaired. Often called "accessibility options" when referring to enhancements for using the computer, the entire field of assistive technology is quite vast and even includes ramp and doorway construction in buildings to support for those with impaired or reduced vision. Weihenmayer's visit is being sponsored by Universal Low Vision Aids, Inc. of Columbus, and Freedom Scientific, the nation's largest manufacturer of software and hardware for people who are blind or with low vision. WHEN AND WHERE 11am, Tuesday, July 9, 2002 at the Ohio State School for the Blind Ohio State School for the Blind is a school located in Columbus, Ohio. It is run by the Ohio Department of Education for blind and visually impaired students across Ohio. It was established in 1837, making it the nation's first public school for the visually impaired. , 5220 N. High Street, Columbus, Ohio Columbus is the capital and the largest city of the American state of Ohio. Named for explorer Christopher Columbus, the city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and assumed the functions of state capital in 1816. . ABOUT ERIK WEIHENMAYER Weihenmayer has summitted Mt. Everest, and, at 33 years old, is on course to become one of the youngest people to climb all of the Seven Summits. He previously scaled Mt. McKinley (1995); Mt. Kilimanjaro (1997); Aconcagua (1999); Vinson Massif Vinson Massif, peak, 16,860 ft (5,139 m) high, W Antarctica, in the Ellsworth Mts.; highest peak in Antarctica. Vinson Massif Mountain, Sentinel Range, central Ellsworth Mountains, western Antarctica. (2001/Antarctica); Yosemite's El Capitan El Cap·i·tan A peak, 2,308.5 m (7,569 ft) high, in the Sierra Nevada of central California. Its dramatic exposed monolith rises some 1,098 m (3,600 ft) above the floor of the Yosemite Valley. , a 3,300-foot rock face, and Polar Circus (2000), a 3000-foot ice waterfall in Alberta. He successfully completed his sixth summit of Mt. Elbrus in Russia, the highest peak in Europe last week Along with numerous personal appearances, Weihenmayer's exploits have attracted the attention of the national TV news networks, newspapers, magazines and he has also been on the Tonight Show. His inspiring story is documented in his book, Touch the Top of the World. Weihenmayer used a Freedom Scientific, Braille `n Speak notetaker on his Everest expedition, to record his journal notes and report back via the Internet to those following his progress from around the world. ABOUT UNIVERSAL LOW VISION AIDS Universal Low Vision Aids, Inc. was established in 1988, by visually impaired persons Noun 1. visually impaired person - someone who has inferior vision individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do" to serve the needs of people like themselves. Universal Low Vision Aids, Inc. is Ohio's only Freedom Scientific Premier Dealer serving the technology needs of blind, low vision, and learning disabled persons across the state. MEDIA NOTE Erik Weihenmayer will be available for interviews before his presentation, contact Dessie Page for arrangements (contact information listed below) |
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