American Foundation for the Blind Announces Call for Nominations for 2014 Migel Medals

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Jul 24, 2013, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, July 24, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) announced an invitation for nominations for the 2014 Migel Medals, the highest honor in the blindness field. The Migel Medal was established in 1937 by the late M.C. Migel, the first chairperson of AFB, to honor professionals and volunteers whose dedication and achievements have significantly improved the lives of people who are blind or visually impaired. The Migel Medal Awards consists of two categories, the Professional Award and the Lay/Volunteer Award.

Professional Award nominees should be those whose career work significantly affects services to people with vision loss on a national level. Prospective candidates include, but are not limited to, professionals with specific training and expertise in education, rehabilitation, assistive technology, vision rehabilitation, personnel preparation, administration or related fields. They may work in the public or private sector and their work should span several years.

Lay/Volunteer Award nominees can be volunteers or professionals not employed within the blindness and visual impairment field whose efforts have supported or extended service to people with vision loss. Professionals from these disciplines may include, but are not limited to, those who develop assistive technology equipment and software, health care devices, and improved medical services.

Nominations for AFB's Migel Medals are due by Friday, October 4, 2013, and should be e-mailed to Scott Truax, Program Manager FamilyConnect at [email protected].

Nominators should send a one-page description of the nominee and his/her accomplishments, or fill out our online nomination form at www.afb.org/MigelNomination. You must also submit two letters of recommendation with the nomination.

Past Migel Medal recipients include:

2013

Kay Ferrell, Ph.D., professor of special education at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) in Greeley.
Jim Fruchterman, founder, president, and CEO of Benetech.

2012

Kathleen Mary Huebner, Ph.D., professor and director of the National Consortium for Leadership in Sensory Disabilities at the College of Education and Rehabilitation at Salus University.
George Kerscher, Ph.D., secretary general of the DAISY Consortium and president of the International Digital Publishing Forum.

Visit this link for a complete list of Migel recipients.

About AFB

The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a national nonprofit that expands possibilities for people with vision loss. AFB's priorities include broadening access to technology; elevating the quality of information and tools for the professionals who serve people with vision loss; and promoting independent and healthy living for people with vision loss by providing them and their families with relevant and timely resources. Headquartered in New York, AFB is proud to house the Helen Keller Archives and honor the more than 40 years that Helen Keller worked tirelessly with AFB.

SOURCE American Foundation for the Blind