BLINDSKILLS, INC., NAMES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

SALEM, OREGON -- B. T. Kimbrough will become Executive Director of Blindskills Inc., a Salem not-for-profit service organization, effective June 4, 2007. Blindskills publishes Dialogue, an international bimonthly news magazine edited for people who are experiencing vision loss or are blind, and their friends and families. The magazine, now published in braille, large print, cassette, and electronic mail editions, reviews low vision aids and devices, provides tips and techniques for coping with vision loss, reports personal experiences of people living successfully with visual impairment at home, in school, on the job and in the community, interviews professionals working in the field of blindness and low vision, and is designed to inform, instruct and entertain in the discussion of blindness issues.

Dialogue, currently in its 47th year of continuous publication, features articles, personal essays, interviews, news, and resources on all aspects of coping with visual impairment and blindness. In announcing Kimbrough's selection, publisher Carol McCarl said, "We are proud to welcome B. T. Kimbrough to Blindskills. He clearly knows what Dialogue Magazine has meant to thousands of blind readers over its 40-plus eventful years, and I am confident that he brings a strong commitment to our cherished dream that Blindskills and Dialogue will have a long and useful future."

Kimbrough, who is blind himself, has extensive media-related experience, some of which he acquired over 30 years ago while writing and producing recorded articles for Dialogue, which was then published in Berwyn, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.

"From its beginning, Dialogue was a primary resource for people who are blind or losing vision. However, it took time - and a lot of creative energy--to evolve a publication to serve the interests of a broad readership, including consumers, professionals, family members, friends, and the newly blind as well as those of us who have lived with vision loss for decades. I'm proud to do everything I can to locate funding that will help secure the future of this unique and priceless information network," Kimbrough said.
Kimbrough's later experience includes management of a radio reading service and a press braille operation, in addition to direction of a government-funded training program for rehabilitation counselors at Mississippi State University. During the 1980's, and 90's, Kimbrough worked with pioneer assistive technology developer Enabling Technologies of Jensen Beach, Florida, on the development of computerized braille production equipment, serving as company vice-president for over a decade.

Kimbrough will be responsible for managing the daily operations of Blindskills, working with McCarl, whose leadership as mentor, teacher, and founder of Blindskills was recognized last year by the American Foundation for the Blind, which presented her with its prestigious Migel Medal.

Dialogue's publication was taken over by Blindskills in 1990, on the retirement of the magazine's founder, Don O. Nold. Blindskills, established in 1983, offers other publications, including a handbook for blind jobseekers, and a free cassette for people who are just beginning to lose vision. Blindskills also sponsors a support group for newly blinded people in the Salem, Oregon, area and provides free information to callers through its national toll-free hotline: 800-860-4224.

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