ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <!-- saved from url=(0055)http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=28&TopicID=153 --> <HTML lang=en><HEAD><TITLE>Migel Medal Awards - American Foundation for the Blind</TITLE> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"><LINK href="mige_files/style.htm" type=text/css rel=stylesheet> <META content="American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), a U.S. nonprofit organization enabling blind or visually impaired people to achieve equality and access. Provides information and referrals about living with visual impairment. Helen Keller devoted over 40 years of her life to AFB." name=Description> <META content=title name=wt.ti> <META content=index,follow name=robots> <META content="blind, vision impairment, blindness, visual impairment, visually impaired, AFB, vision disability disabilities problems, visual, eyes, losing poor bad eyesight, low vision, legally blind, Helen Keller, help, information, referral, resources, blindness resources services, disability, disabled, sight loss, deaf blind, deaf-blind, accessibility, education, education for the blind, access, access for the blind, employment, employment for the blind, work, aging, talking computer, computer speech, synthesized speech, technology, blindness technology, adaptive technology, assistive technology, braille, ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act, consultants, consulting, Section 508, orientation and mobility, O&amp;M, rehabilitation, blindness rehabilitation, white cane, guide dog, dog guide, seeing eye dog, Anne Annie Sullivan, macular degeneration, legislation, advocacy, government, laws, textbooks, books, demographics, statistics, research, Talking Books, journals, bookstore, literacy" name=Keywords><LINK href="#" rel="About AFB"><LINK href="#" rel="Press Room"><LINK href="#" rel=Bookstore><LINK href="#" rel=Donate><LINK href="#" rel="Site Search"><LINK href="#" rel=Sitemap><LINK href="#" rel="Contact Us"><LINK href="#" rel="Change Colors and Text Size"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16414" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <FORM id=formSearch action=http://www.afb.org/Search.asp method=post> <TABLE id=headerwrapper cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD width=10 rowSpan=3><IMG height=1 alt=" " src="mige_files/empty.gif" width=10></TD> <TD><!--<img width="75" height="1" alt=" " src="images/empty.gif">--></TD> <TD><!--<img width="195" height="1" alt=" " src="images/empty.gif">--></TD> <TD width="10%"><A accessKey=k href="http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=28&amp;TopicID=153#content"><IMG alt="jump to article" src="mige_files/empty.gif" border=0></A></TD> <TD width="90%"></TD></TR> <TR> <TD class=logoheaderafb>AFB</TD> <TD class=logoheadertext><A class=norule title="link to American Foundation for the Blind home page" href="http://www.afb.org/">American&nbsp;Foundation<BR>for&nbsp;the&nbsp;Blind </A></TD> <TD><SPAN class=logoTM2>TM&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></TD> <TD id=navutility><!-- changed to two-line format on 12/14/05 --> <UL> <LI class=start><A title="Change Colors and More" href="http://www.afb.org/myafb.asp">Change&nbsp;&nbsp;Colors&nbsp;&nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp;More</A> <LI><A title="About the American Foundation for the Blind" href="http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=42">About&nbsp;&nbsp;AFB</A><BR><!--Changed for capturing the referer info on 09/16/05--> <LI class=start><A title=Donate href="http://www.afb.org/Donate_Main.asp">Donate Now</A> <LI><A title="Press Room" href="http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=47">Press Room</A> <LI class=last><A title=Bookstore href="http://www.afb.org/store">Bookstore</A> </LI></UL></TD></TR> <TR class=bottomrow> <TD class=logosubheader colSpan=2>Expanding&nbsp;possibilities&nbsp;for&nbsp;people&nbsp;with&nbsp;vision&nbsp;loss</TD> <TD>&nbsp; </TD> <TD id=search><LABEL title="Keyword Search" for=Keyword_Search>Site Search</LABEL><INPUT id=Keyword_Search title=Keyword_Search accessKey=S name=Keyword_Search> <INPUT class=afbbuttonutility accessKey=G type=submit value=Go name=Go> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></FORM> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" summary="This table holds a blue bar that separates the page content from the header." border=0> <TBODY> <TR class=afbBGCOLOR04> <TD height=10><IMG height=1 alt=" " src="mige_files/one_px.gif" width="100%" border=0></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <TABLE id=Table1 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" summary="This table is used to contain the content of this page. The first cell will contain a photo. The second cell will contain primary information on this page. The third cell will contain links to secondary information." border=0> <TBODY> <TR class=afbBGCOLOR02> <TD height=2><IMG height=1 alt=" " src="mige_files/one_px.gif" width=177 border=0></TD> <TD><IMG height=1 alt=" " src="mige_files/one_px.gif" width=405 border=0></TD> <TD><IMG height=1 alt=" " src="mige_files/one_px.gif" width=2 border=0></TD> <TD><IMG height=1 alt=" " src="mige_files/one_px.gif" width=172 border=0></TD></TR> <TR class=afbBGCOLOR06> <TD class=afbBGCOLOR06 vAlign=top width=177><IMG alt="M. C. Migel" src="mige_files/Image.jpg"> </TD> <TD class=afbCONTENTPADDING vAlign=top width="100%"><A class=afbCOPYBCRUMBLINK href="http://www.afb.org/">Home</A><SPAN class=afbCOPYBCRUMB>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;</SPAN><A class=afbCOPYBCRUMBLINK href="http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=28">Events</A><SPAN class=afbCOPYBCRUMB>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;</SPAN><SPAN class=afbCOPYBCRUMBLINKSELECTED>Migel Medal Awards</SPAN> <BR><IMG height=15 alt=" " src="mige_files/one_px.gif" width=1 border=0><BR><A class=afbSKIPLINK id=content name=content></A> <H1 class=afbPAGEHEADER>Migel Medal Awards</H1> <P><A name=content></A> <H1>The 2007 Migel Medal Recipients Are In!</H1> <P>The AFB Migel Medal the highest honor in the blindness field 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 improved the lives of people who are blind or visually impaired.</P> <P><STRONG>The 2007 M.C. Migel Medals will be presented on March 24 during the <A href="http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=28&amp;TopicID=92">Josephine L. Taylor Leadership Institute</A> in Dallas, Texas.</STRONG></P> <P>The 2007 Professional Award Recipients is <STRONG>Berdell (Pete) Wurzburger.</STRONG></P> <P><STRONG>Berdell "Pete" Wurzburger</STRONG> has been a premier leader in the field of orientation and mobility (O&amp;M) for more than 40 years. Under his leadership guidance, in 1966, San Francisco State University established the nation's first program to teach instructors in O&amp;M for children as well as adults. In the early 1980s, under Pete's leadership, San Francisco State University broke with tradition by accepting the first blind student into the graduate program, demonstrating Pete's strong belief in the capabilities of people who are blind. His pioneer work over 40 years has improved the lives of thousands of children and adults throughout the nation.</P> <P>The 2007 Migel Lay Volunteer Award recipients are <STRONG>Jim Bliss</STRONG> and <STRONG>David Holladay</STRONG>.</P> <P><STRONG>Jim Bliss </STRONG>has for more than 35 years blazed a trail in technology, beginning with the development of the Optacon, a device that converts print into raised shapes that can be read tactilely. This device, and many others that followed, opened new horizons in education, employment, and daily living. Jim was truly one of the pioneers in the development of access technology which today still has a positive impact on the lives of blind people.</EM></P> <P><strong>David Holladay's</strong> creativity and perseverance enabled braille users, particularly blind and visually impaired students in school, to have access to information through the development of braille translation software. He realized many people in the field needed brailled instructional materials and his programs made this possible in an efficient and effective way. David continues to pursue his career by serving as a product manager for Duxbury Systems, a leading producer of software for braille</EM></P> <P>For questions please contact: <BR>Adrianna Montague-Gray <BR>(212) 502-7675 or <BR><A href="mailto:amontaguegray@afb.net">amontaguegray@afb.net</A></P><BR><BR><BR></TD> <TD class=afbBGCOLOR02 width=2><IMG height=1 alt=" " src="mige_files/one_px.gif" width=1 border=0></TD> <TD class=afbBGCOLOR11 vAlign=top width=172> <TABLE class=afbBGCOLOR10 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=172 border=0 <tr> <TBODY> <TR> <TD> <H2 class=afbH2NAVSELECTED>Migel Medal Awards</H2> <UL class=afbCOPYLISTSELECTED3> <LI class=afbCOPYLISTUNSELECTED><A class=afbNAVSECONDARY href="http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=28&amp;TopicID=153&amp;DocumentID=2248">Previous Honorees</A></LI></UL></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <TABLE class=afbBGCOLOR03 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=172 border=0 <tr> <TBODY> <TR> <TD> <H2 class=afbH2NAVSELECTED>Events</H2></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <TABLE class=afbBGCOLOR03 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=172 border=0 <tr> <TBODY> <TR> <TD> <UL class=afbCOPYLISTSELECTED3> <LI class=afbCOPYLISTUNSELECTED><A class=afbNAVSECONDARY href="http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=28&amp;TopicID=236">Access Awards</A></LI></UL> <UL class=afbCOPYLISTSELECTED3> <LI class=afbCOPYLISTUNSELECTED><A class=afbNAVSECONDARY href="http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=28&amp;TopicID=155">Alexander Scourby Narrator of the Year Awards</A></LI></UL> <UL class=afbCOPYLISTSELECTED3> <LI class=afbCOPYLISTUNSELECTED><A class=afbNAVSECONDARY href="http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=28&amp;TopicID=152">Helen Keller Achievement Awards</A></LI></UL> <UL class=afbCOPYLISTSELECTED3> <LI class=afbCOPYLISTUNSELECTED><A class=afbNAVSECONDARY href="http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=28&amp;TopicID=92">Josephine L. Taylor Leadership Institute (JLTLI)</A></LI></UL> <UL class=afbCOPYLISTSELECTED2> <LI class=afbCOPYLISTSELECTED><SPAN class=afbNAVSECONDARYSELECTED>Migel Medal Awards</SPAN></LI></UL> <UL class=afbCOPYLISTSELECTED3> <LI class=afbCOPYLISTUNSELECTED><A class=afbNAVSECONDARY href="http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=28&amp;TopicID=263">The Stonewall Transition Conference</A></LI></UL></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <TABLE id=Table3 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=172 summary="This table contains navigation to the secondary pages of this section. And other related links." border=0> <TBODY> <TR class=afbBGCOLOR02> <TD height=2><IMG height=1 alt=" " src="mige_files/one_px.gif" width=1 border=0></TD></TR> <TR class=afbBGCOLOR08> <TD class=afbCONTENTPADDING> <H2 title="Related Links">Related Links:</H2> <UL class=RELATED> <LI class=RELATED><A class=afbNAVSECONDARY href="http://www.afb.org/Community.asp?Type=Events">Calendar of Events</A> <LI class=RELATED><A class=afbNAVSECONDARY href="http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=42&amp;TopicID=242">AFB eNews</A></LI></UL></TD></TR> <TR class=afbBGCOLOR02> <TD height=2><IMG height=1 alt=" " src="mige_files/one_px.gif" width=1 border=0></TD></TR><!-- begin merchandising area --><!--<table width="172" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" summary="This table contains navigation to the merchandise area." 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