Press Release

FIRST LADY LAURA BUSH HOSTS RECIPIENTS OF 2005 NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS FROM RECORDING FOR THE BLIND & DYSLEXIC
Visit to the White House caps series of honors and
celebrations for scholars with print disabilities

February 22, 2006 (Washington, DC) - Continuing a tradition of White House recognition that dates back to the Eisenhower administration, the 2005 winners of the National Achievement Awards (NAA) bestowed by national nonprofit Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D) met with first lady Laura Bush today. RFB&D is the nation's educational library of recorded textbooks for students with visual impairment, learning disabilities or other physical disabilities that make reading standard textbooks difficult or impossible.

"These extraordinary students exemplify the very best America has to offer," said Mrs. Bush. "As a librarian, I appreciate the value of the printed word, and these scholars have proven that, with the same access to textbooks as their peers, coupled with a love of learning, there is no limit to one's ability to succeed and become the future of our great nation."

Each year, RFB&D presents the Mary P. Oenslager Scholastic Achievement Awards (SAAs) for college seniors who are blind or visually impaired; and the Marion Huber Learning Through Listening® (LTL®) awards for high school seniors with learning disabilities. The finalists for each award were chosen by two selection committees and judged on their extraordinary scholarship, leadership, enterprise and service to others. The top three SAA winners, each receiving $6,000, are Kathleen Ernst, Athens, GA, a college graduate at age 39 who is visually impaired and has traveled to Cuba and volunteered at Habitat for Humanity; Scott MacIntyre, Scottsdale, AZ, an accomplished pianist with low vision who was named by USA Today as one of the top 20 collegiate seniors of 2005; and Jessica Smith, Dillon, SC, who is legally blind and finished in the top seven percent of her college graduating class. Jessica, who also has multiple sclerosis, currently works for the federal government's Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS).

The top three winners of the LTL awards are Karen Jenkins, Galena, OH, who graduated high school near the top of her class and currently attends Ohio Northern University; Christine Lowry, Reston, VA, an honors high school graduate attending the Rochester Institute of Technology; and Philip Wyks, Oradell, NJ, an avid runner who is studying at American University. Each of these exemplary students, who all have dyslexia, will also receive $6,000.

Earlier this month, the NAA winners and their families visited the Capitol and Senate gallery; met with members of Congress; and were hosted by John Hager, Assistant Secretary of the US Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. On February 9, at a reception at the Westin Embassy Row, RFB&D honored the awards recipients for their achievements.

"RFB&D's National Achievement Awards celebrate the accomplishments of students who are outstanding role models, not only for people with disabilities, but for all of us who endeavor to reach our full potential as students and as citizens," said John Kelly, RFB&D President & CEO. "Recognition at a national level, especially by our nation's leaders, reinforces the importance of our mission and the value of our accommodation."

RFB&D serves more than 141,000 students from kindergarten through graduate school and beyond with its one-of-a-kind collection of more than 109,000 educational titles on CD or four-track cassette. RFB&D's AudioPlus® digitally recorded textbooks on CD provide unprecedented navigation, ease of use and proven effectiveness as learning tools for students with print disabilities. Students rely on RFB&D's unique accommodation to access the printed page and to achieve educational success. All of RFB&D's accessible titles are recorded by volunteers working in 29 RFB&D recording studios nationwide.

EDITORS NOTE: Photographs of the award winners and the Washington, DC, events are available for download at www.rfbd.smugmug.com. Interview opportunities are available by calling Mark Zustovich at 609-520-7993.

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