A.V.R.E. to Host Grand Opening
 

A.V.R.E. will be hosting its official grand opening of the new Center of Excellence in Vision Rehabilitation and Employment at 174 Court Street in Binghamton on November 1st, from 4 PM to 7 PM.  The formal ribbon-cutting and press conference will be held at 4 PM.  Mr. Jim Gibbons, President/CEO of National Industries for the Blind, will be the featured guest.  Senator Tom Libous, Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, and Mayor Matthew Ryan are also expected to attend.  Refreshments and tours of the new manufacturing and vision rehabilitation therapy areas will be available.

Featured services include the Norman Richterman Low Vision and ACCESS-Tech Centers.  The Center will also house a retail store to sell vision rehabilitation aids and A.V.R.E. office products.  "These three new programs bring comprehensive low vision and information technology services to the 30,000 people with vision loss in the 9,000 square-mile A.V.R.E. service area," said A.V.R.E. CEO Robert Hanye.

Jim Gibbons is President and CEO of National Industries for the Blind (NIB), a National nonprofit dedicated to enhancing economic and personal independence among people who are blind by identifying and growing employment opportunities through the AbilityOne Program (enabled by the Javits-Wagner-O'Day, or JWOD, Act).  NIB and its 88 associated agencies around the country employ more than 5,600 people who are blind in the manufacture and delivery of products and services to the Federal government, with annual sales of about $440 million.  Gibbons was the first blind person to graduate with an MBA from the Harvard University Graduate Business School.

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