Michael Speaks At The Lighthouse for the Blind of Fort Worth
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author and 9/11 Survivor is Changing What it Means to be Blind
Michael Hingson Comes to Fort Worth February 25-March 3, 2013
(Fort Worth, TX – February 25, 2013) – The Lighthouse for the Blind of Fort Worth announces today that they will host, #1 New York Times bestselling author and World Trade Center survivor, Michael Hingson, to come to Fort Worth for a week-long series of appearances from Monday, February 25th through Sunday, March 3, 2013. Hingson has graciously offered to come to Ft. Worth for the week and to speak to a wide variety of different audiences throughout his visit.
Michael Hingson, who has been blind since birth, is an internationally renowned public speaker and bestselling author of, Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog & the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero. The Lighthouse recognizes that Hingson has an incredible story that needs to be told. According to Hingson, he will present his story of survival and will teach from first hand experience that “blindness is not the handicap we face, but rather the handicap consists of the misconceptions that people have about blindness”. When asked about his upcoming trip to Ft. Worth, Hingson said, “the amazing part of my story is not that I happen to be blind and descended from the 78th floor with the help of my guide dog, Roselle, but that so many people survived that day by not panicking and by working together as a team to escape the tower.” “My story is not so much about how I escaped from the World Trade Center, but how I got there in the first place and what has happened since”. Hingson describes his personal mission, “My work today is to change peoples attitudes and perceptions about blindness, from being a tragedy to just being a challenge—like being left handed or even like being light dependent, a disability most people face”.
Hingson will speak to thousands of people while in Ft. Worth, all as a gift to the city, from the Lighthouse for the Blind. “Some of his audiences will be blind, some will be sighted. No matter which, his story is inspiring,” explains Platt Allen, III, Lighthouse President/CEO.
Arriving in Fort Worth on February 25th, Hingson will visit eight schools and will make 10 presentations to students during the week. A private, by-invitation-only event hosted by the Lighthouse will take place on the evening of February 27th, at McDavid Studio. Another private event will take place Saturday, March 2nd, at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and will be exclusive to children and youth who are blind and their families. For additional information on these particular events, contact Nancy Fisher at nfisher@lighthousefw.org or at 817-332-3341, ext. 7782.
Additional private engagements include appearances at the Lighthouse for the Blind of Fort Worth, North Texas Radio for the Blind, and downtown Rotary.
Michael Hingson will also be featured in three free community events. The first of which will happen on Tuesday evening, February 26th at 6:30 p.m. on the TCU campus. Hingson will be speaking on the Club Level, west side, in the Amon G. Carter Stadium. The presentation is free and is open to all TCU students, faculty/staff and the general public. Free parking is available in Lots 1 and 2, located on the west side of the stadium and off of Bellaire Drive North. Guests can enter the facility via the Champions elevators on the south west corner of the building on the west side of the stadium, Gate 2.
On Thursday evening, February 28th, Hingson will speak in the downtown area at Tarrant County College District-Trinity River Campus, beginning at 6:30 p.m. This event is opened to all TCCD students, faculty/staff and the general public. There is no charge but a parking permit is required for parking in the TCCD garage. Contact Nancy Fisher at nfisher@lighthousefw.org for the parking permit, directions to the campus and for any additional information.
In his final Fort Worth appearance, Hingson will bring his story to First United Methodist Church, downtown Fort Worth, 800 West Fifth Street, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Sunday, March 3rd. He will be speaking in Wesley Hall. This opportunity is open to the general public.
The press is invited and encouraged to attend any of Michael Hinson’s speaking events. Michael Hingson is available for interviews. Please contact Celia Black at 425-512-7453 or celiablack@michaelhingson.com to arrange media appearances.
About Lighthouse for the Blind
Since 1935, Lighthouse for the Blind of Fort Worth has made a life-changing difference in the lives of individuals who are significantly visually impaired by providing skills enhancement, training and employment that empowers them to achieve their highest level of personal, economic self-sufficiency. The Lighthouse’s Industrial Division employs over 80 individuals who are legally blind to manufacture products such as energy dissipation pads, graffiti remover, hygiene kits, non-incendiary LED marking flares, fast pack shipping containers, copy paper and clear-barrel pens. Products are available for sale to commercial businesses as well as to local, state and federal government agencies. In addition to the industrial division, rehabilitation services provide mobility and orientation training, skills assessment, and independent living skills training to over 3,000 individuals annually. For more information about Lighthouse for the Blind of Fort Worth or to take a tour of the 80,000 square foot facility, contact Nancy Fisher, Community Development, nfisher@lighthousefw.org or 817-332-3341, ext. 7782.
About Michael Hingson
Michael Hingson in an internationally acclaimed speaker and author of the #1 New York Times bestselling book, Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog & the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero and THUNDER DOG the movie, to be released September 2014 by My Three Sons Films. Hingson is National Ambassador for the Braille Literacy Campaign, National Ambassador for the American Humane Association’s Hero Dog AwardsTM, and founder of “Roselle’s Dream Foundation,” which provides assistive technologies to blind children and adults. For more information visit: www.michaelhingson.com
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