Braille Plus News and Information

What's New!

• 6/1/2005: Our staff and business partners are very excited to announce that we have begun development of a line of artistic braille greeting cards. Using input from braille users and our years of experience, these cards will be unique in the marketplace. Instead of “retrofitting” standard greeting cards by merely adding a bit of braille, we are starting from a new perspective. We plan to offer you a universal design card that we know will be special and meaningful to those who use braille and large print, and appeal to the general public as well. The product line will include cards for many occasions, including birthday, wedding and anniversary, get well and seasonal greetings.
  
  
• 1/1/2005: The Braille Plus, Inc. officers and directors offer their congratulations to the American Braille Career School staff and students for the great progress they’ve made during the past year. Their hard work is to be commended. A career in braille transcription can enhance many lives . . . in many ways. The future of braille production and braille usage is in your hands!
  
  
• 8/15/2004: Happy Anniversary to us!! Braille Plus was established 13 years ago today. We have been privileged to answer many of your questions. For example: “Who can produce this university-level calculus textbook in a combination of braille graphics and audio text?” “Who can do all types of alternate formats for our national conference program?” “Who can create tactile graphics cute and meaningful enough for our kid’s storybook?” “Who can master and produce a large enough quantity of every type of alternate format for maps, schedules and directions for the Winter Olympics?”
  
  Every day brings a welcome challenge and another opportunity to help you offer printed information to your students, customers, parishioners, volunteers, constituents, clients, family and friends. We have enjoyed getting to know you and working with you in person, by phone and online. We thank you for your confidence in us and the services we offer.
  
  
• 1/1/2004: Braille Plus is proud to announce a new opportunity for you to become a certified braille transcriber. A new division of our corporation, the American Braille Career School offers training online and onsite. This training can prepare you for a new and satisfying career that is in demand by schools and transcription companies. There are also many opportunities to be self-employed or to use your new skills as a volunteer. Please click the “Braille School” button on the Braille Plus banner to get more information.
  
  
• 9/25/2003: We are very pleased and excited to announce the launch of our totally reconstructed Web site that you are now visiting! The site contains several new features to help you learn more about our complete alternate format services plus information about blindness and visual impairments. Through education and experience, we have become authorities in these areas and we are happy to share that knowledge with you. We know that you may have come to our site because you are doing research for a school project about braille, have questions about assistive technology, need definitions of vision related terms you heard on the news, or have a personal interest in vision loss. Through the Glossary, Articles, Resources and various links, we can now help you by providing valuable and easily accessible information.

• 3/10/2003: To better serve our customers and to provide appropriate workspace for our growing staff and new state-of-the-art equipment, we are doubling our office space! The space that looked so huge just eight months ago is now bursting at the seams -- thanks to our loyal customers. Planned remodeling includes fresh paint everywhere, upgraded electrical system, and accessible rest rooms and parking.

• 2/15/2003: The February 2003 issue of Convene magazine contains an article co-written by Davey Hulse, CEO of Braille Plus, Inc., and Cricket Parks, Certified Meeting Planner. The article addresses the issues involved in planning meetings that are accessible for those who are disabled, from registration to housing to etiquette. Convene magazine is the official publication of the Professional Convention Managers Association which focuses on issues critical to both planners and suppliers in the meeting industry.

• 2/1/2003: We are pleased to announce the creation of a new position in our company - Service Coordinator. This important team member will be your guide as you discuss all of your alternate format needs and develop a plan to meet them with the help of our company. The new Bid Request Form found on our site has been created to make this process easy and quick.

• 12/6/2002: The Oregon Commission for the Blind has honored Braille Plus with its 2002 "Business of the Year" award! Vera Randall, President, and Davey Hulse, CEO, attended the awards ceremony in Portland, Oregon to receive the beautiful plaque. In past years this award has been given exclusively to businesses who employ workers who are blind. The Commission voted unanimously in favor of Braille Plus because of our innovative and quality alternate format services that provide access each month to thousands of people who are blind or visually impaired. Another aspect of our company that influenced their decision was the work experience opportunities we provide for students of the Oregon School for the Blind as they begin to enter the world of work.

• 11/1/2002: Plans have been finalized for remodeling our office space to upgrade our audio recording capabilities. Work should be completed before the end of December. Our plans include adding digital recording and editing equipment and software, enhancing the acoustics and doubling the number of studios.

• 8/15/2002: Several new staff members have joined our team this month. Each brings a unique set of skills in such areas as production data entry, digital production, automation support, accounting, customer service, editing and data base setup. Braille Plus is growing to serve all your needs for alternate formats!

• 07/08/2002: We are pleased to announce that we have just hired another experienced, NLS - certified braille transcriber to add even more expertise to our staff. He joins us after years of transcribing for the Portland School System.

• 07/15/2002: Braille Plus, Inc., would like to announce the new launch of our web site. Our new site design will allow us to expand and provide our customers more information and resources online. Bookmark our site and visit again soon!

• 07/25/2002: We are very excited to announce that we are opening a new office in Salem to expand our alternate format production. Since our volume of business has increased by more than 300% since January 1, 2002, we are moving into a new facility to continue to serve all your needs to the very best of our ability. More information will be posted soon. In the meantime, please continue to use the posted contact numbers and addresses.