APH Press Release
Two APH Employees to Retire After 94 Years Between Them
Both stayed at the American Printing House for the Blind Because They Liked Helping People Live Independent Lives
Louisville, KY – Two employees at the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), the world’s largest company devoted solely to researching, developing, and manufacturing products for people who are blind or visually impaired, will retire at the end of this year after having served 94 years between the two of them. Both credit the mission of the organization to promote the independence of blind and visually impaired persons, and friendly co-workers, as the reasons for staying in their jobs so long.
Phyllis Williams will retire on December 30, 2011 after 48 years at APH. She is one of APH’s all-time longest-serving employees. She was hired to type packing slips and invoices on a manual typewriter for the Business Office (now called Accounting). Currently she is Supervisor of Inventory Control and reports to CFO Bill Beavin.
Ron Gadson will retire on December 30, 2011 after 45 years and 9 months at APH. Ron started in 1965 as a general machinist. Throughout the years he was Supervisor of the machine shop, Supervisor of machine shop and building maintenance, Division Manager over the machine shop and building maintenance. Some of his work involved rebuilding standard presses to accommodate the creation of braille. Currently he is in charge of Special Projects, Machine Shop and Building Maintenance.
About the American Printing House for the Blind
The American Printing House for the Blind, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is the world’s largest company devoted solely to researching, developing, and manufacturing products for people who are blind or visually impaired. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest organization of its kind in the United States. Under the 1879 federal Act to Promote the Education of the Blind, APH is the official supplier of educational materials for visually impaired students in the U.S. who are working at less than college level.
APH manufactures textbooks and magazines in braille, large print, recorded, and digital formats. APH also manufactures hundreds of educational, recreational, and daily living products. APH’s fully-accessible web site (sites.aph.org) features information about APH products and services, online ordering of products, and free information on a wide variety of blindness-related topics. One popular feature of the site is the Louis Database, a free tool to help locate accessible books available from organizations across the U.S. APH products can be ordered through Louis.
The American Printing House for the Blind, Inc. is located at 1839 Frankfort Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky. For more information, call (502) 895-2405 or log on to archive.aph.org.
