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Press Releases
Guide Dog Day at the Capitol Brings Together 9/11 Survivor,
His Guide Dog, and the Guide Dog's Trainer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 3, 2004
SACRAMENTO — Michael Hingson, a blind man who escaped from the 78th floor of the World Trade Center with the help of his guide dog on September 11, 2001, will present this year's Guide Dog Instructor of the Year award on May 5, 2004.
The presentation, which will begin at noon, is the highlight of this year's Guide Dog Day at the Capitol, an annual event celebrating guide dogs, and the people who train and use them. This year's Guide Dog Instructor of the Year ceremony has special meaning for Hingson: the award winner is Todd Jurek, who trained Hingson's guide dog, "Roselle." "Roselle" will also be present at the ceremony.
Hingson has also served on the California State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind in the 1970s, having been appointed by Gov. Ronald Reagan.
More than 2,000 visually impaired Californians use guide dogs.
Guide Dog Day at the Capitol is sponsored by Guide Dog Users of California and the California State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind.
The Board, which is a part of the California Department of Consumer Affairs, licenses and regulates schools and persons in California that train and supply guide dogs for the blind. For more information, visit the Board's Web site at www.dca.ca.gov/guidedogboard.
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