Reps. Shirkey, Barnett, Brown, Constan, Daley, Durhal, Haines, Heise, Knollenberg, Poleski, Price, Shaughnessy and Tyler offered the following resolution:

            House Resolution No. 314.    

A resolution to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Michigan Braille Transcribing Fund.

            Whereas, It is with great respect that the members of this legislative body are proud to

join with the citizens of Michigan to recognize the 50th anniversary of the Michigan Braille Transcribing Fund; and

            Whereas, This largely volunteer effort by a few prisoners started in 1962 at the State Prison of Southern Michigan and has grown into a non-profit corporation now know in the industry as the Michigan Braille Transcribing Fund (MBTF); and

            Whereas, Since its inception, the MBTF has grown in its mission from providing brailled materials to blind students to enabling certified braillists the latitude to participate in the "hard to braille" projects such as municipal bus schedules, corporate manuals, menus, and textbooks requiring large amounts of drawing; and

            Whereas, Many benefits accrue to the MBTF staff. These individuals who otherwise would have little choice but to waste idle years achieving little and contributing nothing are given an opportunity to help others develop marketable skills and have a sense of community in the production of the braille materials; and

            Whereas, The federal government's formal recognition of braille transcribing as a profession is elevating the stature of transcribers in the workplace. Incarcerated braillists who parole can use their talents on the outside and have assurance through this recognition ; and

            Whereas, The MBTF is the oldest prison braille program in the United States and produced over four million of the five million pages in an American Printing House survey of twenty state prisons and three federal prisons that have some type of a braille program; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body

commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Michigan Braille Transcribing Fund; and be it further

            Resolved, That we remember all who have contributed to the success of the Michigan Braille Transcribing Fund and its preeminence in the industry.