Jacksonville Journal Courier

% ISVI Celebrating 175 years

By Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree
REPORTER

Illinois School for the Visually Impaired is celebrating 175 years of education for those with visual impairments in the state with a series of events and activities.

From planting flowers to alumni gatherings and a gala, the school is trying to showcase its history and connect those it has served.

The school was established on Jan. 13, 1849, to serve the visually impaired population and, under various names, has helped expand services for students throughout the years, ISVI Superintendent Aimee Veith said.

“We’ve had a longstanding history of educating our students,” Veith said. “I think 175 years is a wonderful amount of time to be serving the community.”

The school has had smaller events throughout the school year and will continue to celebrate its history the rest of the year, Veith said.

This weekend, the school will have a gala to celebrate the actual anniversary of the school’s establishment.

Ahead of that, the school is welcoming back alumni to interact with current students.

At 1 p.m. Friday in the Joshua Rhoads Auditorium, several alumni will visit the school and speak with students about their time at ISVI, what they have done since graduating and sharing their own stories.

The event will include performances by the IS-VI choir and individual performances by students Sidney Horn and Gabe Gregson.

Guest speakers will include Ron Terhark, Dawn Chambers, Robert Sampson, Kim Batten and Greg Ketcham.

Winners of the Blind Children’s Foundation Essay Contest also will read their essays. They are Rico Oelker for the elementary school, Gregory Orr for the middle and high school category and Nevaeh Shores for the adult essay category.

“We’ve come up with several questions for our alumni to answer,” Veith said. “We really want them to connect with our current students.”

The gala will begin at 4:30 p.m. with a happy hour at Hamilton’s, 110 N. East St., followed by dinner, presentations and a performance by Duo De-Groove. Duo DeGroove consists of Robert Sampson, who is an ISVI graduate, and Jeff Newman.

“We have 186 people coming for the evening,” Veith said. “I really hope that the gala is a chance for our students to come home, because that is what ISVI is, their home.”

Alumni who are not able to make it to the gala were asked to submit their hopes and wishes for the school. Cards with those responses will be displayed on the tables at the gala.

“This is a chance for our alumni to be retrospective of their time here and for our students to learn about the history,” Veith said.

- Jacksonville Journal Courier