THE WHITE HOUSE

                       Office of the Press Secretary
                             (Houston, Texas)

       _____________________________________________________________
  For Immediate Release                                 June 19, 2000

           PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES LEROY F. SAUNDERS AS A MEMBER
                 OF THE COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE
                     WHO ARE BLIND OR SEVERELY DISABLED

     The President today announced his intent to appoint LeRoy F. 

Saunders to serve as a member of the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled.

Mr. LeRoy F. Saunders of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, served as the Executive Director of the Oklahoma League for the Blind from 1973 to 1992. Previously, he was Superintendent of the Virginia Industries for the Blind where he directed all agency operations including production and rehabilitation training. In addition, he is a past president of the American Council of the Blind and currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Foundation for the Blind, of the Oklahoma Council of the Blind, and of the Association of Education & Rehabilitation of the Blind & Visually Impaired.

The purpose of the Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled is to determine the fair market price of suitable products manufactured by the blind or severely disabled and offered for sale to the Federal government by non-profit agencies for the blind and severely handicapped.

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