There was a packed house at the Carl C. Morgan Convention Center Thursday as people from all over the Black Belt came to attend the Low Vision Conference and Assistive Technology Expo.

The Visually Impaired People, Inc. organization, the Alabama Department of Senior Services, The Area Agency on Aging and the City of Selma sponsored the Expo.

VIP founder William Bowman said the event was designed to give those who are blind or have low vision a chance to speak with medical experts and learn about the wide range of assistive technology available.

Area residents were also the first to learn of a new change in Alabama voting systems, when Secretary of State Nancy Worley debuted new Braille and large print voting guides for visually impaired voters.

The guide is also available on audio cassettes and in a large-print edition.

By 2006, new technology will ease the voting process for the visually impaired as part of the Help America Vote Act, Worley said. Until then, Worley said she would provide magnified sheets at absentee ballot locations and polling precincts in all 67 counties.

“While we are very concerned with increasing overall voter turnout in Alabama, we think it is most important to help ease the process for persons who really do want to vote, but are hampered by a disability,” she said.

Braille and large print editions of the voting guide are available in centers that provide services for the visually impaired. Audio cassettes are available through the Library for the Blind and the Alabama School for the Deaf and Blind.

Vendors also had tables set up across the convention center displaying items frequently used by the visually impaired and information about helpful programs.

“I am very thrilled with the way the Expo turned out,” Bowman said. “There was wonderful turn-out and it was a great educational opportunity for people to learn about eye care.”

The program began with Dr. Brendan Wyatt, M.D., who spoke about the importance of early eye screenings and the dangers of cataracts and glaucoma.

Wyatt was followed by Julie Brock of the OASIS Program and Debbie Culver of Blind Services for the Department of Rehabilitation Services.

Culver said the Department of Rehabilitation Services tries to help visually impaired people find careers and have their needs met.

“Once our clients finds a job that is suited for them, the case is not closed,” she said. “We continue to follow clients to see how changes in the work force affect their ability to perform and try to help them.”

The next speaker, Dr. Benjamin Harris of Primary Eye Care, defined the definition of being legally blind.

“Legal blindness is a confusing term,” he said. “It deals with the best corrective vision. A patient is measured by how a person sees with their glasses, not without their glasses.”

Harris said if patients can see the big letter E on an eye chart, then they are not legally blind.

Bowman ended the first half of the Expo with a quick synopsis of his life growing up visually impaired and gave words of encouragement to the audience.

“I am legally blind, but I didn’t let it stop me,” he said. “Don’t ever be ashamed to ask for help.”

Bowman also spoke about how everyone should make an appointment with their doctor the moment they begin to notice blurry vision.

“All the speakers we had today were very informative,” Bowman said. “They got straight to the point without using a lot of medical terminology and I think our guests really appreciated that.”

The Expo was a free event and many of the visitors also got to leave with some door prizes.

– The Associated Press contributed to this report.