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Williams Sound News Release

SUCCESSFUL SATH 10th WORLD CONGRESS WRAPS UP

MIAMI, FL – Williams Sound Corp. of Eden Prairie, MN attended The SATH 10th World Congress for Travelers with Disabilities and the Mature on January 11 – 15, 2006 at Hilton Miami Airport Hotel, Miami, Florida. This is the Disability Travel market’s premier educational event. This annual gathering attracts about 300 progressive travel professionals who are finding out new ways to be profitable in these challenging times.

This year’s theme was “Catch 10/30,” celebrating the SATH Congress’s tenth anniversary and the organization’s 30th.  This year’s keynote speaker was Aldo Papone, Senior Advisor for American Express Travel Related Services Advisory Board. Mr. Papone was the first Keynote Speaker ten years earlier, and offered a look back to accessibility then and projections for the future.  Also addressing the Congress were Terry Dale, CLIA President, and Jack Anderson, CTC, Vice President Marketing for Carnival Corporation, the recipient of the 2005 SATH Access to Freedom Award.
 
The World Congress was attended by many veteran travel agents, tour operators and suppliers as well as many newcomers. Each year brings more awareness of this “niche” market of 54 million Americans. Destinations, cruise lines, attractions, hotels, and airlines are responding to meet the special needs of travelers with hearing, vision, mobility, cognitive, and hidden impairments.

The Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality (SATH) is a non-profit educational organization that has actively represented travelers with disabilities since 1976. SATH's mission is to promote awareness, respect and accessibility for travelers with disabilities and the mature and educate the travel, tourism and hospitality industry on becoming more accessible for persons with disabilities.
SATH works vigorously for the creation of a barrier-free environment (architectural and attitudinal) throughout all segments of the travel and tourism industry, in the United States and abroad. The Society's efforts bore fruit in the access section of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and in the Air Carriers Access Act.

To raise awareness and provide detailed training on how to serve and market to travelers with disabilities, SATH organizes conferences and has sponsored the World Congress for Travelers with Disabilities and the Mature since 1997. Travel professionals like Williams Sound Corp. on completion of the Congress gain not only knowledge about disability travel and how to serve them efficiently, but also how to remain current on the latest developments in this segment. Contact Williams Sound Corp. at 800-843-3544 to learn more about their tour guide systems and other hearing assistance equipment for travel. For additional information about SATH, please call 212 447 7284 or visit SATH’s web site at www.sath.org.