For release October 10, 2007
Contacts:

Diane Lancaster Gibes, Kummer Kaempfer Bonner Renshaw & Ferrario, (702) 792- 7000 or dgibes@kkbrf.com

Dawn Christensen, Brown & Partners, (702) 967-2222 or dchristensen@brownpartners.com

LAS VEGAS – James (Jim) Smyth, a partner with the statewide law firm Kummer Kaempfer Bonner Renshaw & Ferrario (Kummer Kaempfer), has been appointed to the Blind Center of Nevada’s Board of Directors where he will assist the nonprofit in expanding public awareness, community involvement and employment opportunities for its clients.

The appointment follows more than a year and half of Smyth’s pro bono services to the nonprofit. Kummer Kaempfer has provided complimentary legal advice to the Blind Center of Nevada for several years as a result of long standing relationships between leaders of both organizations.

“The Blind Center has been strengthened by Jim’s legal advice and expertise due to the generosity of Kummer Kaempfer,” said Ronnie Wilson, president and chief executive officer of the Blind Center of Nevada. “The Blind Center will now benefit from his increased commitment to help serve the often over looked community of people dealing with vision loss. We arehonored to welcome Jim as he joins our dedicated board of community-minded business leaders. As the remarkable Helen Keller once said, ‘Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.’”

The Blind Center of Nevada offers programs and activities, both on and off-site, that encourage independence and improve the quality of life for individuals with visual limitations. Smyth’s involvement with the nonprofit became more personal recently when his mother had an accident that caused her to become blind. Smyth’s mother has become a member at the Blind Center of Nevada and was recently inspired to take her first yoga class.

“It’s an amazing organization that provides services and information aimed at helping people become more self-reliant and confident,” said Smyth. “It is comforting to know there is a place like the Blind Center here in Southern Nevada that can help my mother and so many others cope with a life-changing experience and provide them with a variety of services whether recreational or vocational.”

One of Smyth’s first priorities as a board member is to promote and further develop the agency’s revenue generating operations such as its computer recycling business and its holiday gift basket sales.

“It’s inspiring to see the difference the Blind Center makes through products and services it sells,” Smyth said. “These programs generate additional funding but more than that they provide career development, vocation rehabilitation as well as emotional support and friendships that some clients might not receive otherwise.”

Smyth is a native Nevadan who began as an associate at Kummer Kaempfer after being admitted to the State Bar of Nevada in 1997. His practice encompasses primarily construction, commercial litigation, real estate and land use and zoning entitlement litigation matters.

The Blind Center of Nevada is a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting blind and visually impaired persons of all ages in reaching their highest physical, social, intellectual, and economic potential. More information on the Blind Center of Nevada can be found at www.blindcenter.org.

Kummer Kaempfer is a prominent force in Nevada, serving local, regional, national and international clients in the real estate development, hospitality, gaming, manufacturing, service, high-technology, and energy and utilities industries. Founded in 1994, Kummer Kaempfer is one of Nevada’s largest law firms, specializing in complex corporate transactions, federal and state securities matters, commercial litigation, zoning and land use and regulatory law.

With offices in Las Vegas, Reno and Carson City, Kummer Kaempfer’s lawyers provide counsel to top corporations, business owners, corporate executives and individuals. Kummer Kaempfer is the Las Vegas member of Meritas, an affiliation of outstanding business law firms that serve international customers worldwide. The firm’s attorneys are routinely rated among the best corporate, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and litigation lawyers in Nevada, including high-ranking recognition by the prestigious “Chambers USA – America’s Leading Business Lawyers” since its inception in 2003. For more information about Kummer Kaempfer, call (702) 792-7000 or visit www.kkbrf.com. Kummer Kaempfer Bonner Renshaw & Ferrario, Ltd. is a Nevada professional corporation.