
PERSONAL HISTORY, TED HENTER, September, 1995

11800 31st Court North
St. Petersburg, FL 33716

Ted was born and raised in the Panama Canal Zone, and graduated
from the University of Florida in 1974 with a Bachelor's degree in
Mechanical Engineering.  His love of motor sports led him to pursue
motorcycle racing as a career.  He was in the top ten in the road
racing World Championship when he was blinded in a car accident in
1978.

Upon recovering from the accident Ted got busy on a few ideas he
had been developing.  The result was two inventions:  The Henter
Wheel Aligner and The Henter Hydraulic Suspension System, with
patents in four countries.  

Ted realized that as a blind engineer his opportunities were
limited, so he took several computer courses at the University of
South Florida.  With the help  of a friend he got a job as a
programmer in 1979.

In September of 1981 he went to work for Maryland Computer
Services, designing and developing the first talking computers for
blind people.

In 1987 Ted started his own company, Henter-Joyce, specializing in
computer access solutions for the disabled.  They have customers on
5 continents.  Their products are used by employees at Honeywell,
Pizza Hut, Federal Express, AT&T-Bell Labs, USA Today, McDonnell-
Douglass, Hughes Aircraft, and many other companies.  In 1995
Microsoft licensed HJ's Off Screen Model technology for making
Windows talk, to be included in future versions of Windows 95.

Ted is not only a leader in access technology.  In 1985 he won his
first of 6 National Championships for blind water skiers,  and
culminated his skiing career by winning the Overall gold Medal in
the 1991 World Championships.

Ted has been selected "For outstanding contribution to the
rehabilitation of citizens with disabilities" by the Florida
Rehabilitation Association, and is an "Up and Comer Entrepreneur"
according to Price-Waterhouse and the Tampa Business Journal.  He
serves on the Abilities of Florida Board of Directors, was
President of the Pinellas Chapter of the National Federation of the
Blind, and served with the Citizens to Assist the Physically
Impaired committee for the City of St. Petersburg.

Since 1978 Ted has made a total commitment to expand opportunities
for people who are disabled.  A disability can hold you back only
if you let it.  Henter-Joyce employs fifteen people, six of whom
are blind.  He is an inspiration to many people of all ages, and
appears occasionally as a motivational speaker for civic groups,
rehabilitation organizations, and schools.

Ted lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife and three
daughters.
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