{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Former Marine to be featured speaker at 'Lights Out Dinner in the Dark' March 21 &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"IA8UG6vCjR\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/former-marine-featured-speaker-lights-dinner-dark-march-21\/\">Former Marine to be featured speaker at &#8216;Lights Out Dinner in the Dark&#8217; March 21<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/former-marine-featured-speaker-lights-dinner-dark-march-21\/embed\/#?secret=IA8UG6vCjR\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Former Marine to be featured speaker at &#8216;Lights Out Dinner in the Dark&#8217; March 21&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"IA8UG6vCjR\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/2-col-Freeman-speaks.jpg","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":291,"description":"A Kentucky Marine who lost his sight, and both of his legs, while deployed in Iraq in 2007 will be the featured speaker this year at \u201cLights Out Dinner in the Dark\u201d \u2014 a fundraising event designed to provide a greater appreciation for the challenges people with disabilities face on a daily basis. Dr. Travis Freeman, an ordained minister and adjunct professor of religion at the University of the Cumberlands, is organizer of the dinner, and said Cpl. Matt Bradford\u2019s story is a striking example of how people can overcome and even thrive despite difficult disabilities. \u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to it,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cWe are going to have a dialogue right there at the dinner. His story is pretty amazing.\u201d The dinner will be held March 21, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at The Corbin Center. Bradford, a native of Nicholasville, was injured near Haditha, Iraq on Jan. 18, 2007 when he stepped on an improvised explosive device. Shrapnel pierced both his eyes, blinding him, and his left leg was blown off. His right leg was later amputated at the hospital. After multiple surgeries, and rehabilitation, Bradford reenlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in April 2010. He was stationed with the Wounded Warrior Battalion East before he retired in 2012. Bradford is married and the couple has three children. At \u201cLights Out Dinner in the Dark,\u201d those who attend are asked to eat their meal blindfolded. \u201cThe idea is to raise awareness and break down some of the barriers that exist between people who have disabilities and those who don\u2019t,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cLast year we had spaghetti and meatballs. This year, I think we will do chicken breast or grilled chicken and potatoes \u2026 make things a little more challenging.\u201d Freeman lost his in the summer of 1993 as a middle school student. His fight to overcome the hurdles that naturally came with sudden blindness were the subject of the feature-length film \u201c23 Blast\u201d and his autobiography \u201cLights Out: Living in a Sightless World.\u201d He is also president and CEO of The Freeman Foundation \u2014 an organization he created to promote the needs and potential of people with disabilities. \u201cThere are always challenges, but I have accepted the fact that this is the life the God has laid out before me and that He has a plan and continues to use me in my blindness,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cThat\u2019s really the message of my life and the message of the foundation. We all have disabilities and pain of some sort, blindness is just the issue that I have to deal with.\u201d Freeman organized a similar awareness-raising event called the \u201cLights Out Blindfold 5k\u201d which has taken place in Corbin the last two years. Runners are asked to navigate the course blindfolded with the help of a partner. A similar race was also run in Versailles last year. Anyone is invited to attend \u201cLights Out Dinner in the Dark.\u201d Tickets for the event are $15 for adults, and $10 for children 12 and under. They can be purchased online at www.travisfreeman.org or from Mary Freeman at Central Baptist Church in Corbin. Proceeds from the event are used, in part, to feed disabled orphans in an orphanage in Haiti."}