Curtis Strong Center for the Visually Impaired

Curtis Strong was long known as a colorful storyteller and reader of poetry. A Colorado native, he spent his youth in the mountains near Evergreen. In 1936, he started his own business after borrowing $50 from his mother to purchase a dump truck. Soon after, he and a friend, Cassey Herren, formed the Herren & Strong Company. The company is credited with the construction of many of the highways and thoroughfares in northern Colorado, including U.S. 34 bypass through Greeley and U.S. 85 south of Greeley.

Strong remained in the construction business for most of his life and also invested in several local gravel pits and farms. During his final years of life, he suffered from macular degeneration, an eye disease that caused him to lose most of his vision. The blindness was devastating for this avid pilot and outdoor enthusiast.

After Curtis Strong passed away in 2000, the North Colorado Medical Center Foundation was the residual beneficiary of his estate, and received nearly $1.7 million. This funding established the Curtis Strong Center for the Visually Impaired.

Ensight Skills Center operates the Curtis Strong Center in Greeley. Ensight is accredited by the National Accreditation Council. The NAC is the standard setting and accrediting organization for agencies serving people with blindness or visual impairment.

The Center's typical client has a vision loss that cannot be corrected medically or surgically. Most clients struggle, even with corrective glasses, to read the newspaper, pay bills, follow a recipe, read food labels, or see the computer screen. The Center's purpose is to assist these individuals to maximize the vision they currently possess.