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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#0F243E'>Dr. J. Webster Smith<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#0F243E'>President, National Federation of the Blind of Ohio<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#0F243E'>PO Box 458 Athens, OH 45701<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#0F243E'>740-592-6326<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#0F243E'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#0F243E'>“Changing what it means to be blind”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#0F243E'>For more information go to nfbohio.org<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> J.W. Smith [mailto:jwsmithnfb@frontier.com] <br><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, March 01, 2012 10:57 AM<br><b>To:</b> 'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'; Aleeha Dudley; Anne Marble; Annette Anderson; Barabara Fohl; Barbara Pierce; Becky Booth; Beth Debus; Carol Akers; Colleen Roth; Crystal McClain; deannaandpascal@gmail.com; Debra Baker; Dr. JW Smith; Eric Duffy; Mary Pool; Paul Dressell; Richard Payne; Shelbi Hindel; Sheri Albers; Sherry Ruth; Steve Vincke; Susan Day; Wanda Sloan; William Turner<br><b>Subject:</b> Buckeye Update for March 1st<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I can’t believe it’s March, and that we are just about done with Winter, at least I hope so! Because of its importance, I want to begin with a plea from the editor of our newsletter, Barbara Pierce:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“<span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>I will be closing the newsletter soon, but as usual I need Buckeye Brief information. Please send me any election results or other short pieces of news that we should be circulating around the organization. My email address is <a href="mailto:bpierce@nfb.org"><span style='color:windowtext'>bpierce@nfb.org</span></a>.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Washington Seminar<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>We had a great trip once again to Washington this year, and as you’ve seen in recent e-mail traffic, we are fast at work trying to close as many legislative loops as possible. Now would be a good time for you to invite your congressional representatives to your chapter meetings or other relevant NFB-O activities in your area. It is very important that we try to gather as much support as possible for the pending legislation in the house known as HR3086. This bill addresses the issue of the unfair wages being paid to some of our brothers and sisters, and in fact some of them work in Cincinnati. Even if you can’t invite your representatives to your chapter meetings, do what you can to effectively convey our need for passage of this bill, even in your district offices. In other words, if they won’t come to you, make arrangements to visit them, or at least call. We took a smaller group to Washington this year, and it may even be smaller next year; especially since we will be losing two more representatives as a result of the recent census and congressional redistricting. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Update on Two Fundraising Opportunities<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>On Sunday, May 20<sup>th</sup>, from 1:00-5:00PM, I will be hosting my fourth NFB-O Fundraising Concert. It will be held at the Athens Community Center, located at 701 East State Street, and in addition to several bands and individual performers, I will be introducing my first secular CD, entitled “24 Hours with Dr. Feelgood.” I would love to have as many of you join me as possible on that day, and help me raise as much money as we can for our affiliate. This will probably be the last such fundraising concert of this type, given the fact that our University will be going to a semester system this fall, and our calendar will be drastically different next year. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>On February 19<sup>th</sup>, I met with a group from the local Delta Gamma Chapter, and I am pleased to tell you that they are excited about helping us organize and implement a statewide 5K run/walk fundraising and information raising event. We’ve agreed that it will be held in Columbus, and it looks like we will be able to get a significant number of the Delta Gamma chapters from around the state to participate in this event. We are pushing for it to be in the fall, and of course I am targeting October, for obvious reasons (Meet the Blind Month). As I get more details, I will be asking for the input from those in our own affiliate who are most interested in this event, and putting you together with these fine ladies from Delta Gamma to come up with what I think could be a very successful fundraising and public awareness raising activity for us, not just for this year, but perhaps for a few years to come. I will keep you posted and perhaps at the board meeting in April, I will have even more to report about this.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Upcoming Board Meeting and the National Convention<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Here is a recent e-mail message from Paul Dressell:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“Arrangements have been made for the NFB-O April 21st Spring Board Meeting to be held in the community room on the fourth floor of the Cincinnati Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired located at 2045 Gilbert Avenue. More information to follow.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I know not everyone will be able to attend the meeting in April, so I am thinking about ways that we might be able to include you via telephone if not for all of the meeting, at least for some. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I hope that you have, or are thinking about making your reservations for the National Convention in Dallas, Texas this year, and for your convenience I am attaching two, or enclosing with this update another copy of the Financial Assistance Information for this year. Please keep in mind that we are limiting our support up to 250 dollars per person, and that convention registration and banquet tickets have gone up, just like everything else this year. I want to close this update with information submitted to me regarding Wanda Sloan: </span>Wanda Sloan is attending JAWS training at the CSC for job training for Innforcision. This is a stay at home situation. We wish her luck with her future endeavors.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#0F243E'>Dr. J. Webster Smith<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#0F243E'>President, National Federation of the Blind of Ohio<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#0F243E'>PO Box 458 Athens, OH 45701<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#0F243E'>740-592-6326<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#0F243E'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#0F243E'>“Changing what it means to be blind”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#0F243E'>For more information go to nfbohio.org<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>