[Cinci-nfb] An Open Letter to the Members of the Cincinnati Chapter

[Eric Duffy]

An Open Letter to the Cincinnati Chapter
September 20, 2015

When I committed to serving as President of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, I determined that I would give all of the love, time, energy, and talent that I could bring to the organization and its members. I have made myself available to the membership every day, at all  hours, and in  many ways, including in person, by phone, email, text, conference calls, and so on. I have traveled to chapter meetings and events, including your White Cane Walk.

I am a member of all chapters and divisions in the organization by virtue of my presidency. This means that I enjoy the full privileges of membership in your chapter, including the right to vote. It is not possible to attend all chapter meetings, and that is probably a good thing for both the affiliate and for me.

The president has a great deal of responsibility to the organization and its members. I do my best to live up to that responsibility. One thing I am not and cannot be, however, is a referee. Unless a legal, moral, or constitutional issue arises, I cannot and will not take sides between factions within any chapter. 

I do not have the power to discipline the president, other officers, or members of a chapter unless the constitution, the policies of the organization, or the law is being violated.
I must support the chapter president unless he or she is unworthy of the support of the affiliate president for any reason. Does that mean I agree with every decision or action of  chapter presidents? No! But again I apply the Jernigan principle of support. If I agree with 51 percent of what the president does, he or she has 100 percent of my support. 

The recent controversy concerning when to hold the white cane walk has compelled me to write this letter. I have heard a number of people say that October 15 is White Cane Safety Day, and therefore that is when we should have the White Cane Walk.

Did you know that we use October to celebrate meet the Blind Month? This is not a month recognized in statute or by Presidential proclamation, but rather an opportunity created by the National Federation of the Blind to celebrate our accomplishments and to help spread the Federation's message.

Did you know that the President of the United States proclaimed October 15, 2014, as Blind Americans Equality Day? White Cane Safety Day was  mentioned only in passing.

In the current dispute it occurs to me to enquire what  the purpose of including CABVI and Clovernook in the White Cane Walk is? If it is to include to well-known agencies in the Cincinnati area for the purpose of educating them and having them walk beside us as equal partners or because they support the Walk in a number of ways including giving their employees  time off to participate and providing transportation and other support, then it seems to me that the Walk should be held when the CEO's of the agencies can be there. 
 The chapter president is the CEO of the chapter.  Certainly some decisions  must be put to a vote, But not every decision must be voted on. 

I  represented the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio in many meetings and in a variety of situations long before I was elected President. I took positions for the organization without always knowing what the president I was serving would do. But I knew that I had his or her support. That is what the president of your chapter should know. Your president should know this because you elected her president. 

When another president is elected,  that president should have your support whether or not you voted for him or her. That also means he or she should have the support of the president who just left office. 

I do not always agree with the Decisions made by the President of the United States. Even when that is the case, and even when I wish there was another President in office, I respect the office. I am always proud to be an American, and you should always be proud to be a Federationist. You cannot be proud to be a Federationist  if you are not giving the organization all that you have to give at every level, and our support begins at the local level.

I said above that I was not prepared to adjudicate differences of opinion within the Cincinnati chapter, and I have resisted telling you what to do in this situation. I have reviewed for you some obvious principles of governance of chapters. I would have thought that they were obvious to everyone. But I will conclude with stating one more obvious principle: I am not an appeals court for disgruntled chapter members. The state constitution has a process for using the state board as a court of appeals. that is radicle medicine, and I certainly hope that you do not resort to that process. You are a chapter of dedicated Federationists. You all are trying to live out your Federationism. Surely you can figure out how to use the democratic process to resolve your differences.

Yours in Federationism,
Eric Duffy