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

[Walter Mitchell]

Mr. President,

Thank you for some clarity on the contraversal issues. The issues that
confront our chapter has fueled my thoughts to run for president of our
chapter this November. I hope that the other chapter members have similar
thoughts.

See you Saturday.

Much Love,
Walter Mitchell

-----Original Message-----
From: Cinci-nfb [mailto:cinci-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Eric
Duffy via Cinci-nfb
Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2015 4:19 PM
To: NFB of Ohio Cincinnati Chapter List
Cc: Eric Duffy
Subject: [Cinci-nfb] An Open Letter to the Members of the Cincinnati Chapter

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
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