[Ctabs] Justin Salisbury for NABS President

[Edward]

Kick ass, take names!
Edward
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Ctabs [mailto:ctabs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Justin Salisbury
via Ctabs
Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2014 7:44 PM
To: 'ctabs at nfbnet.org'
Subject: [Ctabs] Justin Salisbury for NABS President

Fellow Federationists:

Did you know that the National Association of Blind Students board, a bunch
of people I love, has a private agreement that presenters on the agenda
cannot run for officer positions? I think the mere fact that I am blowing
this whistle tells you where I stand on it. I am running for President of
the National Association of Blind Students (NABS) because I love NABS,
including my fellow board members, and don't like the way NABS functions
today. I was going to disappear from the board and NABS leadership because I
was discouraged.  I wanted to focus on chapter, affiliate, and division
development, legislative advocacy, and the broader initiatives of the
National Federation of the Blind. I wanted to "participate as an integral
part of the National Federation of the Blind," which I quote from the NABS
constitution, but I did not feel like NABS was a vehicle to do that.  I had
come to believe that the primary role of NABS had become a blind student
networking outlet. Thankfully, some friends and role models of mine from
Baltimore picked me up off the ground and told me not to give up on NABS.

We will not have to sacrifice the social element of NABS if we move it to
our peripheral attention. People love people, and I have faith that we will
always build personal relationships. I want us to focus more on activity
between the big, face-to-face gatherings that only happen a couple of times
per year. I want our board to be more hands-on as regional representatives,
and, fundamentally, I want to bring more organization to our organization.
The National Federation of the Blind is the organized blind movement. I have
led workshops and written an article in the Student Slate about creating
advertising directories in student divisions. This master email list through
which I am contacting you was my idea and my project. I want to focus on
unified communication structures for student divisions, like Facebook,
Twitter, and NFBnet email lists. The power that comes from being organized
is tremendous; a little organizing goes a long way. Then, we can focus on
both student-specific issues and the broader efforts of the National
Federation of the Blind. If we look around the country, college campuses are
hotspots for legislative advocacy. I want NABS to reflect this in the
organized blind movement.

I have a mind for organizing everything except my apartment. The more highly
we prioritize organization, the more organized we will be and the stronger
the organization skills of our members and leaders will be. 

I have the kind of love that enables me to work all night long to further
our movement, and it's because I love NABS and my fellow blind students that
I am not giving up on NABS. I always focus on preparing and empowering my
successors, evident in my article on leadership philosophy in the April 2014
Braille Monitor. I do not hold grudges. I grew up on a gravel road in
northeastern Connecticut and attended a regional high school on the UConn
campus. I attack a problem with the same tenacity and work ethic that has
produced two years of dual NCAA men's and women's basketball championships
from my hometown UConn Huskies. This job will not be easy, but I will not
give up on NABS.

I love doing the work of the Federation so much that I have left my top-ten
economics doctoral program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to attend
Louisiana Tech University to become a cane travel instructor. I am in the
pool of potential speakers for our agenda so that I can tell everyone how my
experience at the Louisiana Center for the Blind changed my life and career
path. I pray that I will have the opportunity to share my story, but I
understand that this would violate the private agreement within the NABS
board and will attempt to get it adjusted in my case. Whether I speak or
not, I am writing my story as another article to submit to the Braille
Monitor.

I am proud to be a national leader in our movement and even more proud to
have other national leaders supporting and encouraging me. I have a
decorated resume with many titles and accomplishments, but I want voters to
focus on my love for NABS and my fellow blind students, on the railroad that
we can build together, and on the effort to achieve equality, opportunity
and security for the blind.

I will be forever grateful for your vote, Justin Salisbury for NABS
President, at our national convention. I guarantee that countless other
blind students and non-students will be grateful, as well.

 

Love,

 

Justin Salisbury

Board Member

National Association of Blind Students

president at alumni.ecu.edu