[Iabs-talk] Fw: Article from Quad City Times Local 2011 07 20

[Kelly Doty]

Check today's Quad City Times for the article below in which the Blackhawk Chapter is mentioned and some of its members quoted. It is in the Local Section (press 12). There is an e-mail address that the PR committee will want to note for future publicity for the convention. 

Kelly
----- Original Message ----- 
From: NFB-NEWSLINE Online 
To: Kelly Doty 
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2011 8:40 AM
Subject: Article from Quad City Times Local 2011 07 20


Bus service provideshandicapped access By Thomas Geyer tgeyer at qctimes.com Filing out of a Loop bus into the Front Street Brewery in Davenport, 10 Quad-City members of the Blackhawk Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois were hoping for a place to sit and maybe have a drink. It was too crowded. So they waited patiently as another Loop bus came and took them to the Bier Stube Bar and Grill in the Village of East Davenport. During a recent excursion by chapter members, their first stop on the Loop had been the Blue Cat Brew Pub in Rock Island for dinner. We like to get out of the house and have fun just like everybody else," explained Robert Gardner, of Hampton, Ill., who is president of the Blackhawk Chapter. Riding the Loop, also known as the riverfront circulator, is convenient because all buses are handicapped accessible, said Becky Passman, project manager and Iowa Quad-Cities Transit Coordinator for the Bi-State Regional Commission. The drivers also call out different landmarks and features for the benefit of tourists and visitors. That practice works well for anyone who is visually impaired and needs to hear the landmarks, Passman said. For members of the Blackhawk Chapter, a night on the town also is a chance for other visually impaired or blind Quad-City residents to learn about the organization, Gardner said. We need to find them and sign them up. Finding those potential members is important, he said, because "some people don't realize what's out there for them as far as help, and the events and stuff going on in the community. We like to get out and enjoy what the community has to offer," member Lois Montgomery, Moline, said. We like to have fun. One thing chapter members hope to find are restaurants and events that offer menus and programs in Braille, she added. Not a lot of blind people use the restaurants because the menus aren't in Braille," member Al Ayew-Ew, Davenport, said. It would be an attraction for us. The Blackhawk Chapter creates those menus for free, Montgomery said. Member Kevin Hildebrandt, East Moline, said he was glad to get out of the house for the evening. This is my first time riding the Loop and I think it's awesome. I love it. This is a Quark CopyDesk document! This is a Quark CopyDesk document! This is a Quark CopyDesk document!. This article is provided to you as a courtesy of NFB-NEWSLINE® Online for your sole use. The content of this E-mail is protected under copyright law, and is not to be distributed in any manner to others; infringement of our non-dissemination agreement is strictly prohibited. Allowing someone to have access to this material is in violation of the Terms of Use agreement that you electronically signed when you signed up for NFB-NEWSLINE® Online. Please do not forward this E-mail or its attachments to any other person or disseminate it in any manner. Thank you. The NFB-NEWSLINE® Team.