[IABS-Talk] President Riccobono's notebook for the week of January 18

[Marilyn Green]

2021 Washington Seminar Legislative Priorities – Fact Sheets:

The fact sheets for our
2021 legislative priorities
 have been posted to the website. This year we have decided to bring
four issues to Capitol Hill: the Access Technology Affordability Act,
the Medical
Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act, the Twenty-First Century Mobile
Apps and Website Accessibility Act, and the Americans with
Disabilities Voting Rights
Act. With these priorities, we strive to remove obstacles to economic
opportunity, home-use medical devices, websites, and civil rights.

COVID-19 Memorial:

The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) is hosting a memorial to
remember and honor the lives lost to COVID-19. On January 19 at 5:30
p.m. eastern,
Americans are invited across the country to come together for a
national moment of unity and remembrance. As part of the memorial, the
National Federation
of the Blind has on our building’s rooftop digital sign an image of a
lit candle on a black background with the words “In remembrance” above
it. We send
our love to blind Americans, family, friends, and everyone impacted by
COVID-19. Learn more about the memorial at
https://bideninaugural.org/covidmemorial/.

Presidential Inauguration:

Audio Description, live closed captioning, StreamText captions, and
ASL are available for the National COVID-19 Memorial (January 19) and
the Inauguration
of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris (January 20). For the audio
description, ASL, and caption links, visit
https://bideninaugural.org/accessibility/.
For the schedule of events, visit
https://bideninaugural.org/schedule/.

Apply for 2021 Bolotin Awards:

The National Federation of the Blind is accepting nominations of
individuals or organizations who are a positive force in the lives of
blind people and
help us transform dreams into reality. Each application must include a
letter of recommendation.
Learn more and submit a nomination for the 2021 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards.

Scholastic’s Dragon Masters:

Dragon Masters is a book series from Scholastic written by Tracey
West. The series is about the adventures of a variety of
eight-year-old boys and girls
who are teamed up with dragons. In book sixteen of the series, Tessa
is the Dragon Master to the Sound Dragon, Sono. Tessa is clever,
brave, and blind.
Access BRF files of the book series at
https://www.actionfund.org/resources/dragon-masters.

Braille Readers Are Leaders:

The 2020-2021 Braille Readers Are Leaders contest reading period ended
on January 18, 2021. This means it is now time to complete and submit
your reading
log. Download the form by visiting
https://www.actionfund.org/bral,
and submit the log by emailing it as an attachment to
BrailleReadingContest at actionfund.org.
Remember, to have your reading counted you must submit it by February 1.

Thanks to Missouri Chapter:

Special thanks to our NFB of Missouri Kansas City Chapter for
generously contributing to our organization. Support from our chapters
and affiliates is
essential to our efforts to get it done in 2021. We will all build the
National Federation of the Blind together.

Dates to Keep in Mind:

(all times eastern)

list of 12 items
•
January 18:
Braille Readers Are Leaders
 registration (and page count) deadline
•
January 28:
Smart Cities Summit,
12:00-8:00 p.m.
•
February 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m.
•
February 8:
Washington Seminar
 Great Gathering-In
•
March 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m.
•
March 24-26: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium
•
March 31:
Scholarship application
 deadline
•
April 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m.
•
April 15:
Bolotin Awards
 nominations deadline
•
May 2: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m.
•
June 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m.
•
July 6-11: NFB National Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana
list end



-- 
Marilyn Green, President
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois
312-343-8396
www.nfbofillinois.org