[il-talk] April HAWK TALK
Lmm3527 at aol.com
Lmm3527 at aol.com
Thu Apr 4 01:30:46 UTC 2013
National Federation of the Blind
of Illinois
Blackhawk Chapter
HAWK TALK
The monthly newsletter of the Blackhawk Chapter,
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois
April 3, 2013
Editor: Jean Rauschenbach
Contact info:
Lois Montgomery, President
3527 - 12th Avenue
Moline, IL 61265
(309)236-1675
_Lmm3527 at aol.com_ (mailto:Lmm3527 at aol.com)
It’s April and spring has sprung! I hope you’re enjoying the warmer
weather that we have been having. Don’t forget to come to our next chapter
meeting on Saturday, April 13th. Get the date marked on your calendar and
make plans to meet with your Federation family – you’ll be glad you did! We’
re all looking forward to seeing you there.
THIS MONTH’S MEETING
Our next meeting will be held on Saturday, April 13th, at 1:30 p.m., at
the South Moline Township Center located at 637 - 17th Avenue in East Moline.
Our program will focus on orientation and mobility. We will discuss how
one gains his/her independence through the use of the long white cane or the
guide dog. After the meeting, those interested are invited to participate
in a short walk to a nearby restaurant to practice his/her mobility skills.
LAST MONTH IN REVIEW
Twenty persons were in attendance to view the products available through
Magnified Vision. Andreas Heim demonstrated magnifiers (hand-held and
stationary) as well as a reader. Chapter members were given the opportunity for
“hands on” use with each item.
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Hello to all! Is the warm weather finally here? Let’s enjoy it! With
warm weather comes social events for the Blackhawk Chapter. Included in
these are traveling “The Loop”, attending a musical at the Music Guild, and a
swim party during the summer months. More info to come soon!
Good news! Added to the list of restaurants with braille menus is The
Windmill in East Moline. For your dining pleasure check it out, compliments
of the Blackhawk Chapter! If you frequent a restaurant and would like to
have the menu in braille, ask if that facility would be interested in braille
copies. If so, pass along the print copy to me and you will soon find a
braille copy at your fingertips! Happy dining!
I will be picking up the pledge forms to begin our biggest fund raiser of
the year (Birdies for Charity) on Tuesday, April 9th. Help out the chapter
by participating. You just might win the grand prize!
On Thursday, April 18th, I have been invited to an advocacy training
seminar to be held in Davenport. As part of the seminar, there will be a panel
discussion on which I have been asked to serve.
Although we’ve met twice, we continue to seek youth for Stepping Out, a
local program for junior and senior high students. A flyer has been
completed – would you help distribute it throughout the QC area? If interested in
mentoring or helping in any way, please contact me.
On Thursday, May 2nd, the chapter will participate in the 2013 Senior &
Low Vision Expo. This event will take place at the I Wireless Center located
at 1201 River Drive in Moline from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Volunteers are
needed to man the booth throughout the day. If interested, please contact
me.
May 10th & 11th is the date for the Parent Teacher Seminar to be held at
the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Chicago O’Hare in Rosemont, IL. This is a
great opportunity for parents of blind children to meet and interact with
others. For more info contact Pat Olson at 309-593-2692 or
_moonriver2682 at live.com_ (mailto:moonriver2682 at live.com) .
The 2013 National NFB Convention is fast approaching! Make plans now to
attend. It will be held July 1st - 6th at the Rosen Center Hotel at 9840
International Drive in Orlando. Reservations may be made by calling
1-800-204-7234. The room rates are $79/night singles, doubles, and twins;
$85/night triples and quads plus tax. There is no charge for children under 17
with accompanying parent as long as no additional bed is required. If you
are planning to attend, you may want to preregister and save!
Preregistration is available through May 31st. The fee to preregister online is $25,
compared to $30 on-site. Banquet tickets can be purchased online for $50, and
will be $60 on-site. To preregister online, visit
_www.nfb.org/registration_ (http://www.nfb.org/registration) . To mail in your preregistration,
download the PDF version of the form and mail it no later than May 31st to
National Federation of the Blind, Attn: Convention Registration, 200 East
Wells Street at Jernigan Place, Baltimore, MD 21230. Conventions change
people’s lives.
The Illinois Affiliate continues to gain momentum in preparation for the
2013 BELL (Braille Enrichment and Literacy for Learning) program. This is a
day program where the primary focus is on Braille. It includes components
of travel, adjustment to blindness and fostering independence. This
program will run two weeks from July 29th - August 9th at The Chicago Lighthouse.
It is aimed for grades 3rd through 9th.
Mark your calendar now for the NFBI state convention to be held October
25th - 27th at the Park Hotel and Conference Center in Bloomington. Room
rates are $99/night plus tax which includes continental breakfast buffet.
We, as a chapter, must work together to accomplish our goals. There’s
plenty for each and every one of us to do, regardless of your interests or
skills. Help with making reminder calls, transportation, or whatever you see
that needs attention; a few minutes of your time will go far and would be
greatly appreciated.
I look forward to working with you. Any concerns, comments, and/or
suggestions are welcome.
PEOPLE REPORT
Alma Sowers is recuperating from a recent fall at home.
BIRTHDAY CORNER
The following celebrate birthdays in April:
1 George Sowers
FUND RAISING
Have you purchased your 50/50 raffle ticket yet? If not, be sure to see
Lois Montgomery for your chance to win the pot! $1 each or 6/$5. The
drawing will be held at the May meeting. Good luck!
IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN! BIRDIES FOR CHARITY IS BACK!
Chip in for your chance to win!
Once again, the Blackhawk Chapter will participate in this great fund
raiser. Our chapter will receive every penny of pledged donations we collect
from this fund raiser -- plus a bonus (5%) from the Birdies for Charity Fund.
HOW IT WORKS
Make a one-time flat donation, or pledge one cent or more per birdie.
After the tournament (July 8 - 14), you’ll be mailed an invoice of your pledge
amount due.
AND . . .
Guess the number of birdies made by the Tour Pros during the tournament
for your chance to win the grand prize, a 2013 Chevy Equinox! Other contest
prizes will be awarded as well!
SO . . . BE A BIRD . . . CHIP IN TO WIN!
“Birdies” forms will be available at the chapter meeting. Those wanting
additional forms to give to friends should contact Lois Montgomery at
309-236-1675. Please talk to your family, friends, and neighbors about “Chipping
in for your Charity!” This is our biggest fundraiser of the year.
Remember to fill out a pledge for yourself, too!
AND . . .
There will be a prize given to the person who collects the highest number
of pledges, and another one to the person who collects pledges with the
highest dollar value.
UPCOMING EVENTS
May 2nd – Senior & Low Vision Expo at the I Wireless Center in Moline
May 10th & 11th – Parent Teacher Seminar at the Holiday Inn Express &
Suites in Chicago
May 11th – Next chapter meeting at Bennigan’s in Rock Island
July 1st - 6th – NFB National Convention in Orlando
July 29th - August 9th – BELL program at The Chicago Lighthouse
October 25th - 27th – NFBI State Convention at the Park Hotel and
Conference Center in Bloomington
TECH TALK
About Multitasking
The term “multitasking” has crept into our language, a word that came out
of the world of computers. In general, it means doing several things at
the same time. For example, washing dishes while listening to an audio
book. Or how about talking to someone on your cell phone while putting away
those washed and dried dishes.
On the computer, multitasking means the ability to have various files,
folders, or even several applications open at the same time. I’m not sure,
but I believe this was introduced by Microsoft when they introduced the
Windows operating system in the mid 90’s. The idea was you didn’t have to shut
down what you were working on to start working on something else.
For example, suppose you are writing something in a Word file, then want
to check your E-mail. You don’t have to shut down Word before you open
Outlook Express, or whatever you’re using for your E-mail. In that case, you
would simply open up your E-mail and leave your Word file open. In fact, let
’s say you had that Word file open, then opened up your E-mail to see what
was going on, then went and opened your Internet to look at a webpage
there. In that case, you could still have the Word file open, E-mail open, and
be looking at that webpage.
The beauty is you can jump back and forth between all those, and even copy
information from one to another. The trick is knowing how to do that with
a screen reader and the keyboard, which is a different process than a
sighted user would use with a mouse.
It’s simple. Hold down the alt key, then hit the tab key. As you
repeatedly hit the tab key, each of your applications will become active on your
screen, and JAWS will read what it is. When you get to the one you want to
work on or read, let up on the alt key and the tab key. Also remember, you
can close down one or any of those open applications by hitting alt-f4
when it’s the active application.
If you have questions, contact me.
Bob Gardner
_rgardner4 at gmail.com_ (mailto:rgardner4 at gmail.com)
309-236-6606
BOOK REVIEW
Got a book you found rather interesting to read? Why not share it with
others? Contact Lois Montgomery or Jean Rauschenbach with a short overview.
The Help
by Kathryn Stockett
Historical Fiction
Bestsellers
Jackson, Mississippi; 1962-1964. College grad and fledgling writer Eugenia
"Skeeter" Phelan searches for a book-worthy project. At the urging of an
editor, Skeeter interviews African American maids Aibileen and Minny about
their relationships with their employers. Violating integration laws, the
three women question their lives. Some strong language. Bestseller. 2009. –
BARD annotation
RECIPE CORNER
Help! We need your favorite recipe to share with other chapter members.
Bring it to a chapter meeting, email it to Jean Rauschenbach at
_rauschjc at gmail.com_ (mailto:rauschjc at gmail.com) or send it by snail mail to 3527 -
12th Avenue, Moline, IL 61265. Thanks! We can’t wait to test our taste
buds!
This month’s recipe comes from Lois’ friend, Jane Casanova. It sounds
delicious, quick and easy!
ANGEL HAIR PASTA SALAD
Ingredients:
1 lb. angel hair pasta
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons lemon seasoned salt
1 ½ tablespoons Accent
1. Cook pasta for 6 minutes, then drain.
2. Mix oil, juice, salt, and Accent well.
3. Pour over cooked pasta.
4. Refrigerate overnight in airtight container. Do not stir.
5. The next day combine
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 small can sliced black olives
1 cup Hellman’s (small jar)
6. Mix with pasta and serve.
Enjoy!
MEMBERSHIP PROFILE
LOIS MONTGOMERY
Lois is definitely not new to the NFB – she’s been around for quite some
time and is deeply involved in its philosophy. She has served at both
chapter and state level. She and husband, Russ, are charter members of the
Blackhawk Chapter; in fact, they were an important factor to its inception and
have been active since. “It’s (the NFB) in my blood and a part of who I
am today.”
Born with congenital glaucoma, Lois can relate to others when they
approach her to ask questions about blindness. “I know nothing else . . . I’ve
always had poor vision and didn’t accept my blindness until I joined the NFB
in my late 30's.”
Lois has served as chapter president, vice president, and treasurer. Once
again she is serving as chapter president. At the state level she has held
the position of board member, first vice president, and president.
Lois is kept busy serving on multiple committees, some of which include
advocacy, braille literacy, legislation, Newsline, and renewal. “Advocacy
and braille literacy are extremely important to me . . . There was a time in
my life when I was unable to read print and didn’t know Braille . . . I’
ll do whatever I can to prevent this from happening to others.“
Lois is a die-hard Midwesterner. She has lived in this area all her life.
Reared and educated in Orion, she attended public schools with “. . .
absolutely no assistive technology, no braille, no NOTHING! . . . ” Upon
graduation from high school she attended Black Hawk College where she received
an associate’s degree in psychology, again receiving no accommodations. She
later returned to Black Hawk where she received a certificate in medical
transcription. It was at this time she received accommodations such as
JAWS, magnification, and her textbooks on tape. “This is when I returned as a
blind student, not trying to hide my blindness. . . What a difference it
made! I was accepted as just another student . . . I enjoyed this time in
school much more than in my earlier days. . . “ She was inducted into Phi
Theta Kappa in March 1998.
Lois has worked as a medical transcriptionist, community advocate, and
contract management specialist. In 2008 she was nominated and inducted into
Who’s Who of Professional Women in America. Currently she serves as a
braille instructor for a visually impaired student at a local high school. She
is well-known throughout the Quad-City area through her advocacy on
blindness at schools and other local organizations.
When time allows she enjoys Nascar, reading, swimming, walks along the
river, advocacy work, and traveling. “I really enjoy helping other blind
individuals gain independence. Braille literacy and advocacy are my passion.
I want to see each blind individual, whether it be child or adult, reach
his/her highest potential. If I help just one person, I feel I have made a
contribution to society.”
Travels have taken Lois to Canada, Mexico, and Hawaii as well as many of
the 48 continental states. She has attended multiple Washington Seminars
and national NFB conventions as well as state conventions.
Lois uses the long white cane and Braille on a daily basis . Other
adaptive technology includes the Pac Mate, JAWS, Magic, Kurzweil reader, Duxbury
and braille embosser, CCTV, Victor Stream, and audio books. “I just LOVE
Newsline! . . . And Braille, it opened a whole new world for me! There was
a time when I couldn’t see print and I didn’t know Braille. When given
the opportunity, I ran with it!”
When asked what advice she would pass along to other blind individuals,
her response came quickly: “Take advantage of each opportunity presented to
you. Don’t be embarrassed of your blindness like I was and try to hide it.
Be proud of who you are. We, as blind individuals, can be just as
productive as our sighted peers in today’s society. Take one day at a time and
focus on the positive . . . ”
Print edition of this newsletter compliments of
Van Hoe Funeral Home, Ltd.
1500 - 6th Street
East Moline, IL 61244
(309)755-1414
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