<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#954F72;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Hello All,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thank you Danielle for doing an excellent job on the minutes. Here they are. Read below:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Minutes for the At large chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>The meeting was called to order at 8:00 P.M. via conference call by Sharon Maneki.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>There were around 20 people on the call. Everyone announced themselves and, since our call was the day of Mardi Gras, each person said whether or not they had ever attended or been to New Orleans.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Sharon announced a raffle in which a person pays $5 for a raffle ticket, and a winner is chosen every day for a month. Prizes are $50 from Sunday through Friday and $100 for those who win Saturday. Anyone interested in purchasing a raffle ticket should contact Sharon. (410-715-9596)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Sharon also announced a basket bingo which will be Friday, March 13 in Catonsville to benefit the NFB of MD. Tickets are $20 ahead of time and $25 at the door. Contact Sharon for more information.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>There will be a musical program to benefit the youth programs of the NFB of MD on March 22. It will be at the Pikesville International Seventh-Day Adventist Church from 4:00-7:00 P.M.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>We will soon have a listserv for the At Large chapter. This will make it easy for us to communicate with one another, as those with email will be able to send an email to all those who sign up for the list. Those who sign up will also receive announcements concerning the NFB. Sharon will let us know the name of the listserv in the near future.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>The annual day in Annapolis was recently held, and a few people who were able to attend discussed their experiences. It seemed that everyone had a good time and felt like they were making a difference in promoting the issues of the NFB.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Sharon said that people are encouraged to write letters to the legislators on the committees that will be considering the issues important to us; mainly increased Orientation and Mobility for school-aged children and increased rights of disabled parents in child custody disputes. She said that if someone is unable to write a letter themselves, one can be written on their behalf and sent with their approval. An email with more information will be sent to those who have email, and those who do not will be contacted by phone.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Several people on the call shared stories of people they are familiar with who have experienced issues related to gaining custody of children while visually-impaired, illustrating the importance of this bill.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Sharon asked if everyone is now receiving the Braille Monitor in the format they prefer. Everyone agreed that they are, and issues people were having were addressed and clarified.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Marguerite Woods spoke about an article from the January Braille Monitor which was written by James Brown, the president of the NFB of Tennessee who was also recently named to the national board of the NFB. The article discussed changing what it means to be blind, and Marguerite made connections between the struggles of the blind for equality to those faced by the African-American community. She discussed how there are similar attitudes toward these groups of people and that they have historically been underestimated. She encouraged us to realize that we are all unique, and there is more to us than these characteristics or the labels put on us by society. It is up to us to choose how we define ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Judy Rasmussen also mentioned another article in the January Braille Monitor about college students in Florida who could not get the proper accommodations and how it negatively affected them academically. She connected this to the NFB’s current initiative concerning education, The Teach Act.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Sharon said that in honor of the NFB’s 75<sup>th</sup> anniversary, there is a goal to get 25 new members in the state of Maryland by the time of the state convention, which will be November 13-15 in Ocean City. She thanked those who invited new people to join the conference call and encouraged everyone to invite others to join us for future calls.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Sharon Haskins-Brown updated us on her job situation and said that, while she does not have a permanent position yet and knows it is difficult to get one at her place of employment, she has been promised one and has felt very welcomed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Several people discussed educating the sighted community and how we represent the entire blind community when we interact with sighted people, so we should do our best to interact with them and educate them in a polite respectful manner, even though we may be frustrated with them, our circumstances, or something completely unrelated.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Everyone agreed that this conference call with the new number was clearer than previous calls. The number is 530-881-1000 with access code 720125.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>The meeting ended at 9:00 P.M.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Submitted by Danielle Shives<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>Sharon Maneki, </b>President<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>National Federation of the Blind of Maryland<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>410-715-9596<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>