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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Hi All, <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Remember our meeting will be Tuesday May 19. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'>Minutes for the At large chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'>Date: Tuesday, April 21, 2015<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'>The meeting was called to order at 8:00 P.M. via conference call by Sharon Maneki. There were around 20 people on the call.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'>We had a special guest for the call; the president of the National Federation of the Blind, Mark Riccobono. Everyone introduced and told him something about themselves.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>President Riccobono said sometimes it can feel like individual efforts are small and do not accomplish much, but putting many individual efforts together can accomplish a great deal. He said this is what’s unique about the federation.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>President Riccobono told us about himself. He told us he lost his sight as a child and was introduced to the NFB in High School. He was told he should learn Braille, but he felt this was unnecessary, so he declined. He went on to college and had a tough time.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>He attended his first NFB national convention in 1996, where he first began to truly learn about the federation. He said it is still fun to learn what the federation can do.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>President Riccobono met his wife, Melissa, in college, where he served as her student mentor. He invited her to join the federation, and they both became very active. He said they had many ideas for bettering things for people which have become reality. For instance, they saw a need for more Braille books for kids, which are now available at the Braille book fair each year at national convention.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Mark and Melissa came to Baltimore 11 years ago and have 3 children. He succeeded Marc Maurer as president of the federation in 2014. He said the federation has taught him that blindness isn’t what defines him and doesn’t have to keep him from learning what he wants to.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>He shared a story with us about a woman he recently spoke to from Detroit. She lost her sight in 2009 and has not left her apartment since. Although she is 82, he said she sounded like she still had a lot of life left in her. However, she is afraid she will end up in a nursing home because she does not know how to cope with her loss of vision. Although she was unfamiliar with the resources and services available to her, she had heard of the federation and recently made a large monetary contribution in hopes that it would help others. She is now being made aware of the services that are available and people are looking into what can be done for her. President Riccobono said this is why he does what he does; people like that woman still need to be reached.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>He told us he had just had a two-hour meeting just concerning legal issues; he said “We hire a lot of lawyers to sue a lot of people, but we’re the only ones doing it.”; we’re the only group fighting for the rights of blind people.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Concerning the at large chapter, he said it is good to be able to keep up with the federation this way and see how we can contribute.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>He encouraged everyone to come to this year’s national convention in Orlando, Florida. He said there is a goal at convention to break the world record for number of people holding umbrellas. The current record is 2,169, which he said should be easy to break. He said this is something that will be fun but will also raise awareness of the federation.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>National convention is July 5-10. Preregistration for discounted rates lasts until the end of May.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>In answer to a question about what exactly his job is, he said he is the CEO of the federation; he is in charge of hiring, training, and firing staff, helping formulate policies and programs, authorizing expenditures from the treasury and finding funding. He said his number one job is building the federation.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Charles brought up the topic of blind celebrities. President Riccobono said there are not many of them, and they have not had to struggle for things the way most blind people have. He said they would like to make a movie about Jacob Bolotin, who was a blind doctor and, though many would like him to be portrayed by a blind actor, there aren’t any famous blind actors, and it would be better if a more well-known actor played him to draw more awareness to the film. He said these are the kinds of issues that come up with blind celebrities so it’s a balancing act.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sharon Haskins-Brown said she did a commercial for BISM, and she has had many people tell her they do not know about blindness or what services are available. President Riccobono said there is a lot of literature available for people to share with others, and if there is any literature people think need to be added let the federation know. Sharon Maneki said we can go over some of the literature at our next meeting so we know what’s available, and it can be mailed to anyone who wants to give it out. She said that might be a good project for the at large chapter.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>President Riccobono said the goal for the 75<sup>th</sup> year of the federation is to get 750 new members. This sounds like a lot but, as we’ve already discussed, there are a lot of people who don’t know about us.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>He said commercials and national campaigns cost more money than we want to spend to raise awareness, but a lot has been done on the internet including a YouTube channel. He said the tools are available to make videos but ideas are needed for what videos should be made and people are needed to be in them. Anyone interested in viewing the YouTube channel can find it at www.youtube.com/nationsblind.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>He said the idea for a blind reality show has been raised many times, including one recently that would have followed a blind couple raising children, but there are many concerns about such a project. You don’t get to control the message that is presented, and real life is not what is wanted as much as drama. He gave the example that if a child of a blind person got hurt, it would be blown out of proportion, even though children always get hurt.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Judy Rasmussen shared a story that ran in the Braille Monitor about a chapter in New Mexico that prepared a video to share with the local police department to inform them about blindness.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>President Riccobono told us about the Center for Excellence, which is in the beginning stages. It is a program more than an actual physical place. They just received $250,000 for it, and it will be geared toward improving accessibility in technology.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sharon announced that the nominating committee for our chapter includes Judy Rasmussen, who is the chair, as well as Marla Sewell and Cheryl Fogal-Hatch. Anyone who would like to be considered for a position should call Judy at 301-946-8345 before the next meeting, which is when voting will be held.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The meeting ended at 9:00 P.M.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'>Submitted by Danielle Shives<o:p></o:p></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>