<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>The next meeting of the At-Large chapter will be on Tuesday, March 15. Remember the National President’s message begins at 7:30 and the meeting begins at 8. For your convenience, the calling number is 641-715-3272. The access code is 720125. Please read the minutes below. We look forward to hearing the new activity that you tried. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Talk to you on March 15, <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><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, February 16, 2016<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The meeting was called to order at 8:00 P.M. via conference call by Marguerite Woods. There were around 15 people on the call. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Several federationists recently went to Annapolis to discuss issues important to the federation, and a piece about the endeavor will be featured on MPT. There will be more about this in Sharon’s monthly email message.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The bill regarding rights of blind parents in custody disputes will be looked at in March. Sharon will provide more information about contacting legislators to support this bill.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sharon announced that there are some decisions coming up concerning the library for the blind and invited us to contact legislators on the library’s behalf. The decisions will involve adding more staff members and cutting money from the budget for the library. Contact information for legislators and the time to contact them will be in Sharon’s monthly email message and will be sent out by robocall for those who do not have email. Anyone needing this information can also contact Marguerite. We discussed how adding staff to the library is important because many people are leaving for various reasons, and patrons are not always getting the materials they need on time.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>There is a conference call the first Thursday of each month for those who have diabetes. The number is the same as the one for our calls. Sharon said even people who have had the condition for a long time are learning things, so it is a great resource.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Anyone who hasn’t paid dues yet to the chapter should do so. They are $5 and can be sent to Sharon or paid through PayPal at nfbmd.org.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Tickets will be available for a raffle that will take place throughout the month of May. Tickets are $5 each. Winners will receive $50 for winning Sunday through Friday and $100 for winning on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We were updated on the case involving Yasmin, who sewed Montgomery County with the help of the NFB for not providing her with accessible software to enable her to do her job. The case is currently in federal court in Greenbelt. Sharon said she will announce when closing arguments will be so people can go and show their support.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We were joined on the call by two guest speakers from Vanda Pharmaceuticals to discuss the disorder Non-24. It is a rare disorder that can affect people who do not have light perception and causes them to have weird sleep schedules because the clock in their brain does not stay aligned with the 24-hour day. Non-24 is a circadian rhythm disorder; circadian meaning “around a day” or “24 hours”. It was explained that most people’s brains actually run on a clock that is not quite 24 hours, but the brain knows to reset itself from the presence of light. However, this does not happen in those without light perception. Many physicians are not familiar with the disorder. There is medication available for those who have Non-24, and anyone wanting more information on it should talk to their doctor or call Vanda. Suggestions were given for improving sleep which can be used for anyone regardless of whether they have the disorder, including keeping the room temperature low, taking a warm bath, relaxing before bed, not having noise or lights from televisions or other electronics, and using a steady noise such as a fan. Anyone wishing to contact Vanda Pharmaceuticals about Non-24 should call Roya at 240-428-6717.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sandra gave us some information on the Marrakesh Treaty, which first came about in 2009 and was updated in 2013. It increases the availability of copyrighted Braille and electronic materials across different countries. President Obama has ordered congress to approve it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sharon told us about a big case the NFB recently won in Maryland involving absentee ballots. She explained that ballots have been available online for people to vote who are overseas in the military, and the NFB said these should also be available to those who are blind. This will now be the case, and those who are blind will now be able to access a ballot online and vote independently beginning with Maryland’s primary election in April. The ballot will have to be printed and mailed.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>BISM will hold an IPhone workshop at the library on March 9. It will be all day and includes lunch. Anyone interested should register with Sabrina Richardson at BISM.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>There was also a reminder about the workshop on Unified English Braille, or UEB, at the library on April 9 at 12:00 P.M.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>There was a discussion about dating and how it is affected by vision loss. It was said that the other person must be willing to accept you for you. It was agreed that people should try to continue the activities they always participated in before they lost their sight, and churches and other social activities are good for meeting new people. It was discussed how things like looks can be challenging because you want to make sure the person you are with looks nice, but it can be awkward to ask. It was pointed out that you learn a lot about someone the more time you spend with them, and you can use things like listening to them talk or walk, smells, and other cues to pick up information about them. Marguerite said that being more confident in herself and her blindness skills has made things easier, but she still has questions at times. Sharon shared a story about being afraid to go out with a sighted guy because she didn’t want to have to ask where the restroom was but finally decided he used it too and said we need to get over such things.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Many activities were named during our dating conversation, and Sharon suggested we try a new activity and report how things went to the chapter.<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></div></body></html>