[Mn-at-large] NFB President's Notebook - week of 12/05/2016

Tue Dec 6 23:45:07 UTC 2016

President’s Notebook

National Federation of the Blind

Mark A. Riccobono

<mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>officeofthepresident at nfb.org

(410) 659-9314

Dear Fellow Federationists,

We have just completed a couple of busy days of 
meetings by the board of directors of the 
National Federation of the Blind. On Friday 
night, we had a donor appreciation dinner for 
those who have made significant financial 
contributions to our organization. It is 
sometimes overwhelming to examine the number of 
projects and the amount of work we get done in a 
year as an organization. When you think about it, 
the primary reason we are as effective as we are 
is that we have a strong committed corps of 
members who put in significant time and energy. 
It is these personal relationships we have with 
each other that allow us to tackle the big 
obstacles in our way. I encourage all leaders of 
the Federation to continue to take the time to 
build personal relationships with members, even 
as the pace of things we need to complete seems 
to increase. If we fail to know each other at a 
personal level, we will fail to continue to build 
the type of organization we want.

I wish that Melissa and I could make it to all 
the great Federation holiday parties that are 
being planned across the nation. It would be 
wonderful to share with each of you the great 
success we have had in 2016. Although we cannot 
be with you, please know that we appreciate the 
tremendous work and joyful energy you bring to our organization at all levels.

Critical Actions This Week:

Communications Survey:
As we close out 2016 and plan for 2017 and 
beyond, we are evaluating various aspects of how 
we accomplish our organizational goals. To help 
us plan, we would value your feedback on the 
NFB's organizational priorities, as well as which 
forms of communication are most useful and 
effective for you. This information will help us 
build a successful communications plan for the 
future. The survey is confidential and should 
take approximately five minutes to complete. 
Please distribute the link 
(<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/B9MR89H>https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/B9MR89H) 
far and wide. We encourage all willing 
participants to complete the survey by Monday, December 12.

Washington Seminar:
The Holiday Inn Capitol is accepting reservations 
for the 2017 Washington Seminar, which will occur 
from January 30–February 2. Please call (877) 
572-6951 or go to 
<https://nfb.org/washington-seminar>https://nfb.org/washington-seminar 
to make your reservations using booking code F7B. 
The rates are $188 for a room accommodating up to 
four persons, and the applicable tax is 14.5 
percent. These rates are good for check in as 
early as January 29 and check out by February 3. 
While the reservation deadline is December 28, I 
urge you to take care of this now before the 
holidays get too busy. If you would like to 
reserve a meeting room during the Washington 
Seminar, please contact Diane McGeorge before 
December 10 at (303) 778-1130, extension 219, or 
send an email to Lisa Bonderson at 
<mailto:lbonderson at cocenter.org>lbonderson at cocenter.org.

News:

New Product in the Independence MarketKNFB Reader Enterprise:
We are happy to introduce a new license-based 
version of our award-winning app in a new model 
called KNFB Reader Enterprise, currently only 
available from the Independence Market. You can 
purchase a two-device license for $99.99, a 
three-device license for $139.99, or a 
four-device license for $169.99. To purchase an 
Enterprise license that you can use with multiple 
devices, including in combination with both iOS 
and Android devices for yourself, call the 
Independence Market at (410) 659-9314, extension 
2216. You will still be able to purchase KNFB 
Reader for a single device in the App Store or 
Play Store. Soon, KNFB Reader Enterprise will 
also be available through approved distributors. 
If you are interested in becoming a distributor 
for KNFB Reader Enterprise, contact Scott White 
at <mailto:swhite at nfb.org>swhite at nfb.org, or call 
(410) 659-9314, extension 2231.

NFB-NEWSLINE® Ads
NFB-NEWSLINE will be providing holiday ads from 
the following retailers through December 31, 
2016: Ace Hardware, Babies “R” Us, Toys “R” Us, 
Jo-Ann Fabric, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Petco, Publix, 
Staples, Office Depot, Walgreens, and Kohl’s.

Braille Monitor:
The 
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm16/bm1611/bm1611tc.htm>December 
issue of the 
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm16/bm1611/bm1611tc.htm>Braille 
Monitor is now available.

Slam That!:
Some say that blind students cannot learn 
science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. 
The members of the National Federation of the 
Blind say “Slam that!” Dates and a location are 
now available for the 2017 NFB Youth Slama 
week-long, hands-on, STEM learning program for 
one hundred blind and low-vision high school 
students from across the country. This program of 
the NFB Jernigan Institute’s National Center for 
Blind Youth in Science will be held July 23-29, 
2017, at Towson University in Baltimore, 
Maryland. Individuals who are interested in 
volunteering to help the members of the NFB “Slam 
that!” and are available July 21-29, 2017, should 
apply at 
<http://www.blindscience.org/nfb-youth-slam-volunteer-page>http://www.blindscience.org/nfb-youth-slam-volunteer-page. 
The deadline to apply is January 31, 2017.

Dates to Keep in Mind:

·        December 9, 2016: Putting More STEAM in STEM, a Tactile Art Symposium
·        December 16, 2016: 
<https://nfb.org/santa-letters>Deadline for Braille Letters from Santa requests
·        January 30, 2017: Great Gathering-In
·        January 30-February 2, 2017: 
<https://nfb.org/washington-seminar>Washington Seminar
·        March 30-31, 2017: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium
·        March 31, 2017: Deadline for 
<http://www.nfb.org/scholarships>scholarship applications
·        April 15, 2017: Deadline for 
<https://nfb.org/bolotin-award-main>Jacob Bolotin Award applications
·        July 10-15, 2017: 
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm16/bm1611/bm161101.htm>National 
Convention, Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, Orlando, Florida
·        July 21-29, 2017: 
<http://www.blindscience.org/nfb-youth-slam>Youth Slam, Towson University
·        September 12-17, 2017: 
<http://blindmerchants.org/blast-2017/>BLAST, Nashville, Tennessee

The National Federation of the Blind knows that 
blindness is not the characteristic that defines 
you or your future. Every day we raise the 
expectations of blind people, because low 
expectations create obstacles between blind 
people and our dreams. You can live the life you 
want; blindness is not what holds you back.

Mark A. Riccobono
President
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 659-9314 | 
<mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>officeofthepresident at nfb.org

<https://nfb.org/>
National Federation of the Blind

                          <http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>
Facebook
     <https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice>
Twitter
     <https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind>
Youtube

The National Federation of the Blind is a 
community of members and friends who believe in 
the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every 
day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.

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