[Mn-at-large] Fwd: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 11/ 14/2016

David Andrews dandrews at visi.com
Tue Nov 15 03:13:59 UTC 2016 

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>President's Notebook
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>National Federation of the Blind
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>Mark A. Riccobono
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><mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>officeofthepresident at nfb.org
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>(410) 659-9314
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>Dear Fellow Federationists,
>
>The presidential election is over and the 
>National Federation of the Blind is still on the 
>job. As you know, we work with every elected 
>leader on our issues since blind people are a 
>diverse cross section of society, and our issues 
>should be championed by all elected officials. 
>We are currently in the process of evaluating 
>the changes in Congress and the White House to 
>develop our strategy for the coming year. I 
>expect to continue moving our issues forward, 
>and we all should be planning to develop or 
>strengthen our relationship with our elected 
>leaders at all levels of government.
>
>We are moving into the end-of-the-year giving 
>season. This is a time when many general 
>donations come into the National Federation of 
>the Blind. I urge you to activate your affiliate 
>to encourage donations to our organization. If 
>you are sending out any emails, I encourage you 
>to use 
><https://nfb.org/donate2016>https://nfb.org/donate2016 
>to point individuals towards making donations to the Federation.
>
>Congratulations to our new affiliate presidents, 
>Terri Rupp (Nevada) and Tracy Soforenko 
>(Virginia). I would also like to thank our 
>outgoing presidents in those affiliates, Kimie 
>Beverly and Michael Kasey, respectively. Both of 
>the transitions were planned and represent signs 
>of growth and strength in these affiliates, and 
>I am confident our outgoing presidents will 
>continue to be dedicated contributors to our movement.
>
>I would also like to highlight that at our 
>Nevada convention the affiliate recognized 
>Senator Heller for his leadership in our efforts 
>regarding the Space Available program. Although 
>Senator Heller could not be in attendance, a key 
>member of his staff was present at the banquet 
>and it allowed for a nice opportunity to educate 
>the senator's staff about our broader 
>priorities. I encourage all affiliates to 
>consider how they utilize strategic 
>opportunities like this example to build 
>relationships and acknowledge our friends.
>
>
>
>Critical Actions This Week:
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>Voter Survey:
>Now that you have exercised your fundamental 
>right to vote, please complete our 2016 Blind 
>and Low-Vision Voter Experience Survey by 
>Friday, November 18. If you cast your ballot at 
>an early voting center, your local polling place 
>on Election Day, or by absentee ballot that you 
>received by regular mail, please complete the 
>survey at 
><https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JJ5N38X>https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JJ5N38X. 
>If you used a personal computer or tablet to 
>mark your ballot, please complete the survey at 
><https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JM9CMY6>https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JM9CMY6.
>
>
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>News:
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>Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act Regulation:
>After eight years of hard work by Federation 
>members across the country, I am pleased to 
>announce that final regulations implementing the 
>Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010 were 
>issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety 
>administration (NHTSA) earlier today. While we 
>are still reviewing the regulation, we are 
>optimistic that it contains the provisions that 
>we strongly feel are needed to protect the blind 
>and other pedestrians. For more information, 
>read 
><https://nfb.org/national-federation-blind-applauds-issuance-pedestrian-safety-enhancement-act-regulations>our 
>press release and the 
><http://www.nhtsa.gov/About-NHTSA/Press-Releases/nhtsa_quiet_car_final_rule_11142016>official 
>announcement from NHTSA.
>
>Communications Request Form:
>We are often asked by affiliates, national 
>committee chairs, national division leaders, and 
>others to have our national staff assist them in 
>helping to communicate information about 
>important events, programs, and initiatives. In 
>order to better manage and track requests for 
>communications assistance with large-scale or 
>national initiatives that can benefit from a 
>cohesive communications strategy, we have posted 
>a 
><https://nfb.org/communications-request>communications 
>request form to our website so that details of 
>such initiatives can be provided to our 
>communications team. You can find and fill out 
>the form at 
><https://nfb.org/communications-request>https://nfb.org/communications-request. 
>If you use this form, a member of our 
>communications team will get back to you within 
>three to five days in order to discuss your 
>request. Keep in mind that you can always 
>contact our communications team with general 
>questions or for advice by emailing 
><mailto:communicationsteam at nfb.org>communicationsteam at nfb.org. 
>You may also contact Chris Danielsen, director 
>of public relations, at (410) 659-9314, extension 2330.
>
>
>
>Uber:
>Last week I mentioned that we were aware of 
>problems with Uber’s mobile app and that we 
>were reaching out to Uber to address those 
>problems. The company claimed they had received 
>feedback from us on the app in advance. In 
>response to that false claim, we posted a blog 
>post entitled 
><https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/commitment-more-checking-box-uber-fails-get-it>Commitment 
>Is More Than Checking a Box: Uber Fails to Get 
>It. The company recently posted to Applevis the following:
>
>
>
>Update Submitted by PJ L on 10 November, 2016 - 06:00; App Developer
>
>Hi everyone,
>
>I wanted to apologize for the way I 
>characterized conversations my colleagues had 
>with the National Federation of the Blind and 
>the American Council for the Blind. My team and 
>I care deeply about trying to understand your 
>concerns and we are working hard towards 
>tangible solutions. We recognize that open lines 
>of communication are critical to this process, 
>and appreciate all of the feedback you’ve been 
>sharing here and in the Uber app.
>
>As an iOS developer, I test the app on VoiceOver 
>as often as I can to make sure that things are 
>working. We recognize that there are still 
>improvements to be made and are working to address those.
>
>To continue to share your feedback, you can 
>visit this page or do so in the app with the instructions below:
>Navigate to the Help section in your app
>Select Accessibility
>Select “I have feedback about VoiceOver or TalkBack features”
>
>This will ensure that the engineering team can 
>review and address your feedback in a timely 
>manner. Thank you to everyone for your 
>thoughtful feedback, and please keep it coming.
>Thanks, PJ
>
>
>
>Reminders:
>
>
>
>NFB-Pearson STEM Survey:
>Please take time to complete the NFB-Pearson 
>STEM survey, or encourage your child or student 
>to complete this detailed survey, by Friday, 
>December 2. Participation in the survey is 
>critical; the results will help us better 
>understand barriers blind students encounter in 
>the classroom and how to broaden access to STEM 
>subjects for future blind students. Participants 
>will be entered into a drawing to win one of twenty $25 Amazon gift cards.
><https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NFBAdultSTEM>STEM 
>survey for college students and adults
><https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NFBTeenSTEM>STEM 
>survey for middle and high school students
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>Dates to Keep in Mind:
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>
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>·        November 16: Affiliate President Call 
>- Branding and Scholarship Program
>·        <https://nfb.org/state-conventions>Fall Conventions
>·        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 21-29, 2017: Youth Slam, Towson University
>·        September 12-17, 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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