[Mn-at-large] NFB President’s Notebook - week of 12/04/ 2017

Tue Dec 5 03:27:49 UTC 2017

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,

The spirit of the holidays is being felt at our 
national headquarters. During the past week our 
staff decorated for the season, making the place 
look spectacular—as always. Last Thursday we 
heldd a dinner for our partners and supporters 
that included hot cider, making the fourth floor 
smell just like the best of your family holiday 
dinners. Before our supporterâ€™s dinner, I and 
other Federation leaders spent time with some of 
our key partners discussing what we might do 
together in 2018. Those meetings were taking 
place as the earthquake centered in Delaware 
rolled through the building. Some of you have 
asked if we were impacted. The fact that some in 
the building felt the quake and others were 
surprised that it happened is an indication that 
the quake was only a minor event in Baltimore. 
During our dinner Thursday night we showed our 
thank you video, which can be found at 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O41xcFDMCZk&feature=youtu.be>this 
page. This is a great link for you to share with 
those in your local affiliate who have 
contributed to the work of our organization this year.

On Friday and Saturday, the Board of Directors of 
the National Federation of the Blind met to 
review our progress and make plans for the next 
year. This jam-packed meeting included the 
Federation Thanksgiving—a gathering where our 
leaders and our staff come together to share food 
and fellowship. On Friday, over two hundred 
letters were shipped out as part of our 
partnership with Santa Claus to provide Braille 
letters from the jolly old fella. This is only 
the first shipment of letters—there is still a 
little time to get requests in. This partnership 
might be the reason that the guy in the red suit 
left some packages for our young participants in the Federation Thanksgiving.

The year is not yet over. We have a lot of work 
to do before the holidays come. This includes 
some advocacy in Washington, DC. Please continue 
to keep up on the notes that are coming to you 
and help to amplify our calls for action. Those 
affiliate presidents who registered to come to 
the retreat on January 27-28 in Baltimore will 
receive a survey in the next twenty-four hours. 
Please complete this survey before the week is 
over. If you do not receive the link, it means 
that we did not receive notice that you are coming.

Critical Actions This Week:

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Upcoming Action:
The Senate passed their version of the Tax Cuts 
and Jobs Act early Saturday morning. The bill 
will go to conference committee today, and we 
will be distributing the list of conference 
committee members later today or tomorrow. The 
Senate version maintains the additional standard 
deduction for the blind and the House version 
does not. The difference means that this will be 
one of the items that needs to be resolved in 
conference. The National Federation of the Blind 
remains concerned about the possibility that the 
bill could trigger â€œPAYGOâ€ rules that could 
result in dramatic cuts to vocational 
rehabilitation and IDEA funding. Read our 
<https://nfb.org/organization-says-senate-tax-bill-disastrous-education-employment-blind-americans>press 
release from last week to learn more about this 
item. We will need to flood the conference 
committee with our messaging so keep a lookout for our next legislative alert.

News:

December Presidential Release:
Presidential Release #467 is now available. You 
can find it, and all the Presidential Releases, 
on <https://nfb.org/presidential-releases>this 
page of the NFB website. President Riccobono 
records the release each month to share 
Federation news with local chapters. Please 
remind chapter leaders to share it at chapter meetings.

Donor Appreciation Video:
We have released a new video to share with our 
supporters to thank them for their generosity and 
let them know what their contributions have 
helped us accomplish in 2017. The video is now on 
our home page and also on 
<https://youtu.be/O41xcFDMCZk>YouTube. Please 
share it with donors in your state and local area.

Website Maintenance:
The National Federation of the Blind website will 
be down for maintenance starting the evening of 
Wednesday, December 6, and is expected to be back 
online by 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 7.

Updated NFB Connect App:
If you havenâ€™t already, visit the iTunes App 
Store and download the updated NFB Connect app. 
Among other performance improvements and 
enhancements, you will now receive notifications 
when new content is posted to the Voice of the 
Nationâ€™s Blind Blog and be able to access our 
Twitter feed right from the app. You can download 
the improved NFB Connect app by copying and 
pasting this link into Safari on your iOS device: 
<https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nfb-connect/id968434124?mt=8>https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nfb-connect/id968434124?mt=8. 
Also, please give us feedback about the app so 
that we can continue to make improvements and add new features.

DYDIC Screenings:
Thank you to the twenty-one affiliates who have 
screened the film Do You Dream in Color in their 
communities during Meet the Blind Month and 
beyond. This film is a powerful way to amplify 
our messages about the ability of blind people to 
live the lives we want, and the importance of 
equal educational access and opportunities for 
blind students. During October and the early part 
of November, screenings took place in Alabama, 
Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, 
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, 
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, 
South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, 
Washington, and West Virginia. The reports we 
have received indicate that many positive 
discussions with students, parents, educators, 
community leaders, and the general public have 
been sparked by this film. In addition, we have 
heard that blind people have been inspired to 
pursue their own dreams that push the boundaries 
of traditional expectations. To learn more about 
the film, visit <http://www.doyoudreamincolor.com>www.doyoudreamincolor.com.

Dates to Keep in Mind:

    * January 29, 2018: Great Gathering-In
    * January 28-February 1, 2018: 
<https://nfb.org/washington-seminar>Washington Seminar
    * March 31, 2018: Deadline for scholarship 
applications, <http://www.nfb.org/scholarships>www.nfb.org/scholarships
    * March 22-23, 2018: Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium
    * April 15, 2018: Deadline for 
<https://nfb.org/bolotin-award-main>2018 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award competition
    * July 3-8, 2018: National Federation of the 
Blind National Convention, Orlando, Florida

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 nationâ€™s blind. 
Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.

X-Microsoft-Exchange-Diagnostics: 
1;BLUPR17MB0130;27:m2JceIXRzvfwAY7ddAHLmdA8cC34RqmiG7CNjx16Tx4/XYHvUV3SfolHj4UOr6wiUmDPdcaSjqYF4hBW8b+vyNcSsY5ubVVh5fBRCLGIZASNMsxnYWa/0/H4E5Fii0Wi
X-Microsoft-Exchange-Diagnostics: 
1;BLUPR17MB0130;27:K5uF/kj0JHPjDxJVZ5qQ0hgt1beyNsvda+mqKqkX4dN708Q718tJz9hHj5+5hQUF66V6aVDsV6YN6r9K8k66bYT+GjnLcPQABYbm7odK9cdeGMVLYTL1F/ljQpHl5uGx
Content-Type: image/png; name="image001.png"
Content-Description: image001.png
Content-Disposition: inline; filename="image001.png"; size=33789;
         creation-date="Mon, 14 Nov 2016 19:35:38 GMT";
         modification-date="Mon, 07 Aug 2017 20:35:18 GMT"
Content-ID: <image001.png at 01D23E84.379CBDF0>

X-Microsoft-Exchange-Diagnostics: 
1;BLUPR17MB0130;27:m2JceIXRzvfwAY7ddAHLmdA8cC34RqmiG7CNjx16Tx4/XYHvUV3SfolHj4UOr6wiUmDPdcaSjqYF4hBW8b+vyNcSsY5ubVVh5fBRCLGIZASNMsxnYWa/0/H4E5Fii0Wi
X-Microsoft-Exchange-Diagnostics: 
1;BLUPR17MB0130;27:K5uF/kj0JHPjDxJVZ5qQ0hgt1beyNsvda+mqKqkX4dN708Q718tJz9hHj5+5hQUF66V6aVDsV6YN6r9K8k66bYT+GjnLcPQABYbm7odK9cdeGMVLYTL1F/ljQpHl5uGx
Content-Type: image/png; name="image002.png"
Content-Description: image002.png
Content-Disposition: inline; filename="image002.png"; size=16173;
         creation-date="Mon, 14 Nov 2016 19:35:38 GMT";
         modification-date="Mon, 07 Aug 2017 20:35:18 GMT"
Content-ID: <image002.png at 01D23E84.379CBDF0>

X-Microsoft-Exchange-Diagnostics: 
1;BLUPR17MB0130;27:m2JceIXRzvfwAY7ddAHLmdA8cC34RqmiG7CNjx16Tx4/XYHvUV3SfolHj4UOr6wiUmDPdcaSjqYF4hBW8b+vyNcSsY5ubVVh5fBRCLGIZASNMsxnYWa/0/H4E5Fii0Wi
X-Microsoft-Exchange-Diagnostics: 
1;BLUPR17MB0130;27:K5uF/kj0JHPjDxJVZ5qQ0hgt1beyNsvda+mqKqkX4dN708Q718tJz9hHj5+5hQUF66V6aVDsV6YN6r9K8k66bYT+GjnLcPQABYbm7odK9cdeGMVLYTL1F/ljQpHl5uGx
Content-Type: image/png; name="image003.png"
Content-Description: image003.png
Content-Disposition: inline; filename="image003.png"; size=16307;
         creation-date="Mon, 14 Nov 2016 19:35:38 GMT";
         modification-date="Mon, 07 Aug 2017 20:35:18 GMT"
Content-ID: <image003.png at 01D23E84.379CBDF0>

X-Microsoft-Exchange-Diagnostics: 
1;BLUPR17MB0130;27:m2JceIXRzvfwAY7ddAHLmdA8cC34RqmiG7CNjx16Tx4/XYHvUV3SfolHj4UOr6wiUmDPdcaSjqYF4hBW8b+vyNcSsY5ubVVh5fBRCLGIZASNMsxnYWa/0/H4E5Fii0Wi
X-Microsoft-Exchange-Diagnostics: 
1;BLUPR17MB0130;27:K5uF/kj0JHPjDxJVZ5qQ0hgt1beyNsvda+mqKqkX4dN708Q718tJz9hHj5+5hQUF66V6aVDsV6YN6r9K8k66bYT+GjnLcPQABYbm7odK9cdeGMVLYTL1F/ljQpHl5uGx
Content-Type: image/png; name="image004.png"
Content-Description: image004.png
Content-Disposition: inline; filename="image004.png"; size=16510;
         creation-date="Mon, 14 Nov 2016 19:35:38 GMT";
         modification-date="Mon, 07 Aug 2017 20:35:18 GMT"
Content-ID: <image004.png at 01D23E84.379CBDF0>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/mn-at-large_nfbnet.org/attachments/20171204/a2754811/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 75ef5f.png
Type: image/png
Size: 33789 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/mn-at-large_nfbnet.org/attachments/20171204/a2754811/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 75ef6f.png
Type: image/png
Size: 16173 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/mn-at-large_nfbnet.org/attachments/20171204/a2754811/attachment-0001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 75ef7e.png
Type: image/png
Size: 16307 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/mn-at-large_nfbnet.org/attachments/20171204/a2754811/attachment-0002.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 75ef8e.png
Type: image/png
Size: 16510 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/mn-at-large_nfbnet.org/attachments/20171204/a2754811/attachment-0003.png>