[Mn-at-large] Fwd: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 12/ 11/2017

David Andrews dandrews at visi.com
Wed Dec 13 03:51:48 UTC 2017 

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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,
>
>As many of you know, the Riccobonos live five 
>blocks from the front door of the National 
>Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute. This 
>means my commute to the office is fairly short 
>on most days—with the exception of those days 
>I am on the road of course. On my short trip in, 
>I try to ask myself what do the members of the 
>Federation need me to do today. That simple 
>question is one I try to use to drive my 
>priorities for the day, but on most days it is a 
>hard question to answer because there are so 
>many things that need to happen to serve all the 
>various urgent matters facing members of the 
>Federation. If you are like me, you struggle 
>with this question every day and you hope that 
>you make the best decision you can on a daily basis.
>
>I bring this up because I am particularly 
>grateful to those of you who face this decision 
>every day. I am also feeling especially inspired 
>today by those who are not elected leaders in 
>our organization but who face great obstacles to 
>stand with us. On Monday of next week, I will be 
>on the West Coast for a mediation in one of our 
>discrimination cases in higher education. The 
>blind students we are supporting are facing 
>great struggles in their own situations but they 
>are completely and fully committed to making 
>sure that the problem gets solved for all blind 
>students' in other words they are not prepared 
>to sell out for their own benefit if the problem 
>does not get solved for everyone. This attitude 
>is the value of a solid Federationist, but it is 
>often a commitment that goes unrecognized in 
>today's fast-paced world of interactions. 
>Similarly, I had the opportunity to talk to a 
>family shortly after an IEP meeting at which our 
>affiliate president and some of our legal 
>experts helped to negotiate a proposed outcome. 
>The parent shared that she made over thirty 
>calls before finally coming across the National 
>Federation of the Blind and finding someone that 
>was prepared to help her son. Again, an example 
>of dedication and drive that goes mostly 
>unrecognized. These two examples are some of the 
>things that I think about as I grapple with the 
>question of what I need to do next. Most 
>importantly, they keep me motivated to keep 
>struggling because their stories are our 
>stories. Thank you for the difficult and often 
>unrecognized struggles you undertake daily, and 
>for the difference it makes to those who are 
>fighting the fight with us across the country.
>
>I think there will be one more notebook entry 
>before the end of the year so I will save some 
>of my end-of-the-year comments for next week. 
>There are a number of timely items below that 
>require your attention. Thank you to those 
>attending the retreat next month who filled out 
>the survey. I will be studying those responses 
>this week and beginning to build the agenda for 
>our gathering at the end of January. I call your 
>attention to the important announcements 
>regarding Washington Seminar 2018, which you will not want to miss out on.
>
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>News:
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>Washington Seminar Update:
>Note: We have recently learned that the State of 
>the Union is scheduled during the same time as 
>the reception detailed below. We are evaluating 
>the timeline, but wanted to get the general 
>information out to everyone. We will be sending 
>updates as the final schedule is determined.
>
>We are pleased to announce that we will be 
>hosting our third annual Washington Seminar 
>Congressional Reception on Tuesday, January 30, 
>2018. However, this reception is going to be 
>slightly different than those in the past. 
>We’re still inviting all 535 members of 
>Congress, and you will still have an opportunity 
>to converse with them, but instead of it being 
>held in a Congressional meeting room, we have 
>moved a little farther up Pennsylvania Avenue to 
>the <http://www.newseum.org/about/>Newseum.
>
>The Newseum, located at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue 
>NW, is a state-of-the-art museum dedicated to 
>showcasing the five freedoms guaranteed by the 
>First Amendment of the Constitution (religion, 
>speech, press, assembly, and petition). On 
>January 26, only a few days prior to our 
>congressional reception, the museum will open a 
>new exhibit, 
>"<http://www.newseum.org/exhibits/upcoming/the-marines-and-tet/>The 
>Marines and Tet," featuring some of the most 
>famous photographs taken during the Vietnam War. 
>John Olson, the award-winning photographer whose 
>work will be featured in the exhibit, has taken 
>it upon himself to turn ten of these photographs 
>into three-dimensional tactile pieces to be 
>experienced by blind and sighted visitors to the 
>museum. Since the date of our congressional 
>reception coincides with the fiftieth 
>anniversary of the Tet Offensive, we could not 
>pass up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to 
>honor our military while promoting Mr. Olson's 
>development of accessible photographs.
>
>The reception will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the 
>Newseum's main atrium, where you can speak with 
>your congressional representatives, enjoy 
>drinks, passed hors d'oeuvres, and other light 
>food options. During this time, you will be 
>encouraged to visit the photography exhibit 
>located on the second floor of the building. 
>Beginning at 8:00 p.m. we will move to the 
>Annenberg Theater, located on the museum's first 
>floor, to begin the seated portion of the 
>program where you will hear remarks from John 
>Olson, other special guest speakers, and me. 
>More information regarding this exciting 
>reception will be available in the coming weeks.
>
>In other Washington Seminar-related news, if you 
>have not already booked your hotel 
>accommodations, please do so as soon as 
>possible. Rooms are filling up quickly. Please 
>be sure to book your room by no later than 
>Tuesday, January 2, 2018. Check-in at our 
>booking rate begins Friday, January 26, 2018, 
>with a check-out by Friday, February 2, 2018. 
>The rate is $192.00 per night. This rate does 
>not include DC sales tax, currently 14.8 
>percent. You may book your reservations directly 
>online by using this link to the 
><https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/washington/wassm/hoteldetail?qAdlt=1&qBrs=6c.hi.ex.rs.ic.cp.in.sb.cw.cv.ul.vn.ki.sp.nd.ct&qChld=0&qFRA=1&qGRM=0&qGrpCd=FB8&qIta=99801505&qPSt=0&qRRSrt=rt&qRef=df&qRms=1&qRpn=1&qRpp=20&qSHp=1&qSmP=3&qSrt=sBR&qWch=0&srb_u=1&icdv=99801505>Holiday 
>Inn Capitol website that will include our 
>booking code. You may also make reservations by 
>calling (877) 572-6951 and referencing booking code FB8.
>
>We will also be conducting a short legislative 
>directors' seminar Monday, January 29, from 9:00 
>a.m. to noon at the Holiday Inn Capitol.
>
>
>New Procedure for Soliciting Research Participants:
>Our membership is a vast resource for 
>researchers conducting research into all aspects 
>of blindness. However, we want to be sure that 
>the research studies in which our members 
>participate follow proper protocols for human 
>research studies and further the research 
>interests of our organization. Any requests you 
>receive to post solicitations to participate in 
>research studies to one of our NFBnet email 
>lists should be forwarded to Lou Ann Blake in 
>the Jernigan Institute, at 
><mailto:lblake at nfb.org>lblake at nfb.org, for 
>review by our research advisory council (RAC). 
>Solicitation announcements for research studies 
>approved by the RAC will be emailed for posting 
>to the moderator of the appropriate list. If you 
>have any questions, please contact Lou Ann Blake 
>at the above email address or by calling (410) 659-9314, extension 2221.
>
>
>
>Reminders:
>
>
>
>NFB Independence Market:
>Our market will be closed for business the week 
>between Christmas and New Year's. Thus, the last 
>day to place an order from the market in 2017 will be December 22.
>
>Publication Survey:
>If you received an email last week regarding the 
>brochure and publication survey, please remember 
>to fill that out by Friday, December 15. Thanks for your input.
>
>
>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>
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>
>
>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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