[Mn-at-large] Fwd: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 02/ 27/2017

Tue Feb 28 02:33:18 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 leaders in the National Federation of the 
>Blind it is important for us to remember that we 
>represent our organization all of the time. That 
>responsibility governs both our behavior and our 
>mindset with respect to talking about our 
>organization with the general public. It is 
>amazing how many times I find an opportunity to 
>connect something with the resources of our 
>organization or discover opportunities for us 
>just by talking to people about blindness. Often 
>the partnership opportunities come when I am least expecting it.
>
>Sometimes I have carried Kernel Books in my 
>briefcase to give to people when I come across 
>them. Although we have not published a new 
>Kernel Book in over a decade, the content and 
>stories are as relevant today as they were when 
>the first books came out in the 1990s. We have 
>plenty of print Kernel Books available for 
>distribution, and I would urge you to consider 
>how you might use them in your own personal 
>outreach and then with the work you do as a 
>leader in our affiliates. In the next month we 
>will be distributing further information about 
>our stock of Kernel Books and ways that 
>affiliates might use them to build our organization.
>
>If you have other ideas of tools that you might 
>need to better represent our organization during 
>your day-to-day work, please share those 
>thoughts with me and I will determine if we can 
>put together some new resources.
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>
>
>Critical Actions This Week:
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>
>State Presidents Please Take Notice:
>Our advocacy efforts in the National Federation 
>of the Blind are vital not only at the federal 
>level, but in state capitols across the nation. 
>Sometimes our advocacy at the affiliate level is 
>necessary to defeat legislation that would be 
>harmful to the blind community. In Arizona for 
>example, SB1198, a bill that would diminish 
>rights under that stateâ€™s version of the ADA, 
>was considered by the Judiciary Committee in the 
>Arizona State Senate within the past week and 
>was sent to the senate floor for a vote. You can 
>read it at 
><https://legiscan.com/AZ/text/SB1198/2017>https://legiscan.com/AZ/text/SB1198/2017.
>
>Like similar bills introduced in the last 
>Congress, the Arizona bill would require people 
>with disabilities to notify covered entities 
>about accessibility barriers and give additional 
>time for covered entities to comply with 
>accessibility laws before being permitted to 
>seek a legal remedy in the courts.  The ADA was 
>enacted nearly thirty years ago, which seems to 
>us a sufficient amount of time for covered entities to comply with the law.
>
>It is absolutely essential that Federation 
>leaders across the nation be vigilant in 
>watching for bills that have a negative impact 
>on our rights as blind citizens.  Our rights can 
>be placed in jeopardy at any time.  Please make 
>it a recurring practice to check online for 
>legislation containing words such as â€œblindâ€ 
>or â€œdisabilityâ€ in your state.  If we do not 
>respond when legislation about us is introduced, 
>it might be assumed that we do not care.  But we 
>most certainly do care and will take all steps 
>at our disposal to protect our rights.
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>News:
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>
>New York Times article:
>I was interviewed for an article published today 
>in the New York Times, 
>"<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/well/live/aids-for-vision-loss-from-those-whove-been-there.html?action=click&contentCollection=well&module=NextInCollection&region=Footer&pgtype=article&version=column&rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fpersonal-health>Aids 
>for Vision Loss, From Those Whoâ€™ve Been There."
>
>Dare to Be Remarkable:
>Registration for the Dare to Be Remarkable 
>conference is live at 
><https://nfb.org/dare-be-remarkable>https://nfb.org/dare-be-remarkable. 
>Dare to Be Remarkable is a three-day national 
>training conference for education and 
>rehabilitation professionals who work with blind 
>students and adults. After ten years of 
>progress, professionals will once again assemble 
>to share successes, strategies, and goals for 
>the future. The conference will take place at 
>the NFB Jernigan Institute from November 6-8, 
>2017, and will consist of plenary presentations, 
>topical group work, and breakout sessions.
>
>NFB Social Media:
>The National Federation of the Blind is as 
>active as ever before in social media efforts. 
>Stephanie Eller has taken over social media 
>coordination for us. If you have questions, 
>comments, or concerns about social media or how 
>to implement a local social media strategy, you 
>can reach Stephanie at 
><mailto:seller at nfb.org>seller at nfb.org or (410) 659-9314, extension 2423.
>
>Braille Book Fair:
>The NOPBC board is busy working on our upcoming 
>convention this summer. Please see the attached 
>letter for details on how you can help by 
>donating Braille books. The text of the 
>attachment is copied below for your convenience.
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>Reminder:
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>Preregistration Opens:
>Preregistration for the 2017 National Convention opens Wednesday, March 1.
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>Dates to Keep in Mind:
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>Â·        March 23, 2017: 
><https://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=6317&qid=1522699>eBooks 
>and EPUB accessibility event
>Â·        March 30-31, 2017: 
><http://nfb.org/law-symposium>Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium
>Â·        March 31, 2017: Deadline for 
><http://www.nfb.org/scholarships>scholarship applications
>Â·        April 15, 2017: Deadline for 
><https://nfb.org/bolotin-award-main>Jacob Bolotin Award applications
>Â·        May 1, 2017: Deadline for 
><https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/distinguished-educator-of-blind-students-award-form-fillable.pdf>Distinguished 
>Educator of Blind Students Award
>Â·        July 10-15, 2017: 
><https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm16/bm1611/bm161101.htm>National 
>Convention, Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, Orlando, Florida
>Â·        July 23-29, 2017: 
><http://www.blindscience.org/nfb-youth-slam>Youth Slam, Towson University
>Â·        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 nationâ€™s blind. 
>Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.
>
>
>
>Hello NFB State Affiliate and Chapter Presidents!
>
>The National Organization of Parents of Blind 
>Children, a proud division of the National 
>Federation of the Blind plans to make the 2017 Braille Book Fair our best yet!
>
>As many of you know, we host the Braille Book 
>Fair every year at the NFB National Convention. 
>We invite everyone who attends the Braille Book 
>Fair to take as many books as they would like, 
>free of charge, and UPS helps us box the books 
>and ship them via Free Matter for the Blind so 
>children and adults can enjoy them after 
>returning home from Convention. We ask your 
>state affiliate and local chapters and divisions 
>to help us by donating to this much-anticipated event.
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>There are two ways to donate this year. As 
>always, we welcome gently-used print-Braille or 
>Braille-only books. We cannot accept Braille 
>magazines or textbooks, but we appreciate all 
>other book donations, including cookbooks. These 
>can be newly-purchased books, or they can be 
>books you have enjoyed but no longer read. 
>Please ship all books, via Free Matter for the 
>Blind, to the NFB Jernigan Institute; Attn: 
>Melissa Riccobono, 2017 Braille Book Fair; 200 
>East Wells St.; Baltimore, MD 21230.
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>For the first time, the NOPBC has launched a 
>campaign to collect financial contributions for 
>the Braille Book Fair. We will use all donated 
>funds to purchase print-Braille books. We can 
>never meet the demand for print-Braille books, 
>and we often run out very quickly. Our youngest 
>Braille readers, their blind and sighted 
>parents, and their blind and sighted 
>grandparents rely on print-Braille books as a 
>window to literacy, as do blind parents wanting 
>to read to their sighted children. Please 
>consider making a financial donation so we can 
>make more print-Braille books available this 
>year. Please send financial donations only, made 
>payable to the NOPBC, to Sandra Oliver, 
>Treasurer; 15707 Knauff Ranch Ct; Cypress, TX 77429.
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>Thank you in advance for your donations.
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>Sincerely,
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>Kim Cunningham
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>President, NOPBC
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