[Mn-at-large] NFB President’s Notebook - week of 01/02/ 2017

Tue Jan 3 00:19:17 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,

Happy New Year! I look forward to charging 
forward with the great work we are undertaking 
together in 2017. Some are debating whether there 
is reason to have hope in the new year, but I am 
of the belief that we are the masters of creating 
hope and opportunity, and I plan to do just that.

There are some high-level organizational 
priorities that I would like to call to your 
attention for 2017 (in no particular order):
1. Engage current and attract new members.
2. Connect, protect, and support blind parents 
and the parents of blind children.
3. Conduct advocacy, policy, legal, and 
partnership programs to protect the rights of 
blind people and increase accessibility and 
employment in education, public services, and commerce.
4. Promote equality by raising expectations of 
blind people and breaking down misconceptions.
5. Develop more effective mechanisms for 
communicating and interacting with organizational supporters.

As we undertake our work in 2017, we should keep 
these broad priorities in mind. Of course, this 
does not mean that there are no other items that 
will take some of our attention, but I view these 
items as the pressing, high-level priorities for 
organizing our activities this year.

Best wishes for the first week of 2017.

Critical Actions This Week:

Washington Seminar Hotel Rate Extended:
The Holiday Inn Capitol has extended the deadline 
for Washington Seminar reservations through this 
Tuesday, January 3, 2017. To book a reservation, 
please dial (877) 572-6951 using booking code 
F7B, or by going to 
<https://nfb.org/Washington-seminar>https://nfb.org/Washington-seminar. 
Rates for the 2017 Washington Seminar are $188 
per night with an applicable tax of 14.5 percent. 
The Great Gathering-In is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. 
on January 30, and we will be visiting the 
offices of House and Senate members on Tuesday, 
January 31, through Thursday, February 2.

News:

Dare to Be Remarkable:
A three-day national training conference for 
education and rehabilitation professionals who 
work with blind students and adults will be held 
at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan 
Institute from Monday, November 6 through Wednesday November 8, 2017.

Our first Dare to Be Remarkable conference took 
place in December 2007. After ten years of 
progress, professionals will once again assemble 
to share successes, strategies, and goals for the 
future. The conference will consist of plenary 
presentations, topical group work, and breakout 
sessions exploring structured discovery methods 
and principles. Preregistration (prior to October 
13) will be $400 per person, and registration 
(after October 13) will be $500 per person. 
Registration includes all conference materials in 
alternative formats, lunches, periodic snack 
breaks, transportation to and from the hotel, and 
special hospitality/training events. Online 
registration will be available starting February 1, 2017.

Apply to Become a National Federation of the Blind BUILD Team Member:
Technologies are being developed every day that 
affect the way we all live, work, and play. In 
order to ensure access to the ever-evolving 
technologies that make it possible for blind 
people to live the lives we want, we need blind 
users to innovate and lead the design process. 
The NFB is establishing a database of Blind Users 
Innovating and Leading Design (BUILD) to evaluate 
websites, products, and services for 
accessibility. Apply to become a member of our 
BUILD team by completing the survey at 
<https://nfb.org/build-team>https://nfb.org/build-team.

Spanish Version of the Presidential Release:
The Spanish version of the release is available 
at 
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/audio/pr/spanish/pr456_spanish.mp3>https://nfb.org/images/nfb/audio/pr/spanish/pr456_spanish.mp3.

Dates to Keep in Mind:

Â·        January 30, 2017: Great Gathering-In
Â·        January 30-February 2, 2017: 
<https://nfb.org/washington-seminar>Washington Seminar
Â·        March 30-31, 2017: 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·        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 21-29, 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.

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