[Mn-at-large] Fwd: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 08/ 07/2018

[David Andrews]

>
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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,
>
>It did not take long for things to heat up after 
>the national convention. The NFB Jernigan 
>Institute has been alive with activity during 
>the past week as thirty high school students 
>were in our building for NFB EQ, and the NFB of 
>Maryland BELL Academy took over East Mall and 
>continues to occupy the building this week, 
>spreading the love for Braille throughout the 
>building. Speaking of Braille, check out the 
>Presidential Release or the below note for some 
>news about Braille that will leave a good taste in your mouth.
>
>This weekend we start the fall convention season 
>with our NFB of South Carolina convention. I 
>anticipate lots of exciting reports from the work of our affiliates this fall.
>
>Congratulations to Ron Brown and the 
>Indianapolis Thunder for their third World Series championship title in a row!
>
>
>
>Critical Actions This Week:
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>
>
>August Presidential Release:
>This month's release is available at 
><https://nfb.org/presidential-releases>https://nfb.org/presidential-releases.
>
>
>
>The Secret Is Out:
>On July 26, the United States AbilityOne 
>Commission announced that the American 
>Foundation for the Blind was being appointed as 
>a central nonprofit under the program. This 
>action was taken completely under cover without 
>public comment and without any disclosure even 
>to the other central nonprofits. Read my 
><https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/ballard_third_cna_designation_08032018.pdf>yet-to-be-answered 
>letter to the AbilityOne Commission challenging 
>the lack of consultation with the organized blind movement.
>
>
>
>News:
>
>
>
>Share the Love:
>The National Federation of the Blind is 
>partnering with Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats 
>to create Braille and audio “Love Notes” so 
>parents can share messages of love and 
>encouragement with blind children. The Love 
>Notes are an accessible version of the writable 
>wrapper on Rice Krispies Treats, which allows 
>parents to include messages in their children's 
>lunch boxes. The new, accessible Love Notes are 
>available in two forms: Braille stickers and 
>re-recordable audio boxes. The Braille stickers 
>are heart shaped to match the space on Rice 
>Krispies Treats writable wrappers for written 
>notes. Each Braille sticker sheet includes eight 
>uplifting messages for parents to share with 
>their children, such as "you've got this" and 
>"love you lots." The re-recordable audio box 
>holds a Rice Krispies Treat and, when opened, 
>plays a ten-second, pre-recorded message. The 
>audio box messages can be re-recorded over a 
>thousand times. A video has been produced to 
>promote this partnership, featuring two of our 
>members, Eme and Tabby Mitchell. The plan is to 
>distribute over 6,000 sheets of Braille stickers 
>and co-branded NFB/Kellogg's Rice Krispy Treats 
>alphabet cards, as well as over 1,500 
>re-recordable audio boxes. A print/Braille 
>welcome letter will go out in every delivery to 
>reinforce the importance of Braille and ensure 
>everyone gets the same welcome. The National 
>Federation of the Blind will be prominently 
>featured on the website about this program, 
>including a link to subscribe to our 
>Imagineering Our Future newsletter. Our 
>participation in this initiative reflects our 
>commitment to helping parents raise blind 
>children who are prepared to be confident, 
>happy, and productive members of society, as 
>well as our emphasis on Braille literacy and accessibility.
>
>To check out the website and order Love Notes 
>for your child, visit 
><https://www.ricekrispies.com/en_US/love-notes.html>ricekrispies.com/lovenotes.
>
>AV START Act:
>I had 
><http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/399503-the-senate-must-act-legislation-so-americans-can-reap-the>an 
>op-ed published in 
><http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/399503-the-senate-must-act-legislation-so-americans-can-reap-the>The 
>Hill last week supporting the AV START Act and 
>urging the Senate to act on it. Neil Romano, 
>chairman of the National Council on Disability 
>and speaker at this year’s convention, had 
><http://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/399752-its-time-for-people-with-disabilities-to-get-paid-their-fair-share>an 
>opinion piece in 
><http://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/399752-its-time-for-people-with-disabilities-to-get-paid-their-fair-share>The 
>Hill later in the week.
>
>Advocacy Update:
>On the legislative front, we continue to gain 
>momentum on the Access Technology Affordability 
>Act. We are up to eighty cosponsors in the House 
>of Representatives, and ten cosponsors in the 
>Senate. In addition, we know that the Joint 
>Committee on Taxation (JCT) is actively working 
>to estimate the annual cost of the bill, more 
>colloquially referred to in Congress as the 
>bill’s “score.”  Getting the JCT to 
>officially score the bill is a significant 
>accomplishment on our part. We need you to build 
>upon this momentum by calling or emailing your 
>senators and representatives in order to obtain 
>as many cosponsors as possible. Our Advocacy and 
>Policy team will be distributing more 
>information on this topic later this week.
>
>
>
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>Dates to Keep in Mind:
>
>
>
>    * October 11-12, 2018: Tactile Graphics Symposium
>    * March 28-29, 2019: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium
>    * July 7-12, 2019: NFB National Convention, Las Vegas, Nevada
>
>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>
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>     <https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice>
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>     <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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