[Mn-at-large] Fwd: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 06/ 07/2018

Sat Jun 9 02:55:26 UTC 2018

>
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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,
>
>Here we are, it is June, and the national 
>convention is right in front of us. There has 
>been quite a bit going on since the last 
>notebook so I urge you to examine the items below closely.
>
>Here are a few things in no particular order:
>    * The convention agenda will be out soon. 
> There was a bit of last-minute shuffling as our 
> agenda gets more complex every year. The agenda 
> for this yearâ€™s convention is top notch.
>    * As you know, we have been attempting to 
> talk with the Association for Education and 
> Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually 
> Impaired (AER) regarding their rebranding of 
> the National Accreditation Council. In May, I 
> finally heard from their executive 
> director—long past the promised January meeting 
> time. We have now had a series of letters go 
> back and forth. I regret to say that instead of 
> a real in-person conversation, we were offered 
> a token seat in the accreditation meetings, 
> which have now been happening for a number of 
> months. I invited AER to speak at our 
> convention, but that offer was also turned 
> down. This means that we will need to discuss 
> this matter at our national convention and 
> decide what direction we wish to take.
>    * We had a great Dot Dash on June 3 (Dr. 
> Maurerâ€™s birthday, by the way). A big thanks 
> to the support of our Maryland, Virginia, and 
> New Jersey affiliates that turned out 
> Federation teams for the race. New Jersey gets 
> an extra high five for entering the biggest team overall.
>    * We will be conducting some focus groups at 
> the convention regarding strategic priorities 
> for our organization. Please watch for 
> information about those and be considering 
> individuals you might recommend who could offer 
> a variety of perspectives to those small-group, 
> information-gathering sessions.
>    * There is quite a bit of news below so read 
> closely. I call your attention to the convention assistance piece.
>
>
>
>Critical Actions This Week:
>
>
>
>Assistance to Convention Attendees:
>As you know, convention is both an exciting and 
>busy time for all of us. For some of our members 
>and new attendees it can also be overwhelming 
>and potentially, anxiety provoking. In order to 
>assist convention attendees who may be 
>experiencing feelings of anxiety or of being 
>overwhelmed, several measures have been put in 
>place for this yearâ€™s convention. We need your 
>help in making sure that convention attendees 
>who are feeling this way do not fall through the 
>cracks as this is a super busy time for 
>everyone. To that end, please make sure to put 
>the following into your affiliate action plan for convention:
>
>1.       Please make sure that everyone you know 
>of who is attending convention from your 
>affiliate knows how to get in touch with you and 
>with other leaders from your affiliate.
>
>2.       If you are contacted by someone feeling 
>anxious or obviously overwhelmed, try to help 
>from your end first. Let them know that it is 
>quite normal to feel this way and that they will 
>be okay. Taking time to speak in person, in a 
>quiet place usually helps. Please do so, if at all possible.
>
>3.       The Hospitality Suite is a good place 
>for someone to take a break and wind down a bit. 
>There will be someone on hand to help those in 
>mild distress or in need of a quiet place during 
>the hours that the Hospitality Suite is open. 
>Encourage attendees to contact you or another 
>leader within your affiliate if they need your help.
>
>4.       If you feel that you are not equipped 
>to help, for those who are experiencing moderate 
>to severe anxiety, please contact this number to 
>seek assistance for the person experiencing 
>distress: 443-457-3401. A mental health 
>professional will answer the line and will help 
>develop a plan of action with you.
>
>5.       If there are reports of harassment of 
>any kind or of events that need to be reported 
>such as unwanted sexual advances or physical 
>violence from anyone attending our convention, 
>please stay with the person who has confided in 
>you and immediately call 443-457-3401 for assistance.
>
>Your help in making certain that everyone 
>attending our convention is safe and that any 
>issues are handled appropriately is greatly 
>appreciated. While we donâ€™t expect for issues 
>to arise, we want to be prepared in case they do.
>
>
>
>News:
>
>
>
>National Scholarship Finalists:
>Below is the list of national scholarship 
>finalists, listed with their state of residence 
>and their career goals. The scholarship winners 
>will be announced at the banquet on Sunday, July 8.
>    * Naim Muawia Abu-El Hawa, VA: Diplomat
>    * Alexandra Alfonso, DC: Music, Education, and Pre-law
>    * Tasnim Alshuli, AZ: Professor
>    * Millad Bokhouri, PA: Medical program designer
>    * Tyron Bratcher, MD: Rehabilitation counselor
>    * Chrys Buckley, OR: Physician
>    * Ozgul Calicioglu, PA: Environmental sustainability specialist
>    * Olivia Charland, MA: Conservation biologist
>    * Purvi Contractor, TX: Aerospace
>    * Kenia Flores, NC: Civil rights attorney
>    * John Harrison, WI: Advocate
>    * Eric Harvey, CA: Near East cultural specialist
>    * Justin Heard, GA: Teacher
>    * J.D. Humphrey, MI: Ethnomedicine
>    * Trisha Kulkarni, OH: Software engineer
>    * Amanda Lannan, FL: Teacher education
>    * Shane Lowe, KY: Cyber security and business administration
>    * Seth Lowman, ID: Sound design and music production
>    * Sara Mornis, VT: Writing and psychology
>    * Connor Mullin, NJ: Cane travel instructor
>    * Sara Patnaude, VA: Victimâ€™s advocate
>    * Menuka Rai, ND: Physical therapist
>    * Elizabeth Rouse, IA: Attorney
>    * Yasmine Marie Sarraf, AZ: Forensic scientist
>    * Caitlin Sarubbi, NY: Physician
>    * Rilee Sloan, OK: Attorney
>    * Harry Staley, Jr., TX: Autonomous vehicle development
>    * Matt Turner, ID: Economics and technology
>    * Cathy Tuton, OK: Dietician
>    * Paige Young, ME: Business administration
>
>Marrakesh Treaty:
>The Foreign Relations Committee of the United 
>States Senate voted unanimously late in May in 
>favor of advancing the Marrakesh Treaty to the 
>full Senate for its advice and consent.
>
>Space Available:
>The Senate Armed Services Committee released the 
>National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 
>fiscal year 2019 on Wednesday, June 6, and our 
>Space Available language was included. This 
>means that language authorizing veterans with a 
>service-connected permanent disability rated as 
>total to participate in the Space Available 
>program was in the House version of the bill 
>that passed on May 24, 2018, and is in the 
>proposed version of the Senate bill. The Senate 
>is currently debating their version of the bill, 
>and we expect that they will vote on it soon. We 
>will continue to closely monitor any and all 
>amendments to ensure that there are no changes to this provision.
>
>BECU Agreement:
>We have reached an agreement with the Boeing 
>Employeesâ€™ Credit Union (BECU). As a part of 
>this agreement, BECU will work in collaboration 
>with us to make its website and mobile banking 
>app fully accessible to blind customers. The 
>website accessibility is expected to be 
>completed by March 31, 2019. Improvements to the 
>mobile app will begin this summer and will be 
>completed by May 31, 2019. More information is 
>available in 
><https://nfb.org/blind-will-soon-be-able-bank-becu-through-mobile-and-online-banking>the 
>full NFB press release.
>
>Lawsuit against US Department of Education:
>We, along with the Council of Parent Attorneys 
>and Advocates and the National Association for 
>the Advancement of Colored People, have filed a 
>lawsuit against the US Department of Education 
>over new procedures that allow its Office for 
>Civil Rights to dismiss complaints that it 
>determines to be burdensome or a drain on the 
>departmentâ€™s resources. Earlier this year the 
>department changed its case-handling manual to 
>allow the department to dismiss complaints if 
>they represent a pattern of complaints or if 
>they are filed against multiple recipients. The 
>lawsuit is addressed in a segment (starting at 
>11:09) on the online news series, 
><https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jIfYh4Q8dU>The News with Dan Rather.
>
>Convention Welcome Concert:
>Allan Pineda Lindo, best known as apl.de.ap from 
>The Black Eyed Peas, will perform live at the 
>welcome concert scheduled to take place July 6, 
>at 7:00 p.m., at the Rosen Shingle Creek. More 
>information will be listed in the convention agenda.
>
>
>
>Action Item:
>
>
>
>Feedback Needed:
>We would like your feedback. Our 
><https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O41xcFDMCZk>supporter 
>thank you video was designed so that our 
>affiliates could use it to talk about our 
>programs or to thank our supporters and 
>volunteers. We are considering another video 
>this year. Toward that end, we would like to 
>know which affiliates have used the video and 
>for what purposes. Are there things that you 
>think could be improved or should be included? 
>Are there affiliates who were not aware of this 
>resource? Please email Patti Chang at 
><mailto:pchang at nfb.org>pchang at nfb.org with your comments.
>
>
>
>Reminders:
>
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>
>
>Convention Announcements:
>Once again this year, we will have a place to 
>post exhibit hall/fundraising announcements so 
>as not to overwhelm our members' inboxes. 
>Affiliates, divisions, exhibitors, and sponsors 
>can post their announcements via the submission 
>form at 
><https://nfb.org/convention/exhibitannouncements>https://nfb.org/convention/exhibitannouncements. 
>All posted announcements will be displayed at 
><https://nfb.org/convention/exhibits>https://nfb.org/convention/exhibits. 
>This will allow for filtering based on the 
>following categories: affiliate, division, exhibitor, or sponsor.
>
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>Dates to Keep in Mind:
>
>
>
>    * July 3-8, 2018: 
> <https://nfb.org/convention>National Federation 
> of the Blind National Convention, Orlando, Florida
>    * July 29-August 4, 2018: <http://www.blindscience.org/nfbeq>NFB EQ
>
>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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