[Mn-at-large] Fwd: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 10/ 22/2018

[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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>Fellow Federationists:
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>I hope this message finds you doing well. I want 
>to note that this is a relatively short notebook 
>but the primary item in it is of top importance. 
>Note the deadline of later today.
>
>Congratulations need to go to Greg Aikens 
>(Georgia) and Kevin Whitley (Alaska) who 
>recently transitioned out of the presidencies of 
>their respective affiliates. Thank you for your 
>work and for your continued commitment to the 
>Federation through your active participation and 
>unwavering support of new leaders. Welcome 
>Dorothy Griffin to the president's chair in 
>Georgia and Bonnie Lucas to the president's chair in Alaska.
>
>You have heard me mention previously that we are 
>going to send a letter to each of the Major 
>League Baseball teams regarding our work with 
>the Orioles. We have now sent that letter and we 
>have copied the text of the letter below in this 
>email for your information. If we hear from the 
>team(s) in your affiliate we will let you know 
>as the goal is to work closely to put the 
>affiliate out front in the relationship. If you 
>would like a copy of the letter that you can 
>share with contacts you may already have with 
>one of the teams, please reach out to Beth Braun 
>at <mailto:bbraun at nfb.org>bbraun at nfb.org.
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>Critical Actions This Week:
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>Lyft - Your Immediate Attention to GOTV (Get Out the Vote):
>The time is now for you to plan and act if you 
>want your affiliate to take advantage of our 
>partnership with Lyft to assist people in 
>getting to the polls on Election Day and early 
>voting. We have only had five affiliates request 
>to be included in the Lyft-NFB Election Day 
>partnership. If you want your affiliate added to 
>the list, you need to immediately send an email 
>to Julie McGinnity, NFB program assistant, at 
><mailto:jmcginnity at nfb.org>jmcginnity at nfb.org 
>providing name and contact information for the 
>individual that will be managing the codes on 
>behalf of the affiliate, and giving a brief 
>description of your plan to distribute the 
>codes. Remember, the goal is to identify and 
>support blind people who do not have easy access 
>to the polls. Please include how many codes you 
>believe you could use with your plan, assuming 
>that each promotional code might be valued at up 
>to $15. Affiliates should be prepared to promote 
>the project in social media and be prepared to 
>report the outcomes of the program.
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>**If your email is not received by midnight 
>eastern time tonight, we will assume your 
>affiliate has no interest in participating and 
>we will not include you in the Election Day program.**
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>News:
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>Promoting the Local Affiliate with National Leaders:
>I wanted to share this link to a quick piece 
>that was put together by the NPR affiliate in 
>Buffalo this weekend. One person made a call to 
>the local NPR station and pitched what a unique 
>opportunity it would be for them to interview me 
>since I was in Buffalo for the state convention. 
>It resulted in an audio interview and this 
>written piece, showing how a little bit of 
>outreach can get us some exposure. Utilize the 
>talent of national leaders coming to your 
>affiliate for opportunities like this. 
><http://news.wbfo.org/post/national-federation-blind-adding-outreach-center-buffalo>http://news.wbfo.org/post/national-federation-blind-adding-outreach-center-buffalo
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>Dates to Keep in Mind:
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>    * <https://nfb.org/state-conventions>Fall conventions
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>·         November 1, 2018: NFB scholarship application period begins
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>·         November 15, 2018: Dr. Jacob Bolotin 
>Award application period begins
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>    * January 28, 2019: Great Gathering-In; Washington Seminar begins
>    * March 28-29, 2019: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium
>    * June 16-22, 2019: NFB EQ, Baltimore, Maryland
>    * July 7-12, 2019: 
> <https://nfb.org/convention/2019>NFB National Convention, Las Vegas, Nevada
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>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
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>
><https://nfb.org/>
>National Federation of the Blind
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>
> 
><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 nation’s blind. 
>Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.
>
>Dear Major League Baseball Franchise:
>As president of the nation’s oldest and 
>largest organization of blind people, and a 
>longtime baseball fan, I am writing to propose 
>an exciting opportunity for your club to partner 
>with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) 
>in the tradition of public and community service 
>that has always been a part of Major League 
>Baseball. As you may be aware, we have recently 
>partnered with the Baltimore Orioles for a 
>first-of-its kind game-night event highlighting 
>the National Federation of the Blind, the 
>Braille reading and writing system that is used 
>by blind people all over the world, and the 
>capacity of blind sports fans everywhere to live 
>the lives we want. Our work with the Orioles was 
>significant in raising public awareness and for 
>outreach to fans with disabilities, and we 
>believe it can serve as a model for programs all over Major League Baseball.
>In their game against the Toronto Blue Jays on 
>September 18, Orioles players and coaches wore 
>specially-designed jerseys with Braille 
>lettering of both “Orioles” and each 
>player’s last name, becoming the first team in 
>American professional sports history to 
>incorporate Braille lettering into their gameday 
>uniforms. The jerseys were then autographed, 
>authenticated, and auctioned to benefit the 
>National Federation of the Blind. In addition, 
>NFB members handed out cards featuring the 
>Braille alphabet and a Braille message for fans 
>to decode, co-branded with the NFB and Baltimore 
>Orioles logos. I also had the honor of throwing 
>out the ceremonial first pitch of the game.
>While our event with the Orioles was tied to the 
>fortieth anniversary of the National Federation 
>of the Blind establishing our national 
>headquarters in Baltimore, there are 
>opportunities that we could highlight locally 
>through a partnership with your club during a 
>similar event in 2019. The National Federation 
>of the Blind has a local chapter in your 
>community. That chapter, in turn, is part of our 
>statewide affiliate in the state where your club 
>is based. Partnering with our chapter and 
>affiliate for a gameday event would connect your 
>club with its blind fans, support local programs 
>to teach blind children Braille and other 
>skills, and foster greater understanding between 
>blind and sighted fans, leading to more 
>opportunities for blind people in the area your 
>club serves. One of the great programs we could 
>highlight is the largest Braille instruction 
>program in the country—the NFB’s Braille 
>Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL) 
>Academy. We are prepared to support the 
>engagement with our local chapter and affiliate 
>through our national communications staff who 
>coordinated the night with the Orioles.
>Both the National Federation of the Blind and 
>the Baltimore Orioles are delighted with the 
>positive reaction to this event in Baltimore and 
>beyond. NFB members were able to share our love 
>of baseball, our commitment to Braille literacy, 
>and our positive outlook on blindness with the 
>Orioles fan community. The Orioles demonstrated 
>a spirit of inclusion by partnering with our 
>blind members in an authentic way. Both 
>organizations feel that the event has, in short, been a grand slam.
>I will be happy to discuss how we can work 
>together at your earliest convenience. I am also 
>enclosing a list of news clips and articles that 
>have been generated by our event with the 
>Orioles, as well as one of the co-branded 
>Braille alphabet cards and some photographs from 
>the event. I sincerely hope that we will be 
>working with your club in the coming baseball 
>season. Feel free to reach out to me at 
><mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>officeofthepresident at nfb.org 
>or 410-659-9314.
>
>Sincerely,
>Mark A. Riccobono, President
>National Federation of the Blind
>
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