[Mn-at-large] Fwd: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 09/ 17/2018

Wed Sep 19 00:12:03 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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>Fellow Federationists:
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>As the fall convention season begins to swing 
>into high gear, there are a number of things to 
>keep at the top of our priority list. I am sure 
>you are all eager to know about our members in 
>North Carolina. I have talked with our affiliate 
>president and as far as we know, none of our 
>members have been physically harmed, but many 
>members lived in areas completely devastated by 
>Hurricane Florence. Our members who have been 
>impacted the most have not yet been able to 
>return to their homes to assess the damage. As 
>with our hurricane relief efforts last year, we 
>are prepared to help but it will take time to 
>assess where that help is most needed. If you 
>wish to make contributions to the Federation's 
>hurricane relief project, you can use the 
>general donation form at nfb.org and indicate 
>hurricane relief project as a comment.
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>We have previously mentioned the site access for 
>Aira at all NFB state conventions. Gary Wunder 
>is managing some of our relationship with Aira. 
>If you have questions about Aira, about 
>distributing the information in affiliate 
>communications, or about Aira participation at 
>your convention, please speak with him at 
><mailto:gwunder at nfb.org>gwunder at nfb.org.
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>Today is September 18 and the Baltimore Orioles 
>are honoring the National Federation of the 
>Blind this evening. If you are not able to be 
>there in person, I hope you will share the 
>information about the online auction of the 
>first Braille jerseys to be used by a 
>professional sports team, found at 
><http://orioles.com/auctions>orioles.com/auctions. 
>Furthermore, you should consider putting in a 
>bid. Today is also my mother's birthday—she is 
>an active member of thee National Federation of 
>the Blind of Wisconsin. I will be celebrating 
>Mom's birthday by throwing out the first pitch 
>at the game tonight. Happy birthday, Mom!
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>News:
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>Advocacy Update:
>Thank you for all of your calls and emails 
>regarding the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation 
>Act (S. 2559) and the Access Technology 
>Affordability Act (H.R. 1734/S. 732). Regarding 
>Marrakesh, Neil Romano, chair of the National 
>Council on Disability and presidential 
>appointee, has written a letter to House 
>leadership urging them to pass the Marrakesh 
>Treaty Implementation Act. Mr. Romano spoke at 
>our most recent convention and his letter can be 
>found at 
><https://ncd.gov/publications/2018/ncd-letter-house-judiciary-committee-and-house-leadership-regarding-marrakesh>https://ncd.gov/publications/2018/ncd-letter-house-judiciary-committee-and-house-leadership-regarding-marrakesh. 
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>Regarding the ATAA, we are up to thirteen 
>cosponsors in the Senate and we are hoping to 
>get the score from the Joint Committee on Taxation later this week.
>Please continue to call Chairman Goodlatte and 
>urge him to discharge the Marrakesh Treaty 
>Implementation Act back to the full House, and 
>please also call your representatives and urge 
>them to cosponsor H.R. 1734. If you need 
>additional information, you can email John Pare 
>at <mailto:jpare at nfb.org>jpare at nfb.org, or reach 
>him by phone at 410-659-9314, extension 2218.
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>Meet the Blind Month:
>Meet the Blind Month is upon us! We would like 
>to create a new page listing the 2018activities. 
>Please email events you have planned to 
><mailto:kanderson at nfb.org>kanderson at nfb.org or 
>share them with us via social media, and we'll 
>add them to our 
><https://nfb.org/meet-blind-month>website. We 
>have updated 
><https://nfb.org/white-cane-awareness-day>White 
>Cane Awareness Day web content. You may use the 
><http://www.nfb.org/wcad>www.nfb.org/wcad URL in 
>local communications if you wish. Please be on 
>the lookout for an email later this week with 
>more details and resources regarding October events.
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>Parent-Affiliate Teamwork Program:
>The National Organization of Parents of Blind 
>Children—NOPBC, a proud division of the National 
>Federation of the Blind—announces the ccreation 
>of the Parent-Affiliate Teamwork program 
>(PAT).  National parent leaders are available to 
>come to your state to speak at events, provide 
>workshops on various topics, assist in creating 
>and building a state Parents Division, and serve as mentors to families.
>To take part in the PAT program, the affiliate 
>would request a parent leader and/or let us know 
>the topics you'd like to cover (or brainstorm 
>topics with us). The NOPBC can work with the 
>affiliate to identify a parent leader in a 
>nearby area or determine the speaker who would 
>be best for the topics of interest. We then 
>would work together to determine how best to 
>cover transportation costs, meals, and lodging. 
>To request a speaker, please contact NOPBC 
>president Carlton Walker at 
><mailto:nopbcpres at gmail.com>nopbcpres at gmail.com 
>or at 717-658-9894 (voice or text).
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>Dream Makers Circle:
>Building the Federation for the Next Generation
>We need to plan for the fiscal health of the 
>National Federation of the Blind for the future. 
>Our legacy society, Dream Makers Circle, helps do that.
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>We want to grow our legacy society, but we need 
>your help. In order to ask others to become 
>members, it is important for us to show that our 
>leadership supports our legacy society. It is 
>easy to join. In some cases, you can become a 
>part of our Dream Makers Circle with a quick 
>trip to the bank. You can name the Federation or 
>your affiliate as the beneficiary or partial 
>beneficiary of a life insurance policy, IRA, or 
>pension plan. The Federation can be a contingent 
>beneficiary after you plan for loved ones. 
>Please call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, or 
>email <mailto:pchang at nfb.org>pchang at nfb.org to explore the possibilities.
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>Dates to Keep in Mind:
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>    * <https://nfb.org/state-conventions>Fall conventions
>    * October 11-12, 2018: Tactile Graphics Symposium
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>Â·         November 1, 2018: NFB scholarship application period begins
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>Â·         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
>    * July 7-12, 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.
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>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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>
> 
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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 nationâ€™s blind. 
>Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.
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