[Mn-at-large] Fwd: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 01/ 02/2019

Thu Jan 3 02:14:33 UTC 2019

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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,
>
>Happy New Year! Congratulations to those of you 
>who have already secured your rooms at the 
>Mandalay Bay for the 2019 Convention of the 
>National Federation of the Blind. It is good to 
>be ahead of the curve. We anticipate our room 
>block filling quickly for the convention. 
>However, you have plenty of time for that. You 
>should be gearing up for the 2019 Washington 
>Seminar and the great meetings planned for our 
>time together at the end of this month.
>
>This year is going to be an important one for 
>the Federation. Attached to this message is the 
>National Federation of the Blind 2019-2021 
>Strategic Plan. This plan will be published in 
>the Braille Monitor in February, but you are 
>getting a sneak peek because of your critical 
>role in the organization. This plan includes 
>feedback many of you gave during focus groups at 
>our national convention last year. As a result, 
>I feel really confident that this plan is deeply 
>rooted in the activities that will best assist 
>our organization in going to the next level. 
>Implementing these activities will take your 
>support and active participation. Please get to 
>know the plan as a leader of our movement.
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>Critical Actions This Week:
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>Washington Seminar Update:
>The Great Gathering-In is only twenty-six days 
>away, and the deadline to reserve a room at the 
>Holiday Inn Capitol is Friday, January 4, 2019. 
>You can find all of the relevant hotel 
>information, fact sheets (available tomorrow 
>afternoon), and schedule for the week at 
><https://www.nfb.org/washington-seminar>https://www.nfb.org/washington-seminar.
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>The three issues we will be covering during the 2019 Washington Seminar are:
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>Â·         The Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA)
>The cost of critically needed access technology 
>is out of reach for most blind Americans. By 
>providing a refundable tax credit for qualifying 
>purchases, Congress will stimulate individual 
>procurement of access technology and promote 
>affordability of these much-needed tools.
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>Â·         Greater Accessibility and 
>Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology (GAIN) Act
>New advancements in digital interfaces for 
>home-use medical devices, home appliances, and 
>fitness equipment create barriers preventing 
>blind individuals from operating these devices 
>independently. Congress must end the digital 
>divide that threatens the independence of blind 
>Americans by developing minimum accessibility requirements for such devices.
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>Â·         The Disability Employment Act (DEA)
>The AbilityOne Program creates a segregated work 
>environment that fails to adequately equip 
>workers with disabilities for the challenges of 
>the twenty-first century. The Disability 
>Employment Act will spur innovation that will 
>increase and enhance modern employment 
>opportunities for people with disabilities.
>
>Finally, as you make your appointments, please 
>keep in mind that we will once again be hosting 
>a congressional reception this year. The 
>reception will take place on Tuesday, January 
>29, 2019, at the Capitol Visitors Center (CVC), 
>room CVC-200, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Please 
>encourage your congressional delegation to attend.
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>News:
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>Convention Hotel Room Block Open:
>The room block at the Mandalay Bay is open. To 
>make reservations for the 2019 Convention, you 
>can call the hotel at 877-632-7800. The hotel 
>will take a deposit of the first nightâ€™s room 
>rate for each room and will require a credit 
>card or a personal check. If you use a credit 
>card, the deposit will be charged against your 
>card immediately. If a reservation is cancelled 
>before Friday, June 1, 2019, half of the deposit 
>will be returned. Otherwise, refunds will not be 
>made. The room rate is $99 for singles, doubles, 
>triples, and quads. Hotel and sales taxes are 
>13.38 percent and 8.25 percent, respectively. 
>The resort fee (normally $37 a night) will be 
>waived for NFB Convention attendees. However, 
>fees for internet access, local and toll-free 
>calls, and fitness center access may apply.
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>Washington Seminar Hotel Deadline Extended:
>The deadline for booking hotel rooms for 
>Washington Seminar has been extended to Friday, 
>January 4, 2019. You can call 877-572-6951 and 
>reference booking code NB8. You can also book 
>reservations online on 
><http://ichotelsgroup.com/redirect?path=rates&brandCode=HI&regionCode=1&localeCode=en&GPC=NB8&hotelCode=WASSM&_PMID=99801505>the 
>Holiday Inn Washington Capitol website.
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>Aira Plans:
>There are now two Aira plans available to 
>members of the National Federation of the Blind only.
>    * Thirty minutes a month for $20.00
>    * One hundred and forty minutes per month 
> for $99.00 (This plan includes the Austria 
> glasses, allows for minute sharing, permits 
> purchasing additional non-expiring minutes if 
> one is running short, and lets members get credit for referrals.)
>Call an Aira agent (800-835-1934) to subscribe 
>or visit the Aira website at <https://aira.io/nfb/>https://aira.io/nfb/.
>.
>Reminder: Membership Initiative for Affiliate Presidents:
>The deadline for submitting the Connection 
>spreadsheets with member data is rapidly 
>approaching. There was a request that you have 
>chapters and divisions send their spreadsheets 
>to you before the end of December, because you 
>are being asked to submit all of your affiliate 
>information to the national office by no later 
>than January 15, 2019. Please send your 
>completed affiliate information to Julie 
>McGinnity at 
><mailto:jmcginnity at nfb.org>jmcginnity at nfb.org. 
>If you need the Connections spreadsheet and/or 
>instructions resent to you, please contact Julie.
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>Dates to Keep in Mind:
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>    * January 28, 2019: Great Gathering-In; Washington Seminar begins
>    * March 28-29, 2019: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium
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>Â·         March 31, 2019: 
><https://nfb.org/scholarships>NFB scholarship application deadline
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>Â·         April 15, 2019: 
><https://nfb.org/programs/dr-jacob-bolotin-awards>Dr. 
>Jacob Bolotin Award application deadline
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>    * 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
>
>
><https://nfb.org/>
>National Federation of the Blind
>
>
> 
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>
>
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>
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