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<h1><b>President's Notebook</b></h1><br><br>
<br>
<h1><b>National Federation of the Blind</b></h1><br><br>
<br>
<h1><b>Mark A. Riccobono</b></h1><br><br>
<br>
<h1><b><a href="mailto:officeofthepresident@nfb.org">
officeofthepresident@nfb.org</a></b></h1><br><br>
<br>
<h1><b>(410) 659-9314</b></h1><br><br>
<br>
Dear Fellow Federationists,<br>
<br>
Congratulations to a new corps of NFB state affiliate presidents who have
been elected during the past couple of weeks. A special thank you to our
long-standing affiliate leaders who have passed the torch of leadership
forward in order to keep our affiliates vibrant and growing. I encourage
our affiliate presidents to continue to network with each other, and I
urge our veteran leaders to share their tremendous background knowledge
with our new presidents. With that in mind, it seems fitting to remind
all affiliate presidents that we will have a gathering for all affiliate
presidents beginning at 6:00 p.m. on January 28 at our national office in
Baltimore. Affiliate presidents should plan to stay at the Jernigan
Institute and plan on meetings all day on January 29 and into the
evening. The group will travel together to Washington on January 30. More
details and a survey soliciting topics for the seminar will be coming
soon. <br>
<br>
We have received a number of concerns about Uber’s new mobile app and
its accessibility. We will be reaching out to our technical contacts at
Uber to ask what they are doing to address these concerns. As you know,
we have been pressing Uber to build their technology with accessibility
and quality accessibility testing but we have not yet made all of the
progress we would like. I wanted you to know we are aware of the issue
and are pursuing it.<br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Critical Actions This Week:</b></h2><br><br>
NFB Voting Hotline:<br>
We will be hosting an Election Day hotline for blind and visually
impaired voters, poll workers, and voting rights advocates to call when
problems with accessible voting technology or other barriers are
preventing a blind voter from casting a private and independent ballot.
The hotline will be available November 8, 2016, from 7:00 a.m. Eastern to
10:00 p.m. Eastern (7:00 p.m. Pacific). The number is (877) 632-1940.
<br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>News:</b></h2><br><br>
Presidential Release:<br>
The November Presidential Release is available from the NFB website at
<a href="https://nfb.org/presidential-releases">
https://nfb.org/presidential-releases</a>. <br>
<br>
NFB-Pearson STEM Survey<br>
Please take time to complete the NFB-Pearson STEM survey, or encourage
your child or student to complete this detailed survey, by Friday,
December 2. Participation in the survey is critical; the results will
help us better understand barriers blind students encounter in the
classroom and how to broaden access to STEM subjects for future blind
students. Participants will be entered into a drawing to win one of
twenty $25 Amazon gift cards. <br>
<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NFBAdultSTEM">STEM survey for
college students and adults</a> <br>
<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NFBTeenSTEM">STEM survey for
middle and high school students</a><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Reminders:</b></h2><br><br>
NFB Scholarship Program:<br>
We are accepting scholarship applications from November 1, 2016, to March
31, 2017. This annual program offers thirty scholarships worth from
$3,000 to $12,000 to eligible students, from high school seniors
beginning their freshman year in the fall semester of 2017, up through
graduate students working on their PhD degrees. Go to
<a href="http://www.nfb.org/scholarships">www.nfb.org/scholarships</a>
for complete rules and requirements.<br>
<br>
Parent Leadership Program (PLP):<br>
Our National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) is seeking
recommendations for our next Parent Leadership Program (PLP) to be held
at the 2017 Washington Seminar. Please send recommendations by Nov. 18 to
<a href="mailto:carol_castellano@verizon.net">
carol_castellano@verizon.net</a>. Please note: PLP workshops will begin
the morning of Sunday, January 29, so PLP participants need to arrive in
DC on Saturday, January 28, earlier than most seminar
participants.<br><br>
Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Program:<br>
The award program will be accepting nominations online from November 15,
2016, to April 15, 2017. Applicants must have demonstrated exemplary
leadership and extraordinary accomplishments in improving the lives of
blind people in the United States. An application for an award may be
made either by the applicant directly or by third parties who nominate an
applicant. Additional information can be found at
<a href="https://nfb.org/bolotin-award-main">
https://nfb.org/bolotin-award-main</a>.<br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Dates to Keep in Mind:</b></h2><br><br>
·
<a href="https://nfb.org/state-conventions">Fall Conventions</a><br>
· November 8: Election Day;
NFB voter hotline available at (877) 632-1940<br>
· January 30, 2017: Great
Gathering-In <br>
· January 30-February 2, 2017:
<a href="https://nfb.org/washington-seminar">Washington Seminar</a><br>
· March 30-31, 2017: Jacobus
tenBroek Law Symposium<br>
· July 21-29, 2017: Youth
Slam, Towson University<br>
· September 12-17, 2017:
BLAST, Nashville, Tennessee<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
Mark A. Riccobono, President<br>
National Federation of the Blind<br>
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place<br>
Baltimore, Maryland 21230<br>
Phone: (410) 659-9314<br>
Fax: (410) 659-5129<br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:officeofthepresident@nfb.org">
officeofthepresident@nfb.org</a><br>
Twitter: @Riccobono and @NFB_Voice<br>
Web: <a href="http://www.nfb.org/">www.nfb.org</a><br>
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