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<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">President's
Notebook</blockquote><br><br>
<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><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>
Hold on just a minute, take a moment to read the content below. I know
you are thinking about the turkey and pie or how much you have to pack to
go to visit friends and family. However, this notebook, like most,
includes really important content, and some of it is very time sensitive.
Now I know that you are thinking that thawing out the turkey is also time
sensitive, but the Federation needs you to take a moment to check out
some of the action items we need from affiliates and make a plan to
execute on them in the next week. At the very least, make yourself a big
to-do item for Monday morning.<br>
<br>
When I think about being thankful, I think about the leaders of the
Federation. What you do on a daily basis makes such a great difference in
our ability to have a powerful network of Federation family across the
country. I am thankful for you. I am also thankful, as I know many of you
are, that we have had another tremendous fall convention season. I want
to extend a special thank you to Sharon Maneki who retired for a second
time from the presidency of the NFB of Maryland. Sharon stepped back into
the presidency to assist with the transition of leadership of our
national organization as Melissa Riccobono was serving as president of
the affiliate at the time. Those of you who know Sharon know that she
does not do anything half-heartedly, and her second round in the chair
was even more aggressive than the first time she served. She has now
turned the presidency over to Ronza Othman, but Sharon continues to be a
significant leader in our movement. We should also welcome Maryanne
Melley to the presidency of the NFB of Connecticut and Scott van Gorp to
the presidency of the NFB of Iowa. Thank you to those who have stepped up
to serve our organization.<br>
<br>
Now for my tips for a successful Thanksgiving:<br><br>
1. Read the items below.<br><br>
2. Make a plan to act on them.<br><br>
3. Enjoy your Thanksgiving knowing that you are ahead of the game for the
year ahead in the Federation.<br><br>
4. Reflect on all that we have to be thankful for in this great
Federation family.<br><br>
5. Eat pie.<br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Critical Actions This Week:</b></h2><br><br>
<br>
Affiliate Social Media Information Needed:<br>
As some of you may know, we are in the process of redesigning the current
nfb.org. This is an exciting project, and we have a lot of improvements
in the works. One content-related update we are planning is to include
state-specific social media information on each of the state affiliate
pages. To that end, please send a list of your state’s current social
media accounts, including Twitter handles and/or Facebook page URLs, to
our web content coordinator, Alyssa Vetro. You may email her at
<a href="mailto:avetro@nfb.org">avetro@nfb.org</a>. Please do so by
Tuesday, November 27.<br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>News:</b></h2><br><br>
Presidential Release:<br>
The November Presidential Release is available at
<a href="https://nfb.org/presidential-releases-en/presidential-release-477">
https://nfb.org/presidential-releases-en/presidential-release-477</a>.<br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>“On Our Seventy-Eighth Birthday, Celebrating Seventy-Eight Years
of Stories:”<br>
In case you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, my recent blog post is
available at
<a href="https://nfb.org/blog/article/3768">
https://nfb.org/blog/article/3768</a>. If you would like to share it with
others, it is linked from Facebook at
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/NationalFederationoftheBlind/photos/a.10150364849919248/10156933902509248/">
https://www.facebook.com/NationalFederationoftheBlind/photos/a.10150364849919248/10156933902509248/</a>
as well as on Twitter.</b></h2><br><br>
<br>
Scholarship Application Now Available:<br>
Every year through our scholarship program, we award more than $120,000
to blind scholars from throughout the United States in recognition of
their achievements and professional aspirations. The scholarship
application period opened on November 1 and runs through March 31, 2019.
To learn more and to apply, please visit our new scholarship webpage at
<a href="https://nfb.org/scholarships">https://nfb.org/scholarships</a>
.<br>
<br>
Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards:<br>
The annual Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards honor individuals and organizations
that are a positive force in the lives of blind people and whose work
advances the ultimate goal of helping transform our dreams into reality.
Individuals and organizations can apply for an award or nominate others.
The nomination period opens on November 15, 2018, and runs through April
15, 2019. For more information, including the history of the award and
its recent winners, visit the new Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award webpage at
<a href="https://nfb.org/bolotin">https://nfb.org/bolotin</a>.<br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Dates to Keep in Mind:</b></h2><br><br>
<ul>
<li><a name="_Hlk530473779"></a>January 28, 2019: Great Gathering-In;
Washington Seminar begins
<li>March 28-29, 2019: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium
</ul><br>
<h2><b><a name="_Hlk527968851"></a>
· March 31, 2019:
<a href="https://nfb.org/scholarships">NFB scholarship application</a>
deadline</b></h2><a name="_Hlk527968851"></a><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>· April 15, 2019:
<a href="https://nfb.org/programs/dr-jacob-bolotin-awards">Dr. Jacob
Bolotin Award</a> application deadline </b></h2><br><br>
<ul>
<li>June 16-22, 2019: NFB EQ, Baltimore, Maryland
<li>July 7-12, 2019: <a href="https://nfb.org/convention/2019">NFB
National Convention</a>, Las Vegas, Nevada
</ul> <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>
<br>
Mark A. Riccobono, President<br>
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230<br>
(410) 659-9314 |
<a href="mailto:officeofthepresident@nfb.org">
officeofthepresident@nfb.org</a> <br>
<br>
<br>
<a href="https://nfb.org/">
<img src="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/images/email/2/nfblogo.png" width=210 height=76 alt="National Federation of the Blind">
</a><br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind">
<img src="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/images/email/2/facebook.png" width=24 height=24 alt="Facebook">
</a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice">
<img src="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/images/email/2/twitter.png" width=24 height=24 alt="Twitter">
</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind">
<img src="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/images/email/2/youtube.png" width=24 height=24 alt="Youtube">
</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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