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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>
March has rushed in, bringing us ever closer to our national convention.
I have been encouraged by all the great conversations about membership
that have been happening around the Federation. I note that about a dozen
affiliates have already received their membership coins, with a number of
others getting ready to ship. I am soliciting fun ways that we can use
the membership coin at the national convention to emphasize the
importance of membership. If you have ideas, please send them along. I
will have my coin with me, and I will look forward to engaging with
members of the Federation around this important expression of
participation in our movement. If your affiliate needs help in completing
the spreadsheets, please let me know. You will certainly not want to be
left out of the fun at the national convention. If your affiliate is
doing a ceremony to give out membership coins at a chapter meeting,
please take photos and submit them for the <i>Braille Monitor</i>.<br>
<br>
Below are a number of important items to call your attention to as we
head into March. Please focus on getting students to complete those
scholarship applications and send along your nominations for the Bolotin
awards.<br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>News:</b></h2><br><br>
Convention Preregistration Opened March 1:<br>
Online preregistration will be available from March 1 to May 31, 2019.
Additionally, registration will be available on site in Las Vegas. When
purchased online by May 31, the preregistration fee for convention is $25
($30 on site) and the cost of a banquet ticket is $70 ($75 on site). For
more information regarding preregistration and other details, please
visit
<a href="https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention">
https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention</a>. <br>
<br>
March Presidential Release: <br>
The March Presidential Release is available at
<a href="https://nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media/presidential-releases">
https://nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media/presidential-releases</a>
. <br>
<br>
Braille Book Fair 2019: <br>
It's time to sort through all those boxes of Braille books and donate
those gently used but no longer needed Braille books to the 2019 Braille
Book Fair sponsored by the National Organization of Parents of Blind
Children and the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults. Our
primary goal is to get more Braille books (in good condition) into the
hands of children, youth, and beginning adult readers, so we need
print/Braille storybooks (i.e., Twin Vision®), leisure reading (fiction
or nonfiction) books, cookbooks, and poetry. We do not accept magazines,
textbooks, or audio books at this time. Ship your donations to:<br>
<br>
2019 Braille Book Fair<br>
National Federation of the Blind<br>
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place<br>
Baltimore, MD 21230<br>
<br>
Please note that you are shipping the books Free Matter for the Blind;
you do not need to pay shipping cost for Braille items. Handwrite, stamp,
or affix a label to the upper right-hand corner of the box stating: FREE
MATTER FOR THE BLIND. Take your package(s) to your local post office.
There is no shipping fee for Free Matter for the Blind when mailed
through the USPS. <br>
<br>
Just a reminder that you can offer a book at any time of year to the
Braille Book Fair by posting it to ShareBraille.org and designating it
for the Braille Book Fair. <br>
<br>
<br>
FDA Policy Statements:<br>
The National Federation of the Blind submitted comments regarding the
Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Draft Guidance for Industry and Food
and Drug Administration Staff—Monitoring Blood Glucose Test Systeems for
Over-the-Counter Use and the related draft guidance regarding blood
glucose monitoring systems used in health care settings. In both cases,
we urge the FDA to require nonvisual accessibility as a part of design
consideration and the recommended standard for development. Both of these
comments and other recent policy statements can be found on our
<a href="https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/policy-statements">
Policy Statements page</a>.<br>
<br>
New York Lawsuit Settled:<br>
Blind voters in New York will now have access to the websites of the
State Board of Elections (SBOE) and the Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV). We joined with the Center for the Independence of the Disabled,
New York (CIDNY), and two individual blind plaintiffs, Eva Eason and
Meghan Parker. As a result of the settlement, the SBOE and DMV have
agreed to have fully accessible websites by 2019, ensuring blind people
have the ability to vote privately and independently. <br>
<br>
NFB-NEWSLINE®:<br>
NFB-NEWSLINE is now offering monthly training sessions for subscribers to
become better acquainted with the many access methods and tools of
NFB-NEWSLINE. Past topics included using the Amazon Alexa skill and using
the NFB-NEWSLINE mobile app. This month's training will cover downloading
material to the second-generation Victor Reader Stream, as well as how to
access NFB-NEWSLINE using a Google Home device. Training will take place
on March 19, 2019, at 8:00 p.m. eastern time via an online and phone
conference platform. Subscribers will be notified by email, alerts on the
mobile app, and under option one when you dial into NFB-NEWSLINE.
<br>
If anyone interested in these trainings does not have an email address on
file or needs to update their information, please call or email us so
that we can update your information and ensure you receive notices of
training sessions. Have an idea for a topic to be covered? Call us at
866-504-7300 or email us at
<a href="mailto:swhite@nfb.org">swhite@nfb.org</a> with that as
well.<br>
<br>
Twitter Chat:<br>
There is a twitter chat tomorrow regarding eliminating the subminimum
wage. If you are available tomorrow and have Twitter, it would be
beneficial if you could join Kimie Eacobacci and Marcy Carpenter. The
announcement is below. <br>
In collaboration with Rooted in Rights, “#EqualPay4OurWork Twitter
Chat: The Fight to Eliminate the Subminimum Wage” will be Tuesday,
March 5 at 3 p.m. eastern. Follow the hashtag #EqualPay4OurWork to join
the conversation–anyone can join in if they have a Twitter account. Thhe
questions can be found ahead of time at
<a href="https://rootedinrights.org/equalpay4ourwork-twitter-chat-the-fight-to-eliminate-the-subminimum-wage/">
https://rootedinrights.org/equalpay4ourwork-twitter-chat-the-fight-to-eliminate-the-subminimum-wage/</a>
. <br>
<br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Dates to Keep in Mind:</b></h2><br><br>
<ul>
<li><a name="_Hlk1983547"></a>March 17, 2019:
<a href="https://nfb.org/programs-services/national-center-blind-youth-science/nfb-eq-application">
STEM EQ application</a> deadline
<li><a name="_Hlk527968851"></a>March 28-29, 2019:
<a href="https://nfb.org/law-symposium">Jacobus tenBroek Law
Symposium</a><a name="_Hlk527968851"></a>
</ul><br>
<h2><b>· March 31, 2019:
<a href="https://nfb.org/scholarships">NFB scholarship application</a>
deadline</b></h2><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: <a href="http://www.blindscience.org/nfbeq">NFB
EQ</a>, 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>
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/">
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</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">
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</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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