[nabs-l] NABS: A Division IN the National Federation of theBlind

Ashley Bramlett bookwormahb at earthlink.net
Sat Jun 14 20:12:01 UTC 2014 

Chris,
since you are involved more in vabs than me now, you might know more.
Basically, I felt we did not do much. We did not communicate and act like a 
division.
If you all have once a year seminars at state convention, is that really 
much of a division?
That's all I'll say.
I  certainly did reach out to members and wanted to do more but things did 
not happen.
Anyway with the younger students, you all can change this if you want to; 
start with getting money; the division has never had its own money and 
treasurery as far as I know and when I spoke to the past president like few 
years back this was the case.
Communication needs to improve.

Anyway that was the issue. I don't know if I'm at state convention, but if 
you go, maybe you all can plan stuff as a division. I'd certainly support 
this  and someday may be a student again if I'm in grad school.

good luck.
ashley

-----Original Message----- 
From: Christopher O'Meally via nabs-l
Sent: Saturday, June 14, 2014 2:19 PM
To: Mikayla Gephart ; Nabs L
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] NABS: A Division IN the National Federation of 
theBlind

I would also like to know this.

Christopher O’Meally
VABS Board Member
chris.omeally at gmail.com



On Jun 14, 2014, at 9:25 AM, Mikayla Gephart via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> 
wrote:

> What is going on in virginia, ? We can all help each other out.

>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Jun 13, 2014, at 10:12 PM, Ashley Bramlett via nabs-l 
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> hi Chris,
>> communication is good, but national doesn't track what every state 
>> division does, at least not to my knowledge.
>> Your state president and affiliate should communicate with your state 
>> division though.
>> I think you in your MD division communicate with national because you're 
>> right in MD but remember this is not typical.
>> Just saying. But overall,
>> good message. Glad your  division is strong, and I wish I could say the 
>> same about the virginia student division.
>>
>> Ashley
>>
>> -----Original Message----- From: Chris Nusbaum via nabs-l
>> Sent: Friday, June 13, 2014 6:02 PM
>> To: 'Justin Salisbury' ; 'National Association of Blind Students mailing 
>> list'
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] NABS: A Division IN the National Federation of 
>> theBlind
>>
>> Dear Justin:
>>
>> I thank you for this latest note and, quite frankly, for your last one as
>> well. In my view it always behooves us as members to have these kinds of
>> open discussions about how we would like NABS to operate. It is 
>> particularly
>> gratifying when a member of the Board poses these questions to the open
>> forum of the listserv, thereby opening the door for public discussion and
>> debate. As someone who has served on the Board of the Maryland 
>> Association
>> of Blind Students for the past two years now, I willingly admit that such
>> conversations are too often reserved for the Board members and committee
>> leaders. I think we forget to poll the membership on these questions 
>> between
>> conventions, which I fear widens a potential gap between the membership 
>> and
>> the leadership. As our nation is called to be one governed by the people, 
>> so
>> our Federation is in essence a people's movement. Thank you for reminding 
>> us
>> to return to this essential principle. With this said, I have spent some
>> time pondering your questions and would like to provide my thoughts and
>> experience.
>>
>> To me, the essence of a division's unity with the wider movement can be
>> found in its close communication with state and national leaders as well 
>> as
>> its support of Federation-wide policies and programs. The NFB Pledge 
>> calls
>> us to "support the programs and policies of the Federation, and to abide 
>> by
>> its Constitution." In the experience of our student division here in
>> Maryland, we began to fall apart when our leadership felt that they could
>> reinvent the wheel and halt the close relationship which used to exist
>> between the student President and the affiliate President. Their goal in
>> doing this was to make the student division its own entity, operating on 
>> its
>> own terms and making its own rules. They thought the division would be 
>> more
>> effective if it was not perceived as operating solely at the whim of the
>> "big wigs" in Baltimore. The result, however, was the opposite of what 
>> these
>> past leaders had hoped for. The members, and ultimately the leaders
>> themselves, became apathetic. Very little events were held and almost no
>> revenue was coming into the treasury. Eventually, the division became
>> completely dependent on the affiliate to remain afloat financially. Even 
>> our
>> bank account was joined with the affiliate's. Only when a new Board led 
>> by a
>> new President were elected did the division begin to grow. This new Board
>> was energetic about our cause, willing to work, and--most 
>> importantly--they
>> were willing to cooperate and communicate with Federation leaders at the
>> state and national levels. Our division President often jokingly tells 
>> the
>> Board that at times it seems like she is on the phone with the affiliate
>> President nearly every day.
>>
>> Over the past few years we have found this close communication with our
>> state and national offices beneficial in the continued growth of our
>> division. It allows us to provide mutual support to each other, as I 
>> believe
>> divisions are meant to do. When the state and national movements launch a
>> new initiative, we can use our resources to support it. In return, the 
>> state
>> and national leaders can use their connections to advertise our 
>> initiatives
>> and fundraisers to more people than we ever could on our own. Moreover,
>> invaluable insights can be gained from such communication. Often we on 
>> the
>> MDABS Board contact our state President with our ideas and ask for advice 
>> on
>> how they can be carried out. I personally and MDABS collectively have 
>> found
>> that the experience of older Federation leaders has been very helpful to 
>> us
>> in planning more effective events and generally growing a stronger
>> organization which remains an integral part of the wider movement.
>>
>> Therefore, I believe that NABS is doing a very good job currently of
>> remaining united with the Federation as a whole while staying true to 
>> that
>> which makes us unique. We have divisions, I believe, to serve the needs 
>> and
>> concerns of those who have a special interest in certain issues which 
>> only
>> effect a certain group of people. NABS, for example, exists to serve the
>> needs of blind students specifically. However, I believe we must remember
>> that we are also, as you so eloquently stated it, a "division in the
>> National Federation of the Blind." This status calls us to maintain
>> communication between our colleagues in the movement who are not 
>> students.
>> It also requires that we honor the pledge we took upon joining this
>> organization: that we would, both personally and collectively, "support 
>> the
>> programs and policies of the Federation." So long as we maintain this 
>> level
>> of communication and mutual support with our fellow Federationists, in my
>> opinion, we will remain on the right track.
>>
>> Yours in the movement,
>>
>> Chris Nusbaum, Secretary
>> Maryland Association of Blind Students: a division in the National
>> Federation of the Blind of Maryland
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Justin
>> Salisbury via nabs-l
>> Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2014 11:44 PM
>> To: 'nabs-l at nfbnet.org'; 'ctabs at nfbnet.org'; Massachusetts Association of
>> Blind Students List (massabs at nfbnet.org); List for NABS State Presidents
>> (nabs-presidents at nfbnet.org); Wisconsin Association of Blind Students 
>> List
>> Subject: [nabs-l] NABS: A Division IN the National Federation of the 
>> Blind
>>
>> Fellow Federationists:
>> It appears that my last letter missed the mark.  The emotions that I 
>> wanted
>> to produce to begin the Justin Salisbury campaign were not what I 
>> achieved.
>> Since the only direction to move is forward, that is where I will go.  In
>> one look back, I sincerely apologize for writing in a way that produced 
>> such
>> a variety of emotions.
>> I want to thank those who have supported me over the years and those who 
>> are
>> supporting me today.  From my very first Federation event, I knew that 
>> this
>> organization would always push and empower me to be the best I can be. I
>> remember being so unsure of my own ability to succeed in math and science 
>> as
>> a blind person and then being approached by a blind engineer and a blind
>> environmental scientist at the end of the banquet. I thought I had 
>> already
>> received the best rehab training and had achieved the pinnacle of
>> mathematical competence as a blind person, which was inherently below 
>> that
>> of a sighted person; boy, was I wrong. They wouldn't let me doubt myself,
>> and they made it clear that I could always find a mentor in the National
>> Federation of the Blind. One of the things that makes our movement so 
>> strong
>> is that you don't have to be the chosen one to seek advice from the best
>> leaders and mentors. I remember thinking that I could not possibly have
>> anything important enough to discuss with Dr. Maurer, and then, I found
>> myself telling him about my boyhood dream of serving in the military. I 
>> have
>> grown out of that shyness one step at a time.  I now seize and treasure 
>> my
>> opportunities to take advice from and bond with some key players in our
>> movement. I do not receive this support because I am uniquely deserving 
>> of
>> it; I receive it because I seek it and seek it with the desire to make 
>> the
>> Federation stronger with it. So far as I know, there is no chosen one for
>> this position until our membership chooses at our business meeting, and I
>> hope that the chosen one will be me.
>> If anyone here has not yet read the June Braille Monitor, I strongly
>> recommend reading the article by the young Marc Maurer, who was then
>> President of the National Association of Blind Students. What I find most
>> appealing is his attention to the purpose and function of a division in 
>> the
>> National Federation of the Blind. While the early NABS would provide
>> advocacy help to anyone desiring it, the primary duty of the division is 
>> to
>> the National Federation of the Blind. It is not to lead the Federation on
>> student initiatives but to advise the Federation on student initiatives 
>> and
>> provide a learning forum. The early NABS existed to inform the entire
>> Federation membership and prepare us all for the effort to help blind
>> students achieve. Instead of looking at NABS as a division of the
>> Federation, we should consider NABS a division IN the Federation. If I am
>> elected President, I understand that I am not going to be the primary 
>> leader
>> of the National Association of Blind Students; the primary leader will be
>> the President of the National Federation of the Blind, and our movement 
>> will
>> be unified.
>> To me, the value of this model is evident. We need to have this kind of
>> NABS. Now, I want to ask questions of our membership and facilitate
>> discussion in order to learn how the membership wants the NABS President 
>> to
>> best serve. How do we want to fulfill this role in the Federation? What 
>> role
>> do our members want to play in achieving this model?
>> I eagerly await every reply.
>>
>> Sincerely yours,
>>
>> Justin Salisbury
>> Board Member
>> National Association of Blind Students
>> president at alumni.ecu.edu<mailto:president at alumni.ecu.edu>
>>
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