[nabs-l] Transparency: the Value, the Quality, the Methods

Sun Jun 22 21:17:32 UTC 2014

While I don’t know all of the NABS board, indeed, I did mention that in a prior email, I would still like to give you fine folks a thank you and a thumbs up.

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Gabe Cazares via nabs-l
Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2014 5:12 PM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Transparency: the Value, the Quality, the Methods

Dear Friends,

First of all, I would like to recognize that I’m not a frequent contributor to our list, but I feel like I have some things that are worth saying. The NABS Board has been and continues to be composed of passionate, dedicated, hardworking, and committed individuals who volunteer their time and talents to work on behalf of blind students across the nation. I have had the privilege of working alongside Sean Whalen and the rest of our team since 2012, and I can tell you firsthand that the questions my friend and colleague Justin has put forth are questions that all of us as board members have talked about with one another many times before. Additionally, my experience before joining the NABS board taught me that if I wanted to know something, all I had to do was ask someone on the NABS Board and they would be happy to provide an answer. Before I joined the NABS board, I joined the board of my state student division in Texas. During that time, Sean, Candice, Darian, Karen, Cindy, and many others on the NABS board served as mentors to me long before I joined them as a fellow board member in 2012.

Now, as president of one of the largest student division’s in the country, the Texas Association of Blind Students, I can also tell you that transparency is something we as leaders are always striving to provide our membership. On a national level, I have the privilege of compiling the NABS Notes, which our membership has begun to receive monthly, I make an effort to check in with my region, as well as to provide as much support as I can to any and all student leaders who ask for it. However, these are not actions that are unique to me, but rather are actions that I can honestly say that all of my fellow board members exhibit. From my perspective, there is no us versus them mentality among the NABS Board and our membership or the national office. Many of us on the NABS board are local, state, and national leaders in addition to our individual roles in the National Association of Blind Students.

However, more important than that in my opinion, many of us are friends with you, our membership. I strongly believe that the relationships each and every single one of us forges with state student division leaders helps to expand the transparency that Justin and every single one of us on the NABS Board seek to provide you as our members.

Tyler said “The other two questions semes like questions that should be asked, but at the beginning of someone taking office.” I whole heartedly agree, and can honestly say that they have been asked, they have been the center of many discussions online as well as offline, transparency is something that matters outside of an election season, it matters each and every single day; and I can say with confidence that our current NABS Board has been, and continues to actively seek to provide such transparency. Are there areas that need improvement? Of course there are, no group or division is perfect, and I’m certain that both of our presidential candidates have their own unique ideas as to how we should better our transparency and communication as a national division.

This election boils down to differences of ideas and leadership styles, and the NABS membership will ultimately decide who we think has the best qualities to lead NABS to our next chapter. However, I disagree with the notions that have been put out in recent messages that NABS Board Members have not and continue to not engage with our members, that there is a level of secrecy in the way the NABS Board handles day-to-day business of our division, or to provide transparency. From my perspective we have been, and will continue to work as one team, as one organization, as the National Federation of the Blind. After all, our name clearly states that we are the National Association of Blind Students, A Division of the National Federation of the Blind.

Respectfully,

Gabe Cazares, President

Texas Association of Blind Students

A Division of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas

Email: gcazares at nfbtx.org

Twitter: @gmcazares

From: "Littlefield, Tyler via nabs-l" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Date: June 22, 2014 at 2:51:06 PM CDT
To: jsoro620 at gmail.com, National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Transparency: the Value, the Quality, the Methods
Reply-To: tyler at tysdomain.com, National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>

Joe:
Emails need a "like" button. This entire campaign on Justin's end has bothered me. He's firing out messages faster than anyone can read or respond, saying everything that people might want said but that should've already been said. This isn't just on NABS, I've seen this crap everywhere else. My question is pretty much the same as yours: why have these topics not been raised until now? As I said in my previous message to one of his announcements, I am not really involved with the NFB, which is as much my fault as anything. But I do watch this list and I honestly wasn't even aware Justin was on the board.

1) How important is transparency:
Has there ever been an election where the voters said "You should be less transparent?" Why is transparency an issue now and not 2 years ago? I believe that's how long terms run for.

The other two questions semes like questions that should be asked, but at the beginning of someone taking office.

Please, please stop flinging this out across all lists, social networks and following announcements of candidacy up with pointed philosophical questions, designed to bolster one's credits and as was already said, trying to keep your name well known.

Lets all move forward on the railroad of democracy; we all know who is going to be running and everyone's had their say.
On 6/22/2014 1:54 PM, Joe via nabs-l wrote:

Two things bother me about this message. First, the timeliness is awkward.

The concern for transparency should not come on the heels of an announcement

to seek the presidency of an organization. Would it not make more sense for

this overarching priority to have been a concern at the start of a person's

stent in office? Second, the message is basically a truism. Do we honestly

expect anyone to argue against transparency, or further, do we really expect

the membership of any organization to suggest there could be such a thing as

too much transparency? If so, we're not really embracing transparency in its

true sense, are we?

As a former NABS board member, I applaud the campaign messages. It speaks to

my political nature; however, feeble attempts to keep one's name relevant

have got to go. It's disingenuous.

Joe

--

Twitter: @ScribblingJoe

Visit my blog:

http://joeorozco.com/blog

-----Original Message-----

From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Justin

Salisbury via nabs-l

Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2014 12:22 AM

To: 'nabs-l at nfbnet.org'

Subject: [nabs-l] Transparency: the Value, the Quality, the Methods

Fellow Federationists:

I like the response I got the last time I polled the membership, so I'm here

to do it again. I am a big believer in targeted introspection. I like to

look within myself for my own thoughts on matters, and I hope to stimulate

NABS to look within ourselves in a similar way.

Before I joined the board, I knew some things about how the board

functioned, but I didn't know nearly as much as I do now. In working with

student divisions across the country, I have found that I have often been

the first one to bring information about the inner workings of the NABS

board and about national student initiatives. I have always been proud to do

it, but I wonder if we could be a more powerful movement if more members

could know more about what was happening inside the board. If we are not

performing as well as we can, I accept as much responsibility for it as

anybody else. If we are doing it right, I'd also hope that we might receive

the encouragement to continue.

How important is transparency? What type of transparency do our members want

from us?  How well have we been doing with it?

Whether or not I am honored with the election to the presidency, I will

value this feedback and use it to the best of my ability to build the

Federation.

Yours,

Justin Salisbury

Board Member

National Association of Blind Students

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-- 
Take care,
Ty
http://tds-solutions.net
He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; he that dares not reason is a slave.

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