[nabs-l] NABS Notes March 2016

[Hindley Williams]

Hello Fellow Federationists,
Take a look at the March edition of the NABS Notes. You will find them
below as a URL, attached as a Word file, and the text pasted at the
bottom of this email. Enjoy reading about what NABS and students
divisions across the country have been up to for the past month, and
are planning for the future.
If ever you have any questions or suggestions relating to the NABS
Notes, please feel free to reach out to me at hbwilliams16 at gmail.com .
Here is the URL:
http://nabslink.org/content/nabs-notes-march-2016
And here is the text:

NABS Notes March 2016

The National Association of Blind Students --
A proud division of the National Federation of the Blind.

In this edition of the NABS monthly bulletin:

1.	The NFB National Scholarship – TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO APPLY!
2.	Mark Your Calendars – NABS at the 2016 NFB National Convention
3.	March NABS Blog Update
4.	State Updates
5.	March NABS Board Meeting Minutes

The NFB National Scholarship – TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO APPLY!

Are you legally blind?
Do you reside in the United States, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico?
Are you pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time, postsecondary
course of study at a U.S. institution in the 2016 scholastic year?
Are you available to attend the entire NFB National Convention in
Orlando, Florida from June 30-July 5, 2016?
Are you eager to meet Federation leaders and network with some of the
brightest, most passionate mentors out there?
If you said yes to all of these questions, then we strongly encourage
you to apply to our 2016 National Scholarship Program!
To recognize achievement by blind scholars, the National Federation of
the Blind annually offers blind college students in the United States
and Puerto Rico the opportunity to win one of thirty merit-based,
national-level scholarships ranging in value of $3,000 to $12,000. All
scholarships awarded are based on academic excellence, community
service, and leadership.
Visit our website at www.nfb.org/scholarships to begin your application!
Remember: applications, along with all necessary documents, must be
submitted no later than March 31, 2016.

Mark Your Calendars – NABS at the 2016 NFB National Convention

National convention is just around the corner! Whether this is going
to be your first convention experience, or you are a familiar face
among us, we look forward to seeing you at all of the various events
that NABS has planned. Our annual NABS social will kick it all off,
followed by our business meeting which will feature informative and
engaging presentations that you won’t want to miss. And, right before
the convention week has ended, come socialize and play some fun card
games with your fellow students. We will also be having an Exhibit
Hall table, and details are soon to follow on what you will find
there. But, in order to make all of this happen, NABS needs your help.
>From marshalling for these events, to staffing the Monte Carlo night,
to volunteering at the Exhibit Hall table, we want to work with you.
If you have any initial interest in volunteering with NABS at this
year’s National Convention, please email Bre Brown at bbrown at nfbtx.org
 or Kathryn Webster at kathrynwebster.nfb at gmail.com. We look forward
to working alongside you, and reconnecting and meeting students from
all across the country at this year’s convention!

March NABS Blog Update

Every year hundreds of federationists travel to Washington D.C. to
advocate for blind Americans on Capitol Hill. Each year, it is our
goal to bring new students along. This year, the National Association
of Blind Students was able to sponsor approximately 15 students to
attend. Among those students were Michael Ausbun and vee Gaspa. In
this blog, you can read about their experiences as first time
attendees. The blog can be found at
http://nabslink.org/content/washington-seminar-perspectives-first-timers.
If you have ideas for future blog posts, please email Bre Brown at
bbrown at nfbtx.org. Stay tuned for our April blog post.

State Updates

All updates are printed below as they were received from their senders.

Alabama:
In January, the Alabama association of Blind Students held a Luncheon
to revitalize the student division. At the luncheon, elections were
held. The board members are as follows. President: Anna Walsh; Vice
president: Jessica Williams; Secretary: Grace Anderson; Treasurer:
Leslie Dixon; board member: Tripp Gulledge.
In March, AABS held several student events at our NFB state
convention. A business meeting was held and dues were collected at
that meeting. We conducted a student luncheon where a panel of experts
discussed several important things pertaining to college readiness.
During the convention, AABS conducted two fundraisers. The first was a
50/50 raffle, and the second was a horse race. Both were reasonably
successful.
In the future, AABS hopes to grow as a student division and get
involved in student issues on the national level. Our next meeting
will be in April. Plans are underway for more fundraising events and
we are always trying to think of ways to reach out to other blind
students across Alabama.

Connecticut:
CTABS is gearing up for a well-attended National Convention with a
unique fundraiser. We have been planning engaging conference calls by
inviting national leaders to share their professional and personal
experiences with us. We are working closely with the affiliate to plan
another great State Convention this coming November. CTABS is eager to
develop young leaders into mentors for incoming students! As we begin
planning a regional student seminar, we are open to ideas,
suggestions, and contributions from any northeast states! Please
contact Kathryn Webster at kathrynwebster.nfb at gmail.com .

Massachusetts:
Hey Nabsters! This is Kristina Vu, MASSABS’ new board member, bringing
you an update on what’s going on in Massachusetts. We just wrapped up
a very successful state convention, where we had a record breaking
attendance of thirty-nine students! Our weekend was jam-packed with
student activities from karaoke night to legislative updates. We also
elected a new board. Here are their names and positions: President
Syed Rizvi, First Vice President Precious Perez, Second Vice President
Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Secretary Meaghan Roper, Treasurer Steven
Max-Faults, and Board Member Kristina Vu.
We are already looking forward to our spring social, which will be
held on Saturday, April 16, at Wheelock College, in Boston. We will
have food, fun activities, and federation updates!
With a great new board, a growing membership, and such a great start
to the year, MASSABS is excited to continue building the federation!

North Carolina:
After a great student seminar in January with knowledge on social
security and financial planning, we are beginning to think about
National Convention. While we aim to bring as many students as
possible to Orlando, we also want students to learn, grow, and engage
in our philosophy. Next month, we are hoping on having a special guest
speaker to discuss training at our national centers. Stay tuned!

Ohio:
Greetings from the great state of Ohio. Ohio is very excited to be in
the process of rebuilding it's student division. On March 5, a
national Federation of the blind scholarship application seminar was
conducted in the city of Columbus. During this scholarship workshop,
leaders of the national Federation of the blind of Ohio discussed with
potential scholarship candidates the value of the Federation, and the
importance of changing perceptions of there cited counterparts. In
Ohio, we are very excited to be part of building the Federation, and
we very much look forward to sharing exciting news about Ohio with you
soon.

Tennessee:
TABS is having our meeting at our state Convention will be held April
1-3 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, at the Clarion Inn, 2227 Old Fort
Parkway.

Texas:
The Texas Association of Blind students in conjunction with the Texas
Parents of Blind Children will be holding our annual youth conference
in Dallas, April 8-10. The conference is for Parents of blind
children, blind students, and related professionals to come together
during this exciting weekend to network, learn, and have lots of fun!
We will have exhibits, a reception, an open TABS board meeting, a
joint session for parents, students, and professionals, a formal
luncheon, breakout sessions for students and parents, a recreational
trip, and more. We are pleased to welcome Jeannie Massay from Oklahoma
as our national representative. This is always an exciting time here
in Texas, and this year will not be any different. You can find all of
the details and preregister at www.nfbtx.org. Those who preregister
will be entered in to a special drawing to win their registration fee
of $50.00 bac. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at
bbrown at nfbtx.org .

Virginia:
Virginia students are fast at work planning our first-ever student
seminar. As a student division with representation from nearly all age
groups, we aim to make an inclusive environment to all. In May, we
plan to partner with the Virginia School for the blind to engage in
NFB history, philosophy, and membership development as we work with
national leaders. We also are planning our annual Blowout, involving
great partnership with our affiliate to bring in younger students. We
hope to have a solid turnout at National Convention.

March NABS Board Meeting Minutes

National Association of Blind Students

Board Meeting Minutes
 Sunday, March 20, 2016

Meeting called to order at 9:06 pm

Members Present:

Sean Whalen (President)
Candice Chapman (1st Vice President)
Bre Brown (2nd Vice President)
Kathryn Webster (Secretary/Treasurer)
Hindley Williams (Board Member 1)
Chris Nusbaum (Board member 3)

Treasurer’s Report:
Checking account balance: $2,103.58
Saving account balance: $7,307.39
Check was sent for Michael’s flight to Idaho for $413.20
Check was sent to Sean for final Wash Sem money
Awaiting $150 from Virgil for auction items
Awaiting $240 from David of LCB for Apple Bee’s fundraiser
Sending check to Bre tomorrow for Oklahoma for $157.35 and for Alabama
for $337.98
We had a national division call on Tuesday for all presidents and
treasurers. Quick summary: We will be working closely with national
during the transition, as well as sending monthly bank statements to
the National office for archival purposes.

Committee Reports

Communications: Bre, Chris, and Hindley
Washington Seminar blog going up shortly. Next project is resources
web page to improve and update that.
NABS Notes: will go out at the end of the week to include what needs
to be included before the end of March. We will be recruiting members
to help preparation for National Convention.
Social media: Friend us on Facebook at NABS Link and follow us on
Twitter @nabslink.

Fundraising: Kathryn
Sent thank you to the committee for helping. Recruiting for help for
National Convention fundraisers. Made a final spreadsheet to archive
who has donated (organizations and individuals.) Sean will send out
thank you notes to all who donated. Kathryn will update Gofundme
tonight.

Legislative: Sean and Kathryn
Meeting with President of Harvard to continue the accessibility push
there (second meeting with her, fifth with the university.)
We are still collecting letters for equal access to education. Please
send them to Sean and Kathryn at nabs.president at gmail.com and
kathrynwebster.nfb at gmail.com

Membership: Candice
State Presidents call this coming Sunday, March 27 at 9pm eastern.
Scholarship call was well attended.
Please send ideas for an April membership call to Candice Chapman at
chapman.candicel at gmail.com
We are making lots of progress with uploading the membership
directories to the website.

Website: Kathryn
Kathryn and Bre are making the scholarship page this week. Kathryn
will put it up as a link from the homepage. Big import of state
president updates happening tomorrow.
The logo will be put up this week.

State Updates

Candice Chapman:
MS: Convention in two weeks, and Candice will be there.
Working on getting in touch with Missouri, Arkansas, and Oregon.
FL: is doing well.

Bre Brown:
AL: just had State Convention, and Bre went. Overall, things went
well, but we will continue working with them.
TX: Youth conference next month.
LA: State Convention next month.
DE: working on creating a student division.

Kathryn Webster:
CT: We set a new time for our monthly conference calls (second
Thursday at 8pm.) We are planning a student seminar that will expand
upon last year’s legislative leadership workshop into a more
interactive and varying subject seminar. We have merged the student
treasury with the affiliate in a restricted fund. Hoping to have a
fundraiser at National Convention (some sort of raffle.)
DC: Kathryn is working with Amir to pinpoint new leaders. We are
bringing in DC people to help with a Facebook photo initiative…may
gain more momentum in membership recruitment at the same time.
MA: New president. Kathryn was there. Great Convention! Great new leaders.
NC: Kathryn is heavily involved throughout the transition.
TN: Doing well.
VA: Helping plan their student seminar for the end of May.

National Convention Preparation:
Business meeting: Sean will handle the agenda for that. Direct ideas to him.
NABS Social: The evening of the first full day of Convention; room
already booked.
Monte Carlo: still happening; we have the bar tender and usual room.
Exhibit Hall table: Still happening.
Kathryn and Bre will coordinate shifts for what we need volunteers for.
Mentoring program: Will continue this discussion in April; Membership
Committee will brainstorm ideas.
Fundraising at Convention: Penny Wars maybe? 50/50 raffle? Kathryn
will conduct a call with her committee and then present
recommendations to the NABS Board for feedback and decision making.

Elections:
Positions up for election: President (2 year term), 1st VP (1 year
term), 2nd VP (2 year term), Treasurer (1 year term), Secretary (2
year term), Board member 2 (2 year term), Board member 4 (2 year
term.)

Meeting adjourned at 10:56 pm

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions,
concerns or suggestions. The NABS Board works for you, and we want to
know how we’re doing! Thanks for reading, and we’ll be back in April.

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.



-- 
Hindley Williams
hbwilliams16 at gmail.com
(443) 823-0867


-- 
Hindley Williams
hbwilliams16 at gmail.com
(443) 823-0867
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