[nagdu] Some Perspective on the Policy

Marion Gwizdala blind411 at verizon.net
Sat Jul 2 02:16:39 UTC 2011 

No matter which it was, the fact remains that these hotels share information 
with each other. When I was looking for a hotel to host a state convention, 
those with whom I made inquiries had our entire contract, including all our 
F&B within 15 minutes. If one does not believe the adage about "one bad 
apple", they are very naive!

Marion


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Buddy Brannan" <buddy at brannan.name>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, July 01, 2011 8:15 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Some Perspective on the Policy


> See, and I heard the city we were invited not to come back to was Anaheim. 
> So which was it really?
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
>
>
>
> On Jul 1, 2011, at 8:07 PM, Cindy wrote:
>
>> I think the city where we were not invited back was Louisville, though 
>> that has since been resolved.
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Jul 1, 2011, at 7:50 PM, "Jenine Stanley" <jeninems at wowway.com> wrote:
>>
>>> ACB was in Chicago in 1994. Marion was correct in that the relief area
>>> situation was horrible, one set of boxes on a 6th floor roof. Street 
>>> curbing
>>> was dangerous at best but no more so than in Manhattan.
>>>
>>> That hotel actually asked ACB back several years ago but rates were way 
>>> too
>>> high in general. I was personally shocked they'd want us back after the 
>>> mess
>>> but they had no qualms about it.
>>>
>>> Jenine Stanley
>>> jeninems at wowway.com
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
>>> Behalf
>>> Of Dan Weiner
>>> Sent: Friday, July 01, 2011 7:40 PM
>>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Some Perspective on the Policy
>>>
>>> Just one minor correction.
>>> The convention in 1994 was in Detroit, I was there.
>>> The Chicago convention was 1995.
>>>
>>> Dan W.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
>>> Behalf
>>> Of Lyn Gwizdak
>>> Sent: Friday, July 01, 2011 6:39 PM
>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Some Perspective on the Policy
>>>
>>> Thank you, thank you, thank you, Marion for this post!
>>>
>>> Maybe you need to hang on to this to paste it into your remeinder of the
>>> policy next year and maybe the folks who complain will finally 
>>> understand
>>> it.
>>>
>>> Have fun - I don't envy you when you have to bust people at the 
>>> conventions.
>>>
>>> Having close to 5,000 people this year!  Wow!
>>>
>>> Lyn and Landon
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net>
>>> To: "NAGDU List" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 7:46 PM
>>> Subject: [nagdu] Some Perspective on the Policy
>>>
>>>
>>>> dear All,
>>>>  I hope everyone will read this entire post and that it will give a
>>>> little perspective to the NFB policy concerning leaving dogs unattended 
>>>> in
>>>
>>>> guest rooms during convention. Please keep in mind that this policy was
>>>> enacted in an effort to resolve some very serious problems the
>>>> organization faced in the past. It is not an arbitrary policy the
>>>> Federation issued to attempt to make life difficult for guide dog 
>>>> users.
>>>> Also, please keep in mind that the NFB Board of Directors is very
>>>> supportive of the National Association of Guide dog Users and its 
>>>> members.
>>>
>>>> This year, the NFB will spend about $8500 providing relief areas for 
>>>> our
>>>> guide dogs. This is quite a significant investment! Now, to the purpose 
>>>> of
>>>
>>>> this post.
>>>>  In order to understand the need for the policy, we need a bit of
>>>> historical perspective. In 1994, the NFB convention was in Chicago, 
>>>> Ill.
>>>> During that convention, there were some very serious problems, as it
>>>> pertained to guide dog handlers. There were more than the average 
>>>> number
>>>> of accidents, partly due to the fact that the area around the hotel had
>>>> very little grass, except for Grant Park, which was swamped with 
>>>> millions
>>>> of people for the Taste of Chicago. In addition to these accidents in 
>>>> the
>>>> public areas of the hotel, several guide dog users left their dogs
>>>> unattended to go to the fireworks in grant Park because they knew their
>>>> dogs were afraid of the noise. A very large number of stressed-out dogs
>>>> carried on well into the night, disrupting other guests staying in the
>>>> hotel. Furthermore, some of these dogs literally destroyed the rooms. 
>>>> The
>>>> long story short, since the guests were unable to pay for the damages, 
>>>> the
>>>
>>>> NFB had to cover the cost, which ran well into the thousands of 
>>>> dollars.
>>>> Of course, some will say that the NFB should have required the 
>>>> responsible
>>>
>>>> parties to pay the damages, but you know the old adage of getting blood
>>>> from a turnip! If the NFB didn't pay the damages, they would have been
>>>> hard-pressed to find another hotel willing to offer us the rates we are
>>>> accustomed to receiving. Even though we did pay the damages, though, 
>>>> word
>>>> travels quickly in the hospitality industry and the NFB was having a
>>>> difficult time finding properties willing to host our conventions and
>>>> negotiating the rates.
>>>>  The NFB attempted to assess a surcharge of $25 for each guide dog 
>>>> user,
>>>
>>>> but this was met with a great deal of resistance and this plan was
>>>> scrapped very quickly. The resulting compromise was the policy that 
>>>> draws
>>>> so much contention every year.
>>>>  I would like to offer a real-life analagy. Most communities have a
>>>> public intoxication law. Basically, this law says that, if you are
>>>> intoxicated and behave in a disorderly fashion, you are going to jail. 
>>>> The
>>>
>>>> law is enacted because there was a problem with intoxicated people
>>>> behaving in a disorderly manner. Now, some could argue that it is their
>>>> right to drink if they are over the age of 21 and they would be 
>>>> correct.
>>>> Therefore, they would argue, it is their right to become intoxicated 
>>>> and,
>>>> again, they are right! However, if your public intoxication results in
>>>> behavior the community deems disorderly, impinging on the rights of 
>>>> others
>>>
>>>> to be free from such behavior, the police have the right to impose the
>>>> remedies available under the law. at the same time, if one chooses to
>>>> become intoxicated in public and behave themselves, no one really 
>>>> cares.
>>>> It is only when that state of intoxication imposes negative 
>>>> consequences
>>>> on public order that the remedies available are imposed.
>>>>  One post implied that I was only agreeing to the policy because it 
>>>> came
>>>
>>>> from the leadership. This member is absolutely correct. Policies and 
>>>> laws
>>>> are enacted for the general good of the community in an effort to 
>>>> provide
>>>> remedies for behaviors that negatively impact that community. Barking 
>>>> and
>>>> destructive dogs negatively impact the NFB community and the leadership 
>>>> of
>>>
>>>> this community has designed a policy to resolve this issue and provide
>>>> remedies. As a member of this community, you agree to abide by the
>>>> policies or laws that govern that society's behavior or face the
>>>> consequences for their violation. Whether that society is a country,
>>>> state, county, city, place of business, workplace, or the NFB 
>>>> convention,
>>>> there are acceptable behaviors and consequences for unacceptable 
>>>> behavior.
>>>
>>>> Anything else is anarchy!
>>>>  I reject the notion that this - or any other - policy treats one like 
>>>> a
>>>
>>>> child. In fact, what is childish is being intentionally oppositional 
>>>> and
>>>> defiant of societal norms and mores. Remember that it was not too many
>>>> months ago when someone believed he had the right to insult anyone he
>>>> wanted to on this list and no one could do anything about it. How many 
>>>> of
>>>> you rejoiced when it was announced that he was permanently banned from
>>>> subscribing to any of the NFBNET lists? Parenthetically, he telephoned 
>>>> me
>>>> to advise me that he intended to disrupt the NAGDU meeting this year. 
>>>> the
>>>> Board has taken the measure of refusing his membership for conduct
>>>> unbecoming a member. Since only members in good standing can speak on 
>>>> the
>>>> floor, this effectively bars him from disrupting our meetings. Might he 
>>>> do
>>>
>>>> so anyway? Perhaps! But there are other remedies available, too!
>>>>  I hope you have a better understanding of how this policy came to be
>>>> and the practical issues it addresses. It is not an anti guide dog 
>>>> policy;
>>>
>>>> rather, it is meant to prevent a serious issue and maintain order for 
>>>> the
>>>> common good of all concerned. It is unfortunate that such a policy had 
>>>> to
>>>> be implemented to deal with a problem created by a few. Just as most
>>>> people are generally honest, but we have laws against stealing to 
>>>> provide
>>>> remedies for the few that are not, most guide dog users are 
>>>> responsible.
>>>> The policy is to provide remedies for those who are not!
>>>>  I hope that everyone has a fantastic convention. I understand that we
>>>> are expecting more than 4000 in Orlando. That means we will most likely
>>>> have close to 500 guide dog teams! I hope many of you will join us for 
>>>> the
>>>
>>>> NAGDU meetings on Sunday & Tuesday in the Panzacola H-3 ballroom at 
>>>> 7:00
>>>> pm! I'll see you then or here on the list afterward! Have an awesome
>>>> Fourth of july!
>>>>
>>>> Fraternally yours,
>>>> Marion Gwizdala, President
>>>> National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU)
>>>> National Federation of the Blind
>>>> 813-626-2789
>>>> President at NAGDU.ORG
>>>> HTTP://WWW.NAGDU.ORG
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>>> et
>>>
>>>
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>
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