[Nd-talk] NFB of North Dakota - Newswire - vol 1, No. 13

Tue Nov 7 00:38:33 UTC 2017

NEWSWIRE

National Federation of the Blind of

North Dakota

Vol. 1, No. 13

SAVE THE DATES!!!

Our next monthly meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of North
Dakota will be on Saturday, November 18, 2017. Tentatively the room has been
reserved from 1 PM to 4 PM. I would like those planning to order food and
drinks as part of their lunch to arrive around 1 PM so that you can place
your orders before the meeting begins so that we are not disturbed by the
wait staff taking orders and bringing food while the meeting is going on.

So, the place will be at Happy Joe's Pizza and Ice Cream at 2511 South
University Drive in Fargo.

For those who are unable to be present, you can join the meeting at 2 PM by
phone by dialing (712) 832-8300 and entering the room ID 9381122 # The call
should last around 2 hours.

We will be continuing our discussion of the Branding and Philosophy of the
National Federation of the Blind. We will also have a regular agenda items
at the beginning of the meeting. Should you have questions, call President
Milton at (701) 731-0511 or send an e-mail message to mota1252 at gmail.com
<mailto:mota1252 at gmail.com> 

In December, on the second Saturday of the month, if it all works out, we
will have a Christmas Party. Stay tuned for more details to come.

LEGISLATIVE ALERT

Editor's Note: The following comes from President Riccobono in his November
6 Presidents Notebook to affiliate presidents.

Critical Actions This Week:

I wish to call your attention to a very pressing item today. There is
immediate need to get the word out about the elimination of the blind
exemption in the tax proposals that are moving on Capitol Hill now. Please
take a moment to call Congress, distribute the call-to-action to other
members, and encourage our members to make calls as soon as possible.

Action Needed Regarding the Proposed Tax Bill:

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (H.R. 1) was introduced last Thursday,
November 2, in the United States House of Representatives. Beginning in tax
year 2018, this bill will repeal the standard deduction for blind people
valued at $6,350 for the 2017 tax year. Please call your representative and
urge him or her to maintain this critical tax deduction for the blind as
soon as possible. The House Ways and Means Committee begins mark up on this
bill today, Monday, November 6. The best way to contact your member of
Congress is to call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for
the office in question. Emailing your member of Congress is also a good
idea. If you do so, please copy JPare at nfb.org <mailto:JPare at nfb.org> .

NFB Scholarship Program:

We are accepting scholarship applications from November 1, 2017, to March
31, 2018. This annual program offers thirty scholarships worth from $3,000
to $12,000 to eligible students, from high school seniors beginning their
freshman year in the fall semester of 2017, up through graduate students
working on their PhD degrees. Go to www.nfb.org/scholarships
<http://www.nfb.org/scholarships>  for complete rules and requirements.

Santa Letter Program:

Santa's coming, Santa's coming, and he's sending Braille letters to children
all over the country. That's right it's the time of the year for the NFB
Santa Letter Program. Beginning next Monday, November 13, parents can submit
an application for their young blind child to receive a Braille letter from
Santa. This letter also comes with a coloring page, a recipe, a craft, and
song lyrics. The print for each of these items is sent along as well. Once
the program is open, you will be able to apply at
https://nfb.org/santa-letters. The program runs until December 15.

NAPUB Call:

The National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB) is pleased to
announce its first telephone conference/presentation/discussion on issues
surrounding Braille in the United States. On Thursday, November 9, NAPUB
will be pleased to have Curtis Chong share his experiences with the Orbit
Reader 20. The Orbit Reader 20 is a twenty-cell, eight-dot refreshable
Braille display.  The call will take place at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 p.m.
Mountain, 5:00 p.m. Pacific. The call-in information is (605) 472-5772, code
154426#. 

BRAL Contest:

The NFB of Illinois, in partnership with the National Association to Promote
the Use of Braille (NAPUB) is pleased to extend the 2017-18 Braille Readers
Are Leaders (BRAL) contest to any NFB affiliate that wishes to participate.
If your affiliate submits $100 to the NFBI, an unlimited number of children
in your state can enter the contest. The kids can start reading on December
15, so that amount should be received by the NFBI before that date. Contact
Patti Chang at  <mailto:pattischang at gmail.com> pattischang at gmail.com for
transaction details. The NFB of Illinois will take care of the
administrative details for the contest, including providing and mailing out
all prizes. Each participating affiliate, however, will be responsible for
publicizing the contest within its own state. The complete contest rules,
registration form, and the reading log form will be available by November 8
on the website, http://www.nfbofillinois.org.

DATES TO KEEP IN MIND

2018

Jan 29 - Feb 1: Washington Seminar - Holiday Inn Capitol 

Mar 31: Deadline for 2018 NFB Scholarship Application

Juul 3-8: NFB National convention, Orlando, Florida, Rosen Shingle Creek

Should you have questions regarding any of the above items, please contact
the Editor/President Milton Ota at (701) 731-0511 or send e-mail to
mota1252 at gmail.com <mailto:mota1252 at gmail.com> 

Please feel free to forward the NEWSWIRE to anyone who you think might be
interested in reading about what is going on with the National Federation of
the Blind of North Dakota.

If you have something you want the members of the National Federation of the
Blind to know about, send your information to mota1252 at gmail.com
<mailto:mota1252 at gmail.com> . You can submit your information either in the
body of the message or as an attachment in Word.

Sincerely,

Milton Ota, President

National Federation of the Blind of North Dakota

Web: http://nfbnd.org/

909 8th St., S.

Fargo, ND 58103-2723

Cell: (701) 731-0511

E-mail: mota1252 at gmail.com

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. THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION
SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES.

With Love, Hope and Determination, We Turn Dreams Into Reality.

Together We Change What It Means to Be Blind.

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