[NFB-Announce] THE DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY CONVENTION 2021

[Suzanne Turner]

THE DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY CONVENTION 2021

BY SUZANNE TURNER <>

Editor's note: Suzanne Turner is vice president of the NFB of Ohio. She also
chairs the convention planning committee. After investing months of planning
for an in-person convention this November, she has accepted the covid
handwriting on the wall and changed gears to organize a virtual convention.
This is what she says:

 

Happy birthday, National Federation of the Blind of Ohio. You are 75 in this
year of 2021. We honor and celebrate your outstanding accomplishments,
innovation, and advocacy. Through your members' active participation you
have continued to keep our pledge by fighting for equality, opportunity, and
security for the blind. Without you blind Ohioans would not have the
opportunity to witness confident blind people living the lives they want, so
we salute you and invite anyone who has interest or concerns for the blind
to come and help us celebrate your birthday. More details are below.

 

You are cordially invited to a birthday party at the Ohio annual state
convention. The theme this year is "back to the basics and engaging the
future." the location and time of this grand event is anywhere and
everywhere on November 5 and 6, 2021. We will shine bright like a diamond
because it is Ohio's 75th anniversary.

 

Considering the ongoing impact and wide-ranging effects of the COVID-19
pandemic, the 2021 state convention will be held virtually. Registration is
now open and free. Go to nfbohio.org to register now.

 

Come one and all and join us as we celebrate on a virtual platform this
year. We will expand our circle of participation, connecting blind
Americans, not only across the state, but anywhere and everywhere for what
we expect will be the largest gathering of blind people in the history of
Ohio.

 

All events will be held on the Zoom Platform and in the Eastern Standard
Time Zone.

 

Zoom Meeting Connection Information

 

One meeting link will be used for the Board Meeting, General Sessions, and
the Banquet. Closed Captioning will be available in these sessions.

 

Here are helpful commands:

 

Phone command to mute and unmute: *6

 

Phone command to raise and lower hand for speaking: *9

 

PC shortcut to mute and unmute: Alt A, Mac command: command shift A

 

PC shortcut to raise and lower hand: Alt Y, Mac command: option Y

 

Zoom Meeting Etiquette

 

Keep in mind that, when joining convention, you will be placed on mute. If
you wish to speak and are not on the agenda, you may raise your hand. A host
will get to you as soon as possible; do not unmute yourself until you are
prompted to do so. If you are on the agenda, the host will unmute you as we
approach your presentation. Stay on mute if you are not a presenter. If on
video, please do not eat or move about in any way that could be a
distraction to others watching. We recommend that you not activate your
video unless you are speaking.

 

About the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio: The NFB-O is a 501 (c)3
not for profit organization and a founding affiliate of the National
Federation of the Blind. We are proud to be an integral part of the oldest
and largest organization of the blind in the United States. We are a diverse
group of people dedicated to changing what it means to be blind. Our members
work tirelessly to break down the legal, social, and personal barriers to
living the lives we want.

 

The mission of the National Federation of the Blind is to achieve widespread
emotional acceptance and intellectual understanding that the real problem of
blindness is not the loss of eyesight but the misconceptions and lack of
information which exist. We do this by bringing blind people together to
share successes, to support each other in times of failure, and to create
imaginative solutions.

 

Those who pre-register for the Ohio convention by October 27, 2021, will be
eligible for door prizes. Door prizes will be drawn during pre-convention
festivities, general sessions, and the banquet. Registration is required,
and you must be present to win. When your name is called, please virtually
raise your hand or email ohioprize at gmail.com <mailto:ohioprize at gmail.com>
<mailto:ohioprize at gmail.com> within two minutes, which is the designated
window of time to claim your prize. Also, if you would like to donate a door
prize, please alert Ohio's door prize facilitator, Annette Lutz, at
president.capital.nfboh at gmail.com <mailto:president.capital.nfboh at gmail.com>
<mailto:president.capital.nfboh at gmail.com>.

 

Resolutions: All resolutions must be submitted to the Resolutions Committee
chair, Barbara Pierce, no later than October 24. Resolutions will be
considered at the general session on Saturday, November 6, 2021.

 

If you plan to vote in the election or on issues brought to the Convention,
you must opt in to vote by registering your name, the phone number you will
use, your chapter or division, and an email address at the NFB of Ohio
website, nfbohio.org. You will receive an email acknowledgement. This means
that you can call in to vote. You must opt in to vote by October 24. I
reiterate that this is a separate procedure from registering for the
convention, which you must have already done before going to the website to
opt in.

 

The Ohio affiliate is pleased to have Everette Bacon as our national
representative for 2021. We extend a warm welcome to Everette, who is a
national leader in the National Federation of the Blind.

 

Everette Bacon was born in Huntington Beach, California. At the age of five
he was diagnosed with cone-rod dystrophy, a condition which had run in his
family on his mother's side for thirteen generations, causing rapid-onset
blindness primarily in female family members. Despite the diagnosis
Everette's family took the advice of teachers and medical experts, believing
(or, more accurately, hoping) that, since Everette was male and his vision
was not deteriorating rapidly like that of other family members, he was
unlikely to go blind. As a result Everette did not learn Braille or other
alternative techniques during his school years. Looking back, Everette says,
his mother and other family members wish that they had encouraged him to
learn Braille and other blindness skills.

 

When Everette was about eighteen, his entire family moved to Texas. Everette
pursued a degree in church music at Dallas Baptist University. He jokes that
he was pushed toward music because "you know, blind people sing." His first
job was teaching a seventh grade choir, but he found teaching not to his
liking. Searching for other employment in order to earn money to help his
wife through medical school, Everette ultimately accepted a management
position with Blockbuster Video in 1997. He was very successful in this
position, winning several awards and steady promotions. By 2004 he was
managing ten stores in the Houston area.

 

Everette's eye condition began to worsen, but instead of giving up, he
adapted by using alternative techniques. "I started carrying a cane, mainly
for identification, but I was using it when I felt I needed it." "I was
never embarrassed or ashamed about becoming blind because I grew up around
blind people, adapting was something you just became accustomed to doing."
However, when he asked for reasonable accommodations from his employer,
instead of granting these accommodations, Blockbuster terminated his
employment despite his outstanding record. The company even went so far as
to describe Everette's conduct as "fraudulent," implying that he had
deceived the company about his capabilities, even though he had previously
been praised and awarded for his work.

 

This experience traumatized Everette and his family. His wife, mother, and
other family members sent angry emails to everyone they could; urging
readers to avoid shopping at Blockbuster based on discrimination against the
blind. One of these emails found its way to Scott LaBarre, the president of
the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado and a successful disability
rights attorney. Scott took Everette's case, and ultimately Everette
received a settlement from Blockbuster. More important, though, he learned
about the National Federation of the Blind and the many battles the
organization has fought in the effort to advance and protect the civil
rights of blind people. "I had heard of the Federation and been told that
they were militant," Everette says, "but my experience taught me the
importance of our advocacy." There are so many reasons to be proud of who we
are as blind people, and the Federation has paved the way for our climb to
the top of the mountain of civil rights!

 

In 2004 Everette and his wife, Dr. Angela Peters, moved to Salt Lake City,
Utah. Everette became involved in the Utah affiliate of the NFB and
developed what he describes as life-changing relationships with dedicated
Federationists like Nick Schmitroth, Karl Smith, and Deja Powell. These
friends helped Everette improve his blindness skills and grow in the
movement. Everette was also looking for new employment opportunities in Utah
and heard about a job opening as a Blindness Skills Teacher at the Utah
Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Everette remembers
speaking with Ray Martin about the fact that he knew nothing about teaching
blind people; Martin told him that being blind was the most important
qualification. The agency supported Everette in his pursuit of a master's
degree in rehabilitation. He went from teaching technology to supervising
the technology staff and now serves as the agency's field services
coordinator, overseeing all of the agency's technology and employment
services, supervising a staff of nine.

 

Everette began advocating for Utah's blind residents with an effort to
encourage a prominent local cinema chain to incorporate audio description
technology into its theaters so that blind people who wanted to experience
movies with audio description could do so. An avid movie fan with an
extensive collection dating from his Blockbuster days, he believes that
audio description can enable blind people to connect more easily with their
sighted peers when discussing entertainment. "One of the most valuable
lessons I have learned from the NFB is the understanding that blending into
society is an important skill. Being able to relate to our sighted
colleagues about movies, television, politics, and sports are excellent
paths to opportunities that help change common misconceptions about
blindness."

 

In 2012 Everette was elected president of the National Federation of the
Blind of Utah <https://nfb.org/about-us/state-affiliates/utah>. He is proud
of the affiliate's successful advocacy for a state mini-508 law requiring
accessibility of new state websites and procurement of accessible electronic
and information technology, subject to fines when agencies fail to comply.
His advocacy for accessibility made him an outstanding candidate to serve as
the Federation's representative on the Disability Advisory Committee to the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He was nominated for appointment to
this committee by President Riccobono and duly appointed to serve by the FCC
in 2015. Everette is also chair of the Utah Library Advisory Board. He also
sits on the Utah Assistive Technology Council and the Library of Congress'
National Library Service for the Blind's Audio Equipment Advisory Committee
(Western Region). He was unanimously elected to the Board of Directors of
the National Federation of the Blind at the organization's 2015 convention.
He and Angela and their two dogs live in Salt Lake City, but Everette still
roots for his beloved Dallas Cowboys.

 

Convention Highlights and Activities:

 

Rookie Roundup: Wednesday, November 3 at 6:30

 

Exhibit Seminar: Thursday, November 4, at 3:00 pm

Lab Computers, Inc, Ohio Dept. of Insurance, Vispero, Vanda Pharmaceuticals,
and more: these and more vendors will be on hand to demonstrate their
high-tech and low-tech products for blind and visually impaired users.

 

Happy Hour: Thursday, November 4 at 7:00 pm

Music, BYOB, Door Prizes, and More

 

Here are a few convention opportunities:

 

.      Network with blind people from all parts of the country.

 

.      Encourage blind people to expand their knowledge of resources.

 

.      Attend workshops designed to promote leadership, membership-building,
and successful employment strategies and attitudes.

 

.      Attend the banquet and cheer three blind students as they receive
scholarships.

 

.      Visit the Hospitality Room, which will be open virtually to mix and
mingle Friday, November 5, from 9:00 to 10:15 am and on Saturday, November
6, from 12:00 noon to 1:45 P.M.

 

.      Enter a drawing when you register online to win one hundred dollars
by donating ten dollars or more to assist with the work of the Ohio
affiliate. Each ten dollars donated will add your name that many times into
the pot.

 

The gavel will fall on Friday, November 5, promptly at 2:00 pm for the
opening ceremonies and general session. We will have a series of speakers
covering a wide range of topics, including a report from our Ohio president,
a welcome to Columbus by the Capital Chapter, our national representative,
Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD), and educational and
inspirational presentations. Annette Lutz will have exciting door prizes as
well.

 

Friday evening will see a flurry of activities. The At-Large Chapter, the
Ohio Community Service Committee, the Ohio Association of Blind Students,
and the Ohio Association of Blind Merchants will hold their annual business
meetings that evening. The Nominations and Resolutions Committee meetings
will also take place.

 

Saturday morning, November 6, we will begin with a breakfast meeting of the
Diabetes Action Network (DAN) and its business meeting at 7:30 a.m. If you
are interested in becoming a member of this division, you should strongly
consider attending.

 

The gavel falls again promptly at 9:00 am to continue general sessions. We
will break at 12 noon for lunch. The NFB of Ohio Senior Division and the
Ohio Association of Guide Dog Users (OAGDU) will conduct their annual
business meetings. The afternoon includes workshops on promoting leadership,
membership building, and successful employment strategies. Therefore, this
year we are offering an exciting opportunity for businesses, nonprofits, and
employers to attend the ability seminar that will offer awareness of the
tools and techniques that members of the blind community use to interact in
formal and informal settings; to provide descriptions of how blind people
perform professional tasks in paid or volunteer work; and Explain the vital
role that a positive philosophy and attitudes about blindness play in the
development of capable successful blind individuals. Finally, chapters and
divisions will also have the opportunity to conduct fundraisers during the
afternoon as well.

 

Saturday night's banquet will surely be the highlight of the convention.
This is an opportunity for fellowship and for all of us to share a meal. Our
keynote speaker for the evening will be our national representative Everette
Bacon. We will also have our Gavel Awards ceremony to celebrate chapter and
division accomplishments from the past year. The finale of the banquet will
be the announcement of the 2021 scholarship winners and the annual Money for
the Movement fundraiser that supports Ohio's programs and services. Be sure
to order or prepare your convention banquet meal before you come into the
Zoom Room. Don't worry, the night is not over-plans are in the works for an
exciting after-banquet activity.

 

Finally, our Convention Planning Committee is committed to making your
convention experience memorable and enjoyable. Therefore our goal is to
bring you the most up-to-date information on the convention. So please feel
free to contact the committee chair, Suzanne Turner, with any questions,
concerns, or requests for accommodations at SMTurner.234 at gmail.com
<mailto:SMTurner.234 at gmail.com>  <mailto:SMTurner.234 at gmail.com>. Anette
Lutz , president, along with the Capital Chapter will be ready to greet you
bright and early at 8:30 am on Friday morning, November 5, 2021. Please
notify Anette Lutz of any donated door prizes. You can email her at
president.capital.nfboh at gmail.com <mailto:president.capital.nfboh at gmail.com>
<mailto:president.capital.nfboh at gmail.com>. Eric Duffy and the tech team
will ensure that all technological issues are addressed. Consult the
convention agenda on how to connect to all meetings and how to contact the
team.

 

The Ohio President, Richard Payne, along with our affiliate Board of
Directors, will be on hand to welcome you. We are excited and looking
forward to seeing you at the 2021 75th annual virtual Ohio convention.
Together, with love, hope, and determination, the members of the National
Federation of the Blind transform dreams into reality. You can live the life
you want; blindness is not what holds you back.