[NFB-Arkansas] May News

[Nena Chadwick]

          The National Federation of the Blind  of Arkansas

    Live the Life you want

Written By: Tawnya Philpot 

 This is going to be the second edition of the newsletter. I hope everyone enjoyed the first edition. I hope there will be more to come.
      To start, we want to give a big thank you to all our mothers for what they have done and for what they do for us. You never quit being a mother.  Being a disabled mother makes that job three times harder if you are a single disabled mother; well, let us say it makes it a lot harder; I speak from experience. 
        So, to our mothers who have been and our mothers yet to come and those who still are here with us. Birth is the most painful joyful, and amazing thing you will ever experience. But holding that baby and realizing that baby depends on you for everything. Yes, it can be a scary feeling, but God gives us that know-how. And do not feel bad if you need help learning.  Here is what a mother does for no pay and a lot of time for no thanks. 

        She is a teacher, a doctor, a cook, a taxi driver, a lawyer, an accountant, a maid, a decorateeer, and a minister to her children.   

              Our mothers Have hidden wings; I like to think. Hug your mom or say I Love you this Mother’s Day. It will mean the world to her. Written by Tawnya Philpot


Birthdays: Shelley Keeland Central, Freddie Wilkey Belated April Birthday Wishes!
May birthdays Tony Sheeler  NWA, Kalon Reece  ARKABS, Bettye Johnson Central, Joyce Parker  River Valley.   Happy birthday to all of yawl. Congratulations to anyone with a family member that is graduating.

 There was a president’s meeting last week, and they went over the steps to be taken for membership. . We have a few more meetings for this month. The Presidential release was last Monday. They did it from New Orleans. It was fascinating to watch what the convention is going to be like this year.
 We had a great board meeting on the 10th of May 2022. There was discussion on several different topics for the new year. This was our first meeting since the State Convention. I want to say that our President and this board are on the ball for the new year. We are all excited here in Arkansas. 


 
 I did an interview with my husband, Brent Philpot, and asked some questions about his story of how he became Blind and how it has changed his life as a kid and adult. 
 I am calling it the Interview with a Blind man.

First, let me tell you a little about Brent Philpot. He is the 1st Vice President of the National Federation of the Blind of Arkansas. He has accomplished many things that we will discuss in this interview.

 I asked Mr. Philpot how he lost his sight at such an early age? 

  He started with it as a traumatic accident that caused my blindness. I was run over by a delivery truck at six years old. I was in a coma for 3weeks. However, when I came out, it was scary; I was hooked up to machines. I came out of the coma on  Easter Sunday. My mom found me listening to the Kiss tapes she had left me. It is my favorite band to this day. 

        I asked What was it like going to a new school and learning in a whole unique way? 

      When I was coming out of the coma and doing physical therapy, my mom realized that I would need specialized schooling, so we moved to Little Rock, AR,  and went to the Arkansas School for the Blind. As far as I was concerned at the time, I was just making more friends.  

         Next, I asked Mr. Philpot what teacher had a significant impact on his life in school? 

      From kindergarten to first grade, I still had problems reading the braille alphabet. So, Mrs. Ogburn took the summer before I went into first grade to tutor me in Braille. She would have been the teacher that influenced me the most.

       What were your high school and college years like? 

      It was a new adventure every day. I did musical theater and participated in the junior high and high school bands. I also ran track and was on the cheerleading team during this time and much more. 

           I asked Mr. Philpot, what would you tell kids that just became blind or visually impaired?

      First, follow good influences; follow what your teachers, instructors and parents tell you to do.

      What was college like the first two years? 

       The first two years were an eye-opening experience. 

       Why was it an eye-opening experience?

       Going from the Arkansas School for the Blind to a public college was an eye-opening experience. Yes, we had small variants of races and religions at the school for the blind, but at UCA, the variants were vast. I also had to change the way I learned. Going from braille books to readers and audiobooks. 

     What are the next steps in the next phase of your life?

     I have always worked until Covid-19 happened, but I was already looking for another job. I have a lot of experience advocating for the National Federation of the Blind, and I am the first vice president of the Arkansas affiliate. My wife and I would like to be able to travel more. We hope to, at some point, be grandparents. 

         Did you have employment, and what types? 

       I have worked since I was 14 years old. I have been everything from a maintenance man to a Liberian, and I was an instructor. One summer, I was even a lifeguard title only I helped the lifeguards set up and get their drink water, so they did not have to leave the stand and other things like that. I also worked at the vending facility program.

    How would you like to close this interview, and do you have anything to say to today's youth being our future of tomorrow? 

      Thank you very much for this opportunity and for the youth to study what we have done and try to do better for tomorrow’s youth. And anything you want to accomplish, you can do with hard work and patience.

      I hope everyone has enjoyed reading about Mr. Brent Philpot. If you would like more information, you can contact him at bphilpot at nfbar.org <mailto:bphilpot at nfbar.org>. If you are interested in telling your story, you can contact me at philpot.tawnya at yahoo.com <mailto:philpot.tawnya at yahoo.com>.

 
The Central Arkansas  Chapter meeting speaker was Sydney Washington with the Tap program. A special thanks to her for joining us. We appreciate NFBCAC Vice President Ginger Robertson for making arrangements.

We want to congratulate Joshua Goolsby and His wife on the birth of their daughter. We also want to welcome Melanie Thornton as a new member of the National Federation of the Blind Central Arkansas chapter at the last meeting. 

Our next Chapter meeting will be on June 11, 2022, at 11:00 am. The Next affiliate meeting is June 14th, 2022, at 7:00 pm. . I hope you have a good Memorial Day weekend and stay safe. Let us bring in the Summer with Positive thoughts.

Written By Tawnya Philpot

Nena Chadwick, President
National Federation of the Blind of Arkansas
Phone: 479-435-8348
Email: nchadwick at nfbar.org <mailto:nchadwick at nfbar.org>
Website: www.nfbar.org <http://www.nfbar.org/>

Live the life you want.

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