[Nfb-editors] South Carolina- "Positive Note, " a weekly newsletter

Wed Mar 2 11:30:02 UTC 2011

Check out this weekly newsletter, put out by the South Carolina affiliate.
It is 2 pages, 1,454 words.

(They look to have a quarterly newsletter, however the issue that appears on
their webpage, is  from May 2005. I'll see if it is still going.)

February 24, 2011

Memo To: Executive Officers, Board of Directors, Chapter and Division
Presidents and Others

From: Parnell Diggs, President

Positive Note 1280

Dear Fellow Federationists:

          Yes:  I am aware that this is Thursday, one day later than the
normal Positive Note day.  But I thought it would be timely to release the
Positive Note on Thursday this week so that we could cover the 2011
Legislative Reception held at the Capitol Complex on Wednesday afternoon.

          I have been attending Legislative Receptions since the 1990's.  In
recent years, I have made the trip from Myrtle Beach to Columbia and back,
which makes for a full day.  This year was no exception, as I rose on
Wednesday and hopped in the car with State Board member Levern Wilson and
his lovely daughter Valerie for the trip to the capital city.

          As usual, the Reception was scheduled to take place between 12:00
noon and 2:00 PM.  It is difficult to predict when the House and Senate will
convene and recede from day-to-day, but we have been fortunate over the
years to attract a large number of legislators and staff when we host the
General Assembly early in the Legislative Session.

          In 2011, I believe we had one of the largest turnouts in the
history of NFB of SC Legislative Receptions  with key members of the House
and Senate (including the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee)
attending and at least one State Constitutional Officer.

          There were three officials with the Lieutenant Governor's Office
and several officials with the Legislative Counsel staff on hand as well.
Indeed, it seemed that we were the only game in town at lunchtime yesterday
afternoon, as we were visited by more capitol employees than ever before.
This made for a highly successful event.

          Rocky Bottom Advisory Board member, Senator Larry Martin, stopped
by to enjoy the delicious barbecue, and Myrtle Beach Senator, Luke Rankin
warmly greeted NFB of SC officials on route to a committee meeting.  State
Board member Isaiah Nelson did an excellent job with the food and had to
make several trips to pick-up more ice, as the sweet tea was very popular
with guests.

          Members of the Legislature and their staff members were given
brochures about the legislative priority for blind South Carolinians, and I
took a few brief moments to address the group.  In 2011, the NFB of SC is
asking the General Assembly to remember that across-the-board budget cuts
are unfair to the blind because we lose federal matching funds as well.

          For every dollar in state funds cut from the Commission for the
Blind rehabilitation budget, we also lose four federal matching dollars for
a total of five dollars when only one dollar in state funding was what the
General Assembly intended.  Or, to put it another way, our cuts in a given
year are five times as bad.  Doing our fair share is fair enough.

          We will see how our comments resonate with legislators in the time
to come, but this year's Legislative Reception in retrospect will, in my
opinion, be one of the best we have ever had.  Joining me for comments in
this Positive Note is the President Emeritus of the NFB of SC.  Here is Dr.
Capps.

          I'm always pleased to attend the NFB of SC's Legislative Reception
which dates back many years.  The federation is aware that disseminating
important information gets our message across in many areas including the
170 members of the House and Senate.  For example, a legislator from the
Aiken area attended the Reception and began to tell President Parnell Diggs
with others in hearing distance that he reads every word of every issue of
the Palmetto Blind.  No doubt he has a full understanding of blindness
issues because of reading the Palmetto Blind.  The legislator, who obviously
cares about the blind, as he was going through the reception line, shook the
hand of state board member Levern Wilson and proceeded to tell Mr. Wilson
how much he enjoyed Mr. Wilson's article in the recent issue of the Palmetto
Blind.  This kind of feedback from legislators is as important as anything
we do in our federation work in the General Assembly which has led to the
passage of more than 40 bills improving the quality of life for blind South
Carolinians.  I was glad to see Hon. Joyce Hearn at the Reception as she
pointed out to several individuals that she and myself worked together for
many years in the legislature and always got legislation adopted.  For many
years Mrs. Hearn served on the Federation Center's Advisory Board.  There
were many other important people including my sister-in-law, Hon. Elsie Rast
Stuart Rogers who also served in the General Assembly for many years and is
highly aware of the plight as well as the programs of the blind.  I thought
President Diggs' presentation to the gathering was excellent.  As in the
past, this Reception was valuable as we have gained the respect and
admiration of the General Assembly which knows the NFB of SC is in the
forefront of legislation affecting the blind.

          Saturday, February 19, 2011 the NFB of SC sponsored a Leadership
Seminar for chapters across the state at the Federation Center of the Blind.
There was excellent involvement by our chapter leaders as President Diggs
challenged the group in an interesting and effective manner.  For several
decades the NFB of SC has recognized the value of these seminars and our
other leaders pitch in with their assistance as well.  It was my privilege
to provide some input.  Some issues discussed included fundraising,
recruiting new members as well as disappointments that sometimes need to be
discussed and resolved.  However, our statewide membership understands the
purpose and goals of the NFB of SC.  It is especially important that chapter
leaders understand the operation of a chapter.  Bear in mind that all of
this activity is done by blind volunteers in their respective communities.
It was pointed out how important it is for arranging chartered bus
transportation to national conventions at a much lower cost as members sell
thousands of tickets to raise necessary funds to cover the cost of the
chartered busses.  The importance of our facilities at the Federation Center
of the Blind, RBRCCB and the Bell Federation Center of the Blind require
much work to become reality and to provide the blind participation in
numerous activities such as our Children's Camps and Senior Camps, conducted
by Vicki Black and Frank Coppel respectively.  Let me encourage your
participation in these annual Leadership Seminars as it is a positive
experience for all concerned.

          A few days ago Betty was doing some early Spring cleaning and ran
into a couple of very interesting items.  One cassette was entitled, "Aurora
for Thirty Years."  The second cassette was entitled, "Old Rocky Bottom."
After playing both, I realized that, "Aurora for Thirty Years" was written
by me in 1974 covering the 30 years between 1944 and 1974.  "Old Rocky
Bottom" was composed in the early 1980's.  The narrator of "Aurora for
Thirty Years" (John Wrisley, I believe), relied upon my transcript.  I
believe "Old Rocky Bottom" was composed and sung in 1981 by Jim Driggers, a
member who at one time lived in the Charleston area.  While the "Old Rocky
Bottom" tape is good, the Aurora tape is older but not much.  The voices of
early day leaders was so festinating that I relived these many events.  The
following include such names as our Founder, Dr. Samuel Miller Lawton, Lois
and Marshall Tucker, Mildred Kirkland, Dr. Fred Crawford, John Cooley,
myself and others.  You can hear Lois Tucker at the dedication of the Aurora
Center sing "Bless This Home" on October 15, 1961 - 50 years ago.  Some
national leaders included Dr. Jernigan, John Taylor, John Negel, and various
political leaders including Gov. Bob McNair, Judge Walter Bristow,
Congressman Dorn, Lt. Gov. Brantley Harvey and others.  Marshall Tucker at
our 1964 state convention read the resolution authorizing and directing the
NFB of SC to request the General Assembly to pass legislation that would do
away with the Division for the Blind in the Welfare Department and create
the Commission for the Blind.  If you would like a copy of this tape, send
$5 payable to the Federation Center of the Blind and David Houck will handle
this which will require duplication and mailing.  You may also have a copy
of the "Old Rocky Bottom" tape for $5.

          It is uplifting to see our leaders achieve success in other areas.
Our RBRCCB Resident Manager, Thom Spittle, has been elected President of the
Dacusville Lions Club and will assume office on July 1.  Congratulations
Thom!

Final Thought:  "Top Cats often began as Underdogs."

Robert Leslie Newman

President, Omaha Chapter NFB

President, NFB Writers' Division

Division Website

 <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org

Personal Website-

 <http://www.thoughtprovoker.info> http://www.thoughtprovoker.info