[Nfb-editors] New Newsletter- Utah "Blindness Matters"
Robert Leslie Newman
newmanrl at cox.net
Mon Mar 14 13:55:36 UTC 2011
Here is a new start up- "Blindness Matters" 9 pages at 1,991 words
(A series of short accounts of chapter, state and national events)
<http://www.nfb.org/nfb/default.asp?SnID=1828631256> Description: NFB logo
and tagline - Voice of the Nation's Blind
Blindness Matters
National Federation of the Blind of Utah News Letter
March 2011
Greetings Utah Affiliate members. This is the first quarterly NFB news
letter that I Jerry Nealey have had the honor to organize. Barbie Elliott,
co-editor has assisted as well. Many hands have made light the putting
together this first issue.
The information and articles contained within these few pages is a summery
of the activities that have been going on in the state of Utah and around
the country where blind people are changing what it means to be blind. You
will find individual chapter contact information and activities that NFB
Utahans have been involved in. There is details regarding 2 newly formed
chapters in the southern part of the state. There are division reports
within the affiliate. There is also brief information about the Blind Car
challenge and the Washington Seminar. You will find all the information you
need to sign up for the State and national conventions. So sit back, listen
learn and enjoy.
Jerry Nealey Editor
The national Federation of the blind of Utah has a webpage where you can
keep up with all the happenings which are updated frequently, go to
<http://www.nfbutah.org/> www.nfbutah.org.
Now lets meet the
NFB Utah affiliate board members:
Ron Gardner President
Cheralyn Creer first Vice President
Second Vice President is vacant until State Convention
Karl Smith Secretary
Adam Rushforth Treasurer
Everette Bacon Board Member
Norm Gardner Board Member
Sachin Pavithran Board Member
David Poteet Board Member
To read more about each one of these go to the Nfbutah.org webpage.
State and National Conventions
Mark your calendars for our upcoming state and National conventions. The
Utah convention will be held on Friday May 13 and Saturday May 14 at the Red
Lion Hotel in Salt Lake City. Registration will soon be available on our
website <http://nfbutah.org/> http://nfbutah.org/
The national convention will be held in Orlando Florida this
year from
Sunday July 3 through Friday July 8. Hotel rooms are going faster this year
so please visit <http://www.nfb.org/> www.nfb.org for more details.
The Utah affiliate is assisting with expenses to attend the National
Convention those who are interested, should contact their chapter or
affiliate president.
The forming of 2 new chapters
by Affiliate President, Ron Gardner
We are happy to announce that we organized two new chapters of the National
Federation of the Blind of Utah last weekend. We had over 20 people in
Cedar City and over 60 people in St. George.
Newly formed Iron County Chapter
The new chapter organized Friday, February 25, in Cedar City is the Iron
County Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Utah.
Elections were held and the following officers of the Iron County Chapter
were elected:
President - Tara
Lamoreaux 435-867-8904, taralamoreaux at yahoo.com
Vice President/Treasurer - Brandon Terry
Secretary -
Hailey Lamoreaux
Board Member #1 - Paul White
Board Member #2 - Michaela
Lamoreaux
Newly formed Red Rocks Chapter
Press Release:
National Federation of the Blind Forms New Chapter In St. George
Saint George, Utah - A new chapter of the National Federation of the Blind
was formed in St. George on Saturday, February 26 according to Utah
Affiliate President Ron Gardner.
Gardner said that a group of 50 local citizens, most of whom were blind, met
in the Vocational Rehabilitation Center located at 515 West 300 North in St.
George. The center houses the offices for the Division of Services for the
Blind and Visually Impaired.
A motion from the floor was made to form a local chapter of the NFB. By
unanimous vote a chapter was established, and the decision was made to call
the new organization the Red Rocks Chapter. A chapter constitution was
proposed and accepted, said Gardner.
After the chapter was established and named, the election of officers was
conducted. Robert Olsen was elected President of the new chapter, with
Karen Summerhays as Vice President. Brooke Lovell was elected as Secretary,
and Ian Reed as Treasurer. Charlene Mathis and Tyson Lovell were selected
as 1st & 2nd Board Members respectively.
A luncheon was provided to all those in attendance, compliments of the State
Affiliate. Then experienced members of the NFB of Utah, Cheralyn Braithwaite
Creer, Milton Taylor, and James Bybee, gave informative narrations about
some of the divisions and organizations within both the state affiliate and
the national organization, Gardner said.
Everett Bacon, an Assistive Technology Specialist with the DSBVI, then
provided demonstrations of some of the amazing technology available to blind
people, and explained their applications in the everyday activities of the
blind and visually impaired.
Those who are blind or visually impaired in St. George or the surrounding
area are invited to join the NFB's informative and educational meetings.
For more information about the Red Rocks Chapter of the National Federation
of the Blind of Utah, please contact President Robert Olsen at 435-673-0616.
We are very excited about these two new chapters and the great, enthusiastic
members who were present at the two meetings . We thank all those who worked
hard on organizing these events, and we want to offer a special thanks to
Gary Owens at the Red Rock Center for the use of their facilities.
Thanks to our members in the NFB of Utah and to the newly elected officers
for their work in bringing these two new chapters into our affiliate.
Weber-Davis Chapter
President Barbie Elliott
801-546-0670
barbieelliott at msn.com
Jerry Nealey vice President
Brenda Malliot Secretary
Bill Gibson Treasurer
Richard Condie Board Member
Dr. William Clapp Board member
Last month we created packets with copies of the kernel books, Braille
alphabet cards and sticker labels with our local NFB information on it. We
are now in the process of donating them to eye care specialists to help
those who are dealing with vision loss to know about NFB. We will be
holding our elections meeting to elect new officers on March 5 at noon at
Bill Gibson's home. We hope to see lots of friends and fellow
Federationists there. We are looking forward to a great year filled with
conventions fund raisers, meetings and friendships.
Cash Valley chapter:
President Sachin Pavithran, sachin.pavithran at usu.edu
Vice President: Kasondra Paine
Treasurer: Margaret Pavithran
Secretary: Amanda Williams
Board member Ulvia Guadarrama
The Cache Valley chapter of the NFBU has donated copies of the kernel books
to several libraries in Cache Valley including libraries in Smithfield,
Logan, North Logan, and the USU library. We want to get true stories of
blind people out there, so the public will know that we are normal, capable,
citizens.
We are having a fundraising lunch at Texas Roadhouse on Thursday,
March 3, 2011 at Noon. We are also looking forward to doing another car wash
this spring or summer, and we are always recruiting new members. The Cache
Valley chapter may be small, but we are changing what it means to be blind
in this part of Utah.
Salt Lake Chapter
Everette Bacon -President 801-631-8108, baconev at yahoo.com
Dave Sarle - 1st Vice President
Brook Sexton - 2nd VP
Mark Turley - Secretary
Karl Smith - Treasurer
Board Members
Kevin Ledford,
James Bybee,
Shaun Reimers -
The SLC chapter meets on the forth Saturday of every month at 1 p.m. in the
Lincoln Tower apartments
2717 s Lincoln st. Salt Lake City
For more information contact the Salt Lake chapter info nfb hotline
801-463-6632 (info nfb).
Up coming events:
fund raiser Texas road house in April exact times to be announced.
there will be a chapter activity first Saturday in June
Another fund raiser during the second week in August,
Wednesday through Saturday salt lake county fair Equestrian center
West Jordan Ut, smashing the myths of blindness.
Utah Valley Chapter:
The Utah Valley chapter meets on the third Saturday of each month at 10am at
the Provo Library located at 550 North University Ave. in room 309.
President: Kara Campbell
phone: (801)225-5852) email: kara64 at comcast.net
Vice President: Adam Rushforth
Secretary: Ray Martin
Treasurer: Norm Gardner
Board Member: Judy Poteet
Board Member: Renae Pavlus
Board Member: Kris Wycoff
Board Member: Lisa Rowberry
Project STRIVE
For teens and young adults.
STRIVE forward for teens and young adults 16--26 just completed their second
quarterly activity. Four students were selected to join the Utah affiliate
in Washington DC for the national Washington Seminar.
Project STRIVE is excited to announce their Employment Day Seminar
When: Saturday, April 9, 2011
Where: Division of Services for the Blind & Visually Impaired
Whom: Project STRIVE Youth & Young Adults (Ages 13-26)
Time: 10:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
Cost: Free if you pre-register by April 1, 2011, $10 at the door
Come Prepared: Bring a Resume' & Dress Appropriately for an Interview
Workshops and Instruction Include:
*Investigate Careers: Utahfutures.org
*Building and/or Writing Your Resume'
*Interview Techniques- How Do You Respond to Questions Related to Blindness
or Visual Impairment
*Dress for Success- What Do I Wear to an Interview?
*Proper Etiquette & Manners- Free Lunch Included
*BELL Jr. Mentor Interviews- Summer Braille Enrichment & Literacy Program
*Mock Interviews & Feedback
*Amazing Drawings & Prizes to recognize outstanding performance and
participation.*
Call or email Marla at 801-599-3164 or palmermommy at Q.com to reserve your
spot today.
Club STRIVE for junior and high school age teens just held two fabulous
slumber parties. Girls met at Cheralyn's home to make pizza, do make overs,
watch a descriptive video and play cards. Boys met at Adam's to play video
games, eat pizza, and have guy talk. Everyone seemed to have a great time!
We will be holding our next monthly meeting for Club STRIVE on March 12 from
10-4 at DSBVI. We will have car care taught by blind adults. We will also
be having a cooking without looking segment preparing our own lunch, and go
on a GPS outside mobility and technology experience. It will be a lot of
fun!
If you have questions contact Cheralyn Creer:
cell 801-651-5504
Both Club STRIVE and STRIVE FORWARD will be meeting together on April 9 for
a career exploration panel. We will send more information as it becomes
available.
National Events
<http://www.nfb.org/nfb/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=760> Blind Man Drives
Car Independently
The NFB has announced that for the first time a blind individual has driven
a street vehicle in public without the assistance of a sighted person. Mark
Anthony Riccobono, a blind executive who directs technology, research, and
education programs for the organization, was behind the wheel of a Ford
Escape hybrid equipped with nonvisual technology and successfully navigated
1.5 miles of the road course section of the famed track at the Daytona
International Speedway. Several of our local members were in attendance and
said it was an incredible experience. For more information on this historic
moment, please read the <http://www.digitalnewsrelease.com/?q=nfb_daytona>
digital news release with audio and video or
<http://www.nfb.org/nfb/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=760> d
Washington Seminar
21 people from Utah were privileged to go to Washington DC to participate in
the annual Washington Seminar. We were able to meet with Senators Hatch and
Lee and office staff from each of the three Utah representatives. We were
able to discuss 3 important issues
1) A Technology Bill of Rights for the Blind
2) Ensuring Equal Education for Blind Children: Setting Standards that
Promote Excellence
3) Americans with Disabilities Business Opportunity Act
Each of these initiatives is explained further on the NFB website at:
www.nfb.org, and go to Washington Seminar.
Scholarships available! Each year, the NFB offers blind college students in
the U.S. the opportunity to win one of thirty national scholarships. To
apply, visit <http://www.nfb.org/scholarships> www.nfb.org/scholarships.
If you would like to apply for a state scholarship, you may use exactly the
same application from the national scholarship application and other
information and submit it to <mailto:Sachin.pavithran at usu.edu>
Sachin.pavithran at usu.edu. This must be submitted by April 15 to be eligible
for a state cash scholarship from the NFB of Utah. These cash scholarships
will be awarded during our state convention May 13 and 14 at the Red Lion
Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah.
If you have ideas for further articles or news or just questions please
send them to Jerry Nealey <mailto:utahnfb at gmail.com> utahnfb at gmail.com.
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
Chair, Newsletter Publication committee
Personal Website-
<http://www.thoughtprovoker.info/> http://www.thoughtprovoker.info
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