[Nfb-editors] North Carolina - News and Views

[Robert Leslie Newman]

NEWS AND VIEWS

 

Gary Ray, President                                         Katherine W.
Barr, Editor

18 Sandon Dr.
3326 Sharon Road

Asheville, NC 28804
Charlotte, NC 28211

(828) 505-0299
(704) 364-4808



 

Newsletter of the

National Federation of the Blind

of North Carolina

 

nfblogo


 


JULY, 2014




Federation Board Members 2013-2014


NFB of NC


(Revised 9/15/13)


 




President

Gary Ray

18 Sandon Drive

Asheville NC 28804

phone 828-505-0338

cell phone 919-417-2885

NFB of NC line 828-505-0299

e-mail: ghray at charter.net

 

First Vice-President

Tim Jones

76 Silver Lake Pt.

Sanford, NC 27332

cell: 704-491-1486

e-mail: tmjnc2 at gmail.com

 

Second Vice-President

Lusi Radford

3604 Octavia Street

Raleigh, NC 27606

phone: 919-851-4817

cell: 919-341-6526

e-mail: Lusi98 at nc.rr.com

 

Secretary

Sharon Weddington

137 Kristens Court Drive

Mooresville, NC 28115

phone: 704-660-3481

cell: 704-302-7308

e-mail: locagirl at windstream.net

Treasurer

Boyce Locklear

P O Box 2633

Lumberton, NC 28359

cell: 910-734-4431

e-mail: blocklear44 at gmail.com

 

Board Members

Joy Scott

1111 Ivey Church Road

Maiden, NC 28650

phone: 828-428-3239

cell: 864-483-3455

e-mail: joynjesus at live.com

 

Charles Parker

105 Old Barn Lane

Rocky Mount NC 27804

phone: 252-977-1960

e-mail: angusparker at suddenlink.net

 

Julius Locklear

2228 Leadenhall Way

Raleigh NC 27603

cell: 910-740-1129

e-mail: julius.locklear1 at gmail.com

 

 

 

Ronald Broadnax

405 Southshore Parkway

Durham, NC 27703

phone: 919-596-0837

cell: 919-740-9131

e-mail: rbroadnax at frontier.com

 

Laurancene Murphy

2930 Zion Renaissance

Charlotte, NC 28269

phone: 704-971-0303

e-mail: lsm4 at ctc.net

 

Dr. Gary Davis

28 Eden View

Black Mountain, NC 28711

phone: 828-686-9180

cell: 828-776-9180

e-mail: gl28davis at aol.com

 

 

News & Views Editor

Katherine Barr

3326 Sharon Rd.

Charlotte, NC 28211

phone: 704-364-4808

e-mail: harrvsbarr at qmail.com

 

POBC President Vacant

 

Youth Coordinator:

Veronica Puente

2125 Balboa Road

Raleigh nc 27603

Cell: (704)292-8644

Email: brl3517 at gmail.com

 




 

NCABS President

Alan Chase

1217 manassas court

Raleigh, NC 27609

phone: 910-612-2220

e-mail: achase11 at nc.rr.com




 


EDITOR'S NOTE


 

We hope everyone is enjoying a pleasant summer. It will be good to see many
of you at our State Convention in Raleigh this September. Details and the
Pre-Registration Form are included in this Newsletter. The Wake County plans
sound exciting! The deadline for the November Newsletter is October 30,
2014.

 

The Editor

 

 

 


PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE


By Gary Ray


 

There is a song by Boston called "I Had a Really Good Time." And, that is
how I feel as I look back over my years of service to the NC Affiliate. This
will be my last article in News and Views as your President. I have served
for six years as President and four years as First Vice President. I am very
grateful for the opportunity to be able to pay back on the debt I owe the
NFB during my tenure. So much of who I am today is due to the NFB and its
members. I started my journey into blindness just a bit more than 40 years
ago. Had it not been for the NFB and its members here in NC, I would
probably be dead now or lying in a ditch somewhere. I will not be standing
for reelection in September at the NFB of NC State Convention in Raleigh. We
will have a great slate of officers and Board members to consider at the
convention and I support the slate of the Nominating Committee. This slate
will be announced on Saturday, September 20 and we will vote during our
business meeting on Sunday, September 21.

I am not leaving the NFB. I will continue to be involved with my local
chapter up here in Buncombe County. I'll also stay on as Newsline
Coordinator and BELL Coordinator for NC.

The work of the NFB of NC will go forward and we will continue to be the
largest voice for the blind in NC.

I am attending the National Convention in Orlando as the NC Delegate for the
last time this year. We will be electing a new President for the NFB in
Orlando. Dr. Maurer has thrown his support behind Mark Ricabono and I'll
support him, too. It promises to be an amazing convention!

It appears that all of our legislative efforts will bear fruit in the NC
Legislature. We have been assured that our Newsline funding is secure, that
DSB funding is not being reduced, that funding for the Governor Morehead
School is not being reduced, and funding for the NC Library for the Blind is
not being reduced. You never know until the Governor signs the budget, but
we are very hopeful for this budget cycle.

We are running two BELL programs this year. BELL is a 2 week summer program
for blind children. Our first BELL camp is in Lincolnton and will run from
June 30 to July 11.   Our second BELL camp will be held in Raleigh from July
14 to July 25. I love BELL so much and we are doing great work. We thank the
Friends of the Library for funding most of these 2 programs.

The location and dates of our State Convention had to be changed after our
last News and Views came out. The convention will be held from Thursday,
September 18 through Sunday, September 21. The new hotel is the Holiday Inn
Crabtree Valley at 4100 Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh. We have had our
convention in this hotel a number of times over the years so folks should be
familiar with it.

We strongly encourage people to plan to come to the hotel Thursday so they
will be ready to start bright and early Friday morning on a jam-packed
program.

Please read all about the Convention and what will be going on later in the
newsletter.

I especially want to thank Katherine Barr for her service as newsletter
editor while I have been in state leadership. She is a champ!

 

 

 

 


CHAPTER NEWS


 


Buncombe County


by Doug Smith


 

On February 15, Chapter members Doug Smith, Kim Owen, Billy Morrissey, Gary
Davis, and Darlene Davis had the honor of attending an eagle scout ceremony
for Daniel Davis at the Riceville Community Center in Asheville. On hand
also for this presentation were chapter mascots Welkie and Fern. Daniel
received his eagle scout award for some projects he and his troop did at the
McCune Center, including a surround for an HVAC unit behind the building and
a stone patio area. These continue to benefit the residents of the center.
Daniel is a member of the Buncombe Chapter.

Two of our members, Doug Smith and Kim Owen attended a blind bowling
tournament in Winston Salem at Creekside Lanes. Although we didn't win any
prizes this year, we intend to go back next year and try it again.

Three of our members, Gary Davis, Darlene Davis and Daniel Davis attended
this year's Washington Seminar. It was a very good experience. As part of
Daniel's Senior project for high school, he did much of the work to prepare
for the event. He stepped up to the plate and made the appointments and did
much of the work that made this year's great success possible.

The North Carolina delegation met with Senators and Representatives and even
got the first actually in-person meeting with Senator Richard Burr in NFB of
NC history. He strongly indicated that he was going to sign on as a
co-sponsor of the fair wages bill.

The issues this year were the Minimum Wages for Workers with Disabilities
bill, the Technology education and Access in College and Higher Education
(TEACH) bill, and the Airline Travel Access legislation.

It gets even better after the meeting and after all the delegates had safely
returned home. One of the Federation's national legal representatives wanted
to get into Congressman McHenry's office to talk with him about the TEACH
act. However, she received no response to any calls or e-mails sent to ask
for an appointment. However, since Daniel was working on his senior project
and the Davis family had become friends with Congressman McHenry, they were
able to talk with his lead legislative assistant and they were able to get
an appointment for the legal representative to get in to talk and present
more information about the TEACH act. The North Carolina affiliate and
particularly, the Buncombe County chapter is truly helping to "change what
it means to be blind."

On April 4, our Vice President, Billy Morrissey received a William Wollard
founder award for his service in the Lions Club. This award was presented
during one of the volunteer opportunities at Camp Dogwood as the Lions
volunteers from across the state worked to get it ready for all of us this
year. If you have never been to Camp Dogwood, and you are going this year,
you are in for a treat.

On May third, our usual three teams went out to sell tickets for the
twice-a-year Belk Charity Day sale. We were up at unusually early hours and
on our way to the three Belk stores we frequent: Asheville Mall, Biltmore
Square Mall, and Belk in Waynesville. Though, for some of us, it might have
been odd to have to get up that morning, it was well worth it to sell
tickets and raise money for our chapter.

 

 

 


Nash-Edgecombe Chapter


by Charles Parker


 

Greetings! It's been a busy 2014 for us so far.

 

This past December we had our Christmas party and were entertained by
Patricia Tessnear playing her violin which everyone enjoyed very much.
Afterwards, we had our annual auction in which everyone participated. We
auctioned off everything from bake goods to jewelry.

 

Our officers elected for 2014 are: president, Charles Parker;
vice-president, Larry Herring; secretary, Crystal Evans; treasurer, Walter
Sumner; and board member, Judy Evans.

 

In February we started our annual Mother's Day fund raiser. We have a
drawing for first prize of $40 to outback Restaurant, $30 to Red Lobster,
$25 to Cracker Barrel, and two buffets to Golden-Corral. Tickets sold for $1
each. The drawing was May 3. Thanks to those of you who bought a ticket.

 

Unfortunately there will no longer be a Fun Run in Rocky Mount which was our
largest fund raiser along with other nonprofits in the area. However, we're
determined to work hard to make up for not having this event.

 

In May we participated in the Belk Charity Day Ticket Sale. Charles Parker,
Larry Herring, and Bonnie Leonard worked our table.

 

Also in May chapter members had a social outing. We ate dinner at Mayflower
Restaurant and then went to a musical performed by The Masters of Motown.
Everyone had a great time.

 

 

 


NEWS FLASH!


2014 NFB OF NC STATE CONVENTION


 

Our State Convention will be from Thursday, September 18 through Sunday,
September 21, 2014. The convention will be at the Holiday Inn Crabtree
Valley at 4100 Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh. We have met there a number of
times so folks should be very familiar with the hotel.

Call the hotel directly at 919-782-8600 to make reservations. The room rate
is $69 (plus 12.75% tax). This room rate will be good until September 4,
2014. Our rate is not guaranteed after that date.

The registration fee for the convention is $15. Register online and get a $5
discount. Go to www.nfbofnc.org and go into the State Convention page to
find the link to register online. You cannot pay online and will need to
bring your money to the convention. The only way to get the $5 discount is
to register online. You will find a form to register by mail in this
newsletter. There is no discount for registering by mail. The banquet will
cost $35 no matter how you register.

Our National Rep this year is Joanne Wilson. She is the head of Affiliate
Services at our National office in Baltimore. She will give us a rousing
speech at our banquet and do a number of special sessions during the
Convention.

The Wake County Chapter is hosting this year's convention. They want to make
the convention one to remember! To that end, they are mixing some things up
and offering some new things to do while in Raleigh.

The theme for the convention is "Blindness is not a Capital Offense."

The Wake Chapter will be providing extra van transportation during the
convention. The hotel will provide transportation to and from the airport.
Folks coming in to the train or bus stations must call James Benton at
919-833-2259 to make arrangements for pickup on Thursday and Friday. The
Wake Chapter van will provide transportation to the bus and train stations
on Sunday for folks leaving the convention.

Thursday evening you will have the opportunity to go to a bell ringing
practice at Miriam Dixon's church or to go out to eat in downtown Raleigh.
For further details or to make reservations, call either Miriam Dixon at
919-602-8715 or James Benton at 919-833-2259.

Friday afternoon the Wake Chapter will offer tours of the State Capitol, the
Legislative Building, the Museum of Natural Science, and buggy tours. Call
either Miriam or James at the numbers above for info or reservations. The
local Chapter must have an idea of how many people will want to do these
added activities for them to be offered.

Our National Rep will do a session from 9 AM to noon on Friday. There will
be some interesting educational sessions Friday afternoon from 3 PM to 5 PM.

The State Secretary and State Treasurer will offer their usual sessions for
Chapters either Friday or Saturday. This schedule will be given later.

A blue grass band will perform at 5 PM on Friday. See the Entertainment
article for further details.

The Convention will open Friday night at 7 PM with reports from the Division
of Services for the Blind, NC Central University, the Governor Morehead
School, and the NC Library for the Blind. In the past, these reports were
done during the Saturday business meeting.

Chapters will be able to sell wares in a special Members Hall after the
reports session. There will be a talent show after the reports session. See
the Entertainment article for more details on this offering.

Our official Convention opening session will be Saturday morning at 9 AM. We
will hear reports and business until about noon.

Our Student's Division will have its business meeting during lunch in the
hotel dining room during lunch on Saturday.

Our Vendor Hall will be from 2 PM to 5 PM on Saturday. This is always a
popular part of our program.

There will be some technology sessions from 2 PM to 5 PM on Saturday.

Our banquet will be Saturday night and we will start at 7 PM. We will award
our scholarships, hear a rousing speech and some reports, raise some money,
and have a grand time.

We will have a non-denominational worship service from 8 AM to 8:45 AM on
Sunday.

At 9 AM on Sunday, we will have our annual business meeting. This will run
until around noon.

Local chapter presidents will receive contacts from the Wake Chapter to talk
about the convention and how it will be run.

All local chapters are encouraged to bring some nice door prizes to the
convention.

There will be a silent auction during the convention.


A CAPITAL ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE


By Robert Parrish


 

It is once again time for the state convention of the National Federation of
the Blind of North Carolina. There is no doubt that this convention will
have all the fun, fellowship and educational opportunities one has come to
expect. The entertainment at this year's convention might even exceed all
expectations. Entertainment events ranging from a blue grass concert to a
Saturday night dance are planned.

We are very privileged and pleased to have a very well-known bluegrass group
performing at our convention. Carolina Lightnin', a traditional blue grass
group known throughout the Southeastern United States as well as
internationally, will be giving a concert on Friday, September 19th at 5:00
P.M.   Each member of the group is a song writer with extensive studio
recording experience. Tommy Edwards, who plays guitar, hosts a radio show in
central North Carolina. Rick Lafleur helped this group to form its name as
he is well known for his "lightning" fast banjo playing. Alice Zincone, who
teaches art at the Governor Morehead School for the Blind, is one of the
best bass players that you will ever hear. You are sure to have a
hand-clapping good time when you hear Carolina Lightnin' play.

At approximately 8:30 P.M. on Friday, September 19th, there will be a talent
show. Yours truly will be the MC for the show. I am looking for a variety of
acts that can include poems, music, dance, drama or bird calling. While I am
flexible with the time frame, I ask that you make your acts last between 3
to 7 minutes. If you wish to participate please contact me at 919-616-1606.
You can also e-mail me at rcp7 at bellsouth.net. Please remember to name what
kind of act you are doing along with the title. It would be helpful if I can
have this information by September 5th.

After our banquet on September 20th you can work off some of the convention
calories by "dancing the night away." Mr. Fred McEachern, a staff member of
the Governor Morehead School for the Blind, will be our dj for the evening.
He will be playing a variety of records -no, cd's -or is it downloads?
Whatever his media, he will be playing a variety of dance music for your fun
and enjoyment.

Come and be a part of this "capital entertainment" experience that the Wake
Federation of the Blind has prepared for you. Please consult the convention
program for event locations. Also, remember to contact me if you want to be
in the talent show. I look forward to seeing you all.

 

 

 


Fundraising for the 2014 Convention


by Tim Jones


 

Dear Federationists,

 

It is that time of year again to start our annual fundraising campaign. We
will be distributing our drawing tickets to each chapter president in the
near future. In this packet please find enclosed a sponsorship ad letter. I
am enclosing 3 copies of the letter for each chapter.

Our goal this year for our ads sales is $4000. I encourage each president to
distribute these letters to your members and urge them sell, sell, sell.
Companies such as local restaurants, dentists, doctors, and friends will
want to support the NFB of NC. We need your involvement to continue to
assist in "changing what it means to be blind". I also challenge all
chapters to purchase an ad.

Your assistance is very much appreciated.

 

Sincerely,

Tim Jones

 

 

 

This year more than 150 members and friends of the National Federation of
the Blind of North Carolina (NFB of NC) will be attending the annual state
convention to be held September 11th through 14th at the Holiday Inn
Crabtree Valley, 4100 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh, NC

Our annual state convention theme for this year is "Blindness Is Not A
Capital Offense". The NFB is a membership organization of more than 50,000
blind persons nationwide...parents of blind children, blind students, blind
entrepreneurs and interested others of which there are 13 chapters in North
Carolina. We encourage you to refer friends or family members with vision
loss to contact us.

At our convention we will be distributing our annual "Sponsorship Book" (The
book will also be posted on our website.) By becoming a Platinum, Gold, or
Silver level sponsor, you will demonstrate your commitment to assisting the
blind of North Carolina. Please consider purchasing an ad; The National
Federation of the Blind of North Carolina is a non-profit 501C-3
organization and is principally supported by public contributions from
friends and partners like you. Without that support we would not be able to
fulfill our mission in "changing what it means to be blind". All
contributors are welcome to join us for an eventful and inspiring
convention! Thank you.

 

Yours truly,

Gary Ray, President

919-417-2885 (cell)

828-505-0299 (home Office)

ghray at charter.net

 

Along with your sponsorship please send your company business card, logo,
brochure or any other pertinent information that you wish to be included in
your ad and a check made payable to: NFB of NC and mail to: Gary Ray,
President, 18 Sandon Dr., Asheville, NC 28804

Special Opportunities for Sponsors: (Deadline for Sponsorships' Receipts is
August 25, 2014)

Platinum Sponsorship Level -$250 (full page ad in the souvenir book)

Gold Sponsorship Level - $100 (1/2 page ad in the souvenir book)

Silver Sponsorship Level - $50 - (name listed in souvenir book)

 

 

Robert Leslie Newman

Personal Website-

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

President, NFB Writers' Division

Division Website-

http://writers.nfb.org

Chair, NFB Communications Committee

Vice President, Nebraska Senior Division 

First Vice President, Omaha Chapter

Commissioner, Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired

 

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