[Nfb-editors] News and Views - North Carolina

Wed Jul 29 17:14:32 UTC 2015

NEWS AND VIEWS

Sharon Weddington, President                    Katherine W. Barr, Editor

137 Kristens Court Drive                                            3326
Sharon Road

Mooresville, NC 28115                                             Charlotte,
NC 28211

(704) 660-3481
(704) 364-4808

Newsletter of the

National Federation of the Blind

of North Carolina

JUNE, 2015

Federation Board Members 2013-2014

NFB of NC

(Revised 12/11/14)

President:

Sharon Weddington

137 Kristens Court Drive

Mooresville, NC 28115

phone: 704-660-3481

cell: 704-302-7308

e-mail: locagirl at windstream.net <mailto:locagirl at windstream.net> 

First Vice-President:

Tim Jones

76 Silver Lake Pt.

Sanford, NC 27332

cell: 704-491-1486

e-mail: tmjnc2 at gmail.com <mailto:tmjnc2 at gmail.com> 

Second Vice-President:

Charles Parker

105 Old Barn Lane

Rocky Mount NC 27804

phone: 252-977-1960

e-mail: angusparker at suddenlink.net <mailto:angusparker at suddenlink.net> 

Secretary:

Jeremiah Rogers

9801 Windy Meadow Lane

Charlotte NC 28269

phone: 704-765-1221

cell: 704-996-5334

e-mail: jeremiahzrogers at gmail.com <mailto:jeremiahzrogers at gmail.com> 

Treasurer:

Boyce Locklear

P O Box 2633

Lumberton, NC 28359

cell: 910-734-4431

e-mail: blocklear44 at gmail.com <mailto:blocklear44 at gmail.com> 

News & Views Editor:

Katherine Barr

3326 Sharon Rd.

Charlotte, NC 28211

phone: 704-364-4808

e-mail: harrysbarr at gmail.com <mailto:harrysbarr 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 <mailto:joynjesus at live.com> 

Alan Chase

1217 Manassas court Unit C

Raleigh, NC 27609

phone: 910-612-2220

e-mail: achase11 at nc.rr.com <mailto:achase11 at nc.rr.com> 

Julius Locklear

2228 Leadenhall Way

Raleigh NC 27603

cell: 910-740-1129

e-mail: julius.locklear1 at gmail.com <mailto: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 <mailto:rbroadnax at frontier.com> 

Laurancene Murphy

2930 Zion Renaissance

Charlotte, NC 28269

phone: 704-971-0303

e-mail: lsm4 at ctc.net <mailto:lsm4 at ctc.net> 

Rosie Bethea

1449 Hawkcrest Lane

Winston Salem NC 27127

phone: 336-816-1777

email: rosiebethea at att.net <mailto:rosiebethea at att.net> 

Wanda Toler

355 Toler Road

Ernul NC 28527

phone: 252-637-2364

email: billiam_99 at hotmail.com <mailto:billiam_99 at hotmail.com> 

EDITOR'S NOTE

Have a happy summer everyone! We hope to see many of you at our State
Convention in lovely Wilmington in September. Your pre-registration form is
included here. Also included are copies of the convention ad letter. We are
very disappointed in the lack of response to our requests for updating the
newsletter mailing list. Chapter Presidents; PLEASE send me an updated list
of chapter members including name, address, and format (P,C, or E). Deadline
for the November Newsletter is October 17, 2015.

The Editor

THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER

By Sharon Weddington

Hello Federationists! It is almost July and that means time for our National
Federation of the Blind national convention. This year it is in Orlando
Florida, July 5-10.1 hope you are starting to pack for this trip. The last
list I received from National shows 31 people attending the convention from
North Carolina. I know we will all be coming in at different times, but I do
hope to see you during the week. I am excited to share in the fun of our
75th anniversary of the NFB!

I will be visiting 2 counties very soon in hopes of starting 2 new chapters.
If you know of anyone who wants to talk about starting a chapter please put
them in touch with me. We need to work hard at growing the Federation here
in North Carolina.

Our State convention plans are coming along. As a Federationist we need you
to help us fund the movement so we can "live the life we want to live". You
can help by selling ads for the convention program and selling tickets for
our state drawing to be held at the convention. For more information on
either of these fund raisers contact Tim Jones at 704-491-1486.

BELL Update

Plans for our BELL program in NC are going well. There will be a BELL
program in Lincolnton and in Raleigh this year. The numbers are looking good
for attendance. The Lincoln County chapter is challenging all chapters to
make a donation to the NC BELL program this year. Your donations should be
sent to Boyce Locklear, PO Box 2633 Lumberton, NC 28359 and all checks
should be payable to the NFB of NC and marked for BELL. I want to give a big
shout out to our BELL chair Joy Scott for all her leadership in heading up
the program this year.

Legislative Update

As you know, I love a good challenge. I have made a point of working to get
our Newsline in the NC state budget as a reoccurring line item. I was told
by some I was wasting my time, but I don't think so. After many phone calls
and emails to legislators it is in the budget and has passed the House and
is waiting to pass the Senate. Keep your fingers crossed and just maybe it
will stay in the budget.

Patricia Tessnear is home and doing well. She still has a little ways to go
before she is completely healed. We still need to remember her daughter Erin
while she is still recovering from her car wreck.

Judy Watson is dealing with a blocked artery and she needs our thoughts and
prayers also.

NFB of NC Convention Update

"Sunshine Seashells and Braille" is the theme for the NFB of NC state
convention this year. It will be held September 17-20, near the coast at the
Holiday Inn located at 5032 Market Street Wilmington, NC 28403. The number
to call for reservations is 910-392-1101. Be sure to mention the NFB of NC
so you will get the convention rate of $100.57 per room including tax. This
price also includes a breakfast bar.

The NFB of NC Board of Directors are proud to host this convention with the
help of all members in the state. This will be a absolutely great State
convention. While some plans are still in the making, some plans have been
made. The Saturday night banquet will be $30 per person. Convention
registration fee is $10 in advance and $15 at the door, so get your
registration in early. All registrations must be received by September 10.
We are hoping for a great convention and with your help it will be. You
don't want to miss this one!

We need door prizes and auction items. We are asking all chapters to bring
at least 5 door prizes and 3 auction items.

Be sure to check our website for information and updates on the 2015 State
convention.

CHAPTER REPORTS

Buncombe County Chapter

By Doug Smith

The members of the Buncombe chapter have been busy with a number of
activities. Some of our members have attended blind bowling tournaments in
January, March, and April. We have sold M and Ms and participated in Belk's
Charity day events in Asheville, Hendersonville, and Waynesville.

One of our members, Doug Smith has participated in the National Day of
Prayer activities in downtown Asheville on May 7 and will be going to
another prayer event on May 9.

Some of our members have begun preparations to go to Camp Dogwood. If anyone
has never been, we recommend it to anyone who loves to have fun in the
summer.

With summer coming on, we also look forward to the many activities we can
participate in at the McCune Center and to service projects with the Lions
Club.

Three of our members, Darlene, Gary, and Daniel Davis, will attend the
National Convention in Orlando.

GREETINGS FROM THE HARNETT CHAPTER

By Leslie Brown

"Okay," I said to myself as I gripped my iPhone in a shaking hand.
"Knowledge is power, right? He's just the Vice-president of an NFB. The
worst he can say is, 'No, we aren't accepting you because you're so far
away."' Prepared for the worst, I sighed and tapped the dial button. This
was how I met Tim Jones, the Vice-president of the Harnett County chapter of
the National Federation of the Blind.

A month later at my first meeting, the chapter brought up their wish to
create a training center where visually-impaired members of the community
could learn basic computer skills and (later perhaps), how to use other
devices helpful to life as blind people. I was just sitting there thinking,
"That's a great idea!" and then out of the blue, Mr. Jones said, "Well,
Leslie knows how to use a computer. Maybe she could start teaching us,
right?" My heart hit the floor. I am the most introverted introvert you can
imagine - preferring the company of my dog and robots to mingling with
people, but that day, something really odd happened.

I took a deep breath and said, "Yes." The rest of the meeting was full of
chapter business I didn't understand. I was beginning to think about my
decision to step into the fabric of a community I barely knew into a field
that I had no real degree of training other than every day computer use.
Even so, it was like a flood gate opened inside my soul. I tend to go full
throttle when handed a task and this was no exception. It wasn't until I got
home that the true enormity of this task sank in. Well, what could I say?
I'd given my word and like a knight under oath, I had to see it through.
That was September, 2013. During the Spring of the following year, I learned
the computers currently located at our meeting place were too old to support
current software. Consulting our treasurer, I learned to my dismay there was
no way we could afford new computers as well as current assistive technology
to make them accessible. Fortunately, I was thrown a lifeline during a
casual conversation with a friend who told me about Computers for the Blind
out of Texas. For a donation fee of just one hundred ten dollars, the
company would send qualifying blind or visually impaired individuals a
functional computer with a free screen-reader as well as trial versions of
magnification software included. Frustrated with my lack of progress thus
far with eager students clamoring at my back, I made the necessary phone
calls.

At first, the intake person was unsure what to do with me. "Well, Ms.
Brown," she said hesitantly. "We customarily serve only one person at a time
not an entire organization. If you give us the names of those we will be
serving, we will see if we can make this happen for you." Not long after
that, Mr. Jones confirmed the delivery of five computers to our center. I
couldn't believe it! Now, this dream was looking less like a mere wish and
more like a very concrete reality!

As spring sank into summer and the new computers were set up, a second
hurdle loomed in my path. I needed a book or software that would help my
students learn to type and reacquaint themselves with the computer keyboard.
I spoke to several book-sellers and mainstream software venders who all said
they weren't sure if their product was going to work for me and my "special"
needs. I truly began to lose hope. This idea was crazy! I was one person,
our budget was far too small, and no one out in the public seemed to
understand what I was talking about or what I needed. We had our computers,
we had assistive technology but we didn't have anything close to actual
course material. After a week of beating myself up, I finally decided to
just write my own concept book. After all who can understand working with a
computer from the standpoint of a blind person better than another blind
person?

By the beginning of this year, my book was written and distributed to my
students. Transportation became our next hurdle. After several fruitless
conversations, we finally spoke with a local member of the Lions Club. He
said he would be willing to check into transporting my students and me from
our houses to the training center; as well as hanging around to assist me
when the computers refused to speak - or to deal with any emergencies that
might come up during our classes. We have had three classes so far and while
only two sessions a month isn't much, we are doing the best with what we
have. I am proud to be part of this dream. I am proud to have opened windows
of hope for those under my instruction. Knowledge is power and in the
future, my students will be able to educate others and show them that
stepping into the digital world isn't as impossible as it might seem.

NEWS FLASH!

By Tim Jones

FUNDRAISING

Please find enclosed the convention ad letter. We need these distributed
among our chapter members. As we have said before, the ads are easy to sell.
Please present them to your local businesses, restaurants, doctors' offices,
your local mechanic, friends, and family.

We need your help to make this a successful fundraising project.

Greetings fellow federationists', as the summer is upon us, we will all be
out & about vacationing, attending family gatherings, picnics, and other
events that will put us in the position to promote our fundraising efforts.
Please keep your raffle tickets and your ad letters with you throughout your
events. As you know," funding the movement" is accomplished by our
fundraising efforts! Therefore, this is a big part of what we do to support
this organization in it's advocacy for the blindness community. By keeping
our affiliate financially sound, we are able to assist members to attend the
Washington Seminar, State Convention, National Convention, with
scholarships, and other activities.

Take a moment, have a glass of iced tea and ask yourself these questions...
how many raffle tickets have I sold, how many ad letters have I tried to
sell, am I really doing all I can do so the "blind can live the life they
want"? If you are in need of ad letters, raffle tickets, or any assistance
in our state fundraising efforts, please feel free to contact me at
704-491-1486 or TMJNC2 at gmail.com.

Stay cool and have a great summer.

Your friend & fundraising chairperson,

Tim Jones

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Lions Services Inc. is currently hiring for the following positions:

- Legally Blind Sewing Machine Operators for various Apparel Departments

No Experience needed, Training will be provided (automated sewing machines)

Full Time Positions - Monday-Friday 7:30am to 4:00pm

Company Benefits Included: Health Insurance, 403(b) Retirement plan,
Vacation/Sick Time, Paid Holidays, Free Eye Exam and glasses from the Lions
Eye Clinic, etc.

If applicant has Social Security Restrictions, HR Department can discuss and
assist with tracking.

Please contact: HR Department 704-921-1527 X 621

or Contact Email: HR at lionsservices.org

Contact Fax: 704-921-1577 www.lionsservices.org

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