[Nfb-idaho] FW: president's message for August

[Dana Ard]

From: Dana Ard [mailto:Danalynard at q.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2015 6:45 PM
To: 'nfb-idaho at nfb.org'
Subject: president's message for August

 

August has been a busy month filled with progress, opportunities and
challenges. Thanks to the efforts of Kevin Pirnie, with guidance from the
website committee, the new website is taking shape. If you haven't already
taken a look, please check out www.nfbidaho.org. There are more good things
to come on the website. Please contact Kevin at 208 206-1181 with your
ideas. 

Another area of progress is our fundraising newsletter. This accomplishment
is due, in large part,  to the hard work and determination of Ramona Walhof
and Mary Evelyn Smith. I know others have helped supply pictures, convert
the document to a pdf format, and assist in other ways that I don't even
know about. This is the first time we have had an actual document with
pictures to use in fundraising. We hope to have the fundraising newsletter
come out twice a year. I appreciate everyone's hard work and determination
to get this done. Now, we need to begin to use it to raise much needed funds
for our state treasury so we can continue to do the valuable work of the
Federation. 

In order to become more knowledgeable about how to get our stories out on
television, I attended a seminar provided by the Idaho Nonprofit Council,
which is part of the Boise Chamber of Commerce. Dee Sarton, who is a well
known television reporter and active in this community, gave the
presentation. She stressed the importance of having a story to tell, and
also advised us to follow television reporters on social media and make
comments about their stories. This can help reporters get to know us.

I met with Brad Griff, who is the regional director for Representative Raul
Labrador to discuss the TIME act. I was told that Representative Labrador
would not sponsor the bill until it came to the house floor. I have just
received an updated fact sheet on the time act which I will send to both
representatives. 

On August 10, I met with the Central Idaho chapter  at a special dinner held
at Idaho Joe's restaurant in Twin Falls. President Chris Jones and Judy
Jones were wonderful hosts for this event. Fifteen people, including the
ICBVI VR counselor Linda Upton and her husband were present. I provided
information on my background in the Federation, as well as state and
national goals, and some suggestions for growing the membership and
enhancing chapter meetings. Chris is now working to do a meeting and
activity with IESDB students, ICBVI and NFB. He and I have also been
discussing fundraising ideas. 

I participated  by phone in the meeting of the Canyon County chapter. They
are planning a presentation at Van Buran elementary school in Caldwell for
Meet the Blind Month. A blind third grade student, who was in the Boise Bell
program this Summer, attends this school. 

Several members have been involved in helping a blind couple in Mountain
Home who have a new baby. Health and Welfare had gotten involved because of
concerns for the baby's safety. The blind couple is young and inexperienced
as parents. Health and Welfare felt that unless there was help in the home,
24/7, the baby would need to be in foster care. Sandy Streeter stayed with
the family for several days teaching skills and providing support to help
build the parents' confidence. Ramona Walhof met with the family, the social
worker and nurse from Health and Welfare last Friday afternoon. Because of
the efforts of Federation members, and the willingness of the parents to
learn, this baby will not be placed in foster care. I have called Disability
Rights Idaho to learn more about Idaho laws that can protect parents with
disabilities. We will continue to mentor this family to ensure they get the
help and support they need to be successful parents. 

Five  blind children, each  accompanied by at least one parent, along with
sighted siblings,  attended the weekend BELL camp outside of Moscow. Tina
Johnson, the IESDB teacher of the visually impaired for northern Idaho also
participated. Alison Steven and Ramona Walhof lead activities including
beepball, hiking, cooking, games, and music. Hopefully this activity will
open doors for future BELL activities in this part of the state. 

Our state board meeting will be held September 26 at the ICBVI conference
room. We will meet at 8:30 for some social time, and the meeting will begin
at 9:00 A.M. 

The 2016 state convention will be held at the Red Lion in Lewiston, April
22-24. Room rates are $89.00 for singles, doubles, triples, and quads. The
address is 621 21st St. and the phone number is 208 799-1000 or 1-800
232-6730. When making reservations be sure to state that you will be
attending the National Federation of the Blind of Idaho convention and
request the group rate. 

We are currently planning a legislative luncheon on January 18. We were not
able to get an evening banquet on that date. This event would coincide with
our Winter board meeting. 

As we kick off the Fall season in our chapters, we need to continue to find
ways to grow our membership. The August presidential release gave some good
suggestions. We

Know how the Federation is helping blind people to live the lives we want,
but we need to bring that hope to others.