[Nfb-idaho] president's update for May,2016

[Dana Ard]

Attached and pasted in this email is my update for May,2016. 

 

 

President's Update

May 2016

 

May began with the Idaho Gives campaign on May 5. NFBI received donations of
nearly $200.00, which is the most we have ever received from this campaign.
Even though May 5 was emphasized as a day for Idahoans to support their
favorite charities, donations can be made throughout the year. We also
received a small check from Amazon Smiles. Even though the donations from
these two organizations are relatively small, they demonstrate that there
are many untapped sources for donations and all donations count. 

 

Speaking of fundraising, the Treasure Valley chapter held its annual Cycle
for Independence on May 21 at River Glenn Junior High. Despite rain near the
end of the ride, we had approximately the same number of riders as last
year. People were enthusiastic and as usual, the lunch for riders and
volunteers was delicious! We still have bike socks which can be purchased
for $5.00 per pair. If you were a rider or volunteer and didn't get your
socks, please let Ramona Walhof know. I will have more information in the
June update on the amount of funds that this great event raised. We got some
excellent pictures during the event, which we can use on our website, for
publicity and in many different ways. Thanks to all who participated in this
great event. Al Schneider will be the event chair for next year and we are
already beginning plans for 2017. 

 

NFBI will have three BELL Academy sites this summer; Boise, Idaho Falls, and
Coeur d'Alene. If you want further information or would like to volunteer in
one of these programs, please contact Alison Steven at (208) 761-6286, email
pecans65 at gmail.com. 

 

I am happy to let everyone know that again this year, we have a Jernigan
scholarship winner. Julie Anderson, and her eight year-old son Carver, who
is blind and has participated in the Idaho Falls BELL Academy for the past 3
years, will be attending the national convention with help from a Jernigan
scholarship. Our NFBI secretary Susan Bradley was instrumental in
introducing Julie and Carver to the NFB and he has benefitted greatly from
the BELL Academy. One of the ways to support the Jernigan fund, which
provides these scholarships, is to purchase raffle tickets. The winner of
the raffle will win an all-expense paid trip for 2 to the 2017 convention.
Tickets are $10.00. If you would like to purchase tickets, contact me by
phone or email. 

 

On May 25, we had a meeting of the state board and the NFBI convention
committee. At this point, we have decided to start the convention activities
earlier on Friday and Saturday, integrate the business activities into the
general convention session, and make the Saturday evening banquet and
auction the high point of the convention. This schedule would eliminate the
Sunday morning business meeting and make it easier for people who have to
travel to get an earlier start. We are also looking into having concurrent
sessions for one of the general session times. The thought behind this is
that we could have sessions dedicated to students and/or parents.

This model is being used in some other states. We also agreed to send
memorials to national to remember Terry Harris, Fred Riggers, and Mike
Blackaller, who have all passed recently. 

 

Chris Jones is forming a state wide committee to work on transportation for
conventions and perhaps other events. He would like to have a representative
from each chapter serve on the committee. If your chapter has not yet
appointed someone to do this, please do and let Chris know at 208 308-3376
or clj53787 at gmail.com.

 

Erin Jepson, from the Palouse Empire chapter and a speaker at our
convention, has written an excellent article in the May Braille Monitor
entitled If Braille Were Print. It is very thought provoking and I encourage
all members to read it. It is still available on NFB Newsline. NFB has a new
website for blind parents, www.blindparents.org. President Riccobono has
asked blind parents to review the contents of the website, and share content
to include. NFB is also looking for parents to be mentors and help in other
ways. I know we have many blind parents in Idaho. Please email
parenting at nfb.org to share your information or assistance. Melissa Riccobono
is leading this effort. Remember, we need to let prospective blind parents
know that they can raise children, and we must also educate professionals
such as doctors and nurses that blindness is not a characteristic that
defines our ability to be parents. 

 

We have two YouTube videos on our website. One of them is developed by
Sierra Schmidt and is Entitled introduction National Federation of the Blind
of Idaho, and the other one is Mary Ellen Halverson and her twin
grandchildren. The title of the video is Mary Ellen with Henry and Lilly.

 

I will talk to everyone again after the NFB national convention. 

Dana Ard, President

National Federation of the Blind of Idaho

Phone (208) 345-3906

Email danalynard at q.com

 

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