[NFB_of_Georgia] President's Notebook Week of May 24, 2021

Tue May 25 12:51:14 UTC 2021

Federation Family,

It is hard to believe that the end of May is upon us. It is also hard to
believe how the past year has flown by. I approach this week with a mix of
feelings remembering the emotions of a year ago as our nation experienced
the killing of George Floyd and the tremendous wave of pain, action, and
reflection that followed in that first week. Obviously, the effects are
still being experienced today. I want to mark this anniversary by calling
upon all members to review our statement of solidarity
<https://nfb.org/about-us/press-room/national-federation-blind-stands-solidarity-all-those-impacted-racial-injustice>
to
remind us about the careful work we need to do to intentionally build the
Federation to reflect the deep and broad diversity we want among our
members.

Tomorrow is also the twentieth anniversary of Erik Weihenmayer summiting
Mt. Everest with the support of the National Federation of the Blind. It is
always fun to look back upon the achievements that we have helped transform
into reality through this movement. What is our next Mt. Everest moment?
Might it be Dan Parker's world record attempt under our Blind Driver
Challenge or something else? While we should remember the big moments, we
should also keep in mind that the heartbeats of our movement are the small,
personal, day-to-day connections and actions that drive the power of our
public work. Take a moment to reach out to someone on May 25 and let them
know how their, maybe small, part in your journey has had a big impact.

*Critical Actions:*

Register for the 2021 National Convention Before May 31:

The National Federation of the Blind National Convention is July 6 through
July 10, 2021, from anywhere and everywhere. A member toolkit was sent via
email last week to encourage members to promote registration—please share
registration promotions in your local area. Early registration, by May 31,
provides voting eligibility for members, enters registrants’ names for door
prizes during convention, and enables registrants to receive pre-convention
emails. Additionally, the registration process provides the opportunity to
make access support requests. We are committed to making our meetings a
safe, welcoming, and inclusive space for everyone. Register now at
https://nfb.org/registration.

*News:*

*Plan to Attend the June Presidential Release—Captioning and Spanish
Available:*

The next Presidential Release of the National Federation of the Blind will
be delivered on Tuesday, June 1, at 8:00 p.m. eastern. After the remarks
there will be an opportunity for questions. Submit questions in advance to
cdanielsen at nfb.org and put PR506 in the subject line, or call 410-659-9314,
extension 2473. Closed captions and Spanish interpretation will be
available. Mark your calendars! The link to join is
https://zoom.us/j/91778192252 and other Zoom details will be available
soon.

*Door Prizes:*

Miley Cowes from Eureka, Montana…do you remember how it felt when your name
was called for a national convention door prize? Or do you hope to hear
your name announced at this year’s convention? It’s exciting to hear your
name announced for everyone to know you are attending the convention and
then to be the winner of a coveted door prize. We are continuing the
long-standing fun tradition of door prizes at the 2021 NFB National
Convention. Please help us share the excitement of winners’ names being
announced and attendees anticipating their coveted prize.

We are accepting door prizes for the 2021 NFB National Convention. We
request cash donations so that we can distribute gift cards and gift
certificates as prizes. Cash donations make it easier to create prize
groups and to distribute prizes from one location. Please make your checks
payable to National Federation of the Blind and write Door Prizes in the
memo. Mail the check to National Federation of the Blind, 200 East Wells
Street, Baltimore, MD 21230, Attention: Fiscal Services - DP. By addressing
the check this way, we will easily identify it as a door prize and process
it accordingly. You should also send an email to prize at nfb.org to let us
know you are sending a contribution for the door prizes and the full name
of the organization that the contribution is from. We want to make sure we
recognize your organization in our thank-you list. You can contact Bridgid
Burke (bburke at nfb.org or extension 2271) or Belinda Hooks (bhooks at nfb.org or
extension 2508) with any questions. We discourage everyone from making door
prize donations through the nfb.org/donate page; however, if a door prize
donation is received through this page, we will reduce the donation by 3
percent to help us offset the credit card transaction fees. We are looking
forward to another informative, fun, and prize-filled convention.

*PAC Prizes:*

Every year the Pre-Authorized Contribution program holds various contests
during the national convention that NFB affiliates and individual members
contribute to the prizes. We are again asking NFB affiliates and national
divisions to support our fun PAC contests by contributing cash donations to
the contest prizes. Please make checks payable to National Federation of
the Blind, 200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230, Attention: Fiscal
Services - PAC. You should also send an email to PAC at nfb.org to let us know
you are sending a contribution for the contest prizes and the full name of
the organization that the contribution is from. We want to make sure we
recognize your organization in our thank-you list. You can contact Scott
LaBarre (slabarre at nfb.org) or Bridgid Burke (bburke at nfb.org or extension
2271) if you have any questions. We are looking forward to another
fun-PACked convention!

*Amendment to the Endless Frontier Act from Senator John Thune: *

Update: Last week we told you about the Endless Frontier Act in the Senate
and how Senator John Thune of South Dakota introduced an amendment that
contained two important provisions to ensure that people with disabilities
would be included in the design and utilization of highly automated
vehicles. The first would create an exemption classification for
manufacturers who “provide transportation access for individuals with
disabilities (as defined in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)), including non-visual access for individuals
who are blind or visually impaired,” as long as the vehicle was
equivalently safe to a non-exempt vehicle. The second would prohibit a
state from issuing a “motor vehicle operator’s license for the operation or
use of a highly automated vehicle in a manner that discriminates on the
basis of disability.” For a more detailed summary of these provisions,
please read the recent letter to Senators Cantwell and Wicker
<https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/policy-statements/letter-chair-cantwell-thune-amendment-endless-frontier-act>
that
I wrote in support of the amendment. The Endless Frontier Act is still
being debated in the Senate this week, so you still have a chance to make
an important impact through your calls and emails. Please contact your
senators and ask them to support Senator Thune’s automated vehicles
amendment.

*We Reached Our Goal! Thank You for Your Support:*

We did it! Thanks to everyone who contributed last week, we reached our
goal of $25,000. Because of the generosity of Deque Systems and an
anonymous donor, that amount will be doubled in honor of Global
Accessibility Awareness Day. That means that every dollar you gave will go
twice as far in advocacy, education, and helping blind people live the
lives we want. Thank you!

*Recent Blog: “Lack of Awareness Makes Accessibility Inaccessible”:*

Many people have their lives needlessly disrupted due to the lack of
knowledge of the tools that would make it possible for them to maintain
their quality of life despite the onset of blindness. We must promote
awareness of the availability and need for accessibility. Read Anil Lewis’s
story in our recent *Voice of the Nation’s Blind Blog*
<https://nfb.org/blog/lack-awareness-makes-accessibility-inaccessible>.

*Career Opportunities at the National Federation of the Blind:*

The National Federation of the Blind is seeking flexible, hard-working
individuals who will work with us to ensure independence and equality for
all blind Americans. Currently we have several opportunities to include:
Braille proofing and production specialist, program assistant NFB
Independence Market, operations specialist for NFB-NEWSLINE, outreach
program coordinator. Learn more about our career opportunities
<https://nfb.org/about-us/career-opportunities>.

*Dates to Keep in Mind:*

(all times eastern)

   - June 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m.
   - June 9: App Development Seminar, www.nfb.org/cena
   - June 29: Rookie Roundup, 8:30 p.m.
   - July 6-10: NFB National Convention, anywhere and everywhere

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

Mark A. Riccobono, President

200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

410-659-9314 | Officeofthepresident at nfb.org

Twitter: @Riccobono

Pronouns: he, him, his

[image: National Federation of the Blind] <https://nfb.org/>

                         [image: Facebook]
<http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>    [image: Twitter]
<https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice>    [image: Youtube]
<https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind>

-- 
Dorothy Griffin - President
National Federation of the Blind of Georgia
dgriffin at nfbga.org
770-374-4832

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.