[Nfbf-l] FOPBC State Convention Happenings

Mon Jun 7 01:30:20 UTC 2010

Hi Lenora and FOPBC Members,

Thank you so much for the excellent overview of all that took place for or
parents and kids. I was so busy that I didn't even realize all that you guys
had done to make the 2010 convention over the top outstanding. I am proud of
FOPBC for all you guys accomplished and for the dedication and hard work
that went into every aspect of your seminar. 

How many families were in attendance this year? It appears as though many
parents and their children learned a great deal and that they are interested
in joining your ranks, determined to do their part in changing what it means
to be blind. 

Way to go everyone! You guys are amazing!

Kathy Davis

.  

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Lenora J. Marten
Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 8:56 AM
To: nfbf-l at nfbnet.org; nfbfjax at comcast.net
Subject: [Nfbf-l] FOPBC State Convention Happenings

Good Morning,

Wow! What a convention! I hope everyone is caught up on their sleep. I know
I am happy to have my body clock back to normal.

NFBF rocks! Thank you all so much for your continued support. Those of you
who know me well, know that I cannot say something in just a few sentences.
I've tried REALLY HARD. But it's just not working. So, pull up a chair and
grab a cup of coffee..

Our parent seminars were, by far, the smoothest I have ever coordinated with
any blind group. Kudos goes out to our 14 daycare volunteers who, believe it
or not, all showed up on time! They thoroughly enjoyed working, learning and
playing with our children. Your future NFBF members spent time playing
games, making crafts, coloring with their giant low-vision coloring books
and brailled pictures. There were even muffin tins and balls for the little
ones to practice Braille letters. Our kids went home with brightly colored
Florida beach pails they had decorated themselves with tactile shapes filled
to the brim with goodies and crafts. The teen room that the Inman's helped
Larry and I put together was a little boring - on purpose. We wanted a 'down
time' room for our teens, but didn't want to make it too interesting. We
wanted them to choose to participate with other teens, the state affiliate
and their families.

Special thanks go out to our Troop 333 volunteers who traveled from
Jacksonville to help us out. Michelle Falkner, troop leader and mom traveled
in with her son Dalton and his friend Justin, both Eagle Scouts. They not
only assisted us with the lunchtime daycare turnover, but cared for our kids
during the banquet Sunday night and again on Monday morning. They were happy
to help out wherever needed with both FOPBC and NFBF. They also took the
opportunity to participate in our cane walk learning even more about
blindness issues. They learned much from their experiences with us and will
be reporting to both Troop 333 and the North Florida Council. Go Boy Scouts!

Our speakers, Anna Brynild from Central Florida Parent Center, Mark Keith,
parent trainer from FSDB and Dr. Bill Cavitt all generously donated their
time, experience and knowledge in order to help parents become better
informed when making decisions concerning their children. Those parents with
school age children attended an IEP workshop put on by Anna and Keith while
parents of younger children spent time with Dr. Bill Cavitt learning much
about the Oregon Project and how to maximize its use. On Sunday our parents
participated in interactive workshops. They had so much fun at our Braille
book making workshop that not one person cared that we were short on
braillers. Everyone shared, learning and creating with each other. Thanks to
NFBF for allowing us to have Mike Hingson for an hour. Parents, teens and
NFBF members went away motivated after hearing about his personal
experiences. Our bullying workshop was very well received by all. We talked
about bullying related to blindness issues for just before parents, teens
and NFBF members broke into role-playing groups. They were given
instructions and questions designed to engage children in conversation meant
to 'draw out' what is happening in their lives. 

Our very own Holly Idler, who is too fabulous for words, pulled off the best
cane walk ever! The room was filled with adults, teens and children seeking
much needed orientation and mobility instruction. Our parents had many, many
questions concerning cane techniques, protective techniques and
sighted-guide. It was such a privilege to see Rodney hold a cane for the
very first time and watch his confidence grow throughout the rest of the
convention. Special thanks go out to NFBF 2nd vice-president Joe Minichiello
and our NFBF scholarship winners who came out to help Holly and assist our
families. 

As a division, we tried some new approaches this year that really paid off!
FOPBC board members were given the opportunity to actively plan, participate
and execute our parent seminars. Doreen Franklin, our vice-president,
together with Anna Brynild not only planned the IEP workshop, but put
together that wonderful skit for all of you in general session giving you an
idea of just how difficult it is for parents to continuously deal with the
IEP team. Anastasia and I spent a lot of time this year discussing and
researching just how we wanted to do the Braille book making workshop.
Although we both had different ideas, we worked together very well in
planning just what our parents asked for - those seemingly elusive Braille
picture books that are so hard to come by.  Larry not only helped to plan
and execute the bullying workshop but helped out in more ways than I can
possibly count. In fact, by the end of the conference, we were all referring
to Larry as the 'energizer bunny'.  Andrew put together a wonderful
technology seminar for our teens where they learned where technology has
been, where it is today, and where it is going in the future. Tracie, not
sure what to expect at her first NFBF convention, helped out in many, many
areas including gathering some door prizes for us and obtaining that most
important auction item - the Peterbrook chocolate basket. Kelly, although
unable to attend the convention, gave us many useful ideas and input
throughout the year. 

The FOPBC board had many discussions this year concerning the amusement
parks in Orlando and possibly planning an event on the same weekend as
convention. We all had different opinions, concerns and desires. 
Major kudos go out to Larry for painstakingly making the many phone calls
and follow-up with each and every major park in order to let us know what
our options were so that we could make this decision together. Thanks go out
to Kevin Inman who helped us to explore some other options in case we needed
them. We all learned a lot from this experience as we truly had seven
different opinions with a board that was not only learning how to interact
with each other, but also learning about the workings of NFB. 

Immediately following general session on Monday, our May Adventures in Blind
Optimism Saturday Program was held at SeaWorld Adventures in Education where
our children were given a Shark and Penguin Encounter geared toward blind
children. We started off in the education center where our kids got to touch
and learn about a snake, a baby alligator, animal bones and even some polar
bear fur. We then walked through the park for a behind the scenes tour of
the penguin exhibit. We spent a lot of time there learning about the care
and feeding of the penguins complete with sanitary precautions for the
penguins, scheduling light simulation, etc. Our families got to touch and
take photos with two very different penguins. Upon entering the shark
exhibit, we got to touch some baby sharks and continued to learn, learn,
learn! All this took about an hour and a half. Our families got to spend the
rest of the day at the park where some of our kids rode a roller coaster for
the first time. We had 28 people attend with two families having never
visited SeaWorld previously.

All in all, it was a fabulously stupendous convention! FOPBC and NFBF are
working together to change what it means to be blind for Florida children.
WE ROCK!

Lenora J. Marten, President
Florida Organization of Parents of Blind Children NFB-Jacksonville Chapter
Secretary Chairperson, FSDB/PAC bluegolfshoes at aol.com
904-777-5976 / 904-229-9554
www.raceforindependence/goto/fopbc
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