[Nfbf-l] Fwd: [Nfbv-announce] Retirement of Dr. Maurer

[Tom Bellone]

Thanks for sharing Sherrill.
Tom

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 3, 2013, at 5:11 PM, "Sherrill O'Brien" <sherrill.obrien at verizon.net> wrote:

> Hello all,
> 
> Apparently this very surprising announcement from Fred Schroeder has been
> circulating since Sunday, but I didn't receive it directly, Friends of mine
> from South Carolina got the news, and I thought I should pass this along to
> my Florida friends and colleagues, as it ought to be shared. Perhaps lots of
> you already know about this, but our lists were quiet on the subject, so I
> thought I'd pass the news along. You'll all recognize the name here, Mark
> Riccobono, since he spoke so passionately at this past year's state
> convention banquet.
> Sherrill
> 
> 
>> From: "Fredric Schroeder" <fschroeder at sks.com>
>> To: "NFBV Announce" <nfbv-announce at nfbnet.org>
>> Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2013 11:12:29 -0500
>> Subject: [Nfbv-announce] Retirement of Dr. Maurer
>> 
>> Friends:
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Over the weekend, I participated in a meeting of the board of directors
>> of the National Federation of the Blind. The meeting was held at our
>> national headquarters in Baltimore.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> As you know, Dr. Marc Maurer has been our national president since
>> 1986. He has served as president longer than any of our previous
>> presidents and has guided us through a period of unprecedented growth
>> and change. It was under Dr. Maurer's leadership that we established
>> the Jernigan Institute and all of the programs that have been so
>> successful in demonstrating the truth of our assertion that given
>> proper opportunity and training, blind people can live and work as others.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> In particular we have developed many programs designed to provide blind
>> children and youth with the skills and confidence they need to compete
>> fully in their education and to develop their life ambitions. We have
>> conducted the Youth Slam, Science Academy, and more recently the BELL
> programs.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> In the area of technology under Dr. Maurer's leadership we developed
>> the KNFB Reader Mobile allowing blind people to have immediate access
>> to print with nothing more than a cell phone and special software. And
>> then there was the Blind Driver Challenge. There is no question that
>> lack of access to reliable transportation remains a major barrier for
>> blind people. Yet, the Blind Driver Challenge showed that we could
>> develop the technology to enable a blind person to drive a car, not
>> simply sit passively in a car that drives itself.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> These are the expressions of Dr. Maurer's leadership. Yet at the heart
>> of his leadership is his spirit and his belief in every blind person.
>> He has inspired and encouraged us, faced the most difficult challenges
>> with resolution and strength, and he has kept us together, and never
>> let us waiver in our belief in our own right to live normal, productive
> lives.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Saturday afternoon Dr. Maurer told the board that it is his
>> intention to not seek reelection to the presidency next summer at our
>> national convention. He feels the time is right to transition to the
>> next president, the next individual who can lead us for a quarter century
> or more. Dr.
>> Maurer is in good health and believes that it is important that he step
>> down from the presidency while he is able to assist with the transition.
> Dr.
>> Maurer told the board that he, Dr. Maurer, plans to support Mr. Mark
>> Riccobono as the next president of the National Federation of the Blind.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Mr. Riccobono presently serves as the Executive Director of the
>> Jernigan Institute. He is an accomplished individual with the strength
>> and wisdom to assume the serious responsibility of leading our
>> movement. He has brought to his work the imagination and competency we
> demand from our president.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> We are truly fortunate that within the Federation we have individuals
>> who are able and willing to give all they have to furthering our move
>> toward true equality. The demands of the NFB presidency are
>> unimaginable. We require our leader to give all of his time, all of his
>> imagination, and all of his personal reserve of judgment to leading our
>> organization. This is what Dr. Maurer has done for the past 27 and a
>> half years, and it is what Mark Riccobono will do for the time of his
> presidency.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The transition brings to an end one chapter in our history and what a
>> glorious chapter it has been. We cannot face the loss of Dr. Maurer's
>> leadership without a sense of sadness; but the transition to a new
>> president is not just the absence of what we had before. The transition
>> heralds a new chapter in our history and with it, new opportunities-the
>> chance to take all that has come before and build something bigger and
>> more powerful than we have ever known.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Please join me in thanking Dr. Maurer for his leadership, his
>> friendship and his faithful devotion to our cause; and please join me
>> in wishing Mark Riccobono the very best as he seeks to take the
>> foundation that is all that has come before and build upon it the next
> great chapter in our history.
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
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> 
> 
> 
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