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

[JamesPJ at aol.com]

Sherrill,
 
Thanks for sharing, I was at the 1986 Convention in Kansas City when Dr  
Maurer became president.  See you at the State Convention.
 
James
 
 
In a message dated 12/3/2013 3:12:15 P.M. Central Standard Time,  
sherrill.obrien at verizon.net writes:

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.
>
>_______________________________________________
>Nfbv-announce  mailing  list
>Nfbv-announce at nfbnet.org
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