[Nfbf-l] picking and choosing NFB policies andconstitutional requirements

Fri May 2 12:01:10 UTC 2014

I think we have lost sight of the "REAL" issue. The issues is that  we have
a President in the NFBF who holds and utilizes a drivers license. This is
against the constitution in our chapter, at the state level and at the
National level.
Holly

On Thu, May 1, 2014 at 7:12 PM, Patricia A. Lipovsky
<plipovsky at cfl.rr.com>wrote:

> Well, here I go again, sticking my neck out.  I wasn't going to say
> anything, but I feel the need to put my two sense in, as I have friends in
> both organizations with whom I respect and value very much and have a great
> friendship.
>
> As most of you know, I am, well, dot was, a member of both organizations,
> but because of this technicality, just belong to one now..  Although I do
> understand this philosophy of belonging to only one, kind of like being a
> Republican or Democrat, I personally think that we are all working toward
> the same goal, no matter which organization you belong to, we all want the
> same thing, and that is acceptance, equality, and the right  to live our
> life as normal as possible, and be respected and treated like normal
> people, what ever normal is, smile.  Although the two organizations do not
> always see eye to eye, I don't think we should be in competition with each
> other, but should try to work together when ever possible.  As I see it,
> this division will not make this possible.  We need to come together to
> work together, not divide to conquer, which is what I'm afraid is what's
> happening.  The only difference is sometimes we may use different
> approaches to handle things... So what?  No big deal...
>
> We live in a democratic society, where we are free to make our own
> decisions.  Why is one person making decisions for this whole organization?
> That is not democratic, but a dictatorship.  Is that what NFB is really all
> about? Can someone please explain this to me?
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tinetta Cooper" <tanetjec at gmail.com>
> To: "'NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List'" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2014 3:20 PM
> Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] picking and choosing NFB policies andconstitutional
> requirements
>
>
>  Hi Sherri,
>>
>> I believe that if we are abiding by the letter of the constitution, as we
>> did with dual membership, we need to only elect blind presidents for
>> Florida
>> chapters. The Tallahassee Chapter also lost a few good members as part of
>> the dual membership sweep, but at least one of these members still attends
>> meetings without taking a part in active membership.
>> This is my personal opinion, and in no way means that it is absolutely
>> correct.
>>
>> Respectfully,
>>
>> Tinetta Cooper
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Nfbf-l [mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sherri
>> Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 8:09 PM
>> To: NFBF-Leaders at yahoogroups.com; nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [Nfbf-l] picking and choosing NFB policies and constitutional
>> requirements
>> Importance: High
>>
>> This is a lengthy message, so be prepared. I am deeply concerned about
>> something that just came to my attention. Not being on the NFBF board, I
>> have only learned about this through conversations with members.
>>
>> First, let me say that I have been a member of the NFB since 1979. I love
>> this organization and feel we have done more than any other blindness
>> group
>> to truly *change what it *means to be blind. I would like this to
>> continue,
>> but we must keep our integrity intact.
>>
>> Let me give you some background. Around a year ago, the *policy (which is
>> a
>> *policy and not in any NFB *constitution) was discussed whereby if we are
>> members of NFBF, we cannot be members of FCB or any affiliates of that
>> organization. Because of this "*policy,  we lost some valuable members
>> including my good friend and valued Pinellas chapter member Grant Downey,
>> who explained in great detail in a letter why he joined both groups and
>> that
>> he deeply loved the Federation. But because of all the backlash, he
>> resigned
>> his membership. Thus, Pinellas lost a valued member and Newsline lost a
>> great worker. It made me very sad!
>>
>> A few months ago, Peter Cerullo NFBF Board member and Greater Daytona
>> chapter president posted an e-mail questioning whether it is okay to have
>> a
>> sighted person i.e. a person who can legally drive a car, as a chapter
>> president.
>>
>> It has now come to my attention that we have a sighted chapter president
>> in
>> the state of Florida. I do not point this out to belittle anyone or make
>> light of their capabilities. I am sure this person does a fine job and
>> this
>> is no way meant personally but only as it pertains to NFB philosophy and
>> our
>> constitution. It was brought up at the last board meeting and apparently
>> (and I wasn't there, so can't say for sure) glossed over during the
>> discussion.
>>
>> A couple of months ago in our Central Florida chapter, we dissected the
>> NFB
>> pledge. It says we are to *support the *policies and *programs of the
>> Federation and *abide by its *constitution. The NFBF constitution says the
>> following. This also applies to the NFB constitution and to all chapter
>> constitutions. I put a * beside the important words.
>> Section One-Officers
>>
>> There shall be elected biannually, at the state convention in odd numbered
>> years, a president, a second vice president, and a secretary.  There shall
>> be elected biannually, at the state convention in even numbered years, a
>> first vice president, and a treasurer.  The terms of these officers shall
>> begin at the close of the convention at which they are qualified and
>> elected.
>>
>> The president is the chief executive officer of the organization.  The
>> duties of all officers shall be those ordinarily associated with their
>> respective offices.  The *president the *vice presidents must be *blind.
>>
>> The Florida Department of Motor Vehicles states the following:
>> The Florida DHS&MV's vision standard is 20/50. If worse in one or either
>> eye, you will be referred to a licensed vision specialist to see if it can
>> be improved.
>> If one eye is blind, the other must have 20/40. The accepted minimum field
>> of vision is 130 degrees.
>>
>> This means if someone has a vehicle operator's license, this is the vision
>> they must have. Of course, restrictions can be placed on licenses. My 2
>> daughters can drive, but were born with congenital cataracts, so I am
>> thoroughly familiar with this. They are quite blind without correction,
>> but
>> this does not qualify them to be chapter president or vice-president
>> pursuant to the NFB constitution.
>>
>> So this is my question. I would like to knoe which *policies and *programs
>> we in the NFB of Florida *support and which we *do *not support? If we
>> allow
>> sighted people to be chapter or affiliate presidents, no mattter their
>> other
>> qualifications, I believe we should change our name to the National
>> Federation for the Blind of Florida. In my opinion, if we expect people to
>> resign because they are members of more than 1 blindness organization,
>> then
>> we should also *abide by the *law in our *constitution that says the
>> *president and *vice-president must be *blind.
>>
>> I hope that the NFBF board will take my concerns and those of other NFBF
>> members seriously and deal with thismatter. Thank you for taking the time
>> to
>> read this e-mail.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Sherri Brun
>>
>> Character is the side of yourself you choose to show the world.
>> Integrity is what you do, what you say and how you act when you think no
>> one
>> is paying attention.
>> Sherri Brun
>> NFBF Newsline Chair
>> flmom2006 at gmail.com
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