[Nfbf-l] picking and choosing NFB policiesandconstitutional requirements

Fri May 2 13:29:14 UTC 2014

Good morning everyone,

    That will only happen when both organizations adopt the same philosophy, 
develop and operate programs that work, do not undermine what the other 
organization is doing, the list goes on. If someone can find a magic bullet 
to make that happen the sooner it occurs the better off the blind community 
will be. It sounds good in theory but someone needs to find the recipe to 
make it a reality.

Peter Donahue

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Patricia A. Lipovsky" <plipovsky at cfl.rr.com>
To: "NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2014 6:12 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] picking and choosing NFB policiesandconstitutional 
requirements

> 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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