[Nfbf-l] State Wide Chapter

[Darlene Laibl-Crowe]

Greetings!
 
Thank you all for the congrats!  Being Vice President has been a learning
experience and I know my journey as President of the State Wide Chapter will
be more so.  It does help that the members of this chapter and our affiliate
are open to helping one another and to new opportunities.  
 
I live in Putnam County which is approximately 1 hour away from the closest
NFB Chapter.  For years, I wanted to participate but felt that I
couldn't.then along came the State Wide Chapter.  It is my goal to reach out
to those who live in areas such as I do and not able to be part of a chapter
to join the SWC.  
 
When I think of NFB and SWC, I see positive change.  We know that the blind
can do just about anything that they put their minds to.  We are very
capable of being a contributing force within our community, in school and on
the job.  As a person who also has hearing loss, I see more opportunities
for improvement.new ways of opening doors of communication.
 
Being both visually and hearing challenged it is hard to discern the
environment to communicate effectively.  This means that we cannot interact
with others because we cannot interact with the world around us as the
sighted/hearing can.  In order to do this, I have found that I have become
heavily reliant on technology.  
 
However, as a former sighted person; I KNOW that this is NOT as I once knew
it but it is doable with time and practice, practice and more practice.  
 
I grew up wearing bi-later hearing aids and sighted.  I was diagnosed with
Retinitis Pigmentosa at the age of 28 (28 years ago).  But, for 22 years I
was able to use my residual vision to read lips to accommodate for what I
couldn't hear so I thought of myself as 'hearing with vision problems'.  
 
Then I lost more hearing and my central vision.  I was not prepared.  It
took my changing the perspective of who I am to understand clearly what I
needed to do.  That meant meeting others who were just like me and even
those who cannot speak.  Let me tell you, it was not a comfortable feeling.

 
Why am I going into this?  To let you know that I am human.  I make mistakes
and I will do things that are totally inept.  BUT, I am willing to learn and
to serve.  I am proud to be a part of SWC and its amazing, talented leaders
and members who are dedicated in serving NFB and others. 
 
This past year, SWC acquired captioning for those who cannot hear on the
phone to view the conversation and to interact with us via a chat box
online.  This is also accessible by Refreshable Braille Displays.  We want
to encourage ALL to experience this accommodation.  It is liberating to feel
that you are no longer isolated from others.  There are talents in Florida
that have been hiding and afraid to step forward and showcase their skills.

 
I look forward to seeing more join our next meeting in March.  As Miranda
Kilby, our Liaison Person, mentioned we have two positions available on our
board:  Treasurer and a Board Seat.  Don't be afraid to step out of your
comfort zone and decide to take one of these positions, we (both past &
present) who are on the board are willing to help.  
 
That being said, I encourage you to join your local chapter BUT if you live
in an area that doesn't have a chapter; then, by all means, join SWC, we
will be honored to have you join our chapter.
 
Feel free to contact me off list if you have any comments or questions.
 
Darlene Laibl-Crowe
National Federation of the Blind of Florida
State Wide Chapter
President
(386)546-5706
dlaiblcrowe at att.net <mailto:dlaiblcrowe at att.net> 
 
"Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood"   
            ~ Helen Keller