<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div>Good morning!<br>Our NFBN convention is in the books. I think we had a really fine convention. I want to thank Karen Mayne, Ranelle Mackey and George Stokes for their hard work. I also want to say thanks to the board and the committee chair persons. Pat yourself on the back. But, as a new week begins there is still more work to do as can be seen in the email I am forwarding to you. Happy trails! Cathy<br>Sent from my iPhone</div><div><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><b>From:</b> "JMassay" <<a href="mailto:jmassay1@cox.net">jmassay1@cox.net</a>><br><b>Date:</b> September 29, 2012, 8:02:47 PM EDT<br><b>To:</b> "'NFB Affiliate Presidents List'" <<a href="mailto:nfbaffiliatepresidents@nfbnet.org">nfbaffiliatepresidents@nfbnet.org</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>[NFBAffiliatePresidents] Discrimination issue while on vacation, please help</b><br><b>Reply-To:</b> NFB Affiliate Presidents List <<a href="mailto:nfbaffiliatepresidents@nfbnet.org">nfbaffiliatepresidents@nfbnet.org</a>><br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>The following e-mail was sent in regards to one of our Affiliate members who</span><br><span>is on the Tulsa chapter Board and the Affiliate board. Selena</span><br><span>Sundling-Crawford and Steve Crawford had a really awful experience with a</span><br><span>company who clearly discriminated against them on the basis of their</span><br><span>blindness. Please read the e-mail and , please help out by contacting the</span><br><span>company at their information listed below. Tell them that they need to</span><br><span>change their policy, as it is against the law. Also let them know that you</span><br><span>will pass along the issue of discrimination to everyone that you know. For</span><br><span>people like this, affecting their wallet is one of the best ways to really</span><br><span>get to them. </span><br><span></span><br><span>Your help is greatly appreciated. </span><br><span></span><br><span>Thanks, </span><br><span></span><br><span>Jeannie </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Here is what Selena's e-mail says and asks from us:</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Please read all of this & help us. Please 1st repost this everywhere & ask</span><br><span>that they all repost it 2. 2nd please call & email them & let them know</span><br><span>your name, where u r from, & that discrimination is wrong & illegal. I am</span><br><span>asking this of everyone not just blind people. I really want them to be</span><br><span>flooded with calls & emails from all over the country. The short story is</span><br><span>that we were told that we could not go on a zip line tour.</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>The name of the co. is Denali Zip line Tours. P.O. Box 221 Talkeetna, Alaska</span><br><span>99676. 907-733-3988 Cell: 907-355-6658 Email: <a href="mailto:msw@denaliziplinetours.com">msw@denaliziplinetours.com</a></span><br><span></span><br><span>Website: www.denaliziplinetours </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>The name on the card is Mark Wildernmuth & I believe he is the owner. The</span><br><span>person that told us no is Jim Farburn, maybe spelled wrong bc it's not on</span><br><span>the card. I don't know if they r a public or private co., I'm guessing</span><br><span>private. This is their 1st or 2nd season. The owner also owns an RV park. I</span><br><span>don't know if the tour goes into the national park. I made the reservation</span><br><span>w/a travel agent, Chrisy @ Talkeenta Travel on July 25th. I did not disclose</span><br><span>our blindness bc 1, I am under no legal obligation 2 do so & 2, bc I had</span><br><span>just disclosed Steve's blindness 2 the Vancouver aquarium & they said that</span><br><span>he could not do the beluga whale encounter, not because they were afraid of</span><br><span>him interacting with the animal but bc there were steps involved in getting</span><br><span>2 the whale. They offered us the dolphin encounter but we've already done</span><br><span>that so many times. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>We pre-paid $149 each for the zip line tour. We showed up & signed the same</span><br><span>waiver form that everyone else signed. Jim looked @ Steve & then looked @ me</span><br><span>& asked if that was 4 me referring 2 Steve's cane. I told him no that it was</span><br><span>Steve's cane & that he is totally blind & that I have some vision (I had</span><br><span>also written this on our waiver forms which he did not review) but that this</span><br><span>wasn't going to b a problem because we have both zip lined before several</span><br><span>times. He said that he didn't think he could let us go because it is a</span><br><span>safety issue & that he had 2 go call someone. He walked out. I don't think</span><br><span>he called the owner, I think he called 1 of the guides. He came back & said</span><br><span>that we could not go because we could not c the hand signals. I asked him</span><br><span>what signals & he demonstrated the come on & stop signal. My head went on</span><br><span>tilt waiting for the rest but that was it. I asked why they couldn't just</span><br><span>say go or stop & he said that the guides r not trained to do that but that</span><br><span>"maybe" they could work on that 4 next season (6 months from now). I asked</span><br><span>him how much training they needed to use words that they already knew like</span><br><span>go & stop & he said that I didn't have to b sarcastic. I told him that I was</span><br><span>asking an honest question. We explained again how we have done it several</span><br><span>times including in this state just a few days ago & we told him about many</span><br><span>other things that we have done. I mean we're over qualified 4 this. For us</span><br><span>this is nothing more than walking & chewing gum @ the same time. He said</span><br><span>maybe if we had told him sooner they could have done something. Yeah right!</span><br><span>I told him that I could go first & tell Steve when to stop & the person</span><br><span>behind him could tell him when to go but he kept saying no. We went</span><br><span>horseback riding earlier that day & the guide did not need additional</span><br><span>training 2 say duck. There was room on the next morning's tour but he did</span><br><span>not offer to figure it out by then & let us go on that one. He said he was</span><br><span>upset because we hadn't told him sooner.</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Can u believe his nerve? He is discriminating against us & he says he's</span><br><span>upset! Do black people have to say they're black before hand? Do women have</span><br><span>to tell him that they r female ahead of time? Do people in wheel chairs have</span><br><span>to call him ahead of time? The people in Mexico figured it out & they didn't</span><br><span>even speak English. I explained 2 him that ADA is the law of the land & that</span><br><span>if he doesn't let us go he is discriminating against us & that is against</span><br><span>the law & that I will take action. He said that he's sorry I feel that way.</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>I said ADA is not a feeling, it is the law. The secretary issued us a</span><br><span>refund. I left the travel agent a message about which companies to recommend</span><br><span>& which ones not to & why. We came here because the cruise ships come here</span><br><span>as a pre & post tour so they r recommending this as an optional add-on. Even</span><br><span>though I planned my own post cruise tour, I want to try to get the cruise</span><br><span>ships not 2 offer this tour anymore. Most people do not do their own</span><br><span>research 2 find their own tours so this will really hurt them.</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Just an FYI, these people actually elected a cat as their mayor & he has</span><br><span>been their mayor for 8 years now & is a stray. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Selena Sundling</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>NFBAffiliatePresidents mailing list</span><br><span><a href="mailto:NFBAffiliatePresidents@nfbnet.org">NFBAffiliatePresidents@nfbnet.org</a></span><br><span><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbaffiliatepresidents_nfbnet.org">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbaffiliatepresidents_nfbnet.org</a></span><br></div></blockquote></body></html>