[Nfbmt] I'm back from convention

[Breslauers]

We arrived back home after midnight last night.

 

As you can well imagine, it was wall to wall from nine in the morning and
sometimes earlier till ten at night.  Time was when the National convention
schedule consisted of three or four pages; now it is 117 in Braille.  A lot
of good stuff happened at the convention.  I hope many of you got to catch
the presentations streaming online; some of them were stellar and very
exciting.  The artificial barrier of subminimum wages is starting to come
down in more and more places.  Technology has come a long way since the
Braille N" Speak and the beginning of the Internet.  The careers that blind
students are pursuing in math and science now are careers I wouldn't have
dreamed of, and would have considered off limits if I had.  The future is
brighter than it has ever been for the blind, and it is largely because of
the NFB and the ideas and dreams we have for each other and for the blind of
the world, and the love, hope, and determination we have to see those dreams
become reality.  

 

One of my biggest dreams as a child was to be able to pick up any piece of
paper or anything in print and know what it says.  Now I can, with the use of
scanners and even the KNFB reader.  I can even read the contents in Braille
if I so choose, by using a Braille display.  Speaking of Braille displays,
the NFB is coming out with one, hopefully in October, that will be a 20-cell
Braille display for under five hundred dollars.  Most current Braille
displays cost substantially more than that, and as such are cost prohibitive
for the average individual.  Some have features you may never use, but are
paying for anyway.  For something with modest features and a modest price,
the new NFB Orbit fits the bill. 

 

Another dream I had as a child was to be able to drive, and even that is
something that is not out of my reach now.  

 

Here are a couple of new things to consider.

 

Submit Your Title II SANPRM Comments

 

The NFB is gathering member comments regarding the importance of accessible
websites in response to the US Department of Justice's consideration of
adopting

specific technical standards for website accessibility under Title II of the
ADA. We need your stories, both positive and negative, regarding the
importance

of accessible state and local government websites. Submit them before July
15, 2016, via

https://nfb.org/titleiisanprm.

 

NFB-NEWSLINER to Feature Walmart Ads

 

The National Federation of the Blind is working with Walmart to offer the
retailer's ads on NFB-NEWSLINER, our audio information service for the blind

and print disabled.  For more information about this service, please read our


press release.

 

These exciting times are why we blind band together in chapters and state
affiliates of the National Federation of the Blind to raise our concerns and
get things done that matter to us.  Now I'm looking forward to our state
convention in Billings in October to bring the same excitement to the blind
of Montana and to build our dreams into reality so we can live the lives we
want. 

 

Joy Breslauer, President

National Federation of the Blind of Montana 

Address: P.O. Box 1325, Great Falls, MT 59403 

Phone: (406) 454-3096

Email: president at nfbofmt.org

Web Site: http://www.nfbofmt.org <http://www.nfbofmt.org/> 

 

Live the life you want 

 

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

 

Like us on Facebook
<https://m.facebook.com/groups/1444160512390321?refid=46&sld=eyJzZWFyY2hfc2lk
IjoiMGU2YTA0YzA0MzFiNTE4ZWEyOWNmYjEyMmQ0NjllNGUiLCJxdWVyeSI6Im5hdGlvbmFsIGZlZ
GVyYXRpb24gb2YgdGhlIGJsaW5kIG9mIG1vbnRhbmEiLCJzZWFyY2hfdHlwZSI6IlNlYXJjaCIsIn
NlcXVlbmNlX2lkIjoxMTU0NTQ3NjksInBhZ2VfbnVtYmVyIjoxLCJmaWx0ZXJfdHlwZSI6IlNlYXJ
jaCIsImVudF9pZCI6MTQ0NDE2MDUxMjM5MDMyMSwicG9zaXRpb24iOjAsInJlc3VsdF90eXBlIjo2
OX0%3D> 

Follow us on Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/nfbmt> 

Donate through AmazonSmile <https://smile.amazon.com/ch/46-1358514> 

 

It's TIME to Eliminate Subminimum Wages for People with Disabilities

http://www.nfb.org/TIME

 

Donate to the National Federation of the Blind of Montana
<http://www.nfbofmt.org/donate.html>