[NFBMT] 2022 Treasure State Annual Convention Agenda for October 1, 2022

Thu Sep 29 16:09:00 UTC 2022

2022 NFB of Montana  Convention 

Agenda

Welcome to the Tenth Annual Convention of the National Federation of the
Blind of Montana!
Saturday, October 1, 2022, 

9:00 AM-5:00PM
Zoom Video Conferencing
Jim Marks, President, National Federation of the Blind of Montana
Denise Avant, National Representative, National Federation of the Blind

Convention Planning Committee Chairperson:  Denise Moses

THEME: Stronger Together

Join Zoom Meeting:

 <https://zoom.us/j/99423605837> https://zoom.us/j/99423605837

Meeting ID: 994 2360 5837

The National Federation of the Blind of Montana is a consumer civil rights
organization in which the blind and interested sighted persons come together
in monthly local chapter meetings and annual statewide conventions to improve
the lives of blind people through advocacy, education, research, technology,
and programs encouraging independence and self-confidence. The NFB of Montana
works toward the removal of legal, economic, and social barriers to full
participation by blind people in all aspects of community life. We are not an
organization speaking for the blind; we are the blind speaking for ourselves.

SOME THINGS TO KNOW:

. Convention Registration is Free.

. In order to win a door prize at the convention, you must be registered an
in attendance when your name is drawn!

. In order to vote at Convention, you must be registered, in attendance, and
have paid your 2022 membership dues.

. Registrations must be completed by Friday, September 30, 2022. After
September 30, registrations will be closed.

2022 Online Registration Form
<https://www.nfbofmt.org/convention-registration.html> 

The NFB Pledge: I pledge to participate actively in the effort of the
National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and
security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the
Federation; and to abide by its constitution.

The One Minute Message: 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.

The NFB Brand Promise: Together with love, hope, and determination, we
transform dreams into reality.

The NFB Tag Line: Live The Life You Want

Saturday morning, October 1, 2022

9:00 AM-Noon

Call to Order and Welcome: Jim Marks

National Anthem:            Sheila Leigland

Pledge of Allegiance:      Travis Moses

Pledge of the National Federation of the Blind:   Robert Jaquiss

Invocation:         Bruce Breslauer

Introduction of the NFB-MT Board of Directors: President Jim Marks, First
Vice-President Joy Breslauer, Second Vice-President Sheila Leigland,
Secretary Robert Jaquiss, Treasurer Edward Robbins, and Board Members Jim
Aldrich, Bruce Breslauer, Linda Hurlock and Denise Moses

National Report: Denise Avant, NFB Board Member

NFB of Montana President Report: Jim Marks

Treasurer's Report, Edward Robbins

Resolutions: Resolutions Committee Chair Joy Breslauer

Nominations Committee Chair Bruce Breslauer

Appointment of Delegate and Alternate Delegate to 2023 Washington Seminar:
Jim Marks

Appointment of Delegate and Alternate Delegate to 2023 National Convention:
Jim Marks

Chapter and Committee Reports: Great Falls Chapter President Sheila Leigland,
Treasure State Chapter President Bruce Breslauer, and Missoula Chapter
Samantha Chase. Committee Reports by Committee Chairpersons as Time Allows

Noon-1:00 PM: Lunch on your Own. Note that the Zoom conference line will
remain open for casual conversations during lunch, but no content or
monitoring will occur during the lunch hour.

Saturday Afternoon, 1:00PM-5:00PM

1:00-5:00 PM

1:00 Social Security And You:      Facilitator George Kerscher and Presenter
James Gashel, NFB Board Member and Governmental Affairs Director Emeritus,
Social Security Expert

1:45        Blind and Low Vision Services Bureau Update: BLVS Chief Darrel
Hannum

2:00        Montana Talking Books Library Update: Marilyn Bennett, Outreach
and Digital Resources Librarian, Montana State Library

2:10        Montana School for the Deaf and Blind:  Paul Furthmyre, MSDB
Superintendent

2:20        NFB Newsline:  Samantha Chase and Robert Jaquiss, NFB-Montana's
MT Newsline Coordinators

2:35        PAC Plan, Ted Robbins

2:40        Of Canes and Guide Dogs:  Facilitator Denise Moses and Panelists
Bruce Breslauer, Joy Breslauer, and Robert Jaquiss

3:00        Break

3:15        Fitness of the Blind:  Facilitator George Kerscher and Panelists
Reggie Herbert, Samantha Chase, and Misty Bradley

3:45        Keynote Address, Denise Avant, NFB National Representative

4:25        Awards

4:35 Unfinished Business:  Resolutions , Reports, and General Business of Our
Members

4:45        Next Year's NFB of Montana Convention

5:00        Adjournment

Denise Avant

Denise Avant was born in Chicago in 1958 and was raised by a single mother in
an impoverished neighborhood. She had vision problems from birth and was
ultimately diagnosed with Liber's congenital blindness. She attended a public
elementary school with programs for blind students and was initially included
in its "sight saving" classes, where she used large print. But in eighth
grade her TVI advised that she should learn Braille in order to prepare for
college. She was also given cane travel lessons starting in the spring of
seventh grade, so that she could travel to school using the bus. At the time,
she was given a specific route to follow in order to avoid street crossings.
Later, she would learn how to use Chicago's public transportation system from
blind friends to go shopping, attend movies, and engage in other adventures
throughout her home city.

Although Denise started to learn Braille in high school, she initially was
not proficient and still relied primarily on large print or on her TVI's to
read assignments to her. But as she continued to lose vision, especially in
low light, she decided that more Braille training would relieve the worry of
whether or not she could read print in a given situation. In order to gain
more Braille proficiency, she received six weeks of intensive Braille
training provided by the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services in
downtown Chicago in the summer between her freshman and sophomore high school
years.

Denise attended college at the University of Missouri at Columbia, originally
intending to pursue a journalism major but choosing a political science
degree instead (She would ultimately receive a masters in journalism from
Roosevelt University in 2003). She took an undergraduate course in
constitutional law and enjoyed it so much that she decided to go on to law
school. She stayed at the University of Missouri because she had established
residence and rehabilitation funds for her education were therefore
available, but decided to return to Chicago to pursue her legal career, since
she already knew that public transportation was more than adequate there. Her
first job was with Will County Legal Aid in Joliet, a two-hour commute from
home, but she applied at a job fair for a position with the Cook County
Public Defender, and got the job. Assigned to the appellate division, where
she handled appeals and post-conviction proceedings for people accused of a
wide range of misdemeanor and felony offenses, Denise worked for the public
defender for thirty years, retiring on August 31, 2017. She had further
developed her Braille skills in college and law school by learning to take
notes with a slate and stylus. While working in Joliet, she acquired a
VersaBraille, and then ultimately graduated to the full-time use of a
computer. Her Braille skills proved indispensable for conducting oral
arguments in court. Her computer skills allowed her to prepare her own briefs
and conduct legal research as she dealt with more responsibility and a
heavier caseload due to her steady advancement in her career.

Denise knew of the National Federation of the Blind long before she joined in
2005. She had even attended a few conventions and taken advantage of contacts
and resources provided by the National Association of Blind Lawyers. But she
didn't think of herself as a joiner and had little interest in being a part
of an organization that, she had been told, was made up of mean-spirited,
radical extremists. But the people she met and the organization she came to
know were nothing like what she had heard. "I attended my first Chicago
Chapter meeting in 2005, and I've missed very few since then," she says. In
fact, she served on the chapter's public relations committee and then became
its second vice president. She says, "I appreciated the Federation because it
was a place where blind people were respected and our opinions were truly
heard and really mattered." But the real turning point in her involvement
came when she was invited to a leadership seminar in August of 2010. At that
gathering, she realized for the first time that the success she had achieved
in her life and career had been made possible by the work of the National
Federation of the Blind. "The rehabilitation services and financial aid that
I had access to, the technology I was able to acquire and use, and the
barriers that had been overcome by other blind people before I started my
career: all of those things happened because of the National Federation of
the Blind, although I didn't realize it at the time," she says.

Denise had been asked before by Illinois affiliate president Patti Chang
whether she would consider succeeding Patti in that position, but Denise had
always declined. After the leadership seminar, however, she told Patti that
she was interested in serving as president. Denise was elected to her first
term as president of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in
2014. She was re-elected in 2016, and was elected unanimously to the national
board of directors in 2017.

Denise has worked hard for most of her life; she had summer jobs from the age
of fifteen until she began her full-time career. She now looks forward to
having more time to enjoy cross-country skiing, running, and reading. She and
a group of friends have formed a small club called the Visionaries, which
helps local institutions and charities related to blindness. And of course,
she remains committed to the work of the National Federation of the Blind.
"Ultimately, we must all work to continue to change the low expectations and
negative attitudes that society has about the abilities of blind people," she
says. "Laws are important, but our real goal has to be changing hearts and
minds."

A sincere Thank You to all who contributed time and effort to make this
convention a success, including our speakers and presenters, our affiliate
President Jim Marks, our National Representative Denise Avant, the NFB of
Montana Convention Planning Committee, And all of the NFB of Montana chapters
and members who work together, some behind the scenes, to make this
convention possible.