[NFBNJ] NFB President Mark Riccobono's Notebook - week of 09/28/2018

Fri Sep 28 21:38:40 UTC 2018

    Greetings to all!
I have pasted several items of interest for your review and sharing 
pleasure.
Highlight-Great News:
Marrakesh Implementation Act passed
with an unanimous vote   in the House of Representatives
Our voices were heard!
You can and did make a difference!
2. Baltimore Orioles and Braille
3. Tactile Graphics
4. Meet The Blind Month
5. Braille Readers Are Leaders
6. Terry Rupp Article
7. Important Dates

Again, to all receiving, your continued support, interest and effort assists 
with raising expectations to live the life we want!

Note: The National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey’s 42nd state 
convention is less than five weeks away.
Please visit the state website for information pertaining to the NFB and the 
state convention.
www.nfbnj.org

Warmly,
Joe

We care. We share. We grow. We make a difference
Joe Ruffalo, President
National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
973 743 0075
nfbnj1 at verizon.net
www.nfbnj.org
Raising Expectations To Live The Life You Want!
Your old car keys can be keys to literacy for the blind.
Donate your unwanted vehicle to us by clicking
www.carshelpingtheblind.org
or call 855 659 9314

**

President’s Notebook
National Federation of the Blind
Mark A. Riccobono
officeofthepresident at nfb.org<mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>
(410) 659-9314

Fellow Federationists:

The National Federation of the Blind continues to be in the news and on the 
move, and it is all fueled by your leadership at the affiliate level. Let me 
start this notebook by thanking Charlene Smith of West Virginia and Joy 
Breslauer of Montana who have both transitioned the affiliate presidency to 
new affiliate presidents: Sheri Koch and Jim Marx respectively. I appreciate 
the service of these two women and their commitment to the successful 
transition of leadership in our affiliates. Please be sure to welcome our 
new presidents to the state affiliate leadership listserv.

We had a great night celebrating the National Federation of the Blind at 
Orioles Park at Camden Yards last week. We have included some of the great 
national coverage we received. I know some of you participated in the online 
auction of the Braille jerseys. We are now hoping to get the other Major 
League Baseball teams to participate in something similar in 2019—I am 
particularly hoping for the future world champion Milwaukee Brewers.

While there is much news this week, it is important that we take a moment to 
celebrate getting the Marrakesh Implementation Act through the House of 
Representatives on unanimous consent. While the president of the United 
States still has to sign the bill and the State Department still needs to 
send the instrument of ratification to the World Intellectual Property 
Organization, the heaviest of the lifting has been done. It is thanks to the 
tremendous team of local advocates and skilled leaders like Scott LaBarre, 
the visionary leadership of our Immediate Past President Marc Maurer, and 
the tactical moves of our staff, especially John Pare and Gabe Cazares, 
along with a supporting cast of many that made this possible. 
Congratulations and thank you to each of you for your dedication and 
persistence.

One reason I am sending this today is that I am out much of next week 
visiting technology companies in Israel. The impact of the Federation is 
felt globally, and our relationships with companies and organizations around 
the world is part of what helps us be effective in our activities within the 
United States.

News:
Marrakesh Treaty Update:
After almost a decade of negotiations, drafting, and advocacy, the Marrakesh 
Treaty is closer than ever before to becoming a reality in the United 
States. On Tuesday September 25, 2018, at 7:19 p.m. EST, the US House of 
Representatives unanimously passed the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act 
(S. 2559). The bill will now go to the president for his signature. This is 
a major victory for the members of the National Federation of the Blind; 
because of our hard work, soon blind people all across the globe will enjoy 
a vast collection of accessible materials. Special thanks to Scott LaBarre 
who has been serving as the principal negotiator on the Federation’s behalf 
for all of these years. Read our press release about this tremendous 
development at 
https://nfb.org/us-house-representatives-passes-marrakesh-treaty-implementation-act.

National Federation of the Blind Night at Camden Yards:
The Orioles organization dedicated the September 18 game to the National 
Federation of the Blind in honor of our forty-year anniversary in Baltimore. 
Our members passed out Braille alphabet cards and the Orioles player and 
coach jerseys had the names in Braille. One of those shirts will be sent to 
the Baseball Hall of Fame and the rest were auctioned off, with the proceeds 
coming to our national office. I was honored to throw out the first pitch. 
You can read some of the press coverage of the evening in the links below.
WJZ, Baltimore CBS affiliate: 
https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2018/09/19/orioles-braille-jerseys-national-federation-of-the-blind/
Washington Post: 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2018/09/19/orioles-become-first-u-s-pro-team-to-incorporate-braille-on-uniforms/?utm_term=.d17a64087c3c
People magazine online: 
https://people.com/sports/orioles-braille-jerseys-first-pro-sports-team/

Last Chance to Register for the Tactile Graphics in Education and Careers 
Symposium:
Registration for the Tactile Graphics in Education and Careers Symposium 
will close on October 7. Parents of blind and low-vision children, teachers 
(both K-12 and post-secondary), and disability support services staff should 
not miss this exciting opportunity to learn about innovations in the 
production of tactile graphics (both high-tech and low-tech), the use of 
tactile graphics in the classroom, how to teach tactile literacy, what 
constitutes good design, and more! The Tactile Graphics in Education and 
Careers Symposium will take place October 11-12, 2018, at the National 
Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute. For more information, to view 
the agenda, and to register, please go to the Tactile Graphics Symposium 
webpage.<https://nfb.org/tactile-graphics-education-and-careers-symposium>

Meet the Blind Month:
Meet the Blind Month is almost here. We have updated our related webpages:
https://nfb.org/meet-blind-month
https://nfb.org/white-cane-awareness-day
https://nfb.org/free-cane-program
Continue to email information about events you have planned to 
kanderson at nfb.org<mailto:kanderson at nfb.org> or share them with us via social 
media, and we’ll add them to the website<https://nfb.org/meet-blind-month>. 
You may use the updated www.nfb.org/wcad<http://www.nfb.org/wcad> URL in 
local communications if you wish.

Braille Readers Are Leaders:

The National Federation of the Blind of Illinois, in partnership with the 
NFB Jernigan Institute and the American Action Fund for Blind Children and 
Adults, again announces the annual nationwide Braille Readers Are Leaders 
(BRAL) contest for kids. Students must be K-12 and must reside in a state 
registered for the contest. Entrants compete to read the most Braille pages, 
going against other students in similar grades across all participating 
states. The contest runs for seven weeks, encouraging students to be proud 
of their Braille reading ability and to work to improve their Braille 
skills—while possibly winning prizes in the process.

If you have questions, email the contest administrator, Deborah Stein, at 
dkent5817 at att.net<mailto:dkent5817 at att.net> (please put “Nationwide BRAL 
Question” in the subject line) or phone 773-203-1394

Terri Rupp Article:
In case you haven’t seen the article yet, Terri Rupp was featured in Good 
Housekeeping magazine: 
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/a23132554/terri-rupp-blindness-optic-nerve-atrophy/<https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/a23132554/terri-rupp-blindness-optic-nerve-atrophy/>

Dates to Keep in Mind:

  *   Fall conventions<https://nfb.org/state-conventions>
  *   October 11-12, 2018: Tactile Graphics Symposium

·         November 1, 2018: NFB scholarship application period begins
·         November 15, 2018: Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award application period 
begins

  *   January 28, 2019: Great Gathering-In; Washington Seminar begins
  *   March 28-29, 2019: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium
  *   July 7-12, 2019: NFB National 
Convention<https://nfb.org/convention/2019>, Las Vegas, Nevada

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.

Mark A. Riccobono, President
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 659-9314 | 
officeofthepresident at nfb.org<mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>

[National Federation of the Blind]<https://nfb.org/>

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together to help blind people live the lives they want.

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