[NFBNJ] NFB President Riccobono's Notebook - week of 06/22/2020

Tue Jun 23 00:47:31 UTC 2020

Greetings to all!
I have provided several items of interest from President Riccobono’s 
notebook for the week of June 22, 2020.
After each item, I have provided my comments.

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

From: President, National Federation of the Blind
Sent: Monday, June 22, 2020 5:12 PM
Subject: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 06/22/2020

President’s Notebook
National Federation of the Blind
Mark A. Riccobono
officeofthepresident at nfb.org
410-659-9314

Dear Fellow Federationists,

Today is June 22 and in twenty-two days it will be July 14, the start of our 
national convention. The excitement is truly building here at the NFB 
Jernigan Institute. I know you all are anticipating the release of the 
agenda—which is coming soon—and that many of you are considering what plans 
your affiliate might make. I want to encourage you to keep building the 
excitement, but also please be sure we take appropriate steps to keep our 
members safe. I think in most places that is going to mean very small 
in-person gatherings, if gatherings are even feasible. Very soon we will 
have a method of logging your banquet parties, so we can track those across 
the country.

Good news: we are planning for the Presidential Suite to be open during the 
convention. This will be a great way for you to welcome your first-timers 
into the movement and to connect others in your affiliate. I will be 
dedicating as much time as I can to meetings in the Presidential Suite 
(tempted to write that with a Z for Zoom instead of an S) in order to 
continue the valuable practice that gives our members access to their 
elected President. Melissa Riccobono is reaching out to our greeters to 
build a schedule of co-hosts for our suite. Below are the hours the suite 
will be open. I will not take appointments during all of these times, as 
other convention activities may conflict. However, members will be able to 
come by, leave messages, request appointments, put their name in for 
committee appointments, and maybe socialize with Federation leaders. By 
Federation leaders, I mean you. Consider this a place where you can come 
help build the community we want in the Federation. Please promote the 
suite; more details will be coming soon.

Convention:

National Convention – Registration Is Closed:
Registration for the 2020 National Federation of the Blind National 
Convention is closed. Those who registered will receive helpful introductory 
emails as well as be eligible to vote in elections and receive door prizes. 
However, if you did not register you are still welcome and encouraged to 
participate in all convention events as listed in the agenda. Find the 
latest information on national convention at nfb.org/convention.

Comments: The national convention is open to all members and non members.

Please share the above information with others.

an outstanding opportunity to recharge or charge your Federation batteries, 
have the opportunity to raise your expectations to transform your dreams 
into reality.

Presidential Suite Hours:
Tuesday, July 14                9:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Wednesday, July 15         9:00 a.m-1:00 p.m.
                                                6:00-9:00 p.m.
Thursday, July 16              9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
                                                5:00-6:30 p.m.
Friday, July 17                    9:00-10:45 a.m.
Saturday, July 18               9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Comments: I am proud to announce that I will be working the Presidential 
Suite on Tuesday, June 14 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Additional details to participate will be forthcoming.

I suggest that all first timers and naturally all, attend to the suite.

Again, review the schedule provided above.

Requesting Captioning Services:

For those deafblind attendees that will be joining us for the 2020 
Convention of the National Federation of the Blind, we are committed to 
providing captioning for every general meeting and for other meetings that 
will be attended by deafblind participants. Once the convention agenda has 
been published, we will need a list of the convention sessions you will be 
attending. You may also connect with the NFB DeafBlind Division to learn 
more.

Comments: I have forwarded this morning information pertaining to the above 
item.

Don’t hesitate, if  you need this service, please contact those that need to 
be contacted, see the above information.

News:

NFB Independence Market Now Taking Phone Orders:
Although our building is still closed to the public, our NFB Independence 
Market is now accepting orders via telephone. Our helpful staff is ready to 
take orders for slates and stylists, cane tips, and cooking utensils. To 
place an order, call 410-659-9314 and press 3 for the Independence Market. 
Please take into consideration that we have been closed for a significant 
period of time due to COVID-19, and we would appreciate your patience as we 
work to provide quality customer service to every customer.

Comments: Glad that the market is now open!

ATAA Letter to Congress:
We issued a legislative alert on Friday regarding the Access Technology 
Affordability Act (ATAA). In the alert, we made reference to a letter that I 
wrote to the House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Select 
Revenue Measures, in support of the Access Technology Affordability Act This 
letter was mentioned at a subcommittee hearing on Thursday, and entered into 
the official record by Subcommittee Chairman Mike Thompson, who is also the 
sponsor of the ATAA in the House. All of this means that the ATAA is being 
given major attention and serious consideration by those who have the power 
to make it pass. We need to make sure this legislation stays top of mind for 
all members of Congress by continuing to make calls and send emails asking 
them to cosponsor it.

Comments: We will receive or have received current information pertaining to 
the above item.

When you receive, please make your voices heard and we can make a 
difference!!!!

Your Stories Needed for Our StoryBank—Impact of NABS:
We are soliciting stories from our members. This month we are looking for 
quick quotes from members about ways that NABS impacted their career 
readiness. Did NABS challenge you? Did NABS train you? Did the networking 
you participated in help you to be more career ready? Please send 
approximately one hundred words to pchang at nfb.org to share your story. Don’t 
worry about polishing it; please just tell it. We have a myriad of uses for 
our storybank. We use stories for our Imagineering Our Future newsletter, 
for fundraising, for membership recruitment, and for our general 
communications and outreach work. Please take a few minutes to help.

Comments: Great opportunity for the next generation to assist others with 
personal findings to live the life they want!

Cvent Reaching Out to Affiliates:
As part of our virtual convention, we are working with a company called 
Cvent to provide an online exhibit hall and mobile app. A number of you have 
been contacted by Cvent sales representatives indicating that Cvent is 
“currently helping the National Chapter of the Federation of the Blind based 
in Baltimore with their virtual event coming up on 7/14.” They would, of 
course, be pleased to assist you with your affiliate convention. Please know 
that we have not provided Cvent with a list of contacts nor are we 
encouraging (or discouraging) affiliates to work with Cvent. We would be 
pleased to provide feedback about our experience with Cvent after convention 
should any affiliates be interested (though you all will have experienced 
firsthand the usability of their products by then). After the national 
convention, we could assess whether or not a broader relationship for use by 
affiliates has value.

Comments: For those attending the national convention, upon the completion 
of the convention, please provide your comments with the pros and cons to 
Linda Melendez at lindamelendez220 at gmail.com and copy me at 
nfbnj1 at verizon.net

Convention Reminders:
Veterans’ Celebration of Freedom:
Vernon Humphrey, president of the National Association of Blind Veterans, is 
reaching out to all veterans that will be taking part in the national 
convention so they can participate in the annual Celebration of Freedom. 
Please contact him at mr_president at nabv.org or 706-329-7960 if you are, or 
you know of, a military veteran that will be at convention this year.

Comments: For the past number of years, the veterans ceremonies are 
inspirational and motivational.

To all veterans, please contact President Humphrey and get involved.

Message from Sharon Maneki, NFB Resolutions Committee Chair:
The deadline for resolution submission is June 30. Do you think we should 
change a government policy, take a stand concerning an agency for the blind, 
or create new regulations? If you do, consider writing a resolution. At the 
2020 National Convention, the Resolutions Committee meeting will be held on 
Wednesday, July 15. The committee will debate and discuss resolutions on a 
wide variety of subjects. If passed by the convention, these resolutions 
will become the policy statements of the organization. To ensure that your 
resolution will be considered by the committee, please send it to Sharon 
Maneki (nfbmd at earthlink.net) or to me by June 30, two weeks before the 
committee meeting. Since things are always busy leading up to the 
convention, sending them earlier will be appreciated. If you email a 
resolution to Sharon and do not receive an acknowledgement email in two or 
three days, please send it again.

If you miss the deadline, you must get three members of the committee to 
sponsor your resolution and then get it to Sharon before the meeting begins.

Comments: Sharon has provided the information and if you find worthy, write 
a resolution and or contact Sharon for guidance.

Important Note: Don’t wait for the last minute.  Submit as soon as possible.

Convention Door Prizes:

The National Federation of the Blind is excited to continue our tradition of 
door prizes during the national convention in July. All affiliates and 
divisions who wish to make door prize donations can do so in two ways. 
Organizations and groups that want to donate products like Louisiana spices, 
Iowa scissors, or Wisconsin cheese curds (yes, please), please send an email 
to FSteam at NFB.org with a description of the prize(s), quantity being 
donated, and the name and contact information of the person in the affiliate 
or division who is responsible for providing the prize. To reduce shipping 
expenses, we will provide affiliates and divisions the winners’ information 
describing where prizes are to be sent. Affiliates and divisions will send 
product prizes directly to the winners.

Organizations and groups that want to donate cash prizes, please send an 
email to FSteam at NFB.org with the amount of the funds you are sending for the 
door prize and the exact name of the organization or group donating the 
prize. A check payable to “National Federation of the Blind” should be sent 
to NFB, ATTN: Conv – FS, 200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230. Please 
note in the memo on the check that it is for “Door Prize(s).” The national 
organization has controls in place and a relationship with a company to 
issue gift cards. Winners’ names will be collected during the convention and 
a list of winners, with addresses, will be provided to the company to 
process and mail Visa gift cards directly to the winners.

Comments: We have provided door prizes to national and many other 
states/chapters/divisions have and will have participate.

Roll Call Donations:
This year, affiliates and national divisions are asked to send their fund 
donations directly to the national organization in Baltimore, Maryland. 
Below is the process to notify us of your donation or pledge and how and 
where to send the checks.

  1.. Presidents will send their treasurers an authorization to issue 
payment. Presidents should clearly identify each fund and the amount to be 
given to that fund. The NFB funds are the Kenneth Jernigan Fund (KJ Fund), 
the SUN Fund, and the White Cane Fund; the JtB fund is the tenBroek Fund 
(JtB).
  2.. Presidents or treasurers then will send an email to rollcall at NFB.org 
listing the funds and the amount to be donated to each fund. To reduce work, 
presidents may copy (CC) rollcall at NFB.org  on their authorization email to 
their treasurer. We will use the presidents’ authorization to add the 
affiliate’s or division’s donated or pledged amounts to a tracking 
spreadsheet.
  3.. Treasurers can write one check payable to NFB for the total amount to 
be given to NFB funds and one check payable to JtB for the tenBroek Fund. It 
is very important to keep the tenBroek Fund separate and not identify NFB 
anywhere on the check.
  4.. Checks are to be mailed to National Federation of the Blind, 200 East 
Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230, ATTN: Roll Call – FS. This ensures our 
mailroom staff deliver the envelope to the correct department (Fiscal 
Services) to be processed.

In summation, affiliates who are making pledges should send an email to 
rollcall at NFB.org that clearly identifies each fund that the affiliate or 
division plans to donate to and the amount pledged to each fund. Checks 
should be made payable and mailed as directed in steps 3 and 4. We ask that 
pledges be fulfilled by August 31, 2020.

Comments: The state affiliate board voted and the treasurer has mailed two 
checks to national.

The affiliate has contributed the following amounts:

$300 JTB Fund

$300 White Cane Fund

$300 Sun Fund

$600 Jernigan Fund

Dates to Keep in Mind:
  a.. June 22-July 3: NFB BELL® In-Home Edition
  b.. June 30: Deadline for resolution submission
  c.. June 30: Accessibility Boutique: Technology and Training Options for 
Seniors
  d.. July 27-August 7: NFB BELL® In-Home Edition
  e.. July 7: #NFB20 Rookie Round Up
  a.. July 14-18: NFB National Convention, Everywhere
  a.. February 8, 2021: Washington Seminar Great Gathering-In

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

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends 
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work 
together to help blind people live the lives they want.

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