[NFBNJ] Friday, November 12 NFBNJ State Convention Agenda

[Linda Melendez]

Friday, November 12, 2021–Morning General Session

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Meeting ID: 647 766 0103
Passcode: 460994
8:30 AM–Traditional Pre-Convention Music 9:00 AM–Welcome, Call to Order

Linda Melendez, President, National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
9:05 AM–Opening Ceremonies

Jane Degenshein, President, Senior and Technology Divisions
Pledge of Allegiance
The National Federation of the Blind Pledge:
I pledge to participate actively in the efforts 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.
Invocation—Jane Degenshein, Member, Temple Ner Tamid
Moment of Silence for members, family and friends who have passed away
Honoring Veterans—Joseph Ruffalo, US Army VeteranVetran Radio Ooperator for
the Ffirst Ccavalry Ddivision

awarded the bronze  star; immediate past president, NFBNJ; current 1st Vice
President, NFBNJ; President, NFBNJ At-Large Chapter
God Bless America—Vocal rendition by Mary Fernandez, Member, NFBNJ Board of
Directors
  9:20 AM–Introduction of Our Scholarship Class of 2021 Lia Stone, Chair,
Scholarship Committee; Member, NFBNJ Board of Directors 9:30
AM–Presidential Report

Linda Melendez, President, National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
10:00 AM–National Representative’s Report: We Are More than the Sum of
One Patti
Chang, Esq., Director of Outreach, National Federation of the Blind 10:30
AM–NFB Advocates for Equality, Opportunity and Security for the Blind

John Pare, Executive Director, Advocacy and Policy, NFB
10:55 AM–Together We Make a Difference!

Dr. Elisa Neira, Deputy Commissioner, NJ Department of Human Services; Dr.
Bernice Davis, Executive Director, NJ Commission for the Blind and Visually
Impaired; C. Pat McKenna, Assistant Division Director, NJCBVI; Dr. Michelle
Whitmore, Acting Assistant Division Director, NJCBVI discuss our looking
forward together to continuing services, programs, and interactions in the
coming year.
11:40 AM –NFBNJ Sounding Board Update

Annemarie Cooke, Chair, Sounding Board Editorial Committee
11:45 AM–NFB PAC Plan

Mac Biggers, Chair, PAC Plan Committee. Hear how your monthly contribution
to the Preauthorized Contribution Plan, no matter the size, helps grow the
programs and projects of the NFB.
11:50 AM–Announcements Linda Melendez, President, NFBNJ 12:00 PM–Adjourn 1:00
PM–Afternoon Announcements Linda Melendez, President, NFBNJ 1:10 PM–New
Jersey State Library – Talking Book & Braille Center

Adam Szczepaniak, Director, Talking Book & Braille Center; Deputy State
Librarian, New Jersey State Library, will highlight the past year’s
accomplishments (yes, even in a pandemic!) and share plans for next year.
1:20 PM–Hadley: Personalized Learning Opportunities for Empowerment

Marc Arneson, Director of Community Engagement, Hadley, brings us the
latest on how Hadley helps blind and visually impaired people thrive at
home, at work, and in the community.
1:35 PM–Seedlings: From Seed to Harvest

Learn about Seedlings and their programs including children’s books in
Braille and print together.
1:50 PM–Accessible Voting

Mary Ciccone, Esq., Director of Policy, Disability Rights New Jersey. Find
out how accessible voting went during the 2021 election season and hear
plans for moving forward.
2:10 PM–The Blind History Lady

Peggy Chong, the Blind History Lady, will share some little-known lore
about blind New Jerseyans of the past*.*
2:30 PM–NFBNJ Northeast Chapter Raising Expectations

Zoraida Krell, Member, NFBNJ Board; Vice President, Northeast Chapter; and
Northeast chapter members Alice Bogoshian, Cynthia DeJulia and Nagui
Khouzam will discuss going outside of their comfort zone!
3:05 PM–Fit Break; sponsored by the NFBNJ Sports and Recreation Division

It’s likely you’ve been sitting for a while today so stand up and get the
blood flowing again in those quads and glutes!
  3:15 PM–Working Together for the Rights of the Blind

Ryan Stevens, Legislative Director, NFBNJ; the Honorable Yvonne Lopez, New
Jersey Assemblywoman, 19th Legislative District. Our legislative director
will again welcome our affiliate’s long-time champion for the rights of
parents who are blind or have other disabilities to provide an update on
our parental rights legislation NJ:A5517 and its continued importance in
our civil rights efforts.
3:35 PM–Joe Jeopardy!


3:55 PM–Reaching the Public: NFB Communications and Social Media

Danielle McCann, Social Media Coordinator, NFB
4:05 PM–The Braille Challenge

Monique Coleman, Ph.D., President, VISTAS Educational Partners, will
provide an overview of recent competitions and the coming 2022 Braille
Challenge.
4:20 PM –The Braille Enrichment Learning & Literacy (BELL) Academy:  Still
Successful in the Virtual Version

Linda Melendez, President, NFBNJ, and Mary Jo Partyka, Coordinator, NFBNJ
BELL Academy, along with BELL Academy team members and BELL students and
parents.
4:45 PM–Announcements Linda Melendez, President, NFBNJ 5:00 PM–Adjourn

5:30 to 6:45 PM–Entertainment

Can you name a song that has the word, “love” in the lyrics? How about
“baby” or “man?” Can you sing? If you can, then this event is for you! In
each round, three teams will be given a word by the judges and will have
time to come up with as many songs that contain this word. Then, the
sing-down begins as teams sing a portion of their songs until only one team
remains with ideas. The team with the most round victories wins! Audience
members are strongly encouraged to attend and enjoy the music and help
judge for accuracy of the songs!
7:00 PM–Business Meeting of the NFBNJ 2021 Convention
This meeting is perhaps the most important one of the NFBNJ affiliate. All
are welcome. NFBNJ President Linda Melendez will provide an overview of the
past years activities and plans for the future. Chapter reports will be
given and elections to the affiliate board will be held.
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