[Nfbofsc] Positive Note 1533

[David Houck]

December 30, 2015

Memo To:  Executive Officers, Board Members, Chapter & Division Presidents &
Others

From:  Frank Coppel, President

Positive Note 1533

Greetings Fellow Federationists:

 

              Congratulations to Tracy Spittle for finishing third in the
Onkyo Braille Essay Contest.  The NFB administered the Onkyo Braille Essay
Contest on behalf of the North American/Caribbean Region of the World Blind
Union. The essay contest, sponsored by Onkyo Corporation, a Japanese
consumer electronics manufacturer, and the Braille Mainichi, part of the
Mainichi Newspaper Company in Japan, was created to promote Braille literacy
and to encourage the sharing of social and cultural information among blind
and visually impaired persons.  Way to go Tracy!  

The NFB of SC will be selling an insulated sixteen ounce NFB of SC coffee
thermos for the price of $15.  These coffee thermoses are very attractive
and should be very easy to sell to federation members as well as the general
public.  We will have the thermoses on display for purchase at the Statewide
Seminar. The NFB of SC is also planning a Sweetheart dance which will be
held February 12, 2016 at the Federation Center from 6:00 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The evening promises to be a fun and enjoyable experience with a
professionally catered dinner, music and dancing.  Tickets to this event
will only be $25 and we will begin selling them at the Statewide Seminar.
If you purchase your ticket at the Seminar, your name will be placed in a
drawing for a very special prize which will be conducted during the dance.
All tickets must be purchased by February 4.  We are also planning to
reserve a block of rooms at a nearby hotel for those of you who live outside
of Columbia and would like to attend the dance.  

              If you have not notified the Federation Center as to whether
you are planning to attend the Statewide Seminar on January 9, please do so
as soon as possible.  This will help us to determine the amount of food to
purchase for lunch.  Remember we will be conducting an auction throughout
the day to raise money for the Federation Center.  Be sure to bring items
for the auction such as, cakes, pies, cookies, gift baskets, and
electronics.  Also, please continue to sell your Orlando National Convention
bus tickets.  It is imperative we sell as many tickets as possible to help
cover the expense of the chartered bus to Orlando.  If you have not done so
already, please mail your ticket stubs and money to the Federation Center or
bring them with you to the Seminar on Saturday, January 9.  The drawing will
take place at the conclusion of the Seminar.  The purchaser of the winning
ticket will receive $300, the seller of the winning ticket will receive $300
and the chapter selling the most tickets will receive $300.  It is not too
early to begin turning in your state dues of $10 for 2016 to the state
office (Federation Center).  You can either mail your dues to the State
Office or bring them with you to the Seminar on January 9.  When you submit
your dues, please provide current contact information such as, name,
address, phone number and email address if you have one.  These things do
change and if we do not have updated information, we cannot keep you up to
date on what's going on.  The deadline for dues is January 31, 2016.  

It is with great sadness that I have to report to you our Federation family
lost a very special person as Julia Rembert passed away on Tuesday, December
22.  I attended Julia's funeral this past Saturday and was extremely pleased
to see so many Federation members in attendance who came to celebrate the
life of Julia Rembert.  I am sure the heartfelt remarks made by Dorothy
Barksdale and Ernest Gallman were greatly appreciated.  For those of us who
knew her, Julia will be missed a great deal.  All of us need to continue to
keep the family in our thoughts and prayers as they go through this
difficult time  .  

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.  Joining me for comments in this
Positive Note is the President Emeritus of the NFB of SC.  Here is Dr.
Capps.  

              Happy New Year to all of you!  I hope that each of you have a
very good year.  Also I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas.  Our small
family got together for Christmas which included Betty, myself, Craig and
our caregiver Debbie Manning.  We were also glad to have Debbie's daughter
spend Christmas with us.  Santa was good to us.  I received several CD's
from Craig featuring Bing Crosby, Kate Smith, Andy Williams and Norma Zimer.
My granddaughter Laura Setters who lives in Louisville sent me several
Christmas tapes and a Red Lobster gift certificate.  I'm sure I gained some
weight from eating too much but all is forgiven at this time of the year.
Craig gave me four jars of macadamia nuts as he knows these are my favorite.
Betty enjoyed the beautiful necklace which I gave her.  

              Brooke West reports that she enjoyed a wonderful Rocky Bottom
Christmas.  She writes:  "This year was one of the happiest in years for me!
I feel so blessed to be working at RBRCCB, I can't thank you enough for
giving me this opportunity to work for the good of others. That's really
what life is all about.  Jami and I had bought a locally grown Frasier Fir
Christmas Tree this past Sunday on our way home from church. It fills the
whole room with a wonderful fir fragrance, I can honestly say the manager's
apartment has never smelled so good! It is such a joy to have a real
Christmas tree to celebrate the Holidays and to be able to share the
celebration of Christ's birth with loved ones!  Jami and I went over to the
pond to try fishing with my new rod and I actually caught a 2lb small mouth
bass! I released it back into the pond so it would be even bigger the next
time I catch it! I feel so blessed to be working at such a beautiful
property. We really enjoyed our first Christmas at RBRCCB."

              We are saddened to report that our longtime federation member
Julia Rembert passed away on December 22.   Julia was 62 years old.  Julia
was one of the nicest people that I ever knew.  It was my honor to visit
Julia as I traveled to Ft. Mill and met with her and her parents.  Julia
went to public school for a while but most of her education came from the
nine years she spent at the SC School for the Blind.  For most of her adult
life she worked at different places including Goodwill Industries and in the
Mess Hall at Ft. Jackson.  She had been a member of the Columbia Chapter for
about 40 years.  Julia was always present for chapter meetings as she
understood the importance of supporting the federation.  It was not uncommon
for Julia to give me a good hug at chapter meetings as she had a sweet
disposition.  Active in the federation she was a member of the BBQ
Committee, Kitchen Committee and Activities Committee of the Columbia
Chapter.  She was especially close to our federation official Dorothy
Barksdale as they traveled together and were close friends for 50 years.
The Columbia Chapter will miss Julia as she always did her part during the
annual BBQ including helping on the serving line.  Julia is survived by
three children and two grandchildren.  We extend sincere sympathy to her
family.  

              This is the last Positive Note for this year.  As we enter
2016 this Friday, January 1, the next Positive Note will commence the 30th
year this service has been provided to members.  I feel honored to have
participated in this Positive Note service for 30 years beginning in 1986.  

Final Thought:  Resolution:  I am resolved no longer to linger.  Let's get
busy!

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