[Nfbofsc] Positive Note 1507

[David Houck]

July 1, 2015

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

From:  Parnell Diggs, President

Positive Note 1507

Dear Fellow Federationists:

 

              I begin this Positive Note with the important message that the
Columbia Marriott only has about twenty rooms remaining in our room block
even though our cut-off date is July 31.  Remember, the block may not last
that long.  You must act now!  Please call to make reservations for the 2015
State Convention during the weekend of August 21 through 23!  Reservations
for the Convention should be made directly with Marriott reservations at
(800) 593-6465 or (803) 771-7000.  Every year, I receive calls from members
who ask me to step in and secure a room for them, but I am telling you now
that I will not be able to help this time because there are other events
taking place as well during the weekend we are in town, and the hotel really
will be out of rooms.  I have given you fair notice so please get this issue
taken care of if you have not already done so.

Pre-registration is also open.  The very affordable price of $70 per person
will give you admission to all events and cover your meals from Friday
evening dinner through Sunday morning breakfast.  Please make checks out to
the NFB of SC and send them to the State Office noting which members are
covered with each payment.

I have an announcement from John Pare, the Executive Director for Advocacy
and Policy at the National Federation of the Blind.  Here is what John says.
“The time is fast-approaching for our record-breaking seventy-fifth
anniversary convention, and excitement is building.  I know that all of you
won’t want to miss any part of the festivities, especially our GUINNESS
WORLD RECORDS™ attempt that will take place on the morning of July 8.  This
outstanding effort will make our convention historic not only within the
blindness field, but throughout the world.  Please plan to help us break a
record and raise expectations for blind people!  If you haven’t already, it
is critical that you sign up to participate in the record attempt at
www.nfb.org/gwr so that we have an accurate count of how many people are
participating.  Did I mention the fabulous prizes that several of the Rosen
Hotels have donated? By participating in the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™
attempt, you will be eligible for these prizes, including complimentary
stays, spa treatments, and dinners!  So sign up now to participate. Please
go to www.nfb.org/gwr.  Thanks for your support and see you in Orlando!”  We
will be creating the largest umbrella mosaic in history just outside the
hotel on Wednesday.  No, you do not need to bring your own umbrella, as they
will be provided for us.

I was speaking with State Board member Loretta Green recently about the
Shares Unlimited in NFB (SUN) program.  As you know, the SUN program is our
fund that exists for times of emergency to guarantee our financial stability
for years to come in the movement.

Ms. Green chairs our SUN Committee in South Carolina.  She asks that our
chapters invite members to donate $2 each at the July chapter meeting for
the SUN program so that chapters can then bring the proceeds to the State
Convention in August.  We can then gather the funds together and send them
to our National Office.  This seems like a great idea, and $2 will not break
anyone.

This is our last Positive Note before our National Convention.  I hope that
you have a wonderful trip to Orlando, and I look forward to seeing you
there.  This Diamond Anniversary Convention will be historic and will live
in our memories for a long time.  Let’s have a great Convention!

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic which 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.

              It was good to spend the weekend at RBRCCB as our last visit
was in the first part of May a week prior to Senior Camp.  I had a good
meeting with our Resident Manager Brooke West and her fiancée Jami Rivers.
This week had been busy for Brooke as it was necessary to clean all the
rooms as a group out of Florida had spent the week at RBRCCB using all the
facilities.  Brooke is saving Rocky Bottom considerable expense as she is
doing most of the cleaning herself and she has our gratitude for this “extra
mile” service.  We have just explored running ads in the four newspapers in
Pickens County as a rental initiative.  There are three weekly newspapers in
Pickens, Easley and Powdersville with the Clemson Journal being a daily
newspaper.  The Clemson Journal has a readership of 25,000.  Although very
early, we have already received a couple of inquiries from the ads.  It is
an exploratory initiative but we need to be proactive in our efforts to
create additional revenue to be able to operate this program for the blind
of the state.  We had a good conversation with our resident board member Dr.
Tom Bowen.  He reported that everything was going smoothly and we want to
thank Dr. Bowen for his leadership in representing the Rocky Bottom
community.  Our distinguished Advisory Board member, Mr. Billy Singleton had
stopped by RBRCCB to discuss the July 4 parade with Brooke.  A patriotic
gentleman, Mr. Singleton has sponsored this event for many years.  The
parade runs from upper Rocky Bottom Road to the intersection of Hwy. 178.
The parade is the highlight in the Rocky Bottom area for the year as there
is extensive participation.  Brooke will be representing RBRCCB and will be
attending.  From time to time all of us experience a good feeling because of
the kindness and generosity of others.  It will be remembered that in last
week’s Positive Note I stated that Betty and I will be celebrating our 66th
wedding anniversary on Thursday, June 25.  Our distinguished Federation
Center Advisory Board member, John Eckstrom noticed this in last week’s
Positive Note and responded with a gift of $100 for the Lawton Memorial Hall
repair fund, stating that this gift was in honor of Betty and myself.
Thank you very much Mr. Eckstrom!  

              This is a very important week as our South Carolina delegation
will be traveling to Orlando to participate in the 75th anniversary of the
NFB.  A tremendous amount of planning has gone into the celebration of this
special occasion.  I know that our state President Parnell Diggs will
represent the NFB of SC in an excellent manner.  Other state leaders will
also represent our beloved state.  I will greatly miss this grand event but
I have been blessed in attending more than 50 annual NFB conventions.  It
was my good fortune to travel in many states with some of the NFB
conventions being held in Anaheim, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte,
Chicago, Dallas, Des Moines, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Los
Angeles, Louisville, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York City,
Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Washington, DC, and last but
not least, Columbia in 1969.  We will miss all of you across the state who
are attending the 75th anniversary NFB convention but we are grateful that
South Carolina will have such a great delegation  which no doubt will wind
up in the top five in attendance.  I have seen thousands of blind persons
who have progressed in their well-being in South Carolina and nationwide
since my first NFB convention in 1956 in San Francisco; this progress being
due either directly or indirectly through the work and programs of the NFB.

 

Final Thought:  We are “one nation under God” whose Word is unchangeable.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbofsc_nfbnet.org/attachments/20150701/d921deac/attachment.html>