[Nfbofsc] Positive Note 1536

[David Houck]

January 20, 2016

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

From:  Frank Coppel, President

Positive Note 1536


Greetings Fellow Federationists:

 

              This past Sunday morning Shelley and I had the privilege of
meeting and having our picture taken with former Gov. Mike Huckabee of
Arkansas who was the guest speaker during the worship service at Trinity
Baptist Church.  Gov. Huckabee gave an excellent sermon and he demonstrated
his musical talent by playing the bass guitar in our praise band.  The theme
of Gov. Huckabee’s sermon was we need to demonstrate our faith to others
through words and actions and not leave it behind in church on Sunday
mornings.  This same theme can be applied to our words and actions regarding
our NFB philosophy.  As federationists, we not only need to attend monthly
chapter meetings, but we also need to live out our commitments  by using our
time and resources every day to change what it means to be blind.  

              If you have not so already, please turn in your 2016 state
dues of $10 to the State Office as soon as possible.  When you submit your
state dues, please provide current contact information such as, 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.  

              Remember, the NFB of SC is 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, door prizes, music and dancing.  Tickets to
this event will only be $25 and you can purchase them by calling Debra Canty
at (803) 775-5792.  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.  The NFB of SC is also 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.  If you wish to purchase one contact JW Smith at
(864) 269-0004 or contact me at (803) 796-8662.  

              Furman Marchbanks, President of our Anderson Chapter, has the
following announcement: “Up-State Seminar Sponsored by the Anderson Chapter,
NFB of SC, March 5, 2016 at the Homeland Park Church of God, 219 West
Roosevelt Drive, Anderson, SC 29624.  Doors will open at 9:00 a.m. and the
program will begin at 10:00 and last until 3:00 p.m. with lunch provided.  A
$10 Registration fee will cover the cost of the meal and enter you in a
drawing for a $25 Wal-Mart Gift card.  Registration , including Name and
Chapter affiliation (if applicable) along with the registration fee, should
be mailed to Furman Marchbanks, Anderson Chapter President, at 111 Maxwell
Avenue, Anderson, SC 29624, and should be postmarked no later than February
15, 2016.  For further questions, you may contact Furman Marchbanks at (864)
219-4161 or fdmarchbanks at gmail.com.  

              Topics will include Assistive Technology, The History and
purpose of the National Federation of the Blind, and how to build your local
chapter.  The program will combine informational speakers with audience
participation.  Take advantage of the pre-conference hour to socialize and
sell your chapter fund-raising items!”  

              After listening to the presentation made by the South Carolina
Commission for the Blind at the Statewide Seminar, it was evident to me
there has been a large turnover in staff at the agency.  It is my feeling
many of these new staff members are unaware of the NFB of SC and what we do
as an organization to help blind people.  For this reason, I would like to
encourage our local chapters to contact the SCCB district office in their
area and invite a new staff member to one of your monthly meetings.  By
doing this, we can educate these individuals by demonstrating to them that


              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.  

              Eleven months ago in February of last year we hired Brooke
West as Resident Manager of RBRCCB.  She came to us with experience in the
hotel industry checking in guests, serving as receptionist, and even doing
kitchen duties.  She was employed by the Marriott for some time.  At some
point in time Brooke, who lived and worked in Virginia, met the gentleman
who turned out to be her fiancée, Jami Rivers who is a native of the Rocky
Bottom area.  It so happened that Brooke learned from Jami that there was an
opening for a Resident Manager at RBRCCB.  We interviewed Brooke and found
her to be a very attractive person and with a background that would prove
helpful to us at RBRCCB.  Brooke has grown in her position which has been
reflected in her weekly reports, keeping us up to date on happenings at
RBRCCB.  In the current weekly report Brooke reports that it was one of the
most productive weeks with record breaking developments.  It has been our
goal to have RBRCCB self-supporting and you will note that we are making
significant progress in this area.  Brooke reports that she has secured a
new $12,000 rental last week.  Also she reports that she has secured a
repeat rental for $8,000.  It will be noted that these two rentals amount to
$20,000 which goes a long way in reaching our self-support goal.  It will be
remembered that we experienced unprecedented problems with the pool last
summer.  We have already begun work on the pool for this summer to be sure
that it is working well.  We have received another $8,000 worth of new pool
equipment and a pool cover along with $2,000 worth of free installation.
Thus the two rentals plus the pool equipment and free pool labor amounts to
some $30,000, all of which happened last week.  At the December board
meeting the board voted to secure if possible a musical band to provide a
benefit performance in Lawton Hall during the Labor Day weekend.  Brooke has
made contact with a possible musical group.  However, those of you receiving
this Positive Note may be aware of a musical group which would be willing to
provide this service on a voluntary basis.  A representative of the Liberty
Lions Club visited RBRCCB last week and wanted to know if he could do any
landscaping but he remarked that RBRCCB looked the best he ever had seen it.
The Liberty Lions expressed the desire to do a project at RBRCCB and Brooke
told him that they could water seal the deck on Osterneck Cottage.  The
Salem Lions Club has secured the services of a piano technician to make
repairs and tune the piano in Lawton Hall.  From time to time Brooke does a
walkthrough of all of the buildings to be sure that everything is OK.  We
are glad to share the foregoing information to Positive Note readers as last
week was an outstanding period for various assistance to RBRCCB.  I’m sure
that chapters across the state will also continue to assist RBRCCB and
please be assured of my appreciation.  

Final Thought:  Resolution:  Success in uplifting your fellow blind depends
upon one person – YOU!

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbofsc_nfbnet.org/attachments/20160120/c9198424/attachment.html>