[Nfbofsc] Positive Note 1624

[David Houck]

September 27, 2017 

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

From:  Frank Coppel, President

Positive Note 1624

Greetings Fellow Federationists:

 

              With October 1, just around the corner, I hope many of our
chapters have Meet the Blind Month events already planned.  Last week I
reported the Belvedere Chapter will be holding a Meet the blind Month
activity sometime in October.  Constance Miller, President of the Belvedere
Chapter, sent the Federation Center the following announcement, "the
Belvedere Chapter will hold a white cane awareness walk on Saturday, October
14, 2017 from 10am to 12 p.m.  We will meet at the North Augusta Activities
Center, 100 Riverview Drive and walk the Greenway."  I hope to hear from
other chapters regarding your Meet the Blind Month activity, and I will
share this information in the Positive Note.  

              I am beginning to formulate committees for 2017/2018.   If you
wish to serve on a committee or Chair a committee, please let me know and I
will try very hard to accommodate you in regards to your expressed
interests.  You can call me at (803) 796-8662 or you can email me at
frankcoppel at att.net.  NFB of SC committees are extremely important as they
carry out the business of the Federation between Conventions and Board
meetings.  The list of committees are as follows; Legislative committee,
Resolutions committee, Membership committee, Youth Recruitment committee,
Scholarship committee, Public Relations committee, Finance committee,
Braille Literacy committee, Fund Raising committee, Grants committee, White
Cane Walk-a-thon committee, Donald C. Capps Award committee, Associate
Member of the Year Award committee, Employer of the Year Award committee,
Educator of the Year Award committee, PAC Plan (Pre-Authorized Contribution
plan) committee, and Sun Shares (Shares UNlimited NFB) committee.  

              We have an announcement from Isaiah Nelson.  "The meeting of
the Alumni of the SC School for the Blind will be held the weekend of
October 20 thru 21, 2017.  The meeting will be held on Saturday, October 21,
2017 at 8:30 a.m. in the cafeteria located in Robertson Hall.  I am asking
that all members be present and on time.

              For those members from the Columbia area who will be riding up
to Spartanburg on Friday evening, the van will be departing at three o'clock
p.m.  You should arrive at the Federation Center located at 119 S. Kilbourne
Rd., Columbia SC  29205 no later than 2:30 p.m.  The total cost of the trip
is forty ($40.00) dollars per person which will include transportation as
well as registration.  Each person will be responsible for your overnight
stay at the Quality Inn Suites and all of your meals.  The telephone number
for the Quality Inn is:  864-542-0333.  Those of you living in the Columbia
area who will be attending please give me a call to verify that you will be
attending the meeting for transportation purposes.  You may reach me at
803-413-2434."

              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.  

              One of the hardest working members of the NFB of SC is Isaiah
Nelson.  Thus, we are pleased to spotlight Ike as he is affectionately
called.  He was born in Georgetown and grew up there.  He is married to
Stephanie and he has seven brothers and three sisters and one daughter,
Talelah.  His beloved mother is still living and his father passed away last
November and they raised their big family with love.  Last Thursday,
September 21 the Cumberland AME Church in Georgetown, the Nelson's family
church, burnt to the ground when it was struck by lightning.  Ike attended
SCSDB beginning in 1969 and completed his education in 1975.  From 1975 to
1988 Ike worked with the Coca-Cola Bottling Company in Spartanburg.  Also,
during that period of time Ike worked at night for the School.  As you can
see, there's not a lazy bone in Ike's body.  After 1988, Ike worked a year
at McDonald's in Columbia after which he received on-the-job training in the
BEP program of the Commission for the Blind.  For the past 20 years Ike has
been a vending facility operator in the Richland County Judicial Center
located on Main Street.  Because of his outstanding and friendly manner, Ike
is well liked at the Judicial Center as well as with others.  Recently he
retired from the BEP Program but remains busier than ever.  He has held and
continues to serve in several different positions in the Federation.  Ike
has served as President of the Columbia Chapter as well as First Vice
President and currently is the Second Vice President of the chapter.  Ike is
a member of the Board of Trustees of the Federation Center.  Also, Ike is a
member of the Board of Directors of the NFB of SC.  Additionally, he is
President of the SC Blind Alumni Association.  He has been a member of the
NFB of SC for about 28 years and has attended some 28 state conventions.
Ike is also proud that he has attended some 27 national conventions.  He
also is a good cook and no one cooks spaghetti like Ike.  Ike is in charge
of preparing the monthly meals for the Columbia Chapter, he prepares the
Statewide Seminar luncheons, and he does lunch for the Federation Center
board meetings.  Asked why he joined the Federation, he replies that he
observed the spirit and togetherness of Federation members which impressed
him.  He states that he learned very early that the NFB of SC has a lot of
influence and remembers that blind vendors were greatly benefitted when the
NFB of SC successfully filed litigation against the legislature and others
who had illegally reinstated set-aside fees, later having to return these
set-aside fees to blind vendors as the Federation proved that the earlier
withholding of set-aside fees was illegal.  Ike enjoys bowling, watching
wrestling and he loves Rocky Bottom and serving his fellow blind.
Congratulations to Ike who works hard and makes a difference in the lives of
blind South Carolinians.

 

Final Thought:  "Living the life you want" includes assisting others to live
the lives they want too.

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