[Nfbofsc] Positive Note 1670

[David Houck]

August 16, 2018 

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

From:  Frank Coppel, President

Positive Note 1670

Greetings Fellow Federationists:

 

              This past weekend, the sixty-second annual State Convention of
the NFB of SC was held in Columbia and from all indications it was extremely
successful.  170 individuals attended this year's convention which began
Friday afternoon with the meeting of the NFB of SC Board of Directors and
other division and committee meetings.  Hats off to Tiffiny Mitchell and the
Columbia Chapter for doing a great job as host chapter of this year's
convention and getting the festivities of the weekend off to a resounding
start with an excellent reception Friday evening.  This year we were honored
to have Shawn Callaway, member of the Board of Directors of the National
Federation of the Blind and the NFB affiliate president of the District of
Columbia, as our National Representative.  Mr. Callaway gave a thorough
National report and his banquet address Saturday evening was outstanding.
The NFB of SC recognized Valerie Warrington of Newberry, as the recipient of
the Donald C. Capps Award, Tracy Spittle of Columbia as the recipient of the
Educator of the Year Award and Larry Warrington, of Newberry as the
recipient of the Associate Member of the Year Award.  The NFB of SC also
recognized Dr. Marvin Efron, a longtime friend, for his many years of
dedication and commitment providing quality low vision services to the blind
of the state as he was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award.
Another highlight of the banquet was the awarding of scholarships totaling
over $5,000 to three outstanding college students.  I also like to thank the
membership of the NFB of SC for their awesome generosity which was
demonstrated during the Banquet fundraiser.  We were able to quickly raise
over $9,600 which will be used to promote the programs of the NFB of SC.
Elections were held Sunday morning and the following individuals were
elected as officers; president, Frank Coppel, first vice president, Lenora
Robertson, second vice president, Debra Canty, secretary, Shannon Cook, and
treasurer, Valerie Warrington.  Individuals elected to board positions were;
District two, Steve Cook, of Columbia, District four, JW Smith, of
Greenville , District six, Garrett Mosely of Darlington, and the two
members-at-large Jamie Allison of Cherokee and Tiffiny Mitchell of Columbia.
One of the most exciting aspects of this convention was the large contingent
of students who were in attendance.  Their energy and enthusiasm was felt by
everyone throughout the weekend.  I am extremely proud to announce the NFB
of SC has a new addition to our Federation family as he South Carolina
Association of Blind Students was organized Friday evening.  As all of you
know, many details need to be considered when planning and presiding over a
state convention.  I would like to thank David Houck who did a great job
coordinating registration, the exhibit hall, and taking care of many other
details of the convention.  Finally, I would like to thank Director Jennifer
Bazer and the staff of Successful Transitions who were very instrumental
assisting students to the convention as well as organizing our new division.


              In approximately two weeks, we will be holding the annual Fun
Day Festival during the Labor Day weekend (August31-September 2).  Four
meals will be served including three on Saturday, September 1, and breakfast
on Sunday morning, September 2.  The board voted to charge $30 for adults
and $15 for children under twelve years of age to cover all four meals
including the lunch  on Saturday.  Those individuals who are only attending
the Fun Day Festival Saturday will need to pay Valerie and Larry Warrington
$8 for lunch.  Room reservations for the weekend are taken on a first-come,
first-served basis.  If you need to make a reservation for the Fun Day
weekend, you can call the Federation Center (803) 254-3777 or call me (803)
796-8662 no later than August 24.  I hope you are selling your $5 Fun Day
tickets as this contributes to the profits.  Remember, the winning ticket
drawn will yield $50 to the seller and $500 to the buyer or $550 if you
bought your own ticket.  The chapter selling the most tickets will receive
$300 for its treasury!  We need to bring new items for the auction which
will take place on Saturday afternoon September 1, starting at 1:30 p.m.
Let's have a great turnout for the Fun Day Festival as Rocky Bottom very
much needs our financial support.  

              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.  

              Information I have received concerning last weekend's NFB of
SC convention was unquestionably an outstanding event.  Congratulations to
President Frank Coppel and others who put together a very good agenda.  Also
I want to congratulate David Houck and the home office on their usual
convention activity.  Now we turn our attention to the annual Rocky Bottom
Labor Day Fun Day Festival which is just around the corner or two weeks from
now.  I trust that we will have a great turnout for the Fun Day Festival
which needs our support.  Let's review a little history.  We acquired the
Rocky Bottom property from Pickens County in October 1978.  We promised to
develop this old 4-H Club Camp to Pickens County and we have done just that.
The late Jerry Whittle was the first Rocky Bottom Resident Manager who
provided this service without charge.  Jerry stayed in what is now known as
room 5 in Osterneck Cottage.  While Jerry was Resident Manager, room 5
became known as the "Oconee Room" because Jerry was from that area.
Incidentally, several years ago Rocky Bottom hosted political events with
politicians using what is now the Conference Center.  Among political
leaders using Rocky Bottom was Lyndon Banes Johnson who was Vice President
at that time.  Others included Sen. Strom Thurman and Gov. Carroll Campbell
who gave the dedication speech in July 1991 when the beautiful new
Conference Center facility was completed.  When we acquired the property in
the fall of 1978, no facility was deemed livable.  The only building that
offered promise was then known as the Chastain Cottage but it had not been
used in a long time.  It was necessary to have a well drilled for water and
this was coordinated with a Greenville well drilling business.  When the
Conference Center was built it was necessary to have another well drilled.
In early 1979 several of us went up in January when it was freezing cold.
We did what we could to improve the cottage as we were raising funds as
early as 1979 as we recognized we needed to expand the cottage.  Following
the success of the statewide fundraiser, we concentrated on a much larger
attempt to provide rest rooms and a downstairs Resident Manager's apartment,
and a Dining Hall which would accommodate up to 60.  Osterneck Cottage was
named after a blind gentleman, David Osterneck who contributed the first
$5,000.  Mr. Osterneck who was from Myrtle Beach and in Columbia receiving
training at the Commission, attended a Columbia Chapter meeting and after
hearing a presentation of this project, Mr. Osterneck promptly made his
financial commitment.  The first Federation board meeting held at Rocky
Bottom was in December of 1980 where the board met and was accommodated.
The first Fun Day Festival was held on October 24, 1981 where 400 attended,
netting a profit of $1,259.72.  Hopefully this gives you some interesting
information.

 

Final Thought:   To live the life you want is to realize it is all about
"we: and not just about "me".

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