[Nfbofsc] Positive Note 1671

[David Houck]

August 22, 2018 

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

From:  Frank Coppel, President

Positive Note 1671

Greetings Fellow Federationists:

 

              Before we turn our attention to the Fun Day Festival at Rocky
Bottom on September 1, Shelley Coppel has an announcement regarding the 2018
state convention.  “Greetings!  I want to give a big shout-out to everyone
who participated in the talent showcase at our state convention.  It takes a
certain gumption to get in front of folks and entertain!!!  From the
students, to us more mature folks, the range and level of talents displayed
was truly wonderful!  Thank you again, let’s do it again!!!”

              As I have been reporting during the last few weeks in the
Positive Note, the thirty-seventh annual Rocky Bottom Fun Day Festival will
take place Labor Day weekend, August 31-September 2.  If you would like to
make a reservation for the weekend you can contact me at (803) 796-8662 or
call the Federation Center at (803) 254-3777.  We have already begun to
receive requests for sleeping accommodations, so I would strongly encourage
you to call and reserve a room at Rocky Bottom as soon as possible.  This
information is extremely important as we need an accurate head count as to
the amount of food we need to purchase for the weekend.  Four meals will be
served including three on Saturday, September 1, and breakfast on Sunday
morning, September 2.  Adults will be charged $30 and children will be
charged $15 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.  I hope you are continuing to sell your $5 Fun Day tickets as this
greatly contributes to the overall profits of the Fun Day Festival.
Remember, the seller of the winning ticket will receive $50 and $500 to the
buyer of the winning ticket.  If you purchase your own ticket, you will
receive $550.  The chapter selling the most tickets will receive $300 for
its treasury!  Thus far, we have only sold 148 tickets statewide.  I know we
can do much better, so let’s get busy and do what we can to sell as many
tickets as possible during the next ten days!  I would like to thank Lenora
Robertson and her “food crew” (Ellen Taylor and Glenda Culick) for all of
their hard work preparing menus for the Fun Day weekend.  I would also like
to thank Tiffiny Mitchell who has agreed along with the assistance of others
in donating soft drinks and water for the weekend.  

              We have an announcement from Jennifer Bazer.  “Hello NFB of SC
Family!  Fun Day at Rocky Bottom will be held Saturday, September 1.  One of
the highlights of Fun Day is the auction which is always fun and can be
hilarious at times.  Please consider donating new items including, but not
limited to: gift cards, electronics, homemade cakes and pies, jewelry and
more. Even if you feel your item is small, we are grateful for the
contribution as we can make gift baskets of small items to make a great
auction item.  Please contact Jennifer Bazer if you would like to donate an
item at 803-960-9977 or jhipp25 at sc.rr.com.  Thank you for your continued
support of Rocky Bottom!”

              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.  

              This week we spotlight the spouse of a hard working
federationist who in her own right works just as hard as her husband in
support of the blind locally, statewide and nationally.  I am speaking of Ed
Bible’s lovely wife Julie Bible.              

              Julie was born in Concord, NH and was the oldest of five
children being the only girl.  Her father was in the Air Force and she and
her brothers grew up in the military moving around the country attending
many schools.  One of the places they were stationed when Julie was a baby
was Greenville, SC. They lived overseas and she started school in Okinawa.
The last place they were stationed before her father retired was in Rome, NY
where she attended her last two years of high school at Rome Free Academy.
One of her young brothers was deaf and it was a challenge communicating, but
she and he became close.  She met Ed during her Junior year in high school
who was the first blind person she ever met.  He was a Senior and also grew
up in the Air Force.  They rode the bus together. He asked her to read to
him for one of his subjects during study hall.  He went on to college and
Julie went to USC after graduating (Utica School of Commerce) and trained to
be a medical secretary.  They lost touch for a while, until he came home
from college on break and looked her up.  They started dating and got
married right before his senior year at Syracuse University.  Julie got a
job at Syracuse University working at the college infirmary for four years
and then worked at an extended care facility doing medical transcription,
until they moved to South Carolina in 1978, after Ed’s father retired from
the Air Force and moved back to South Carolina where they were from and
where Ed was born.  

              After arriving in SC, they stayed with Ed’s parents until Ed
found a job in Columbia.  They moved there and bought a house and Julie went
to work for Bankers Trust of SC and stayed there over 20 years (now Bank of
America).  Then she went to work for Richland School District One as a
secretary in Special Education for 14 years, retiring 3 ½ years ago.
They’ve been married for 45 years, had two children, Jennifer and Ashton.
They have two grandchildren, Sally turning 1 year old and Ethan, age 6.

              In 1985 they became friends with Frank and Gail Copped, after
Ed went to work at the SC Commission for the Blind.  Frank and Gail were
involved with the NFB and because of them Julie and Ed became involved.
They attended their first National Convention in Chicago in 1988.  Since
then they have attended most national conventions and almost every state
convention.  

              Julie has helped with the annual Columbia Chapter BBQ for over
twenty years as the hostess and getting out the BBQ deliveries, has driven
van loads of people to Rocky Bottom, statewide picnics, and other events.
She has taken groups of people to Washington, D.C. on more than one occasion
for the Washington Seminar. She is a member of Mt. Hebron United Methodist
Church in West Columbia and has been on mission trips with them to Rocky
Bottom to do repairs.  She loves helping others whenever the need arises.
She was awarded Associate Member of the Year in 2007.  In her spare time she
enjoys gardening and spending time with her grandchildren.  During the Labor
Day weekend Ed and Julie will be attending an NFB National Leadership
Seminar.  Let’s salute Julie for her many years of service to the blind.

 

Final Thought:   “Sharing is a great gift.  One size fits all and it is easy
to exchange.”

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