[Nfbofsc] Positive Note 1650

[David Houck]

March 28, 2018 

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

From:  Frank Coppel, President

Positive Note 1650

Greetings Fellow Federationists:

 

              If you have not done so already, please make your reservations
for the upcoming 2018 Orlando National Convention.  The date of this year's
national convention will be July 3, to July 8, 2018 and will be held at the
Rosen Shingle Creek Resort.  The 2018 room rates are singles and doubles,
$88; and triples and quads, $93. In addition to the room rates there will be
a tax, which at present is 12.5 percent. No charge will be made for children
under seventeen in the room with parents as long as no extra bed is
requested. Please note that the hotel is a no-smoking facility.

              For 2018 convention room reservations you can call the hotel
at (866) 996-6338. You may also write directly to the Rosen Shingle Creek,
9939 Universal Boulevard, Orlando, Florida 32819-9357. The hotel will want a
deposit of $100 for each room and will want a credit card number or a
personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged
against your card immediately, just as would be the case with a $100 check.
If a reservation is cancelled before Friday, June, 1, 2018, half of the
deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will not be made.  The schedule
of the convention is as follows;  Tuesday, July 3, Seminar Day, Wednesday,
July 4, Registration and exhibits, Thursday, July 5, National Board Meeting
and division and committee meetings, Friday, July 6, Opening General
Session, Saturday, July 7, General session, Sunday, July 8, Banquet.

              It is time for you to preregister online for the 2018 NFB
National Convention in Orlando Florida.  If you preregister prior to May 31,
registration for convention will cost $25 and a banquet ticket will cost
$65.  After May 31, the cost for convention registration will increase to
$30 and the cost of a banquet ticket will increase to $70.  Save $10 and
also skip the need to stand in line for a long period of time at the
convention by purchasing your convention registration and banquet ticket by
the May 31 deadline.  To mail in your preregistration please download the
pdf version and mail to NFB no later than May 31st.  Please Note: All
convention preregistration and banquet sales are final. 

              We have an announcement from Loretta Green regarding the bus
trip to our national center in Baltimore.  "We will leave the Federation
Center of the Blind in Columbia at 8:00 a m. on Friday, April 6. Please make
sure to tag your luggage. For those who would like to get on the bus in
Florence, we will make a stop at the Florence mall which is exit 160 a off
of Interstate 95 around 9:00 A.M. Contact persons are Loretta Green at
843-276-9649 and Isaiah Nelson at 803-413-2434."

              We have an announcement from Krystal Reece, President of the
Anderson chapter.  "The Upstate Seminar will be held on April 14, 2018 from
10 am to 2 pm @American Legion 1301 E. Greenville St., Anderson, SC 29621.
Cost to attend is $10 per person.  We hope that all Upstate chapters will
get involved and attend. Please bring any items you would like to auction
off at the seminar. Lunch will be provided @ 12. We hope to see you there."


              Finally, April 1, is Easter Sunday and Shelley and I would
like to take this time to wish all of you a very happy and blessed holiday.


              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.  

               It is a pleasure this week to spotlight Tommy McNeil, a
longtime member of the NFB of SC.  Tommy was born in Greenwood.  He has
served as President of the Greenwood Chapter for several terms.  Tommy was
born into a prominent Greenwood family.  His mother taught school for many
years including Senator John Drummond.  Both of his parents are now
deceased.  Tommy briefly attended SCSDB but later returned to Greenwood,
attending the public schools.  Subsequently he received some training at the
Vocational Rehabilitation agency.  Beginning in 1970, he was at the
Commission for the Blind for 16 weeks.  Incidentally, Tommy stayed with his
aunt on Wheat St. in Columbia where he lived independently.  Tommy reports
that after he received his 16 weeks of training and adjustment at the
Commission, he returned to Greenwood but recalled that the then
Commissioner, Dr. Fred L. Crawford went to Greenwood to personally see him
to determine what he desired.  For six years Tommy worked in a mop and broom
shop in Greenwood.  He returned to the Commission in order to learn massage
therapy, becoming a masseur.  Giving his very best in securing suitable
employment, Tommy obtained a job with the YMCA in Columbia for three months.
He decided to have a career as a masseur, returning to Greenwood after
training and has been working as a masseur since 1983.  He has been employed
for over three decades in this same type of employment utilizing his home
during this entire period.  Tommy joined the federation in 1974 and has
served faithfully for this entire period of time.  Tommy has attended most
every state convention since joining the federation.  Tommy has attended
more than ten national conventions.  His hobbies include reading and
listening to baseball games.  He is a longtime member of the Greenwood
United Methodist Church located on Main St.  Tommy is highly respected by
federation members across the state.  He is known to have a good track
record and is further known for his honesty and integrity.  Once the
Department of Transportation attempted to recall the Greenwood chapter's van
in order to to give it back to DOT.  The NFB of SC was responsible for the
van staying in the sole possession of the chapter with our state President,
Parnell Diggs, negotiating the matter efficiently.  The NFB of SC spotlights
Tommy for his four decades of service in the NFB of SC and for his steadfast
commitment to the organization.

 

Final Thought:   "Accomplishment multiplies by the number it applies to."

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