[Nfbofsc] Positive Note 1658

[David Houck]

May 23, 2018 

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

From:  Frank Coppel, President

Positive Note 1658

Greetings Fellow Federationists:

 

              If you have not done so already, I would strongly encourage
you to go ahead and make your hotel reservations for the 2018 NFB of SC
State Convention which will be held at the Marriott Hotel in Columbia August
10-12.  Room rates are very affordable.  Rates for this year's convention
are  $109 per night for up to four in a room.  In addition to the room rates
there will be a tax, which at present is 14 percent.  The deadline to make
reservations will be July 15, 2018.  There will also be a limited number of
rooms available for the $109 rate Thursday, August 9, for those individuals
wanting to arrive to the hotel a day prior to the official start of the
convention.  You can make your room reservations by calling the Marriott
toll free reservation telephone number (800)593-6465 or (803)771-7000 and
inform the reservationist you are reserving a room for the National
Federation of the Blind of South Carolina state convention.  

              We are also accepting your $80 preregistration fee for this
year's State Convention.  Please send your $80 preregistration fee to the
Federation Center of the Blind, 119 S. Kilbourne Rd. Columbia, SC 29205.  As
we did last year, we are offering a discount for families with children
regarding the preregistration fee.  Parents will pay the $80 preregistration
fee and each child eight teen years of age or younger will pay $20.  We are
also offering a discount to college students in the amount of $50 during the
preregistration period.  

              All preregistration fees are nonrefundable and
nontransferable.  As in past years, the $80 preregistration fee will cover
the reception on Friday evening, continental breakfast Saturday morning, the
luncheon, banquet on Saturday and a continental breakfast Sunday morning.
The deadline to accept your $80 preregistration fee is August 3.  If you
wait until after the deadline of August 3, the registration will increase to
$100.  Save $20 and preregister early!  

              There is only eight days remaining to preregister 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.  

It is not too late to make your hotel reservations for the 2018 NFB National
Convention in Orlando Florida.  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.  

              We have an announcement from Shelley Coppel, president of the
Seniors division.  "Greetings from the Senior Division, "I would like to
encourage all seniors and interested people to join in this Thursday, May
24, at 4 p.m. eastern time.To a conference call sponsored by the National
Senior division.  The topic: The staff from the Louisiana Center for the
Blind is having a discussion about how they conduct training for blind
seniors.  The phone number to call is: 1-515-603-3166; the access number is:
759633 pound." 

              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.  

              The decade of the 60's was very difficult as it was, among
other things, intimidating and there were other challenges.  The NFB had
problems with some agencies which intimidated blind persons who wanted to
join the federation.  In 1960 I wrote to President John F. Kennedy (a US
Senator at that time) concerning the right of blind people to organize
without harassment or intimidation by some agencies.  I received a letter
from President Kennedy stating that he would support federal legislation
preventing such future occurrences from happening.  In 1861 the Columbia
Chapter headed up the erection of the Federation Center of the Blind.  The
Center has tremendously progressed in serving blind South Carolinians for
more than 50 years.  In 1962 the first group of blind persons spent the
weekend at Rocky Bottom.  This activity had its origin in 1958 because of a
grateful Colonial Life policyholder we had paid a claim on even though
technically we could have denied the claim.  He arranged for us to use his
mountain cottage in May of 1958.  At that time I got to know Mr. and Mrs.
Gus Ross who were residents of Rocky Bottom and they were helpful in our
first 1962 visit.  In 1964 the state convention was held in Charleston.
Although a relatively small state organization, the blind voted to establish
a separate state agency serving the blind.  After two years of hard fought
battles, in May of 1966, Gov. Robert E. McNair signed the Commission Bill
into law.  This has proved to be a very wise decision as the Commission has
been providing outstanding service since that time.  The NFB of SC
appreciates its relationship with the Commission, School and the Library for
the Blind.  At the 1968 convention of the NFB we were successful in having
the convention to vote for the 1969 national convention to be held in
Columbia, South Carolina.  In July 1969 the NFB of SC hosted the national
convention.  It was held in the Wade Hampton Hotel with the overflow being
accommodated by the Columbia Hotel and USC.  During the outstanding 1969
convention the Governor hosted the Reception in the Governor's Mansion.
South Carolina Governor Robert McNair stood by the then NFB President Dr.
Kenneth Jernigan as they greeted the delegates from throughout the nation.
To the best of our knowledge this was the only national convention reception
to be held at a Governor's Mansion.  There were many other federation
successes during the decade of the 60's but we're glad to furnish you these
activities as described herein.

 

Final Thought:   "The right path is not always the easy path - It is harder
to give someone a hand up than to pull someone down."

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