[Nfbofsc] Positive Note 1709

[David Houck]

May 15, 2019

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

From:  Frank Coppel, President

Positive Note 1709

Greetings Fellow Federationists:

 

              Please continue to make your hotel reservations for the 2019
NFB of SC State Convention which will be held at the Marriott Hotel in
Columbia August 9-11.  Room rates are very affordable.  Rates for this
year's convention are $112 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, 2019.  There will also be a
limited number of rooms available for the $112 rate Thursday, August 8, for
those individuals wanting to arrive to the hotel a day prior to the official
start of the convention.  If you pay in advance, your reservation will be
guaranteed: however, you will not have to pay as long as you arrive by 6:00
p.m.  Any amount you pay, of course, will be applied toward your bill.  The
Marriott Hotel has given the NFB of SC a block of rooms to reserve until
July 15.  If you wait until after July 15, to make your hotel reservation,
the hotel may not have an available room for you and you will not be
eligible for the convention room rate of $112.  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.  At this year's state convention, , we will be celebrating
the seventy-fifth anniversary of our organization.  We are planning special
activities throughout the weekend to commemorate this wonderful milestone.
We are expecting a large turnout for this convention so you may want to make
your hotel reservations early.  This will be a very special and historic
convention you do not want to miss!  

              Also, please continue to preregister for the NFB of SC 2019
state convention.  The total preregistration package is $80 which includes a
very special Friday evening reception, continental breakfast Saturday and
Sunday morning of the convention, the Saturday Luncheon and the Saturday
evening Banquet. The preregistration period will end August 2, after which
time the cost to register for the state convention will be $100.  We will
again offer a discount for families with children during the preregistration
period.  Parents will pay the $80 preregistration fee and each child
eighteen years of age and younger will pay $20.  There will also be a
discount to college students in the amount of $50 during the preregistration
period.  

              Congratulations to Derique Simon who was informed last week he
has been selected as a national scholarship winner for the 2019 NFB national
convention in Las Vegas.  Derique is one of thirty student finalists who
will be receiving scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $12,000 at the
convention banquet on Friday evening, July 12.  Derique will be attending
Lander College in Greenwood in the fall, and his vocational goal is to be a
Victims' Rights and Disability Lawyer.  Being selected as a national
scholarship winner is quite an honor and we in the NFB of SC are proud of
Derique Simon and what he has accomplished thus far in his federation walk.


              I have been informed by our national office in Baltimore there
has been a tremendous interest in the Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship program
for this year.  For this reason, notification to those individuals who have
been awarded a Jernigan Scholarship may be delayed until after the May 15,
deadline.  This year, seven individuals from South Carolina applied for a KJ
scholarship.  Although it would be great if all seven individuals received
assistance to attend their first national convention, the likelihood of this
occurring might be unrealistic as a result of the tremendous interest which
has been displayed nationwide for this wonderful opportunity.  

                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 are spotlighting an Associate member of the
Columbia Chapter who has been a member for 36 years.  I am speaking of
Darlene Houck, the lovely wife of Center Executive Director David Houck.
Born in Greenville and raised in Liberty, she attended Liberty High School.
Following that she worked at Pratt Reed in Central making piano parts.
Later she worked with Emb-Tex in Liberty, embroidering huge bolts of cloth
on a large machine.  Her parents were Joe and Juanita Merck and her brother
was Preston and her sister was Elaine.  Darlene is 69 and the only member of
her immediate family still living.  In 1981 Darlene met David on a "blind
date" as she likes to call it and a year and four days later they were wed
at Calumet Baptist Church in Liberty.  Darlene can play the piano and organ
and was the church organist when David met Darlene.  Following David's work
as a Spinning Doffer at Wamsutta Mills in Anderson, they moved to Columbia
in 1983 as Darlene supported David in his new job as Federation Center
Executive Director.

              Darlene Houck drives David on all his work errands, across
Columbia, throughout the state as well as for state and national
conventions.  She has also driven chapter members to meetings, doctor
appointments and on occasion to national conventions.  She assists her
husband in annual barbecue sales, getting to board meetings, Rocky Bottom
Fun Days, etc.  Their two sons Martin (age 36) and Kevin (age 33) grew up in
the federation, attending federation meetings, conventions and even
attending a few Washington Seminars.  Martin and his wife Julianna live and
work in Durham, NC and Kevin, his wife Carrie and their three daughters
Leighann (age 3), Katie and Emily (10 month-old twins) live in Lexington.
Darlene has received the Associate Member of the Year Award and she is the
NFB of SC Convention Registration Chairperson each year.  Darlene and David
Houck have attended all state conventions, most national conventions and
several Washington Seminars since 1983.

              Her hobbies include being a big Clemson Tigers fan, keeping up
with friends and family on Facebook and being an active member of Grace
Baptist Church in West Columbia where she and David were active in the AWANA
youth program for several years.  Oh yes, she loves taking care of her three
granddaughters and spent Mother's Day with them.  If it were not for the
dedication of our spouses who are Associate members, our work in the
Federation would be much more difficult.  Let's salute Darlene Houck for all
she does to help the blind to live the life they want!

 

Final Thought:   We each walk alone but to resolve blindness issues, we all
march together.  Contact the NFB Independence Market to read the history of
the NFB nationally by ordering:  Walking Alone and Marching Together."

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