[NFBofSC] Positive Note 1730

[David Houck]

October 9, 2019

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

From:  Frank Coppel, President

Positive Note 1730

Greetings Fellow Federationists:

 

              During the next few weeks, I will be formulating committees
for 2019/2020.   If you wish to serve on a committee or Chair a committee,
please let me know and I will try very hard to accommodate you in regards to
your expressed interests.  Also, if you would like to know the purpose and
function of a particular committee, you can call me at (803) 796-8662 or you
can email me at frankcoppel at att.net.  NFB of SC committees are extremely
important as they carry out the business of the Federation between
Conventions and Board meetings.  The list of committees are as follows;
Legislative committee, Resolutions committee, membership committee,
Scholarship committee, Public Relations committee, social media committee,
Finance committee, Braille Literacy committee, Fund Raising committee, White
Cane Walk-a-thon committee, Donald C. Capps Award Committee, Employer of the
Year Award Committee, Educator of the Year Award Committee, PAC Plan
(pre-authorized contribution plan) committee, and Sun Shares (Shares
unlimited NFB) committee.  

              It is time to begin thinking about upcoming events for 2020 in
the NFB of SC!  If you have an event in 2020 and you would like for the
information to be posted on the NFB of SC website.  Send it to Steve Cook,
NFB of SC Website Content Administrator, me at steve.cook at nfbofsc.org.  This
is a great way to bring in people to the NFB and let them know about local
events in your area!  Be sure to include as much information for the event
as possible.

              By now, all of you should have received and I know are selling
your 2020 Houston bus fund tickets.  Let's do all we can to raise the
necessary funds to charter a bus so that as many of our members as possible
will be able attend the 2020 national convention in Houston Texas.  As we
have done previously, tickets will cost $1.  Remember, the winner of the
winning ticket which will be drawn on January 4, 2020 at the Statewide
Seminar will win $300, the seller of the winning ticket will receive $100,
and the Chapter selling the most tickets will win $300.  

              Belvedere Chapter President Constance Miller reports, "The
Belvedere Chapter will have a Meet the Blind Month, and White Cane Awareness
Walk on October 12th. We will meet from 10 am until noon. We will have a
table set up with information regarding the NFB of SC. This walk will be
near the North Augusta Greenway Recreational area, and Soccer Complex."  

              The Anderson Chapter President Demetrius Williford announces
their Meet the Blind Month activity:  "Hello everyone! I wanted to inform
you all of our Meet the Blind Month which will be taking place on October
19, 2019 at the Anderson Mall at 3131 North Main Street. We will start
walking around 12p.m until 2p.m. The items we will be selling are T-shirts
with the N.F.B logo on it. These shirts will cost $15. We will have
literature and other various items to give out to the individuals that may
be interested in our event.  If you all would like to join us you can call
Demetrius Williford President of the Anderson chapter. My phone number is
864-328-8177, and my email Address is Santez1981 at gmail.com."  Let's hear
from more chapters about your Meet the Blind Month activity in October!

 

              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.  

              In last week's Positive Note special initiatives in the White
Cane program were emphasized.  This is the 33rd anniversary of the Positive
Note program of the NFB of SC.  The first issue was distributed on August
22, 1986.  Our records show that since 1866, 1,730 consecutive Positive
Notes have been distributed.  Webster's dictionary defines the word positive
as, "confident in opinion or assertion."  Webster's dictionary defines the
word note as, "a brief record of something written down to assist the memory
or for future reference."   New Positive Note readers are apt to wonder how
this publication got its title, "Positive Note."  It's simple.  Throughout
the years the NFB of SC and its officials concentrated on the positive.
However, it seemed to some of us that the 1980's were not always as positive
as it could be and that could be improved upon.  During these 33 years the
Positive Note program has existed I have contributed to the majority of
these Positive Notes.  It's been worth the time and effort that goes into
the weekly Positive Note.  Several NFB of SC leaders have participated in
this weekly program.  Judge Parnell Diggs was state president for 15 years
and the records show that he covered the weekly Positive Note during that
period of time.  President Frank Coppel has been the primary editor of the
Positive Note for several years and he does a good job.  I was impressed
with a particular weekly Positive Note by Frank Coppel as he described the
first national senior blind program which was conducted at Rocky Bottom.
The Positive Note covers a variety of federation activity on a local,
statewide and national level.  The statewide membership utilizes the
program.  During the past 33 years the theme of the Positive Note is to
promote positive aspects of the federation.  State and national conventions
and Rocky Bottom activities are constantly being covered.  Sometimes even an
individual member is spotlighted.  Thirty-three years later I continue to
participate in the weekly Positive Note and I hope to keep on doing so.
>From time to time members contact me to say that they enjoy the Positive
Note.  I want to show that Positive Notes were established to promote
positive activity and stay away from any negative involvement.  Take a
moment to remember our Rocky Bottom and federation programs.  I know that
the state and Rocky Bottom boards met in 1986 and were called upon to help
support a special fund to purchase badly needed bunk beds as the current
ones at that time were dilapidated and unsafe.  This fund developed and
amounted to $733 and subsequently we purchased the new bunk beds.  The first
of each week, Executive Director David Houck knows he is going to help
prepare the Positive Note that generally becomes available by Wednesday of
each week.  Hundreds of Positive Notes are distributed across the state and
our readers look forward to reading the Positive Note.  It is obvious that
our decision 33 years ago to establish the weekly Positive Note has been
very beneficial to the blind.

 

Final Thought:   Transforming our dreams into reality:  Meet the Blind Month
- Go thou and do likewise.

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