[NFBofSC] Positive Note 1781
jennifer at successforlives.org
jennifer at successforlives.org
Mon Sep 28 11:16:01 UTC 2020
September 28, 2020
Memo To: Executive Officers, Board Members, Chapter & Division Presidents &
Others
From: Jennifer Bazer, President
Positive Note 1781
Greetings Fellow Federationists:
Last Thursday, about 10 members participated in a packing party at the
Federation Center to prepare items for the new gift shop at Rocky Bottom.
With everyone working as a team, 3 socially distanced assembly lines were
formed, with some labeling items in print, some in Braille, and others
bagging the items in preparation for sale. The process went smoothly, and
the job was finished more quickly than anyone thought possible. Items
include T-shirts, hats, backpacks, and metal insulated NFB mugs. The gift
shop will include items that are made by the blind, represent the blind, or
that people who rent Rocky Bottom ask for on a regular basis. If you would
like to contribute items to sell in the shop, please call or text me at
803-960-9977 or email me at jhipp25 at sc.rr.com
Live the Life You Want!
I would like to share a post that was written to explain The National
Federation of the Blind and its tag line, Live the Life You Want. My hope is
that we will gain a positive understanding of this important branding of the
NFB.
>From the Editor: This piece was taken from Colorado Talk, the listserv of
the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado. Scott is the president of
the affiliate, and I think he has helpful thoughts in explaining an
important part of our tagline. Here is what he says:
First, I want to wish everyone here a very happy new year! My hope is that
2020 will be outstanding for all of us. Next, I want to thank Jenny for
raising the topic of what our tagline "Live the Life You Want!" really
means. I appreciate everyone's thoughtful comments about how it should be
interpreted and implemented.
Before I delve into the substance of my comments, I want to give you a
little background, which helps to form my perspective. I first joined the
NFB in 1986, and I have had the honor and privilege of being a very active
member and leader on many different levels. As part of that experience I
served on a committee which formed in 2013, maybe even late 2012, whose
purpose was to develop our plan for celebrating the 75th anniversary of the
Federation. After some discussion, we decided that it was time to rebrand
our messaging so that we could more effectively communicate who we are. One
part of that rebranding was changing our tagline from "We are changing what
it means to be blind" to the current "Live the Life You Want!" Beyond just
the tagline, we developed a comprehensive brand architecture which has many
elements that would serve as an excellent focal point for future
discussions. In any event, I mention all this because I think I have some
idea of what we intended regarding the message we were attempting to
communicate.
Ever since I have been involved in the NFB, there has been a conception that
the NFB only supports and celebrates the "super blind" and that if you do
not go about blindness in a very specific manner, you are not really living
the life the NFB endorses. I emphatically and whole-heartedly believe that
this misconception is not true! There is no such thing as a model
Federationist, and there certainly is not one singular script from which we
must all lead our lives.
The idea of "Live the Life You Want!" is that your blindness should not hold
you back from pursuing your dreams and ambitions. Undeniably, all of our
dreams and ambitions are limited and somewhat governed by the realities we
face, whether those are financial, educational, health-based, or otherwise.
There is no one way to live the life you want. It does not matter if you are
pursuing a high stakes profession, working from home, volunteering in the
community, or not working at all. Our main message is that whatever you are
doing with your life, your blindness should not be the chief reason holding
you back from whatever brings you fulfillment and purpose. Our one-minute
message, another creation of our rebranding, brings this point out.
"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." A key part of this message is that we
are raising expectations. That has both external and internal aspects to it.
On the external side, we are working to convince the general population that
they can and should expect more from us. All of us often run into very low
expectations held by the public. Pretty much every time I travel to and
through an airport, somebody tells me how amazing I am for simply putting
one foot in front of the other.
On the internal side, we should encourage one another to become the best
versions of ourselves that we can. Doing so must always be done with love
and understanding. Every year that I am in the Federation, I learn so much
from our members on how I can lead my life in a better way-a new technology
trick or something that enhances my independent travel or whatever it might
be. I certainly haven't figured it all out, and I know that sometimes I do
in fact let my blindness limit me in a way that isn't truly necessary.
Regardless, we must accept people where they are in their lives and be ready
to encourage them to achieve more when that is appropriate. This is what we
aim to do at our centers. We work with people from all walks of life and who
have a wide variety of challenges. No student's program is or should be the
same. We have some general policies and expectations, but these are always
adjusted to the individual student.
Living the life you want is all about independence and freedom. As our
founder Dr. tenBroek so eloquently put it, we have a right to live in the
world. That means we have the right to be free and independent and to
determine our own destiny. The exact mechanism we use to achieve that
freedom and independence is not the key issue, but rather that we know and
believe that we have the right to achieve it. I think the Federation's best
speech regarding independence is "The Nature of Independence" by Dr.
Jernigan from the 1993 National Convention. If you have not read it, I
encourage you to do so. It is available through our national website.
Before closing this out, I want to address another point Jenny raised in her
original message-the idea that perhaps we sometimes emphasize success
stories based on traditional notions of success and that we don't celebrate
other forms of achievement. I think this is a great point, and we should
endeavor to paint a more comprehensive picture. Convincing an animal shelter
to let you volunteer despite your blindness is just as important as someone
winning a national scholarship based on academic achievement at the highest
level. Both are part of living the life we want.
In closing, I want to share two other elements from our brand architecture:
the Brand Promise and Value Proposition. I do this because, for me, it so
eloquently sums up why I am involved in our Federation. "Together with love,
hope, and determination, we transform dreams into reality. I am filled with
hope, energy, and love by participating in the National Federation of the
Blind because my expectations are raised, my contributions make a difference
to me and to others, and I can celebrate the realization of my dreams with
my Federation family."
Our next South Carolina Connects meeting will be Thursday, October 1, at 5
pm on the Zoom platform. Please invite your chapter members, friends and
anyone interested in learning more about the NFB of SC. I look forward to
chatting with all of you!
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/8032543777 Meeting ID: 803 254 3777
If you have a smart phone, just click below and it will dial
in for you:
+19292056099,,8032543777#
Or, you can dial in from your land phone:
929 205 6099
Meeting Id no. 803-254-3777
Below is a list of committees, meeting days and times and contact
information for the chairperson of each committee that have been solidified
so far. We will continue to make arrangements for each committee. If you
would like to still join a committee, please contact me and I will insure
you are added.
Fundraising Committee First Monday 8pm Debra Canty
803-775-5792 Debra.canty at frontier.com <mailto:Debra.canty at frontier.com>
Meeting ID: 8032543777
Braille Literacy Committee Second Tuesday 6pm
Tracy Spittle 803-447-7609 tracysc1974 at gmail.com
<mailto:tracysc1974 at gmail.com>
Meeting ID: 8032543777
Membership Committee Third Monday 7pm Thom Spittle
803-331-3344 nfbsc.lab.4 at gmail.com <mailto:nfbsc.lab.4 at gmail.com>
Meeting ID: 8032543777
Diabetes Action Network Third Tuesday 7pm Melanie
Torrance (803) 908-6656
melanietorrance at icloud.com <mailto:melanietorrance at icloud.com>
Meeting ID: 8032543777
Diversity & Inclusion Fourth Tuesday 8pm Derique Simon (864)
398-9437 deriques at icloud.com <mailto:deriques at icloud.com>
Meeting ID: 8032543777
This message is from Steve Cook, chairperson of our social media committee:
We now have on NFBofSC.org a Technology Resource page! I am in the process
of creating the content on the page, be sure and check back often! You can
find information related to Apple apps, Technology Email groups and Website
resources. Let me know your thoughts and other information you would like to
see listed by emailing me at cookcafe at sc.rr.com <mailto:cookcafe at sc.rr.com>
or calling me at home at 803-254-0222.
The following update from Rocky Bottom is from Thom Spittle, Chairman:
Notes from Rocky Bottom:
There are a lot of exciting things happening at Rocky Bottom.
We are launching a social media campaign called Friends of Rocky Bottom. The
goal of this campaign is to gather pictures and stories from people who have
fond memories about their time at Rocky Bottom, and share them with one
another. Please send any photos or stories to our staff at
FriendsOfRockyBottom at gmail.com <mailto:FriendsOfRockyBottom at gmail.com> . We
will post about every 10 days or so. We will also post about new things
happening at the camp, so you can stay informed.
To sign up to our Facebook page, click on this link:
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2FFriends-of-Rock
y-Bottom-111237250736019%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNF-8R3FJG4yXQg4GUpGSVklrEzH
qQ> https://m.facebook.com/Friends-of-Rocky-Bottom-111237250736019/
and remember to share it with your friends and family.
We also have an email list which will put the same posts directly to your
inbox.
Just click on the following link, fill out your information and check your
mail for the confirmation email. You must reply to the confirmation email,
or click on the link inside of the email to opt in.
Click here:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/friends-of-rocky-bottom_nfbnet.org
If that wasn't enough good news, how about this?
Rocky Bottom is inviting area furniture dealers and manufacturers to our
camp in hopes that they will adopt a room. This will be a great way to
upgrade our facilities with some new furniture while advertising for our
local partners. If you know a potential partner, please call me at
803-331-3344 or email me at nfbsc.lab.4 at gmail.com
<mailto:nfbsc.lab.4 at gmail.com>
Below is a message from Ed Bible, Chairman of the Federation Center in
Columbia:
Rocky Bottom$5 Ticket Challenge
Week 2
The BIG Challenge! Win $300 for your chapter or division!
As you know, Rocky Bottom Retreat and Conference Center of the Blind is
selling $5 Rocky Bottom fundraising tickets. These tickets must be sold
with the filled out stubs turned in with the $5 per ticket by no later than
Friday, October 30. Send them to, or drop them off at the Federation Center
of the Blind, 119 S. Kilbourne Rd., Columbia, SC 29205. Checks should be
made payable to RBRCCB.
The drawing will be on October 31 to kick off the week long
Rocky Bottom online auction ending on November 7. The winning ticket drawn
will yield $500 to the buyer, $50 to the seller and $300 to the chapter or
division selling the most tickets! In order to get the ball rolling, we are
offering a weekly challenge every Friday leading up to October 30, providing
the top five ticket sellers - and here they are for today!
Rank Tickets sold Chapter/Division
1. 84 At-Large Chapter
2. 76 Columbia Chapter
3. 20 Sumter Chapter
4. 15 Georgetown Chapter
5. 10 Anderson Chapter
We are still early in the process and I know some chapters are
waiting until close to October 30 to turn in their ticket sales. In fact, I
know Lancaster Chapter has a couple hundred tickets and I am certain Sumter
Chapter has been quite busy. However, one year the small Loris Chapter sold
the most tickets and you will never know how hard the Chesterfield Chapter
will work with their tickets.
Contact David Houck at 803-254-3777 if you need us to send you
more tickets or you can also reach him at <mailto:nfbsc at sc.rr,com>
nfbsc at sc.rr,com with your ticket requests. Let's get out there and show
everyone that you can be number one and win the $300 prize!
Little Acts of Kindness
Each week, grocery ads are distributed to the listserv so that our members
can see what's on sale at four local grocery stores in South Carolina. Rick
Duvall, Marshall and Lois Tucker's son-in-law gathers the information from
each store and sends them to Vicki Phillips who disperses them to the
listserv. Rick spends over two hours each week doing this for our members.
What a small act of kindness that impacts so many each week in the Palmetto
state. Thank you Rick for your service to the blind in SC! We appreciate
your generosity that is a blessing to so many!
Nationally:
Presidential Release #498 - Live
The October presidential release will be delivered live by NFB President
Mark A. Riccobono on Thursday, October 1, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
The monthly message provides important updates and perspectives of the
organized blind movement. After the remarks, Pam Allen, first vice
president, will moderate questions. Members of the Federation are encouraged
to attend and non-members are warmly welcomed. Submit questions in advance
to cdanielsen at nfb.org <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org> and put PR498 in the
subject line, or call 410-659-9314, extension 2473.
https://zoom.us/j/97616916002
Or iPhone one-tap:
US: +14086380968,,97616916002# or +16699006833,,97616916002#
Or Telephone:
Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 408 638 0968 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248
7799 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 876 9923 or +1 301 715 8592
Webinar ID: 976 1691 6002
In closing, I want to personally thank each of you for your dedication and
hard work in our South Carolina affiliate. Your suggestions, ideas, and
feedback are always welcome. Your help is always appreciated. Your kind
words are encouraging. Our small steps are making a huge difference in our
affiliate. Never, never, never give up! Let's continue to build the
Federation! Make it an awesome week!
Final Thought: "The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that
little extra-Jimmy Johnson."
NFB Pledge - I pledge to participate actively in the effort of the National
Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for
the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to
abide by its constitution.
NFB One Minute Message - "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."
If this message was forwarded to you and you would like to
receive it directly in your inbox, as well as, receive messages regarding
the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina, please email Steve
Cook at cookcafe at sc.rr.com <mailto:cookcafe at sc.rr.com> or call him at home
at 803-254-0222 and he will be happy to add you to the listserv and the
Positive Note.
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