[NFBofSC] Braille Monitor Vol. 65, No. 11 December, 2022

[kicrawley.nfb at gmail.com]

Good afternoon everyone,

You can check out the December issue of the Braille Monitor by
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm22/bm2211/bm2211tc.htm>
visiting the official NFB website or continue reading as it is contained
within the body of this email for your convenience.

 

____________________________________________________________________________
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Braille Monitor


Vol. 65, No. 11               December 2022

Gary Wunder, Editor

Distributed by email, in inkprint, in Braille, and on USB flash drive, by
the

The National Federation of the Blind

Mark Riccobono, President

telephone: 410-659-9314
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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;
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ISSN 0006-8829

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Contents


Vol. 65, No. 11                      December 2022

Convention Bulletin 2023

A Tribute to Jacquilyn Billey
by Carolyn Dodd

Announcing the NFB 2023 Scholarship Program
by Cayte Mendez

Understanding the Orozco versus Garland Appeal and Why It Is Important
by Valerie Yingling

We Who Have Multiple Disabilities Also Have a Place in the Movement:
Reflection by and about Krystal Sanford
by Norma Crosby and Krystal Sanford

What I Learned from Attending My First National Convention
by Judy Rasmussen

Nielsen Gives the Federation More than Ratings
by Jenivieve White

Kenko and The Christmas Wreaths
by Paul Gabias

You Can Make a Difference

Social Security Announces 8.7 Percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment for 2023
by Advocacy and Policy Department

A Way to Save when Receiving Public Assistance
by Eric Ochmanek

The 2023 Blind Educator of the Year Award
by Robin House

Congress Ordered Agencies to Use Tech that Works for People with
Disabilities Twenty-four Years Ago—Many Still Haven't
by Ruth Reader

Do You Really Know What It's Like?
by Trevor Tattenberg

The 2023 Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award
by Carla McQuillan

What Do We Do to Help Blind Diabetics?
by Debbie Wunder

I am Waiting to Go Blind
by Kevin McNally

The National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska Celebrates Blind Equality
Achievement Month
by Nancy Coffman

NFBCO Celebrates the Completion of its PHD Project
by Peggy Chong

Promoting Current Event and Media Literacy with NFB-NEWSLINE: A Parent's
Perspective
by Heather Bird

Tech Tips
by Curtis Chong

Constitution of the National Federation of the Blind

Monitor Miniatures

Copyright 2022 by the National Federation of the Blind


Convention Bulletin 2023


There are plenty of reasons one might travel to Houston, Texas, the fourth
most populous city in the United States. One might visit for the nearly
three-week-long Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The city’s vibrant arts
scene boasts the largest concentration of theater seats outside of New York
City. And no Houston resident would let a visitor forget that the city is
home to the 2022 World Series Champion Houston Astros. There is little
question that Houston has a great deal going for it. The city’s real draw,
however, is that it will play host to the National Federation of the Blind’s
2023 National Convention.

It has now been more than fifty years since the largest gathering of the
organized blind last convened in Houston, Texas, and our return in 2023 will
be an event not to be missed. The Hilton Americas-Houston hotel (1600 Lamar
Street, Houston, TX 77010) will serve as our convention headquarters hotel.
Situated in the heart of downtown Houston across the street from the
beautiful twelve-acre Discovery Green Park, the Hilton Americas is an ideal
location for our annual event. Ballrooms, breakout space, and sleeping rooms
are all stacked in the same tower housed on a single city block, simplifying
navigation and minimizing travel distances. In-room internet is
complimentary to all attendees as is access to the health club and swimming
pool on the 22nd floor. There are several dining options on the hotel’s
lobby level (including a Starbucks for those of you requiring a caffeine
fix) and many more choices within easy walking distance from the Hilton’s
front door.

The nightly rate at the Hilton Americas-Houston is $105 for singles,
doubles, triples, and quads. In addition, the sales tax rate is 8.25
percent, and the hotel occupancy tax rate is 17 percent. To book your room
for the 2023 convention, call 1-800-236-2905 after January 1 and ask for the
“NFB Convention” block. For each room, the hotel will take a deposit of the
first night’s room rate and taxes and will require a credit card or a
personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged
against your card immediately. If a reservation is cancelled before Monday,
June 1, 2023, half of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will
not be made.
We have also secured overflow space at the wonderful Marriott Marquis
Houston. The Marriott is only a three-block walk directly across Discovery
Green, or attendees can walk entirely indoors through the George R. Brown
convention center, connecting both hotels on the second level. You will find
many of the same amenities at the Marriott as well as a Texas-shaped lazy
river pool. The room rate at the Marriott Marquis is a slightly higher $119
per night for singles, doubles, triples, and quads. To book a room, call
1-877-622-3056 after January 1. Again, ask for the “NFB Convention” block.
Similarly, the same deposit and cancellation policies apply.

The 2023 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will be a truly
exciting and memorable event, with an unparalleled program and rededication
to the goals and work of our movement. A wide range of seminars for parents
of blind children, technology enthusiasts, job seekers, and other groups
will kick the week off on Saturday, July 1. Convention registration and
registration packet pick-up will also open on Saturday. Breakout sessions
continue on Sunday along with committee meetings. Monday, July 3, will kick
off with the annual meeting, open to all, of the Board of Directors of the
National Federation of the Blind. National division meetings will follow the
board meeting that afternoon and evening. General convention sessions will
begin on Tuesday, July 4, and continue through the afternoon of Thursday,
July 6. Convention ends on a high note with the banquet Thursday evening so
be sure to pack your fancy clothes. The fall of the gavel at the close of
banquet will signal convention’s adjournment.

Remember that as usual we need door prizes from state affiliates, local
chapters, and individuals. Once again prizes should be small in size but
large in value. Cash, of course, is always appropriate and welcome. As a
rule, we ask that prizes of all kinds have a value of at least $25 and not
include alcohol. Drawings will occur steadily throughout the convention
sessions, and you can anticipate a Texas-sized grand prize to be drawn at
the banquet. You may bring door prizes with you to convention or send them
in advance to the National Federation of the Blind of Texas at 1600 E
Highway 6, Suite 215, Alvin, TX 77511.

The best collection of exhibits featuring new technology; meetings of our
special interest groups, committees, and divisions; the most stimulating and
provocative program items of any meeting of the blind in the world; the
chance to renew friendships in our Federation family; and the unparalleled
opportunity to be where the real action is and where decisions are being
made—all of these mean you will not want to miss being a part of the 2023
National Convention. To assure yourself a room in the headquarters hotel at
convention rates, make your reservations early. We plan to see you in
Houston in July.


A Tribute to Jacquilyn Billey


by Carolyn Dodd

>From the Editor: This contribution from Carolyn is one I feared we might not
get, and if we had not, the tribute that appears here might never have come
about. Jacquilyn Billey was very active in the 80s and early 90s, but
finding someone who felt they knew her well enough to do justice to her work
was difficult.

Carolyn Dodd spent most of her life as a teacher, but when she decided to
change schools, she encountered discrimination and turned to Jacquie and the
NFB. Carolyn has been retired for about eighteen years, but she continues by
teaching English as a second language and helping those new in the country
to study for and pass their tests to become citizens. When I asked Carolyn
for a picture, she said she did not want this to be about her but about
Jacquie, so here is her article:

Jacquilyn Billey left us on April 10th of this year. Her joyous, selfless
spirit caused her to give immeasurably to the National Federation of the
Blind. Jacquilyn hailed from Wentworth, South Dakota, where she grew up on
her family farm, chewing corn [on the cob], milking cows, and watching the
crops grow.

Her first job, at the age of twelve, was working as a switchboard operator
at the Wentworth telephone office. She graduated from South Dakota State
University. Her fearless energy and ambition took her to New York City where
she worked as a teacher and earned a master’s degree in special education at
Hunter College. It was there in the early 60s that she met John Billey. They
were married in 1963 and became the proud parents of two daughters, Andrea
and Sarah. Jacquie taught in Newark, New Jersey, throughout the sixties.

In the 1970s, the Billeys moved to Connecticut where Jacquie initiated and
directed a program to train and prepare adults with intellectual
disabilities for employment. Consequently, many of these adults worked in
mailrooms, cafeterias, supermarkets, etc., as successful employees.

It was in 1971 that the National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut came
into existence. I met Jacquie in the early 80s. I was genuinely struck by
her engaging, exuberant presence, and we became fast friends. We had many
telephone conversations and group meetings. There was no email, Facebook, or
texting back then.

Jacquie was president of the Connecticut Affiliate of the National
Federation of the Blind from 1984 to 1990. She tirelessly oversaw an
extensive fundraising and awareness effort that helped members through
scholarships, learning Braille, cane travel, attending college, going to
state and national conventions of the National Federation of the Blind, and
obtaining needed equipment for their education and careers.

Many of us in the Federation attended and testified at hearings at the
Connecticut State Capitol to promote and support legislation which would
improve opportunities for the blind. We did so in Washington, DC, annually,
where we met with our US senators and representatives for the same purposes.

Jacquilyn visited almost every state in the country, building chapters for
the Federation where none existed. This was her mission as she travelled
extensively with her white cane—sometimes a challenge but always a symbol of
independence.

Jacquilyn received the Jacobus tenBroek Award from the National Federation
of the Blind in recognition of her dedication, sacrifice, and commitment on
behalf of the blind of our nation.

In the early 1990s, Jacquilyn was ready to set down roots again and took a
position as a regional coordinator at the Roswell office of the Commission
for the Blind in New Mexico. She worked tirelessly to support blind people
in their education and career plans. She also embraced the culture of the
Southwest, cooking with Hatch chili peppers and listening to the opera in
Santa Fe.

Finally, I would like to express my devotion and in particular my gratitude
for the support that I personally received, as did so many others, when an
attempt was made to deny me a teaching position I had been offered.
Jacquilyn Billey and the National Federation of the Blind arranged for an
advocate to accompany me at a meeting in Hartford, Connecticut. When my
qualifications and experience were reviewed, they were accepted. Words
cannot adequately explain how affirming the Federation’s support was to me
again. My blindness was not an obstacle.

Although I write this in sadness and grief in the loss of a loyal and
devoted friend, fond memories are forever of one who gave her all to our
beloved National Federation of the Blind.


Announcing the NFB 2023 Scholarship Program


by Cayte Mendez

>From the Editor: Many volunteer jobs in the NFB are as taxing and as
demanding of time as fulltime employment. One of them is chairing our
scholarship committee, and Cayte does a wonderful job of remaining calm,
cool, and compassionate in the performance of her duties. Here is her
announcement about the 2023 Scholarship Program with the promise of a longer
article to come early next year:

The National Federation of the Blind is pleased to announce our 2023
Scholarship Program. We offer thirty $8,000 scholarships to blind students
who will be at least eighteen years of age by July 1, 2023. Students may
apply if they reside in the fifty states, the District of Columbia or Puerto
Rico, and will be enrolled in a full-time accredited post-secondary degree
program during the 2022-2023 school year. All scholarships will be awarded
at our 2023 National Convention, which will take place in Houston, Texas,
from July 1 to 6, 2023.

The application period begins December 1, 2022, and closes at midnight EST
on March 31, 2023. Go to  <http://www.nfb.org/scholarships>
www.nfb.org/scholarships. To apply during the four-month open period: read
the rules and the submission checklist, complete the official 2023
Scholarship Application form (online or in print), supply all required
documents, and request and complete an interview with an NFB affiliate
president. Remember, the only way to win is to apply!


Understanding the Orozco versus Garland Appeal and Why It Is Important


by Valerie Yingling

>From the Editor: Valerie coordinates our legal activities and her extension
gets mentioned more in most national reports to affiliates than any other
number. Here is what she has to say about a very important case in which the
NFB is involved:

Can both federal employees and members of the public with disabilities avail
themselves of the full panoply of rights and remedies provided, either
explicitly or implicitly, by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29
U.S.C. § 794d, including the right to file a civil action for injunctive
relief?

In other words, do blind people have the right to advocate and file suit
when federal agencies fail to provide accessible information and technology?
On Tuesday, October 18, a panel of three federal appellate judges heard oral
arguments regarding that question in the National Federation of the
Blind-supported case, Orozco v. Garland, a case that stemmed from an
inaccessible workplace for a blind federal employee.

The outcome of the appeal will affect more than employee rights, however.
When so much of our lives are spent online, and completing even the simplest
of tasks requires technology, barriers to federal information and technology
limit not only employment prospects of the blind but our basic dignity and
status as first-class citizens. Members of the public rely on federal
information and communication technology (ICT) for no shortage of
reasons—including paying taxes, monitoring Social Security benefits, and
planning a visit to a favorite national park. Federal employees also rely on
federal agency ICT for any number of reasons—including to perform their job
duties, interact with colleagues, complete agency trainings, and apply for
promotions.

The oral arguments made on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, were critical for many
reasons:

Attorneys argued the implications of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act—the law requiring that information and communication technology
developed, procured, maintained, or used by the federal government be
accessible to federal employees with disabilities as well as members of the
public with disabilities.

Attorneys argued what rights disabled people have when a federal agency does
not use accessible information and communication technology. As referenced
above, this appeal hinges on the question of whether an individual with
disabilities has a right to file a complaint in federal court when federal
technology is inaccessible.

The 2019 Orozco v. Wray complaint details the access barriers present for
one federal employee in one federal agency. Multiply this by the number of
blind individuals in the United States, and you can understand the depth and
weight of this case. In October 2021, a judge ruled that Section 508 is not
enforceable through a private lawsuit. The National Federation of the Blind
disagrees with this decision—Section 508 describes both who can take
enforcement actions and against whom enforcement can be taken. We were eager
and empowered to hear counsel argue how Section 508 includes a private right
of action for individuals. And we hope you were able to join us the morning
of October 18, either in person or virtually, to listen to this critical
debate. We will carry more as the case progresses.


We Who Have Multiple Disabilities Also Have a Place in the Movement:
Reflection by and about Krystal Sanford


by Norma Crosby and Krystal Sanford

>From the Editor: In late September I got a call from a woman wanting to
write an article for the Braille Monitor. She thought that readers should
hear directly, or at least as directly as possible, that the Monitor is
important for folks with disabilities in addition to blindness. She also
wanted us to know what a transformative force the Federation and its members
have been in her life. Here is what she and Norma have written:

Krystal Sanford is a force of nature and the epitome of a great
Federationist. Despite her multiple disabilities, Krystal participates in
every Federation event she possibly can. She does volunteer work for an area
animal shelter and is active in Special Olympics. She never uses the fact
that she is on a walker, has hydrocephalus, is legally blind, and has a
speech impairment stand in the way of doing what she needs to do in life.

Krystal has been a member of the Lone Star Chapter of the National
Federation of the Blind of Texas for several years. She has participated in
our advocacy efforts by attending the 2021 Washington Seminar. She talks to
anyone who will listen about the great job her chapter does at recruiting
rural members, and she is always eager to volunteer to distribute Federation
materials.

We often talk about high expectations in the Federation, and Krystal has
high expectations for herself, and as anyone who has met her knows, she
expects others to toe the line as well. She is an avid user of
NFB-NEWSLINE®, and is always anxious to let our Texas NEWSLINE team know
when we aren’t measuring up to her high standards.

She is a beloved part of our Federation family, and we look forward to years
of her presence in our community.

“I love being a part of this group and having people to talk to about what
we are doing and what we are going to do. I enjoy reading the Braille
Monitor, and I am excited to be one of the people who has multiple
disabilities and has decided to say to readers just how important you are to
me and how important I want to be to you. I want to make this an even better
organization, and I thank all of the people who care about me and let me
care about them too.”


What I Learned from Attending My First National Convention


by Judy Rasmussen

>From the Editor: This article is reprinted from the Braille Spectator, a
publication of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland. Here is the
way the article was introduced:

[Editor's Note: Judy Rasmussen, secretary of the NFB of Maryland, also
serves as the co-chair of the NFBMD Ambassadors Committee. This committee is
charged with providing first-time convention attendees with orientation to
the numerous convention activities and mentorship.]

After two years of attending virtual national conventions, most of us were
ready to meet again in person. However, we had questions. Would this
convention be as inspiring and energetic as previous ones? Would we contract
COVID? If we did, would we get really sick?

Despite these uncertainties, more than two hundred Marylanders attended our
national convention in New Orleans from July 4 to 11. There were more than
forty first-timers, which is really pretty amazing and exciting.

All first-timers have worthwhile stories to tell. This article features
three first-timers who come from varied and diverse backgrounds. Each had
different expectations and reasons for attending the convention. All came
away with the realization that they are not alone, whether they are pursuing
career options or living in a new place independently, they realize they are
all capable of helping others experiencing vision loss.


I Can Run a Business?


Christina Campbell has been legally blind all her life. She attended the
Maryland School for the Blind, but because she had some vision, she didn't
think she needed to learn to read and write Braille. In 2020 she lost a
significant amount of vision and regretted not taking advantage of learning
some more intensive blindness skills while attending school.

Christina has always enjoyed sports and recreation—especially martial arts
and self-defense. After graduating from school, she took courses and became
a certified martial arts instructor. She founded her own school and ran a
successful business for several years. She is now embarking on marketing
herself as a self-defense instructor and is willing to travel to different
parts of the country to teach this essential skill, especially to people who
have visual impairments.

Christina heard about the NFB in school but didn't make any effort to join
the organization. She joined a Facebook group called Clubhouse, where she
helps plan events focusing on sports. She met some people in this group who
were Federation members, and they convinced her it was a good idea to join.
She joined the Greater Baltimore Chapter recently and is looking forward to
getting to know more people.

One of her first Federation activities was talking to some parent groups
regarding the importance of encouraging their blind children to participate
in sports activities.

What did Christina learn from the convention? She learned that passing
resolutions gives us power and influence on many issues that affect how we
work, play, and go to school. She learned blind people can work in a huge
exhibit hall and help sell items like talking clocks, Braille card games,
etc. She learned the importance of having a mentor, as well as serving as
one. She appreciated Ellen Ringlein's help in getting her acclimated to what
was happening and introducing her to people from many states. She especially
enjoyed the opening ceremonies because the energy was so high, and she heard
delegates from each state give brief highlights of what had happened in
their affiliates during the past year. She is looking forward to staying
involved in Federation activities and assuming some leadership roles.


Can I Do It?


Pat Peters recently moved to Maryland from Chicago to be near her children
and grandchildren. It was a big adjustment. She had been gradually losing
her vision due to retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive eye disease. She was
apprehensive about the move because she knew where things were in her
neighborhood, she had friends, and she felt comfortable. She was no stranger
to experiencing new things. Throughout her career she had helped people who
had been sexually abused, ran a construction company, and opened a coffee
shop. When the opportunity came to get an apartment near her family, she
packed up and moved, not quite knowing what she would find or if she would
like it here.

Pat heard about the Federation and the national convention from one of our
newer members, Judy Nelson. When Pat heard about all the events that
happened at convention, she decided to go, figuring she would meet new
people and learn more about adjustment to vision loss.

The Ambassadors Committee is an important part of the work we do, especially
at national and state conventions. When Pat learned that a blind person
would be her mentor, she was amazed and a little apprehensive. "How could a
blind person help me when she wouldn't know where to go herself?" After
losing her mentor in the airport, (they found each other) she decided this
was going to be a real adventure.

When she got to the hotel and heard hundreds of canes tapping, she felt
excited and nervous. Pat's first day was exhausting. After standing in line
for two hours to show her COVID test, picking up her registration packet,
and trying to figure out what to do next, she told her mentor she was ready
to go to her room to make some coffee. Making coffee is no big deal, right?
Well, after she got everything ready, she pushed the only button she could
find on the pot, and nothing happened. Not to be deterred, her mentor called
Be My Eyes to see if they could figure out why the pot was not running.
After more exploration and much laughter, they discovered that the pot was
not plugged in. Hearing that coffee gurgle in the pot made Pat realize that
blind people could solve problems and that she had a group of friends in the
NFB who would stand beside her as she adjusted to life here in Maryland.
Maybe she could leave her room by herself and go to meetings like everyone
else was.

On the second day, Pat was leaving her room on her own, attending seminars,
finding food, and doing what she wanted to do. She realized people were
helping each other find their way, and she continued to gain confidence in
her new-found freedom as the week wore on. She met Federationists who lived
near her in Prince George's County, and since the convention she has
participated in many activities with them. Pat has already registered for
the state convention.

What would Pat's advice be to newly blind people and to those considering
attending a convention for the first time? "There are no limits."


My Life Has Come Full Circle


Guy Kelly, a veteran, federal contractor for the government, hardware
designer, and an entrepreneur has led a full life. In 2018 he was hit in the
eye with a basketball. His vision was affected somewhat, but he continued to
function normally.

In 2020 he lost a significant amount of vision, which was very devastating.
He retired from Verizon after thirty years of installing cable networks for
telephone systems. He is currently still working on some contracts designing
telephone system hardware. His future goal is to be approved as a minority
business owner and be awarded contracts from the government to continue
installation and other types of work.

Guy did not want the fact that he was nearly blind to run his life. He began
doing some research and decided he needed some independent living skills
training. He is currently enrolled in the core program at Blind Industries
and Services of Maryland (BISM).

Guy heard about the convention from BISM and decided to go. He had joined
the Central Maryland Chapter and already knew a few people.

One of the first things that amazed him was that, while waiting to check
into the hotel, he saw a blind person on a hover board. He said he was
privileged to have Sharon Maneki as his mentor and couldn't believe how many
people she introduced him to on his first day.

Guy said he enjoyed learning about all the civil rights issues in which the
Federation is involved. This was very personal to him since the Federation
had just gone to court with him to help secure visitation rights to see his
six-year-old daughter. He had been denied visitation rights on the basis of
his blindness. He is happy he now has visitation rights and he credits the
Federation totally for making that happen.

Guy relayed that the highlight of the convention for him was the opening day
ceremonies. Thirty years ago, while in the army, he carried the Missouri
state flag at the Super Bowl in New Orleans. At the 2022 convention, he was
able to be part of the color guard and carry the Federation flag. He is
proud to have served his country and proud to be a Federationist.


Nielsen Gives the Federation More than Ratings


by Jenivieve White

>From the Editor: Jen is one of the most enthusiastic people I know on our
national staff. She is always helpful and friendly, and she knows how to
appreciate the work of others and acknowledge them. Here is her
contribution:

Community involvement: what does that really mean, and who are the folks
that are truly involved in their communities? It means helping your
community become better one action at a time. It means showing up when help
is needed, and it means you are really concerned that those you are helping
are moving toward the goals they want to achieve.

The National Federation of the Blind is a volunteer-run organization by
blind and sighted folks all over the United States and Puerto Rico. We run
the programs of the Federation, but we also have partnerships with companies
who volunteer their time and expertise to our programs, conventions, and
fundraising.

For the past seven years, we have been lucky enough to have a team of
volunteers from Nielsen Media Research Incorporated, located in Columbia,
Maryland, who really do believe in their community, who are concerned that
we are achieving our goals as an organization, and who are always willing to
help when we ask.

Every quarter a team of volunteers from Nielsen helps with our Early
Childhood Initiatives Program which is geared toward children aged birth to
eight years. This program has close to six hundred participants, and each
quarter these children are sent a packet of materials with activities to
help them with their Braille and travel skills. Our Nielsen volunteer team
picks up the quarterly mailing materials from NFB headquarters, collates
those Braille and print documents, prints the envelopes, stuffs those
envelopes, and mails those packets for us.
This wonderful team of folks has volunteered at our 6 Dot Dash events,
taking on being talking signs, running or walking with blind participants,
and being at the water stations throughout the race. They have helped us
with NFB BELL Academy and NFB EQ programs by cutting, taping, and counting
out origami squares. They have even helped with the collating and binding of
our Code of Conduct documents in Braille for National Convention.

Nielsen gives their employees one day every year where they can volunteer
with any organization they wish, and of course, our wonderful team shows up
in full force ready to do whatever we ask of them.

The Nielsen team of volunteers consists of many folks, but I definitely want
to give special thanks to a number of these wonderful people. Neil
Eisenberg, Vice President of Finance, was one of the first persons we met at
Nielsen when our partnership began, and he has been our staunch supporter
ever since. He is always one of the first to volunteer, and he also allows
other employees to take time away from their duties to help us each quarter.

Sue Thomas is a project manager at Nielsen, and she has volunteered in every
way we have asked, including at the 6 Dot Dash, and she is my main contact
each quarter when she comes to pick up the materials for the mailing. Rowena
Flores, Crystal Gore-Fisher, and Bhavini Thacker are all on the core team of
volunteers as well. There have been so many other volunteers from Nielsen
that I cannot name them all, but I want everyone to know that this team
helps keep our programs running, saves us countless hours of time, and
reaches out to let us know they are here for us whenever we need them.

Our partnership with Nielsen Media Research Incorporated shows how impactful
partnering is to our mission, programs, and our blind members. We will
continue to hold this relationship in the highest regard as we thank all of
the volunteers who help keep this organization moving forward.


Kenko and The Christmas Wreaths


by Paul Gabias

>From the Editor: Dr. Paul Gabias is an Associate Professor of Psychology at
the University of British Columbia (UBC). His areas of specialization at the
University are vision and touch, particularly picture perception. Paul
considers his blindness from birth as a minor characteristic. It’s all a
matter of perspective, he says. He is thrilled to work with kindred spirits
in the National Federation of the Blind.

Kenko is the seventh guide dog that Paul has trained himself. She is a
golden retriever. He has trained three guide dogs for other people. Two of
them had never traveled with guide dogs before. He learned to train guide
dogs from his blind professor of psychology, Dr. Robert Lambert. Bob learned
from his English friend Bill, who was also blind.

For many years in the 1990s, Paul was the president of the National
Association of Guide Dog Users and the editor of Harness Up. In addition to
his other work, Paul is the CEO of his company The Gabias Wellness Network.
His business has reached the level of Platinum Independent Wellness
Consultant with the Nikken Corporation. He finds, trains, and develops
people who want to grow businesses with The Gabias Wellness Network and
Nikken. He says that at seventy years old, he feels better than ever, and
I’m delighted he felt energetic enough to take the trip he describes and
then to write us an article with a bit of holiday spirit:

How do blind people get to places they’ve never been before? The same as
sighted people do! We do research as to how to get there. It’s no more
complicated than that! So how does Kenko come into it? That’s what this
story is about.

We live in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. My wife Mary Ellen is also
blind. We have raised four sighted children who are now adults, and our
daughter Joanne has made several important contributions that have found
their way into this magazine.

Our Costco moved about six months ago. We used to go to Costco all the time,
but since the beginning of 2020, we discovered Instacart through our
daughter. Now, when we order from Costco using our cell phone, Instacart
does the shopping for us and delivers the order to our door. This is so
convenient! There is no needing help in the store any more and no need to
call and wait for a taxi to get us home. Everything is done for us, provided
that we can make the programming on the cell phone work. We can also look
around through the aisles of the store to see what’s new. The phone robot
never gets tired of listing the merchandise in each aisle. For a blind
person, it’s a great way to shop, and sighted people like it too, otherwise
the service wouldn’t exist. We use Apple phones and they speak to us,
through something they call Voice Over. If you know how to use the speech
aspects of the Apple cell phones, they will usually tell you what is on the
screen, and you can interact with it.

Christmas wreaths didn’t seem to be on the Instacart menu. When we called
Costco, they said that they had 157 wreaths in stock. Knowing Costco, that
meant that I had to get there relatively quickly, even though we were still
in early November. At Costco, items move fast, and you can never be sure if
they’ll have more in stock. So I decided to go to the new Costco myself. On
our home, we have double front doors adjacent to each other, so I wanted two
wreaths, one on each door.

The official address for the new Costco is: 2125 Baron Road. I must have
been there once before, because when I checked the address on my Blind
Square App, it said that Costco is at 1830 Leckie Road. I must have entered
that address in the App when I was at the front door. I must have taken a
taxi there. I decided that I would trust the Blind Square address and not
the Costco official address.

Blind Square is a wonderful App. There are others, but I use this one. The
App can literally tell you what’s around you like street intersections and
addresses and stores and restaurants around a location. In fact, you don’t
even have to be at that location to get information about it. Blind Square
can go there virtually if you want it to. You can literally look around
different places, right from the comfort of your own home. I find it great
for planning trips abroad. It’s like travelling from your armchair!

To find out how to get to where you want to go by bus, subway, or train, you
can use Move It! It’s a public transportation App that works all around the
world. It, too, can be set to operate virtually anywhere in the world. So
again, you can explore public transportation from the comfort of your own
home, right from your armchair.

When I entered 1830 Leckie Road in Move It, it said that the number eleven
bus went to Springfield and Leckie. That’s convenient, because the number
eleven bus stop is right in front of our house. Springfield is an East-West
Street. Leckie is a North-South Street. I knew that the bus would be
travelling west on Springfield. Because of the even numbered address of
Costco, I also knew that Costco would be on the west side of Leckie. The
trick is to know on which side of Springfield Costco would be. I can look at
Google map driving or walking directions, and as we are travelling west on
Springfield, if they say to turn right on Leckie, then the store is on the
north side of Springfield. It turns out that that is exactly what the
directions said.

The only question then was on what side of Leckie is the bus stop, the east
side or the west side? Bus drivers typically don’t know how to answer that
question. So you have to frame it in a way that they will hopefully
understand. “Driver, when I get off the bus, is Leckie in front of the bus
or behind the bus?”

“Get off at the front of the bus please,” the driver says. “It’s safer that
way”, he says. He didn’t answer my question at all.

I try another way. “To get to Costco, do I have to cross Leckie or not?”

 “No, Costco is right in front of you when you get off the bus.”

People can be so sloppy with directions. I remember my father asking for
directions when driving somewhere unfamiliar, and no two people gave the
same directions. No wonder men don’t like asking for directions! The driver
kind of answered my question, but not really. And also, right in front of me
when I get off the bus is Springfield, not Leckie, since the bus is
travelling along Springfield. The Costco address is on Leckie.

To solve this problem I used another form of technology with my cell phone.
There is a service for blind people called Aira. I open the App and get
somebody on the phone. Through the phone camera, the Aira agent can see our
surroundings and go on Google Earth to also see where we are. When I call
with my phone, the agent can tell where I am in my city. This is a service
that blind people can pay for every month.

Because this is a new Costco, it doesn’t show up on Google Earth. Scanning
with my phone, I show him the parking lot in front of me to see if there is
some kind of pathway that I can expect Kenko to follow to get inside the
store. He doesn’t see one, just lots of snow. He says that he can see a
little path that people might have created, but he’s not sure.

I’m going to assume that the entrance to the parking lot is on Leckie, not
Springfield. The Costco might be in front of me, but the path to get there
may not be. I tell the agent that Kenko is pretty good at figuring out
navigable paths, so let’s see what she does if I give her the “inside”
command. She turns to the right, and starts to walk east on Springfield, not
wanting to traverse the snow bank which is sure to be there. I don’t know
exactly how far we are from Leckie, so I keep asking her to turn left when
she can. She ignores all of the left turns that I give her, which tells me
that she believes that there is no path into the parking lot on the left. In
fact, she does not cut the corner turning left. She goes straight to the
intersection, as I have taught her to do.

At the intersection I ask her to turn left, which she does. I continue my
requests to turn left, and she ignores them all. We are now walking north on
the west side of Leckie, and I don’t know how far the entrance to the
parking lot is. I hear cars moving on my left side, which indicates that
they are moving in the parking lot, but still Kenko does not turn in, which
means that there is no path to do so. Just to be sure, I ask the Aira agent
if she’s passed it, and he says no. Finally, about a thousand feet farther,
she does turn in. “Good Girl!” I say.

She tries to walk west along the south bank of the parking lot, which is on
our left. She wants to stay out of the middle of the parking lot if she can.
After a while, maybe one hundred feet, there’s a car in the way, and the
agent says that there’s a shopping cart in the way too. Sometimes these
parking lot banks run out of sidewalk, and we are forced to walk in the
parking lot. I feel that this is what Kenko wants to do, and I give her the
“forward” command to step off the curb. She wouldn’t step off the curb
without stopping before and waiting for the “forward” command. That’s to
tell me that there is a curb there. She is also alert to whether I have
checked the location of the curb with my left foot. If she feels that I
haven’t checked, she will not obey the “forward” command. She is
ever-conscious of what she thinks that I know and don’t know.

Now, it’s a huge parking lot, with moving and parked cars. I know that Kenko
can handle this. We come up to a silent parked car, which I can sense with
my ears, but we don’t make contact with it. Kenko stops and thinks. I’m
telling her “inside.” She moves to the left and heads purposefully across
the parking lot. I can tell that she knows what she’s doing, and I just go
with her. A few minutes later, I hear and smell and feel the heat of the
Costco entrance. We are there, with relative ease. I thank the Aira agent
for being there. I tell him that he was there as a backup. He saw through
the camera what Kenko was doing. So I said: “Wasn’t she a good girl?” He
said that indeed she was. He didn’t say more! I got the impression that he
might have been all choaked up. After all, how often do people get to see
guide dogs perform like this? It’s one of the perks of his job. But I get to
experience it every day! Lucky me!

An employee at Costco helped me find two beautiful wreaths. They’re about
2.5 feet in diameter, with lots of greenery and pine cones. We pushed the
shopping cart through the store (they call them buggies here), and Kenko
heeled on my left side. Leave it to Costco; they are double buggies, with
room for two babies side by side, but only one side had a seat belt.

We took a taxi home, and I hung up the wreaths on the front doors as soon as
I got home. There’s a kind of hook on each door that I use every year. The
doors are made up of an oval frame filled in with glass. This way, people
can see the wreaths from both the outside and the inside of the house. I can
touch them each time I leave the house, if I want. I just like knowing they
are there. They serve as a pleasant Christmas greeting for those who view
the front of our home or enter into it. My father installed the Christmas
wreath on our front door when I was growing up. The wreaths remind me of him
too.

[Paul can be reached at:  <http://paulgabias.mynikken.com/>
paulgabias.mynikken.com]


You Can Make a Difference


Blind children, students, and adults are making powerful strides in
education and leadership every day across the United States. For more than
eighty years, the National Federation of the Blind has worked to transform
the dreams of hundreds of thousands of blind people into reality. With
support from individuals like you, we can continue to provide powerful
programs and critical resources for decades to come. We sincerely hope you
will plan to be a part of our enduring movement by including the National
Federation of the Blind in your charitable giving and in your estate
planning. It is easier than you think.

With your help, the NFB will continue to:

*	Give blind children the gift of literacy through Braille.
*	Promote independent travel by providing free, long white canes to
blind people in need.
*	Develop dynamic educational projects and programs to show blind
youth that science and math careers are within their reach.
*	Deliver hundreds of accessible newspapers and magazines to provide
blind people the essential information necessary to be actively involved in
their communities.
*	Offer aids and appliances that help seniors losing vision maintain
their independence.


Plan to Leave a Legacy


The National Federation of the Blind Legacy Society, our Dream Makers
Circle, honors and recognizes the generosity and vision of members and
special friends of the National Federation of the Blind who have chosen to
leave a legacy through a will or other planned giving option. You can join
the Dream Makers Circle in a myriad of ways.


Fixed Sum of Assets


You can specify that a fixed sum of your assets or property goes to the
National Federation of the Blind in your will, trust, pension, IRA, life
insurance policy, brokerage account, or other accounts.


Percentage of Assets


You can specify that a percentage of your assets or property goes to the
National Federation of the Blind in your will, trust, pension, IRA, life
insurance policy, brokerage account, or other accounts.


Payable on Death (POD) Account


You can name the National Federation of the Blind as the beneficiary on a
Payable on Death (POD) account through your bank. You can turn any checking
or savings account into a POD account. This is one of the simplest ways to
leave a legacy. The account is totally in your control during your lifetime
and you can change the beneficiary or percentage at any time with ease.


Will or Trust


If you do decide to create or revise your will, consider the National
Federation of the Blind as a partial beneficiary.

Visit our Planned Giving webpage (
<https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give/planned-giving>
https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give/planned-giving) or call
410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information.

Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue
to transform dreams into reality.


Ways to Contribute Now


Throughout 2021, the NFB:

*	Sent nearly one thousand Braille Santa and Winter Celebration
letters to blind children, encouraging excitement for Braille literacy.
*	Distributed over five thousand canes to blind people across the
United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout
their communities.
*	Delivered audio newspaper and magazine services to 126,823
subscribers, providing free access to over five hundred local, national, and
international publications.
*	Gave over six hundred Braille-writing slates and styluses free of
charge to blind users.
*	Mentored 232 blind youth during our Braille Enrichment for Literacy
and Learning® Academy in-home editions.

Just imagine what we’ll do next year and, with your help, what can be
accomplished for years to come. Below are just a few of the many diverse,
tax-deductible ways you can lend your support to the National Federation of
the Blind.


Vehicle Donation Program


The NFB accepts donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats,
motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and
a representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation. We can also
answer any questions you have.


General Donation


General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work
to help blind people live the lives they want. You can call 410-659-9314 and
elect option 4 to donate by phone. Donate online with a credit card or
through the mail with check or money order. Visit our Ways to Give webpage (
<https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give>
https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give) for more information. 


Pre-Authorized Contribution


Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain
the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring
monthly donations by direct withdrawal of funds from a checking account or a
charge to a credit card. To enroll, call 410-659-9314, extension 2213, or
fill out our PAC Donation Form ( <https://www.nfb.org/pac>
https://www.nfb.org/pac) online.

If you have questions about giving, please send an email to
<mailto:outreach at nfb.org> outreach at nfb.org or call 410-659-9314, extension
2422.


Social Security Announces 8.7 Percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment for 2023


by NFB Advocacy and Policy Department

It’s that time of year again when we provide you with information regarding
annual adjustments to the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. In 2023, approximately seventy
million Americans will see an 8.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)
increase in their benefit amounts. Thus, come January, monthly checks will
be higher.

The 2023 amounts are below, along with some general concepts pertaining to
the Social Security and Medicare programs, in case you want to better
understand or refresh yourself about your rights. The COLA (if any) is based
on the consumer price index (CPI-W), which measures the rate of inflation
against the wages earned by the approximately 173 million workers across the
nation over the previous four quarters starting with the third quarter of
the previous year.


Tax Rates


FICA and Self-Employment Tax Rates: If you are employed, you know that you
do not bring home everything you earn. For example, 7.65 percent of your pay
is deducted to cover your contribution to the Old Age, Survivors, and
Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds and the Medicare Hospital Insurance
(HI) Trust Funds, 6.20 percent covers OASDI, and 1.45 percent is contributed
to the HI Trust Funds. Additionally, your employer is required to match this
7.65 percent for a total of 15.30 percent. 

For those who are self-employed, there is no “employer” to match the 7.65
percent, which means a self-employed individual pays the entire 15.30
percent of their income. These numbers will not change in 2023 regardless of
whether an individual is employed or self-employed. As of January 2023,
individuals with earned income of more than $200,000 ($250,000 for married
couples filing jointly) pay an additional 0.9 percent in Medicare taxes;
this does not include the above amounts.


Maximum Taxable Earnings


There is a ceiling on taxable earnings for the OASDI Trust Fund, which was
$147,000 in 2022 and will increase to $160,200 in 2023. Thus, for earnings
above $160,200, there is no 6.20 percent deducted for OASDI. As for
Medicare, there is no limit on taxable earnings for the HI Trust Fund.


Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Quarters of Coverage


The OASDI Trust Fund is kind of like an insurance policy. You have to pay a
premium to participate. Therefore, to qualify for Retirement, Survivors, or
Disability Insurance benefits, an individual must pay a minimum amount of
FICA taxes into the OASDI Trust Fund by earning a sufficient number of
calendar quarters to become fully insured for Social Security benefits.

In 2022, credit for one quarter of coverage was awarded for any individual
who earned at least $1,510 during the year, which means that an individual
would need to earn at least $6,040 to be credited with four quarters of
coverage. In 2023, the amount increases to $1,640 for one calendar quarter
or $6,560 to earn four quarters of coverage for the year.

A maximum of four quarters can be awarded for any calendar year, and it
makes no difference when the income is earned during that year. Basically,
the taxes you pay into the OASDI and HI Trust Funds are your premiums to
take part in the Social Security and Medicare programs. The total number of
quarters required to be eligible for benefits depends on the individual’s
age. The older the individual, the more quarters are required. Furthermore,
a higher average income during an individual’s lifetime means a higher
Social Security or SSDI check when benefits start. Remember the above quoted
numbers for quarters of coverage to become fully insured are only minimum
amounts. 


Trial Work Period (TWP)


This concept is often misunderstood. The amount of earnings required to use
a trial work month is not based on the earnings limit for blind
beneficiaries but instead on the national average wage index. In 2022, the
amount required to use a TWP month was only $970, and this amount will
increase to $1,050 in 2023. 

If you are self-employed, you can also use a trial work month if you work
more than eighty hours in your business, and this limitation will not change
unless expressly adjusted.


Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA)


The earnings limit for a blind beneficiary in 2022 was $2,260 per month and
will increase to $2,460 in 2023. Again, it’s important to remember this is
not the amount of money an individual makes to use a trial month. This is to
say that the TWP can be exhausted even if your income is well below $2,460
per month. See the above information about the TWP.

In 2023 a blind SSDI beneficiary who earns $2,460 or more in a month (before
taxes but after subtracting un-incurred business expenses for the
self-employed, subsidized income for the employed, and impairment-related
work expenses) will be deemed to have exceeded SGA and will likely no longer
be eligible for SSDI benefits.


Supplemental Security Income (SSI)


The federal payment amount for individuals receiving SSI was $841 in 2022
and will increase to $914 in 2023. For married couples, the federal monthly
payment amount of SSI will increase from $1,261 to $1,371.


Student Earned Income Exclusion


In 2022, the monthly amount was $2,041 and will increase to $2,220 in 2023.
The annual amount was $8,231 in 2022 and will be $8,950 in 2023. The asset
limits under the SSI program will remain unchanged at $2,000 per individual
and $3,000 per married couple.


ABLE Act


Signed on December 19, 2014, the ABLE Act has a significant impact on
resource limits associated with the SSI and Medicaid programs for those who
were blind or disabled by the age of twenty-six. Traditionally, SSI
beneficiaries have been required to adhere to strict resource limits: such
as a maximum of $2,000 in the bank for an individual receiving SSI benefits.
Under the ABLE Act, however, the amount deposited in an ABLE Account can be
much higher. ABLE Account contributions must be designated specifically for
purposes such as education, housing (with a cautionary warning to follow),
employment training and support, assistive technology, health, prevention
and wellness, financial management, legal fees, and funeral and burial
expenses. The required implementing regulations are being enacted in most
states. Check with your financial institution of choice for a status of ABLE
Act regulations in a specific state and to see if an ABLE account is right
for you.

As to the warning about ABLE Account contributions for housing, it is
important to note that SSI beneficiaries may still face the traditional
$2,000 resource limit for ABLE Account funds designated for housing. Thus,
SSI beneficiaries should consider the many other purposes not subject to the
traditional resource limits when making ABLE Account contributions, since
there are also tax advantages associated with ABLE accounts.


A Way to Save when Receiving Public Assistance


by Eric Ochmanek

>From the Editor: Eric is involved in the ABLE program as a part of his
duties with the National Association of State Treasurers. This program is a
way for people who normally function under very restrictive savings limits
to use an account for purposes that will enhance their lives. Eric has been
to our national convention before and looks forward to being with us in
Houston in 2023. Here is what he has to say:

Carol Akers thought it was too good to be true. She had listened to five
presentations about ABLE accounts before she finally approached me. For many
years, she thought her son Dusty, who is blind and has other disabilities
that require support services, couldn’t save money beyond Medicaid’s $2,000
annual asset limit, preventing her from planning for Dusty’s financial
future.

“I’ve been to five presentations about this, and I wanted to confirm each
ABLE presenter said the same thing and answered my questions the same way,”
Akers told me.

Carol’s concerns were very real. She didn’t want anything to cause problems
for Dusty’s disability benefits. Fortunately, ABLE (Achieving a Better Life
Experience) accounts can help relieve concerns about the future, not
increase them.

Earlier this year, the National Association of State Treasurers (
<http://www.nast.org/> www.nast.org) (NAST) launched ABLE Today, a national
initiative focused on increasing the awareness of ABLE accounts. Our mission
is to ensure more and more people with disabilities (and their family and
caregivers like Carol) know about ABLE and the life-changing effects it can
have for their financial futures.

ABLE Today is focused on assisting people with disabilities by promoting
ABLE and providing information on these accounts. I assured Carol that these
accounts not only existed, but that they had been available since 2016.
These are savings and investment tools, built specifically for people with
disabilities, allowing them to save money without affecting public benefits
eligibility. At ABLE Today, we are available to present and answer questions
about ABLE to your local community or chapter. ABLE empowers account holders
to invest in their long-term financial security, creating opportunities for
greater empowerment and inclusion for them in their communities.

Through an ABLE account, enrollees can change the way they save, invest, and
plan for their future by having the options to:

*	Save money in their own name, or add on a support person to help
manage the account
*	Accumulate wealth without losing benefits like Medicaid, SSI, HUD,
SNAP, or other public programs they rely on
*	Work without having to “spend down” their current or future income
*	Make choices about where to put their money through a combination of
checking, savings, and investment account options

Carol set up an ABLE account for Dusty, and the money they’ve put into it
can be used for anything that relates to his disability and helps maintain
or improve his health, independence, and quality of life. This can include
housing and rent, basic living expenses like groceries and utilities,
transportation, education tuition, legal or financial management fees, and
costs towards Dusty’s supportive assistive technologies and medical care.
Through an ABLE account, Carol and Dusty can plan and save for all of this
without sacrificing his federal benefits.


Setting up An Account


Setting up an account is simple and straightforward. Forty-six states plus
the District of Columbia have ABLE programs in place, and many of these
states allow for those outside of the state to enroll if your state isn’t
one of those forty-six. You can open an account in person, online, through a
paper application, and for one state you can enroll at a bank branch. Once
your account is set up, you can access your ABLE account funds through debit
cards, checkbooks, third party checks, or bank transfers.

Every person with a disability deserves to know about ABLE. We work with
organizations like the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) to educate
their members about the transformative power of ABLE accounts, and connect
them to this impactful resource. The biggest challenge is making people
aware of this opportunity.

Carol Akers is an incredible caregiver for her son. She wasn’t alone when it
came to being unaware of ABLE and what it could do for her son’s future. As
of mid-2022, only 126,000 people with disabilities are ABLE account holders.
It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the approximately eight million
Americans who qualify and are missing out on this transformative resource
and financial planning tool designed specifically for them.

The message is simple—you can work, save, live, and plan for your financial
future with ABLE—so please visit  <https://www.abletoday.org/>
https://www.abletoday.org/, and learn how to accelerate your financial
future. And make sure to share it with your friends and family.


The 2023 Blind Educator of the Year Award


by Robin House

>From the Editor: Robin House is an experienced educator in her own right,
with many titles to her name: MEd, LPC, RPT. She was named Blind Educator of
the Year in 2018. She chairs the 2023 Blind Educator of the Year Award
Selection Committee, and she holds a master of education degree, is a
Licensed Professional Counselor, and is a Registered Play Therapist. What is
harder to convey is that, given the tremendous admiration we have for her
accomplishments, the thing that makes us blessed is that Robin is Robin and
that she chooses to be an active part of us. This is what she says:

A number of years ago the Blind Educator of the Year Award was established
by the National Organization of Blind Educators (the educators division of
the National Federation of the Blind) to pay tribute to a blind teacher
whose exceptional classroom performance, notable community service, and
uncommon commitment to the NFB merit national recognition. Beginning with
the 1991 presentation, this award became an honor bestowed by our entire
movement. This change reflects our recognition of the importance of good
teaching and the affect an outstanding blind teacher has on students,
faculty, community, and all blind Americans.

This award is presented in the spirit of the outstanding educators who
founded and have continued to nurture the National Federation of the Blind
and who, by example, have imparted knowledge of our strengths to us and
raised our expectations. We have learned from Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, Dr.
Kenneth Jernigan, Dr. Marc Maurer, and our current President Mark Riccobono
that a teacher not only provides a student with information but also
provides guidance, advocacy, and love. The recipient of the Blind Educator
of the Year Award must exhibit all these traits and must advance the cause
of blind people in the spirit and philosophy of the National Federation of
the Blind.

The Blind Educator of the Year Award is presented at the annual convention
of the National Federation of the Blind. Honorees must be present to receive
an appropriately inscribed plaque and a check for $1,000.

Nominations should be sent to Ms. Robin House by email to
<mailto:robin at mindsrealm.net> robin at mindsrealm.net or by mail to Stix ECC,
647 Tower Grove Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110. Letters of nomination must be
accompanied by a copy of the nominee’s current résumé and supporting
documentation of community and Federation activity. All nomination materials
must be in the hands of the committee chairperson by May 1, 2023, to be
considered for this year’s award. For further information contact Robin
House at 314-265-6852, or  <mailto:robin at mindsrealm.net>
robin at mindsrealm.net.


Congress Ordered Agencies to Use Tech that Works for People with
Disabilities Twenty-four Years Ago—Many Still Haven't


by Ruth Reader
Published by POLITICO on August 21, 2022

>From the Editor: This article is taken from the Braille Spectator, the
official publication of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland.
Following is the way it was introduced:

[Editor's Note: Federal workers make up the largest segment of Maryland's
workforce. We in the NFBMD also have a significant portion of our membership
who work for the federal government. What’s more, a substantial portion of
our members access federal websites and systems such as Social Security
benefits, education services, discrimination complaint systems, and many
others. Below is an article detailing the frustrations of members with
inaccessible federal technology and how the NFB is advocating to Congress
for improvements.]

Ronza Othman, a lawyer with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
in Baltimore, hasn't been able to order a sandwich without help in her
office cafeteria for a decade.

Before the deli replaced workers with a touch screen in 2012, she would walk
up to the counter and ask for a roast beef and cheddar sandwich with
cucumbers, not pickles. But Ronza, who is blind, can't work the touch screen
as it doesn't take voice commands.

"I'm an attorney. I have a master's degree in government and nonprofit
management. I've raised children," she said. "But I can't get a damn
sandwich by myself in my agency."

Congress made a portion of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act known as Section 508,
which asks federal agencies to make technology accessible, mandatory in
1998. But nearly a quarter century later, they are still failing to do so.
And it's not just about ordering lunch. Roughly 30 percent of the most
popular federal websites don't meet accessibility standards, according to a
2021 report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
Enforcement is virtually nonexistent, and agencies are spending little
effort or money to comply.

"Clients of my firm right now are dealing with trainings required by the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that don't work with blind
people's screen readers and with intake kiosks at the Social Security
Administration that are not accessible," said Eve Hill, a lawyer with Brown,
Goldstein & Levy, who testified about the problems before the Senate Aging
Committee last month.

Hill, along with Anil Lewis, Executive Director for Blindness Initiatives at
the National Federation of the Blind, and Jule Ann Lieberman, assistive
technology program coordinator at Temple University's Institute on
Disabilities, asked senators to ensure the federal government is complying
with federal disability law.

Most frustrating, the advocates said, is that making technology accessible
isn't difficult. It just requires forethought. And it's important. More than
a quarter of Americans have a disability.

For the past ten years, the DOJ hasn't made public any of the biennial
reports that Congress mandated on compliance with Section 508. As of the
DOJ's last report in September 2012, less than half of federal agencies had
established a compliance plan. Those that did had an average operating
budget of $35,000 a year devoted to the task.

In June, Senate Aging Committee Chair Bob Casey (D-PA) and ranking member
Tim Scott (R-SC), along with other lawmakers, wrote to Veterans Affairs
Secretary Denis McDonough and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

They asked McDonough to provide detailed information about the accessibility
of VA websites and plans to bring them into compliance, noting that only 8
percent of its public sites and even fewer of its intranet sites complied
with the law. "The lack of fully accessible websites at VA is a potential
barrier for the one-quarter of all veterans with a service-connected
disability, and may well be a harbinger of similar shortfalls at other
federal agencies and departments," the senators wrote.

In a letter responding to Casey, McDonough said that the VA's most-used
websites have accessibility ratings of 95 percent or higher. The department
is now conducting daily accessibility scans, he said, to bring other sites
into compliance.

In their letter to Garland, the lawmakers asked why the DOJ has not made
public more of its reporting on agency compliance. The department said it is
working with the White House Office of Management and Budget and the General
Services Administration on relaying its data to Congress and the President.


Widespread Problems


Carlos Montas, a former employee of the Veterans Benefits Administration in
Nashville, Tennessee, who is blind, can relate to Othman's struggles.

When he took a job with the agency in March 2020 that involved calling
veterans to explain their benefits, his manager gave him digital audio
workstation software and a Braille display, which allowed him to read text
on the screen with his fingertips.

But neither technology was compatible with much of the software he needed to
do his job. He found performing simple tasks, like attaching a document to
an email, was impossible.

He said the VA instituted performance benchmarks and eventually fired him
for not keeping up. He filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission and won his job back along with back pay.
He quit a few months later for a job at the EEOC.

People who are hard of hearing struggle with federal technology as well.
Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, advocates with the National Association of
the Deaf said that HHS videos did not have proper captioning and were
unavailable in American Sign Language.

In their letter to McDonough, Casey and Scott highlighted the VA's own data
showing that hearing loss is "by far the most prevalent service-connected
disability." Hill said people who are deaf or hard of hearing struggle with
training and educational videos that lack captions.

The VA, which serves about nine million veterans a year, is at the center of
the problem, according to Casey and Scott. In March, the senators said the
department had acknowledged "hundreds of thousands of Section 508 compliance
issues remain to be resolved."

But problems with accessibility extend across much of the federal
government.
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington, DC,
think tank that promotes the use of technology in policy solutions, audited
federal websites in 2021. They found that 30 percent of them, including
popular sites like weather.gov, energystar.gov, and census.gov, did not pass
an automated accessibility test and nearly half had webpages that failed the
test.

The report recommended that the General Services Administration, which
supports other federal agencies' logistical needs, create an accessibility
testing lab to ensure sites are compliant and expand its existing Digital
Analytics Program to conduct real-time accessibility testing. It also
suggested that Congress require the DOJ to make its 508 accessibility
reports public.

Eric Egan, a policy fellow with the foundation, said he was unaware of any
steps the GSA had taken to implement the reports' recommendations. He said
the foundation was encouraged by the Senate Aging Committee's oversight.

A spokesperson for GSA said the agency is collecting self-reported data from
agencies about their compliance with Section 508, analyzing it, and making
recommendations. GSA is also involved with an interagency effort to update
guidance on Section 508 compliance.


A Flawed Process


Advocates for people with disabilities say fixing accessibility problems
shouldn't be expensive. In his testimony before the Senate Aging Committee,
Lewis attempted to disabuse senators of the idea that accessible technology
costs a lot. "Accessible coding is just good coding," he said.

He offered an example. If the federal government were to create all its
documents on typewriters and then hand them over to a contractor to be
digitized, that would be expensive and inefficient. Instead of layering
outdated technology onto a newer framework, the government should be using
technology that designs around accessibility from the start, he said.

Some vendors offer such tools, said Sommer Panage, who manages a team of
engineers focused on accessibility at Slack, the instant-messaging service.
She said Slack has long considered the needs of people with disabilities in
its product design and recently changed its internal operations to make its
software more consistently accessible.

Panage manages a team of engineers focused on accessibility and said her
team is now making sure people with disabilities can use any new feature
before release, while also seeking to ensure it will work with outside
accessibility tools.

"There's a really big matrix of the combinations of different operating
systems, different screen readers, different screen readers within each
operating system, and then Slack itself," she told POLITICO. "What we've
been really working on now is thinking about that matrix holistically."

But advocates for people with disabilities say the federal government is
behind the curve. Agencies don't often test technology for accessibility
before implementation, and consequences are rare when government contractors
don't ensure that people with disabilities can use their products, said Doug
George Towne, chair and CEO of Access Ready, a disability rights advocacy
organization. "It's a flawed process," he said.

Othman said that a culture of penny-pinching makes life worse for people
with disabilities in her workplace. For example, when her office updated the
photocopiers, the agency was given an option to pay a small additional fee
for a speech package, which would have made the machines accessible to
employees who are vision-impaired. A lever attachment to help employees in
wheelchairs raise the copier's lid was also available. But the agency opted
for neither.

After employees, including Othman, complained, she said the office bought a
few packages instead of deploying the technology officewide.


Information Blackout


President Joe Biden won plaudits early in his administration for
prioritizing accessibility. An interpreter has regularly translated Biden's
speeches into sign language, and the White House has provided captions for
those watching online. The White House press secretary is always accompanied
by a sign language interpreter, and the administration has provided live
audio descriptions of White House events for people with vision impairments.

In June 2021, Biden issued an executive order asking agencies “to improve
accessibility, ensure accommodations can be requested, increase
opportunities for advancement and hiring, and reduce physical accessibility
barriers.”

The Office of Management and Budget already requires 24 agencies to file
reports twice a year about the accessibility of their technological
infrastructure.

But those reports aren’t public. It’s part of a broader information blackout
that Casey and four other senators, Patty Murray (D-WA), Kirsten Gillibrand
(D-NY), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Richard Burr, (R-NC), called attention to in
an Aug. 11 letter to Comptroller General Eugene Dodaro.

The senators asked Dodaro, who runs Congress’s watchdog arm, the Government
Accountability Office, to investigate, writing that “the lack of public
reporting and accountability leaves Congress and taxpayers without adequate
information about the rate of compliance with disability access
requirements.”


Do You Really Know What It’s Like?


by Trevor Tattenberg

>From the Editor: Trevor has been in several states in which he has been a
part of or has helped found a National Association of Blind Students
affiliated division. Among these are the Massachusetts Association of Blind
Students (MASSABS), Connecticut Association of Blind Students (CTABS), and
Oregon Association of Blind Students (ORABS). He has also been a part of the
At-Large Chapter of the NFB of Connecticut and the Portland Central Chapter
of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon.

Trevor offers his opinion about the ways in which we will educate people
with sight, concluding that there is no magic bullet or no one way that will
work. Still he believes that we are better for any positive change we bring
to folks who need to learn what we want to teach. Our desire to have them
know more than they do is understandable, but our own lack of knowledge
about so many people and situations they confront demands a good bit of
patience and understanding. Here is what he calls his opinion piece:

The realization that we are divergent from the norm doesn’t just come in a
single flash. It happens repeatedly, as marginalia—additions to our daily
experience, as well as slaps on the cheek, as though to awaken us from a
daydream that things could be otherwise. Even our closest sighted friends
and family forget our needs, perhaps not offering help where it is required,
but nevertheless grabbing us by our clothes, excluding us from social
gatherings, or discouraging us from an adventure or career pursuit. They rub
in the fact of our differences, training and years of education be damned.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a well-tested toolkit for spreading
understanding? If only people knew what it was like. Would we still be
poorly understood, ignored, avoided, persecuted, and simply treated as
something alien—angels with big floating question marks instead of halos
above our heads—by the people who can get away with calling themselves
mainstream? It seems unlikely.

I’m a believer that knowledge is the most powerful tool of all. Give me
something that could enlighten a few close allies or the guy that won’t hire
me, and the payoff would be exponential. But can this even be done?

Purveyors of post-modern philosophy state that we really can’t pretend to
put ourselves in another’s shoes unless they are actually our shoes. Such
thinking is a driving force behind the backlash to everything from having
sighted persons play blind characters to having authors describe fictional
people that don’t fit their own ethnicity or religion. Their solution, if
any, is to let those repressed voices speak for themselves through direct
representation—a lofty order. Instead of dissecting this, I’ll touch on a
couple fine points of representation and its efficacy.

I was accompanying some teenaged students of mine from a blindness training
center at the conclusion of the National Federation of the Blind’s March for
Independence in Detroit back in 2009. This was a large-scale demonstration
of blind people’s solidarity, capabilities, and overlooked civil rights
struggle. The crowd was likely well over a thousand, many of whom were
steadily employed laborers, college students and graduates, successful
professionals, parents, or some combination of these. If popular statistics
tell us anything, a likely majority struggled with fulfilling aspirations,
finding steady employment, and achieving financial independence: all but the
most delusional faced daily bouts with inaccessibility and discrimination
beyond quantifiability.

Speaking then was successful businessman, Hall of Fame Pistons’ legend, and
city mayor Dave Bing. There’s really only one thing I remember Mayor Bing
saying, which is a lot from a politician. It was a reference to a
basketball-sustained injury, resulting in a detached retina, temporary
blindness, and a half-season’s worth of games missed on the court. “I know
what it’s like,” said Mayor Bing.

Did he though? Bing fully recovered his sight and health to the point that
he was back on the top of his legendary game in a few months. I’m thinking
that if anyone in the crowd was in a similar boat, they’d be at home
recovering and not invested in any kind of long-term campaign with a crowd
they’d hopefully soon not have to identify with. Temporary disability is
real disability, blindness included, and folks dealing with such conditions
deserve as much access and freedom from discrimination as anyone. But is it
the same as someone who’s lived the life of a blind person for years, with
no prospect of improved vision? Is switching the light off at night the same
as going blind? Is being asked to put on blindfolds or to sit in a darkened
dining hall and eat lunch the same as going day to day, adopting new
adaptive skills, and perceiving the deeply entrenched discrimination and
poor, pitiful expectations bestowed on blind people? I think not.

Ample critics and scholarly inquiry demonstrate that short-term simulations
of blindness typically reinforce fears and negative perceptions about people
and their abilities. I’d surmise that temporary blindness offers little in
additional perspective. But wait, what do I know? Twenty years ago, after a
large reconstructive surgery on my face, I suffered scratched corneas and
needed to cover my face in bandages for weeks. Was I experiencing total
blindness for the first time? Not really. The visual experience may have
been similar, but I was largely still in recovery from the surgery at this
time, resting, weak, scared, and emaciated. I wasn’t really out trying to
acquire better cane skills, Braille-reading, or other adaptations that would
allow for a good livelihood as a totally blind person. I was busy seeing to
it that that unfamiliar path wouldn’t be mine. Alright for me.

No sir, I speak for blind people often enough, but I’m not even totally
blind myself. Few that identify as or legally qualify in the US as blind
live without color, shape, or light perception. I’d use the term total
darkness to describe having none of these perceptions, though most totally
blind folks I’ve talked to do not describe their lives in this way,
particularly when they’ve never had any vision.

I’d still appreciate others understanding what I go through. One thing I
dislike doing is describing my own eyesight. I don’t know what my acuity is,
and too often the conversation ends up being overly long and predictable,
and it doesn’t result in any productive change in behavior towards me. I
prefer steering away from those questions until everyone’s drunk and likely
to whimsically switch gears any second. Alcohol sometimes diminishes the
importance of that big question mark over my head.

James Robinson, in his Adapt Ability video series for the New York Times,
attempts to present firsthand accounts of disability through quick bios and
artistic representations of what’s going on in the disabled subjects’
bodies. The objective is to crack this veil of mystery that separates out
disabled people acutely from the main crowd. One such video, entitled “I’m
Going Blind, but This is What I Want You to See,” looks at an individual
with retinitis pigmentosa (RP)—a relatively common congenital cause of
progressive sight loss. I can’t see the video very well myself, but it
purports to show the viewer what seeing through the eyes of someone with RP
is like, including proliferating floaters and a narrowing field. A useful
message of the piece is the refutation of the baffling all or nothing view
of sight—that lights are on or off, and there’s nothing in between. To this
day, folks are shocked—even disappointed to learn that I actually have some
vision—like I’m just not the innocent, unseeing phenomenon folks thought I
was. I do not have RP myself, and my vision has been mostly stable since
early childhood. I tell people I remember when I had better vision, but I
don’t remember how this made my life any different. But I do know dozens of
people with RP and thus am cognizant that most of them are quite a bit human
like the rest of us.

A question that people should have about attempts to represent disability
like this, whether from a first-person account or from a distance, is does
it do something like what I described from my knowing a bunch of
representatives? Does it make them look like humans? Have we cracked the
mystery of the floating question mark above the head so that we can get
around to talking about squirrels in the park, odd time-signatures, or the
antiquity of sandals?

What I found problematic about the film is that it focuses almost entirely
on the subject’s declining vision. This isn’t to say that we should ignore
disability or blindness as something unimportant. But when it is portrayed
purely as what makes a person interesting, that’s a bit out of proportion or
so we would hope.

One thing disabled people could use is multidimensionality in the public
mind’s eye. Being a blind person does not mean being blindness incarnate.
Let’s not make such conditions more exotic than they already are. Perhaps by
introducing unfamiliar conditions, like RP and progressive sight loss, and
by giving blind people human faces in front of the camera, we’re seeing
positive first steps.

We need to judge representational or message-based works of art on the
results. I looked at the Access Ability video’s comments on the New York
Times website and on YouTube. I saw what I both feared and expected—lots and
lots of “you are inspiring” and “makes me appreciate what I got”—typical
inspiration and pity, often in the same breath. Any signs that people are
picking up on the idea that disabled or blind individuals just might not be
the strange bearers of darkness they are regularly envisaged as? None
whatsoever so far as I can tell, and no wonder. This is just another example
of disability simulation, not far removed from telling people to eat in the
dark or accomplish a task with blindfolds on. In a nutshell, these lack the
context of an actual life lived. Unlike in the case of a person literally
switching the lights off or even the case of Mayor Bing, most blind people
don’t get to switch the lights back on. What they do get is to live their
lives as disabled people, including opportunities to learn, acquire unique
skills through experience, and adapt. But becoming disabled in an instant
can be scary and confusing. No wonder those just on the short ride aren’t
exactly sketching disability as something mundane. Even providing
alternative impressions of blindness, like portraits of progressive vision
loss, and hosting a first-person narrative of the matter doesn’t give us the
representation we need.

What will cut the mustard? I speculate it will have less to do with artistic
one-off jobs and a few authentic representatives on the public stage, and
more to do with opening the floodgates so that blind and other disabled
folks fill up the public commons: media, the streets, the dirt paths, and
buildings, on something like parity with others. Then the question is, can
this come without a vanguard? Won’t there need to be people whose job it is
to bring about acceptance, break ground, and change the spoken and unspoken
rules? Ideally no. We as disabled people need to interfere and get in the
way more than inspire.


The 2023 Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award


by Carla McQuillan

>From the Editor: Carla McQuillan is the president of the National Federation
of the Blind of Oregon, a member of the national board of directors, and the
owner and executive director of Main Street Montessori Association,
operating two Montessori schools. She is the chairman of the Distinguished
Educator of Blind Students Award Committee, and she has written this
announcement seeking applications for the 2023 award:

The National Federation of the Blind will recognize an outstanding teacher
of blind students at our 2023 National Convention, taking place in Houston,
Texas, from July 1 through July 6th, 2023. The winner of this award will
receive the following:

*	An expense-paid trip to attend the convention
*	A check for $1,000
*	A commemorative plaque
*	A place on the agenda of the annual meeting of the National
Organization of Parents of Blind Children to make a presentation regarding
the education of blind children, and
*	The opportunity to attend seminars and workshops that address the
current state of education of blind students, as well as a chance to meet
and network with hundreds of blind individuals, teachers, parents, and other
professionals in the field.

The education of blind children is one of the National Federation of the
Blind’s highest priorities. We are committed to offering and supporting
programs that enhance educational opportunities for this group. Please help
us recognize dedicated and innovative teachers who provide quality education
and meaningful experiences and opportunities for their blind students.

Q: Who is eligible for this award?
A: Anyone who is currently a teacher, counselor, or the administrator of
programs for blind students.

Q: Does an applicant have to be a member of the National Federation of the
Blind?
A: No, but attending the 2023 Convention of the National Federation of the
Blind in Houston, Texas, is required.

Q: Can I nominate someone else for this award?
A: Yes. Applicants can be nominated by colleagues, parents, supervisors, or
friends who have first-hand knowledge of the individual’s work with blind
students.

Q: How would I apply?
A: You can fill out the application at the end of this article or find it on
our website at
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/distinguished-educator-of-blind-st
udents-award-form-fillable.pdf>
https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/distinguished-educator-of-blind-stu
dents-award-form-fillable.pdf

Q: What is the deadline to submit an application or make a nomination?
A: All applications must be received no later than May 1, 2023.

Please complete the application and attach the required documents specified
in the application. If you are submitting a nomination for someone other
than yourself, please answer the questions to the best of your ability. Your
experience and observations of the nominee will assist the selection
committee in their decision. Questions? Contact Carla McQuillan at
541-653-9153, or by email at:  <mailto:president at nfb-oregon.org>
president at nfb-oregon.org.


National Federation of the Blind
Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award
2023 Application


Deadline: May 1, 2023

Name: _______________________________________________________
Home Address: _________________________________________________
City, State, Zip: _________________________________________________
Phone: (H) ____________________ (W) ____________________________
Email: ______________________________________________________
School/Program: ______________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________
City, State, Zip: _________________________________________________

Please list any awards or commendations you have received.

How long and in what programs have you worked with blind children?

In what setting do you currently work?

Briefly describe your current job and teaching responsibilities.

How would you describe your philosophy of blindness as it relates to the
education of blind students?

What are your thoughts on teaching Braille and cane travel? When and at what
age would you begin? How do you determine whether to teach print or Braille?

What was your most memorable experience working with blind students?

Why should you be selected to receive this award?

Email is strongly encouraged for transmitting nominations; letters of
support and other relevant materials should be included as attachments.
Applications sent by mail and postmarked by the deadline will also be
accepted. Send all material by May 1, 2023, to Carla McQuillan, chairperson,
Teacher Award Committee,  <mailto:president at nfb-oregon.org>
president at nfb-oregon.org or by mail to:

2378 11th Street
Florence, OR 97439
Phone: 541-653-9153


What Do We Do to Help Blind Diabetics?


by Debbie Wunder

>From the Editor: Debbie is the president of the National Federation of the
Blind Diabetes Action Network or DAN for short. In her article she defines
why we have a division and what it intends to do to help blind people who
are or may soon be diabetics. Here is what she says:

When we ask for and are granted division status in the National Federation
of the Blind, it is because we have a specific mission dealing with blind
people who have some special interest that requires our attention and
action. In no case could this be truer than with the Diabetes Action
Network. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, second only to aging.
Unfortunately, the medical attention required to test blood sugar and
administer medication to control it both require performing activities many
newly blind people don't believe they can do, and often the same is true for
the medical professionals who serve them. The emphasis is too often on the
caretaker, and not enough emphasis is placed on being independent or at the
least interdependent.

This is where we come in. If you don't think you can care for yourself, then
getting that care either means being dependent on family members or being
placed in an assisted living or nursing facility. Neither option is good for
those who can remain independent. These facilities impose limits that are
premature and cost more than living on one's own. Part of our job is to let
people know about the technology that they can get to help them measure
their blood sugar, label their medications, and, when necessary, measure
them. Part of the education is learning the skill; part is coming to believe
one can and that it is not risky or unreasonable to do so.

This would be plenty of work if that is all we had to do, but of course
there is more. As technology develops, the path for blind diabetics should
become easier to walk. But, like other technologies and perhaps even
especially medical technology, the assumption is that we won't be the
operator of the equipment but the recipient of the equipment that will be
run by others, our caretakers.

An insulin pump can be a life saver for many diabetics because it can
continuously monitor blood sugar and administer small doses to control one’s
blood sugar level before it becomes elevated or depressed. The fewer the
fluctuations in sugar, the healthier those of us with diabetes are and the
longer we are likely to live. But do insulin pumps talk? They don't. Do they
offer helpful beeps or clicks that make it possible to use them? Again the
answer is mostly they don't. The problem is that the designers think of us
as patients, not as responsible consumers who can run equipment crucial to
our health and well-being.

So in addition to the education we do for blind people, we are actively
working with the developers of insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitors,
and medicine dispensers to ensure that their designs give us a nonvisual way
to do what others do to take care of their medical needs privately and
independently.

Much of the technology we advocate to have delivered accessibly in the
Federation determines the quality of life we enjoy, but in our division,
what we bring to the table in terms of initiative, ideas, and follow-through
not only determines quality of life but may well determine the length of
that life and whether it is lived with freedom or enforced inactivity. This
may sound extreme, but ask people who are in assisted living and don’t want
to be just what they think of their lives. Then consider that often it
doesn't have to be this way. This makes the work of our division all the
more serious, because the way life turns out for people is often dependent
both on them and on us.

If you are a diabetic, have been told you are on the path to becoming one,
or you just want to learn more about this disease, please consider joining
our division. You may write to me at  <mailto:debbiewunder at charter.net>
debbiewunder at charter.net. You may also join our listserv by going to
<https://www.nfbnet.org/> https://www.nfbnet.org and clicking on Add or Drop
mailing lists. Then search for Diabetes Talk, fill out the simple form, and
wait to receive a message asking if you truly want to join. Reply to that
message. You need not add or change anything; just do a blank reply.

Please join us in our march to achieve better health for blind diabetics.
Our health and yours depend on it.

I have a motto that I try to follow daily, just say AMEN to diabetes. Take
Action, be Motivated, Exercise, and practice good Nutrition. This is an
acronym you can live by.


I am Waiting to Go Blind


by Kevin McNally

>From the Editor: Sometimes I dig for articles, beg for articles, and wait
interminably for them. But sometimes they come from out of the blue. Such is
the case with this one, and I’m very glad it came.

Kevin enjoys guitar, his pet chickens (yes, you read that correctly),
volunteering at his church, doing live sound production, playing in his
acoustic duo called Hat-Trick Unplugged, and hosting his podcast, The Kevin
McNally Show. Here is his contribution:

I was born with a rare degenerative retina disease called retinitis
pigmentosa. In the early 1970s, my retina doctors at the Massachusetts Eye &
Ear Infirmary in Boston informed both me and my older brother with the same
disease that we would be 100 percent blind by our teen years.

Not a fun diagnosis.

Life went on, but it went on with this overriding uneasiness that at any
moment I could wake up, and life as I knew it would be over. I’d be blind.
There were sports, girlfriends, vacations, proms, and more, but still, the
uneasiness. I was waiting to go blind.

I was a happy child. My teen years turned into my twenties, and life went
on. These years brought college, a marriage, a move to Florida for a few
years, beginning law school, and being in a rock band. I was still waiting
to go blind, but life went on.

In my thirties, I was blessed with my two daughters. I graduated law school,
passed the bar, traveled, and enjoyed a blossoming career. I was still
waiting to go blind.

My forties brought a very difficult divorce, a successful rock band, trips
to Kenya, and the realization of my biggest fear: that when I go blind, I
will never see my daughters’ faces again. I was terrified. Yet, I was still
waiting to go blind.

I am in my early fifties now, and I am still waiting to go blind. My vision
has decreased, and I gave up driving years ago. I am grateful, though. I
have a full-time job, I am very active in the blindness and low vision
space, I still play music, and I am happily remarried. However, I am still
waiting to go blind.

As ominous as this repeated refrain sounds, vision loss has been a blessing
in my life. Although I have been waiting to go blind for fifty years, vision
loss and the threat of complete blindness has served to motivate me. As a
result, I do not sweat the small stuff, and I know that almost everything
day to day is small stuff.

Since my earliest years, I have known what it is like to have a disease you
cannot control. The upside of this fact is that I clearly understand those
things that I can control and those things that I cannot. The early
realization that I control almost nothing is the blessing of vision loss.
I am still waiting to go blind, but I am not waiting around for it to
happen. When and if it does, I no longer feel the sky will fall; I will
still be Kevin McNally, and the world will still be what I make it.


The National Federation of The Blind of Nebraska Celebrates Blind Equality
Achievement Month


by Nancy Coffman

>From the Editor: Nancy Coffman joined the National Federation of the Blind
in the 1980s as a student in Colorado. She has served in a variety of
chapter and state positions and is currently the president of the National
Federation of the Blind of Nebraska’s Lincoln Chapter. She is also a member
of the board of the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska. She works
as a technology instructor at the Nebraska Center for the Blind and is a
willing helper on our listservs. Here is one of the things they did in
Nebraska:

Members of the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska’s Lincoln,
Omaha, and At-Large Chapters joined with the Omaha Running Club on Sunday,
October 2nd for Furlongs for Paws. Members of the running club are
fundraising for a trip to London, where they will run a marathon to support
dog guide services in England. NFB members walked, ran, and helped to
distribute packets to race participants. Packets included a Braille alphabet
card and information about the NFB. Members of the Lincoln Chapter and our
student division also helped on Saturday, October 1st, to greet runners and
distribute packets and T-shirts. Members gave runners a card with their name
in Braille and interacted with them about the NFB. The running club is
considering a fundraiser for the National Federation of the Blind of
Nebraska next fall. Nearly ninety runners and walkers participated in the
25th-furlong race. The race was timed, and medals were given to runners and
walkers. We are hoping this will be a long-standing relationship.


NFBCO Celebrates the Completion of its PHD Project


by Peggy Chong

>From the Editor: Peggy Chong is often called the Blind History Lady and for
good reason. She is obsessed with writing down the history of blind people
that, if not captured soon, will go away. She mourns what has been lost and
is looking for people to join with her so that what happens today and in the
future doesn’t become lost to history. Here is what she has to say about a
recent event in Colorado:

On Friday, October 14, 2022, many gathered at the Colorado Center for the
Blind in Littleton, Colorado, to meet in person the ladies behind the
keyboards for the NFBCO’s Preservation of Historical Documents (PHD)
project.

Julie Hunter, long-time member of the NFB of Colorado worked diligently to
preserve the old records discovered after a water leak a few years back. In
2018 she told me about the old records they found, dating back to 1915. We
looked through them together and marveled at what there was and what was
missing. The two of us visited with archivists and librarians to learn the
best place to start. For months the two of us sorted and resorted the old
files, minutes, letters, news articles, and more.

Early in 2019 I began reaching out to volunteer groups to talk about the PHD
project, raise funds for it, and find volunteers who could transcribe the
scanned files that were still unreadable. Few understood the importance of
the project or our need for volunteers.

By the end of February, 2020, Julie and I were ready to send the boxes of
sorted records to DocuTek, a professional document scanning service. Then
COVID shut everything down. For a few months nothing happened. As businesses
began to reopen, DocuTek picked up our files, and in about a month, we had a
flash drive with great PDF and OCR’d files, most of them unreadable by the
blind.

We began reaching out to the organizations and contacts from the previous
year. Some showed more interest in volunteering if they could do it from
home. Other organizations had shut down. Slowly, we recruited one volunteer,
then another.

Not all volunteers were able to complete an assignment. We wanted the
material to reflect the original file, including any misspellings. However,
that did not mean that we could make spelling or formatting errors
ourselves. If a volunteer was not able to complete a file with only one or
two mistakes, the volunteer was replaced.

By the fall of 2021, we were the project to volunteer for. More than one
hundred volunteers spent several thousand hours transcribing our old records
and other material discovered during the past two years. By March of 2022,
the last file was returned.

The next step was to find a librarian who could help us put the material in
a format that would be pleasing to libraries where we could give our
electronic files as part of their collection. We sent out emails, letters,
and made phone calls to potential librarians beginning in the fall of 2021.
Not until May of 2022 were we able to find a professor and her students
willing to take on the project.

Not being librarians ourselves, Julie and I expressed our desire about the
way our blind history of Colorado should be preserved. When we met with the
interested professor in May of 2022, she talked with us about a new platform
where small collections such as ours were being housed in a “virtual”
library. She explained that we would have control over our content and that
the history of the blind of Colorado would be free and available to anyone
who used the virtual library from anywhere in the world. This sounded
perfect. Ashley Love, the student now graduated, is still in the process of
uploading our files to the Colorado Virtual Library. Researchers are now
able to learn the history of the blind movement in Colorado from the blind
themselves.

A book of about eighty pages in length was prepared as a final document for
the project. The book demonstrates the significance and potential of our
archives. Several sets of minutes, at least one from each decade, included
in the book highlight some of the projects and legislation worked on by the
blind since 1915. Sixteen short biographies of the leaders of the blind
movement in Colorado along with photographs highlight the successes of the
blind in Colorado as individuals and as a part of creating a better life for
those yet to come.

That brings us to October 14, 2022, at the Colorado Center for the Blind.
The NFBCO hosted a celebration to mark the completion of the PHD project as
outlined back in January of 2019. We invited all the volunteers, funders,
friends, and Federationists to help us celebrate.

A display of some of the old records volunteers only saw in a PDF was there
to peruse. Most documents are not in a condition to be handled often so
remained in the basement. Plaques dating back to the 1930s as well as
writing guides and slates and styluses were also on display.

State Representative David Ortiz, himself disabled, spoke to the assembled
about the importance of knowing our history as disabled people. He told us
that until he saw for himself another disabled person elected to public
office, he did not think a disabled person had ever or could ever be an
elected leader. Now, Representative Ortiz encourages all disabled
individuals to get involved, be a part of the political process, and run for
public office. He was impressed with the accomplishments of the blind of
Colorado listed in the souvenir book he was given.

Awards were presented. Nikki Tennant, one of the first volunteers, completed
her first file in August of 2020 and she completed her last file in February
of 2022. She was the longest serving PHD volunteer.

An award was presented to FirstBank for providing thirty-nine volunteers for
the project. FirstBank has a program for employees to give back to the
community through volunteering. Each employee is rewarded for completing
sixteen hours of voluntarism each year. Some did their sixteen hours and
left, while others completed many more hours of transcribing. Debora McCurdy
accepted the plaque on behalf of FirstBank.

Nichole Chrissis, Archivist for the tenBroek Library, accepted a flash drive
with all the files in our NFBCO history collection. The thumb drive included
more files than will be available through the Colorado Virtual Library such
as audio interviews, additional legal cases, very old news clippings about
blindness in general, and other blindness-related material based in
Colorado, but not part of our original archives.

Please check out our history at  <https://nfbco.cvlcollections.org/>
https://nfbco.cvlcollections.org/. Share our link with blind students,
schools for the blind, and NFB leaders. Our history makes great discussion
topics for chapter meetings and seminars.


Promoting Current Event and Media Literacy with NFB-NEWSLINE: A Parent's
Perspective


by Heather Bird

>From the Editor: The National Federation of the Blind of New York has a
newsletter focusing on NFB-NEWSLINE®, and this article is taken from it with
appreciation:

This month's NFBNY-NEWSLINE subscriber contributor is Heather Bird. Ms. Bird
lives in Rochester, New York, with her husband and two children.

In the NFB we stress the importance of Braille literacy. However, today
literacy has taken on many forms. One of these forms is media literacy or
being media savvy. I certainly encourage Braille literacy for both of my
boys, who are blind, but I also work hard to make them as media literate as
possible.

Listening to news stories on the radio or television isn't a bad place to
start, but it is a very bad place to stop. There may be a temptation with
kids, because of their somewhat shorter attention spans, to stick to stories
that they can "watch" or "listen to" on the radio or the TV. It is true that
listening or watching a news story can make the news accessible, especially
if the televised news program is audio-described. However, it is important
to get children to understand that what fits into a sound bite or predefined
clip length doesn't always provide the complete story. As a parent I stress
to my children the importance of reading a full newspaper or magazine
article as one way of getting a more detailed and hopefully broader picture
of current events.

For a child with a print-related disability, NFB-NEWSLINE is a fantastic
resource for increasing media literacy. One helpful exercise you can do with
a child is to have them watch a short news story on the television or listen
to one on the radio. Then, using NFB-NEWSLINE, find an article on the same
incident, event, or topic in a newspaper or magazine, and ask them critical
thinking questions about how much more information was given and how
differently it was presented and explained in the various forms of media.

Recently, I was working in the kitchen and listening to NPR on my Amazon
Echo Plus. My son overheard a story about a controversial and sensitive
topic, the pro-life versus pro-choice issue. At such a moment, it is
tempting to shape a child's view on such a difficult and controversial
subject.

I decided not to do that. Instead, we talked about how the station I was
listening to was generally considered to be a liberal news source. We also
talked about how the stories shared on radio are often going to be, much
like those on television, simplified and shortened compared to those which
can appear in print media.

So, we got on NFB-NEWSLINE and found a few articles on each side of the
issue, from varying perspectives. We also accessed a scientific article from
a magazine rather than articles strictly from newspapers. We then got into a
discussion about the Constitution and United States history. We did more
research on the topic using Bookshare.org, an accessible digital library
containing over a million books. In addition, we accessed the Braille and
Audio Reading Download application (BARD) from the National Library Service
for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS), which also provides access to
hundreds of thousands of recorded and Braille books.

In the end my child made up his own mind about the issue, after exploring
various viewpoints and perspectives. Having a child who is blind or
otherwise unable to read print doesn't mean you can't help them become a
citizen of the world, an explorer, a researcher, a scientist, a journalist,
or a critical thinker. In fact, with resources such as NFB-NEWSLINE, you
have increased opportunities to help them to achieve these goals.

I recommend signing up your child for NFB-NEWSLINE, a service that is
entirely free to the user and intended for anyone with a print-related
disability. This will give your child access to hundreds of newspapers and
magazines that can be accessed using a landline phone, smartphone, Alexa
device, specialized readers such as the Victor Reader Stream, the portable
book player provided free of charge by the National Library Service, and
through the web on a desktop or laptop computer.

NFB-NEWSLINE has content for younger readers. However, for younger children,
I recommend that parents preview and download suitable articles from the
"Kids Reading Corner" of the magazines section. Then use this material to
let them develop and practice their technology and reading skills.

NFB-NEWSLINE is an excellent resource to foster development of Braille
reading and writing skills either by producing hard copy Braille content,
using a Braille display, and/or showing a student how to access and download
content from NFB-NEWSLINE to a Braille notetaker or other device capable of
producing Braille.

As the child matures, NFB-NEWSLINE can serve as an excellent resource to
teach basic media literacy, research, and notetaking skills. An older child
can access NFB-NEWSLINE content using any of the platforms and devices
through which NFB-NEWSLINE content can be retrieved and read.

While every child has differing needs, I recommend that you do everything
you can to encourage blind children to use a Braille display, paired with
their computer or smart device, whenever possible. Subtleties, such as the
spelling of a politician's name, the letters that make up an acronym
representing an organization, or the exact words in a speech are going to be
more readily absorbed if read in Braille. This will also aid in citing
sources of information for a school assignment.

The sign-up process for NFB-NEWSLINE is relatively simple. I recommend
NFB-NEWSLINE as a place to start working with a child on technology and
media literacy because of the large volume of accessible and current
information provided by the service daily.

If you are looking for additional reading services for a member of your
family who can't access print due to a disability, I recommend the National
Library Service, Bookshare.org, and Learning Ally, all invaluable services
with thousands of recorded and digital books.

Today there are a large and growing number of free and commercial sources of
online books and magazines available with varying degrees of accessibility.
However, NFB-NEWSLINE was and remains a pioneer in bringing barrier-free
newspapers, magazines, and other information to people who can't access
print due to a disability. Whether you are a parent or a teacher, I
encourage you to make use of NFB-NEWSLINE as a learning tool for your child
or student.


Tech Tips


by Curtis Chong

>From the Editor: Having a draft mode for writing email is splendid when one
realizes the quality of what is being written isn't quite up to the
inspiration to communicate. Curtis explains how to write a message, save it
as a draft, and return to it when ready to produce a finished product. This
piece is taken from the Blind Coloradan, the newsletter/blog of the NFB of
Colorado. Here is the way the article was introduced:

>From the aggregator: We frequently feature tech tips from our guru Curtis
Chong. We were happy to receive this note just before posting this blog.

Drafts have been a feature in the iOS Mail app for a while, but many users
aren't aware of this hidden gem. The feature (like its macOS Mail
counterpart) allows users to stop composing an email, save it, and then
return to the message later to send it. Let's see what's involved in using
the drafts feature in all versions of iOS.

First, compose an email by performing these steps.

1. Open Mail.

2. Select (double tap for VoiceOver users) the Compose button.

3. Start to fill out the subject and body of the message.

4. To save the message as a draft, tap (double tap for VoiceOver users) the
Cancel button, and then tap (double tap for VoiceOver users) Save Draft in
the pop-up that appears. The message will disappear, but it will be saved in
the Drafts folder.

To open a saved draft, tap and hold (single-finger triple tap for VoiceOver
users) on the new message's Compose button in the toolbar (the same one you
tapped to create a new message). A Drafts pop-up will appear.

In this view, you will see a listing of all available drafts that can be
continued. To continue a draft, tap it (VoiceOver users, double tap it), and
a new Compose view will open that has all of the message details filled in
as you left them when saving. When you're finished composing the draft,
select (double tap on) the Send button as normal to send the message to the
recipient.


Constitution of the National Federation of the Blind


Amended July 9, 2022


ARTICLE I. NAME


The name of this organization is the National Federation of the Blind.


ARTICLE II. PURPOSE


The purpose of the National Federation of the Blind is to serve as a vehicle
for collective action by the blind of the nation; to function as a mechanism
through which the blind and interested sighted persons can come together in
local, state, and national meetings to plan and carry out programs to
improve the quality of life for the blind; to provide a means of collective
action for parents of blind children; to promote the vocational, cultural,
and social advancement of the blind; to achieve the integration of the blind
into society on a basis of equality with the sighted; and to take any other
action which will improve the overall condition and standard of living of
the blind.


ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP


Section A. The membership of the National Federation of the Blind shall
consist of the members of the state affiliates, the members of divisions,
and members at-large. Members of divisions and members at-large shall have
the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities in the National Federation
of the Blind as members of state affiliates.

The board of directors shall establish procedures for admission of divisions
and shall determine the structure of divisions. The divisions shall, with
the approval of the board, adopt constitutions and determine their
membership policies. Membership in divisions shall not be conditioned upon
membership in state affiliates.

The board of directors shall establish procedures for admission of members
at-large, determine how many classes of such members shall be established,
and determine the annual dues to be paid by members of each class.

Section B. Each state or territorial possession of the United States,
including the District of Columbia, having an affiliate shall have one vote
at the National Convention. These organizations shall be referred to as
state affiliates.

Section C. State affiliates shall be organizations of the blind controlled
by the blind. No organization shall be recognized as an "organization of the
blind controlled by the blind" unless at least a majority of its voting
members and a majority of the voting members of each of its local chapters
are blind.

Section D. The board of directors shall establish procedures for the
admission of state affiliates. There shall be only one state affiliate in
each state.

Section E. Any local chapter, state affiliate, or division of this
organization may be suspended, expelled, or otherwise disciplined for
misconduct or for activity unbecoming to a member or affiliate of this
organization by a two-thirds vote of the board of directors or by a simple
majority of the states present and voting at a National Convention. If the
action is to be taken by the board, there must be good cause, and a good
faith effort must have been made to try to resolve the problem by discussion
and negotiation. If the action is to be taken by the Convention, notice must
be given on the preceding day at an open board meeting or a session of the
Convention. If a dispute arises as to whether there was "good cause," or
whether the board made a "good faith effort," the National Convention
(acting in its capacity as the supreme authority of the Federation) shall
have the power to make final disposition of the matter; but until or unless
the board's action is reversed by the National Convention, the ruling of the
board shall continue in effect.

Section F. Any member of this organization may be suspended, expelled, or
otherwise disciplined for misconduct or for activity unbecoming to a member
of this organization, and any non-member may have their engagement in the
organization restricted, through standards and procedures established,
maintained, and regularly reviewed by the board of directors. These
standards will be publicly available as a Code of Conduct for the
organization, and members will be provided with opportunities to give
feedback on the Code on a periodic basis set by the board.

While considering disciplinary actions taken by the board either directly or
through the procedures it establishes, there must be good cause, and a good
faith effort must have been made to hear the concerns of all parties
involved. With regard to handling reports of violations of the Code, the
board will establish policies and procedures on how such reports will be
investigated and then resolved. Any person subject to a ruling under these
policies and procedures may appeal that ruling to the board, which may elect
to have a subcommittee of the board handle the appeal. However, any three
members of the board may, through written request, initiate a full board
review of any disciplinary decision issued under the Code of Conduct. The
procedures maintained by the board must provide individuals with clear
guidance regarding their right to an appeal, the process for requesting an
appeal, and the standards used in the board’s review of the appeal.

Any person subject to disciplinary action by the board issued through the
procedures and policies authorized by this section may appeal the board’s
final decision to the National Convention. Such an appeal must be filed in
writing and within thirty days of the board’s decision. The written request
shall be submitted to the President and must be signed by five delegates to
the next Convention who support hearing the appeal. Notice of the appeal
hearing must be given on the preceding day at an open board meeting or a
session of the Convention. Due to the sensitive nature of certain matters,
any disciplinary action to be considered by the Convention will only be
considered in a closed committee meeting consisting of the delegates present
and voting and the Federation’s President. The committee shall be chaired by
the President unless a conflict of interest prevents the President from
chairing the committee, in which case the delegates shall elect one of the
other delegates present who does not have a conflict to preside over the
meeting. All efforts will be made in any disciplinary meeting to protect the
identity of individuals who were harmed. A matter that has not been fully
investigated shall never be considered by the Convention. If a dispute
arises as to whether there was "good cause," or whether the board made a
"good faith effort," the National Convention (acting in its capacity as the
supreme authority of the Federation) shall have the power to make final
disposition of the matter; but until or unless the board's action is
reversed by the National Convention, the ruling of the board shall continue
in effect.


ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD


Section A. The officers of the National Federation of the Blind shall be:
(1) president, (2) first vice president, (3) second vice president, (4)
secretary, and (5) treasurer. They shall be elected biennially.

Section B. The officers shall be elected by majority vote of the state
affiliates present and voting at a National Convention.

Section C. The National Federation of the Blind shall have a board of
directors, which shall be composed of the five officers and twelve
additional members, six of whom shall be elected at the Annual Convention
during even-numbered years and six of whom shall be elected at the Annual
Convention during odd-numbered years. The members of the board of directors
shall serve for two-year terms. Biennially, during even-numbered years, at
the first meeting of the board of directors following the convention at
which officers and Board Members are elected, the board of directors shall
select a Chairperson from among its members who shall not be the same person
as the President and who shall serve without compensation.

Section D. The board of directors may, in its discretion, create a national
advisory board and determine the duties and qualifications of the members of
the national advisory board.


ARTICLE V. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE CONVENTION, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND
THE PRESIDENT


Section A. Powers and Duties of the Convention. The Convention is the
supreme authority of the Federation. It is the legislature of the
Federation. As such, it has final authority with respect to all issues of
policy. Its decisions shall be made after opportunity has been afforded for
full and fair discussion. Delegates and members in attendance may
participate in all Convention discussions as a matter of right. Any member
of the Federation may make or second motions, propose nominations, serve on
committees, and is eligible for election to office, except that only blind
members may be elected to the national board. Voting and making motions by
proxy are prohibited. Consistent with the democratic character of the
Federation, Convention meetings shall be so conducted as to prevent
parliamentary maneuvers which would have the effect of interfering with the
expression of the will of the majority on any question, or with the rights
of the minority to full and fair presentation of their views. The Convention
is not merely a gathering of representatives of separate state
organizations. It is a meeting of the Federation at the national level in
its character as a national organization. Committees of the Federation are
committees of the national organization. The nominating committee shall
consist of one member from each state affiliate represented at the
Convention, and each state affiliate shall appoint its member to the
committee. From among the members of the committee, the president shall
appoint a chairperson.

Section B. Powers and Duties of the Board of Directors. The function of the
board of directors as the governing body of the Federation between
Conventions is to make policies when necessary and not in conflict with the
policies adopted by the Convention. Policy decisions which can reasonably be
postponed until the next meeting of the National Convention shall not be
made by the board of directors. The board of directors shall serve as a
credentials committee. It shall have the power to deal with organizational
problems presented to it by any member, local chapter, state affiliate, or
division; shall decide appeals regarding the validity of elections in local
chapters, state affiliates, or divisions; and shall certify the credentials
of delegates when questions regarding the validity of such credentials
arise. By a two-thirds vote the board may suspend one of its members for
violation of a policy of the organization or for other action unbecoming to
a member of the Federation. By a two-thirds vote the board may reorganize
any local chapter, state affiliate, or division. The board may not suspend
one of its own members or reorganize a local chapter, state affiliate, or
division except for good cause and after a good-faith effort has been made
to try to resolve the problem by discussion and negotiation. If a dispute
arises as to whether there was "good cause," or whether the board made a
"good-faith effort," the National Convention (acting in its capacity as the
supreme authority of the Federation) shall have the power to make final
disposition of the matter; but until or unless the board's action is
reversed by the National Convention, the ruling of the board shall continue
in effect. There shall be a standing subcommittee of the board of directors
which shall consist of three members. The committee shall be known as the
subcommittee on budget and finance. It shall, whenever it deems necessary,
recommend to the board of directors principles of budgeting, accounting
procedures, and methods of financing the Federation program; and shall
consult with the president on major expenditures.

The board of directors shall meet at the time of each National Convention.
It shall hold other meetings on the call of the president or on the written
request of any five members.

Section C. Powers and Duties of the President. The president is the
principal administrative officer of the Federation. In this capacity his or
her duties consist of carrying out the policies adopted by the Convention;
conducting the day-to-day management of the affairs of the Federation;
authorizing expenditures from the Federation treasury in accordance with and
in implementation of the policies established by the Convention; appointing
all committees of the Federation except the nominating committee;
coordinating all activities of the Federation, including the work of other
officers and of committees; hiring, supervising, and dismissing staff
members and other employees of the Federation, and determining their numbers
and compensation; taking all administrative actions necessary and proper to
put into effect the programs and accomplish the purposes of the Federation.
The implementation and administration of the interim policies adopted by the
board of directors are the responsibility of the president as principal
administrative officer of the Federation.


ARTICLE VI. STATE AFFILIATES


Any organized group desiring to become a state affiliate of the National
Federation of the Blind shall apply for affiliation by submitting to the
president of the National Federation of the Blind a copy of its constitution
and a list of the names and addresses of its elected officers. Under
procedures to be established by the board of directors, action shall be
taken on the application. If the action is affirmative, the National
Federation of the Blind shall issue to the organization a charter of
affiliation. Upon request of the national president, the state affiliate
shall provide to the national president the names and addresses of its
members. Copies of all amendments to the constitution and/or bylaws of an
affiliate shall be sent without delay to the national president. No
organization shall be accepted as an affiliate and no organization shall
remain an affiliate unless at least a majority of its voting members are
blind. The president, vice president (or vice presidents), and at least a
majority of the executive committee or board of directors of the state
affiliate and of all of its local chapters must be blind. Affiliates must
not merely be social organizations but must formulate programs and actively
work to promote the economic and social betterment of the blind. Affiliates
and their local chapters must comply with the provisions of the constitution
of the Federation.

Policy decisions of the Federation are binding upon all affiliates and local
chapters, and the affiliate and its local chapters must participate
affirmatively in carrying out such policy decisions. The name National
Federation of the Blind, Federation of the Blind, or any variant thereof is
the property of the National Federation of the Blind; and any affiliate or
local chapter of an affiliate which ceases to be part of the National
Federation of the Blind (for whatever reason) shall forthwith forfeit the
right to use the name National Federation of the Blind, Federation of the
Blind, or any variant thereof.

A general convention of the membership of an affiliate or of the elected
delegates of the membership must be held and its principal executive
officers must be elected at least once every two years. There can be no
closed membership. Proxy voting is prohibited in state affiliates and local
chapters. Each affiliate must have a written constitution or bylaws setting
forth its structure, the authority of its officers, and the basic procedures
which it will follow. No publicly contributed funds may be divided among the
membership of an affiliate or local chapter on the basis of membership, and
(upon request from the national office) an affiliate or local chapter must
present an accounting of all of its receipts and expenditures. An affiliate
or local chapter must not indulge in attacks upon the officers, board
members, leaders, or members of the Federation or upon the organization
itself outside of the organization, and must not allow its officers or
members to indulge in such attacks. This requirement shall not be
interpreted to interfere with the right of an affiliate or local chapter, or
its officers or members, to carry on a political campaign inside the
Federation for election to office or to achieve policy changes. However, the
organization will not sanction or permit deliberate, sustained campaigns of
internal organizational destruction by state affiliates, local chapters, or
members. No affiliate or local chapter may join or support, or allow its
officers or members to join or support, any temporary or permanent
organization inside the Federation which has not received the sanction and
approval of the Federation.


ARTICLE VII. DISSOLUTION


In the event of dissolution, all assets of the organization shall be given
to an organization with similar purposes which has received a 501(c)(3)
certification by the Internal Revenue Service.


ARTICLE VIII. AMENDMENTS


This constitution may be amended at any regular Annual Convention of the
Federation by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the state affiliates
registered, present, and voting; provided that the proposed amendment shall
have been signed by five state affiliates in good standing and that it shall
have been presented to the president the day before final action by the
Convention.


Monitor Miniatures


News from the Federation Family


Save the Date & Get Reading List Ready
The National Federation of the Blind is proud to partner with the American
Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults for the 2022-2023 Braille Readers
Are Leaders contest. This Braille literacy contest is for students and
adults learning Braille across the US to compete against participants in
similar contest categories for seven weeks. Participants will:

*	Register and log minutes read each day online using Beanstack
*	Log the number of minutes read. Earn prizes and fun badges
*	Read the most minutes in your category and receive a cash prize in
addition to all other prizes earned.
*	Earn entries into a drawing for a fabulous grand prize! The more
minutes you read, the more entries you earn.

The contest will begin on December 5, 2022, and run through January 23,
2023. Registration opens November 7. Get your reading list ready. We are
excited to get started reading with you!
Encourage more Braille. Improve reading skills. Win prizes.


Braille Book Resources


Expand your child’s Braille library and toolbox. Check out the Braille
storybook resources webpage (
<https://www.actionfund.org/resources/Braille-book-resources>
https://www.actionfund.org/resources/Braille-book-resources) for information
on free books, lending libraries, and Braille book retailers.

Elected:
On Sunday, October 9, 2022, the National Federation of the Blind of Indiana
conducted elections with the following results:

Kane Brolin, president; Lee Martin, first vice president; Raymond
Montgomery, second vice president; Abigail Fleenor, secretary; Misty
Kienzynski, treasurer; and board members Dr. Evette Simmons-Reed; and Alex
Gilland. In addition, two hold-over slots remain occupied: Tammy
Hollingsworth; and Tyler Sherck.

We wish all of you success in your new positions.


NFB Pledge


I pledge to participate actively in the efforts 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.

( <https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm22/bm2211/bm2211tc.htm>
contents)

 

Sincerely,

 

Kristopher I. Crawley

 

 <https://www.accessibilityassociation.org/> 

 

 

 
<https://education.acvrep.org/badges/badge.php?hash=18b8ae05639d02d02387d74e
47732a7cb8eeb657>
<https://www.freedomscientific.com/Training/Certification>
<https://www.zoomtext.com/learning/certification>
<https://www.nvaccess.org/> 

 

Board Member: National Federation Of The Blind Of SC

President: SC Communities of Faith Division

1st Vice President: SC Association of Black Leaders 

Email:  <mailto:KICrawley.NFB at Gmail.com> KICrawley.NFB at Gmail.com

Phone/Text: (803) 220-1727

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work
together to help blind people live the lives they want.

NFB of SC Pages

 <https://www.nfbofsc.org/> Visit our Website

 <https://www.nfbofsc.org/donate> Donate to the NFB of SC

 
<https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/national-federation-of-the-blind-of-s
outh-carolina/id1563280420> Subscribe to our Podcast

 <https://www.facebook.com/NatFedofSouthCarolina> Like us on Facebook

 <https://www.twitter.com/SCNFB> Follow us on Twitter

 

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