[NFBofSC] Positive Note 1914

[Marty McKenzie]

April 17, 2023
Memo To:  Executive Officers, Board Members, Chapter & Division Presidents & Others
From:  Marty R. McKenzie, President
Positive Note 1914
843-939-8091  marty2music at outlook.com

Dear Federation Family,

The board room at the Federation Center of the Blind was lively, as the second quarter board meeting of the NFB of SC state board commenced at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 15, 2023. There were many agenda items to be covered, and the meeting concluded shortly after 3:00 p.m. There was much laughter and some very serious times as issues important to the NFB of SC were addressed. Not all items are complete, but work is underway.

As was shared with the board, the NFB of SC is the second most complex affiliate in the NFB. The organization has operated for years with an elected treasurer who had no assistance with these duties. At the same time, the treasurer's role has increasingly become more complex with the addition of PayPal, Successful Transitions and other programs.

Under the NFB of SC constitution, the state president has the authority to appoint an assistant treasurer to see to day-to-day activities. The assistant treasurer is a nonvoting position. Please welcome John Williams as the NFB of SC's new assistant treasurer. John, and his wife Casey, are members of the Columbia Chapter. The Positive Note will feature a more formal introduction of John in a future issue. The NFB of SC expresses our appreciation to John for taking on this new role.

As in previous years, the NFB of SC will be participating in Midlands Gives, hosted by the Carolina Community Foundation.  Midlands Gives is a fundraiser that takes place on May 2, 2023 and gives people throughout the state the ability to donate to many different South Carolina nonprofits.  Both the NFB of SC and Rocky Bottom will be participating, and we encourage Federationists to donate to one or both of these campaigns and to share them with others who will also want to donate.  The most important time to donate will be during the 12:00 to 1:00 PM Power Hour, where organizations can gain additional money for securing the most unique donations.   We will share additional information next week about how we can leverage this opportunity to enhance our resources. For now, please begin sharing this day as a reminder for past donors and new potential donors.

Advocacy Day for Access and Independence will take place on April 25, 2023 at the State House steps, and the NFB of SC is participating! Shannon cook will serve as our representative for this event. Please reach out to her at coffeequeensc1 at sc.rr.com<mailto:coffeequeensc1 at sc.rr.com>, or Sarah Massengale at skmassengale at gmail.com for additional information.  If you'd like to learn more about the issues being championed at Advocacy Day 2023, you can visit https://unlockingbarriers-sc.org/barriers/#<https://unlockingbarriers-sc.org/barriers/>.  We will share on the NFB of SC listserv as well. Thanks, Shannon, for taking on this role!

Registration for the national convention is underway, and you should register if you plan to attend. Registration is $25, and a banquet ticket is $70. You must visit the banquet exchange table early in the convention to ensure that you are sitting at a table with friends if that is what you wish to do. To register, visit https://nfb.org/civicrm/event/register?reset=1&id=572. You should review the Code of Conduct prior to registering for the national convention.

The Embassy Suites is now accepting reservations for the NFB of SC state convention, which will take place August 18-20, 2023. Rooms can be booked at $112 plus tax and any applicable fees for singles, doubles, triples and quads for August 17- 20, 2023. You may call the Embassy Suites at 803-252-8700. Rates are the same for singles, doubles, triples and quads. Currently members are not being charged the first night's room; instead, a hold is placed on your card until check-in.

Registration for the NFB of SC State Convention is expected to be available online by Saturday, April 22, 2023. We appreciate those who are excited about registering early!

We learned that past Federationist, John "Butch" Compton, passed on Saturday night. Butch was a huge supporter to his late wife, Sheila, in her many NFB of SC endeavors. He could always be found telling a joke and assisting other members of his Federation family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Butch's family during this difficult time. Arrangements will be posted on the NFB of SC listserv.

Important Things to Remember:

*        Lions Vision Services Fishing trip on April 21-22, 2023

*        Advocacy Day for Access and Independence at the SC State House on April 25, 2023

*        Houston ticket sales drawing on May 30, 2023

*        National Convention early registration is May 31, 2023

*        National Convention Hotel deadline is May 31, 2023


If you need additional information about any of the items above, please contact David Houck at the Federation Center at 803-254-3777. You can also contact me as shown above.

Here is David Houck's Federation Fun Fact for this week! Let's continue to read and learn together about our rich history in South Carolina.

The weekly Positive Note is approaching its 2,000th Positive Note. Beginning on August 22, 1986, its purpose was designed to review events in the federation over the past week as well as upcoming events and do so in a positive and encouraging manner to uplift blind Federationists and supporters concerning living the lives we want. These Positive Notes are written by the NFB of SC President at that time which added his or her style in stating the importance of federation events in their own words. For a long time, Dr. Capps listed a Final Thought but now we do Federation Fun Facts. The Positive Note went out on Wednesdays for a long time but was later changed to Mondays. The length of each Positive Note varies by its author and by the number of things to be shared each week. We do have archived copies online as well as bound copies going back to the beginning. Each of the publications have their place of importance and are essential in knowing our history of the organized blind movement. As Dr. Capps would often say, "We're warmed by fires we did not build."

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