[NFBofSC] positive Note 1984

Fri Aug 23 01:16:44 UTC 2024

Thank you for keeping me straight. I apologize for my oversight. I don’t like to be left out and certainly don’t want to do that to anyone else. Alana did a great job and we are proud of her hard work too. 

Shannon Cook

The greatest investment you can make in this world is kindness.

From: Sonia Timmons <smwtimmons at icloud.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2024 12:48 PM
To: NFB of South Carolina Mailing List <nfbofsc at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Shannon Cook <coffeequeensc1 at sc.rr.com>
Subject: Re: [NFBofSC] positive Note 1984

I echo this shout out and would like to add I am extremely proud of my daughter, Alana Smith, who is also a Successful Transition student for quoting a prayer on Sunday morning. 

Thank you team for your leadership. 

Regards,

Sonia Timmons

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 21, 2024, at 12:17 PM, Shannon Cook via NFBofSC <nfbofsc at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfbofsc at nfbnet.org> > wrote:

As a proud staff member of successful Transitions, I wanted to thank our Director, Andrenia Corder and our Assistant Director, Andrew Adams who arranged to have the students participate in the reception and general sessions at the state convention this past weekend. Our students did a great job! They included Trenton Smith, Lily Pryor, Kaitland Davis, and Staff Member Kacey King who sang at the reception. The National Anthem on Saturday morning was sung by Lily Pryor, Kaitland Davis, and Heilyin Sanchez. Invocations were given by Trenton Smith and Jacob cooper. They did a remarkable job!

Shannon Cook

The greatest investment you can make in this world is kindness.

From: NFBofSC <nfbofsc-bounces at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfbofsc-bounces at nfbnet.org> > On Behalf Of president--- via NFBofSC
Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2024 9:37 PM
To: 'NFB of South Carolina Mailing List' <nfbofsc at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfbofsc at nfbnet.org> >
Cc: president at nfbofsc.org <mailto:president at nfbofsc.org> 
Subject: [NFBofSC] positive Note 1984

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August 18, 2024

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

From:  Marty R. McKenzie, President

Positive Note 1984

843-939-8091  president at nfbofsc.org <mailto:president at nfbofsc.org>  

Dear Federation Family,

One hundred ninety-two enthusiastic Federationist gathered at the Embassy Suites Hotel by Hilton located at 200 Stoneridge Drive, in Columbia, South Carolina for the 68th Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina. Included in our guest list was our National Representative, Jessica Beecham of Colorado, Brandon Werner of Michigan, Allen Chao of Navada and Jay Salene of New Jersey. It was exciting to have so many from out of state represented at the NFB of SC State Convention.

Friday began with the At Large Chapter and division meetings. This year, there was a Youth Track designed by Sonia Timmons, Andrenia Corder and others. The students had arts and crafts all Friday afternoon with the Pelican Snowball truck sandwiched in the middle. Derique Simon led one of the most upbeat SC Association of Blind Students meetings I ever remember attending. The students were enthusiastic and competitive, seeking to serve on the SCABS Board of Directors. Each student took time to share why they wanted to serve and what they would bring to the table if elected. Trenton Smith was elected as the new SCABS president and we can look forward to great things from this team.

The convention kicked off Friday evening with the reception which had a fairytale theme and Federationist embraced this idea! There were prizes throughout the evening and everyone enjoyed the music and comradery generated by being together as the NFB of SC family. The SC Association of Blind Students, under the direction of Successful Transitions staff and the leadership of outgoing President, Derique Simon, showed up and showed out for the weekend. During the Friday evening reception, several musical selections were rendered by students and it was enjoyed by everyone!

The students continued to participate in the convention by providing the invocation and National Anthem Saturday morning during the opening ceremonies. The Saturday morning agenda was filled with the National Report by Jessica Beecham, reports from the SC Commission for the Blind, the SC School for the Deaf and the Blind and the SC State Library Talking Book Services. Other topics of interest included Dr. Tina Herzberg’s report on Orientation and Mobility Training Program: A Journey to Success. The morning concluded with the Presidential Report by Marty R. McKenzie. In this report, I reviewed the year and the accomplishments that took place. The importance of “Stronger Together” was also discussed in this report.

The Saturday afternoon session included information about the benefits of the Palmetto Able Savings Account, reflections from Janice Bright on the Kenneth Jernigan Leadership in Service Pilot Program, information on DART, PUP and VTRIP from Ali Ruegamer from Able SC and a final report from Dr. Tina Herzberg on Filling Your Transportation Toolbox, a camp conducted this summer by Drs. Herzberg and Rosenblum. Federation Center and Rocky Bottom reports were also provided by David Houck, Ed Bible and Thom Spittle.

One of the most exciting presentations was AI: What It Can Do for You by Steve Cook and Sarah Massengale. Steve and Sarah demonstrated how ChatGPT can describe images, provide written thank you notes within parameters and provide a brief history of the Federation. Additionally, Steve Cook demonstrated the descriptive capability of JAWS PictureSmart which can describe pictures in significant detail. There are many other things that can be done with AI and this just scratches the surface.

The highlight of the Banquet was the wonderful banquet speech given by Jessica Beecham which focused on the Federation family table. Jessica reminded us that we do not have to settle for the scraps, we can have the entire gourmet meal. She provided examples from her personal experience of how things do not always work as they should. Yet, she purposed in her heart to be successful and she discussed how the National Federation of the Blind is a part of her success.

Scholarships were awarded to Alena Hamlin, Patrick Ordonez and Elijah Taylor totaling almost $6,800. This is the largest amount awarded in scholarships in recent years! A huge “thank you” to everyone who donated to this very important program in the South Carolina affiliate.

Many deserving awards were given during the banquet. Below is a list of these awards and their recipients.

1.	Midlands Gives Award presented to Linda Dizzley as the District 5 representative in recognition of the district that raised the most money during Midlands Gives.
2.	The Educator of the Year Award was presented to Dr. Mary Robbins for her high expectations of students who are blind or have low vision along with her willingness to go the extra mile to ensure that her students receive the best possible instruction.
3.	The Donald C. Capps Award was presented to Shannon Cook in recognition of her decades of service to the blind of South Carolina. Shannon serves as secretary of the NFB of SC, Rocky Bottom and the Federation Center along with many other roles that she plays in this big program of service to the blind.
4.	The newly established Betty R. Capps Award was presented to Diana Singleton in recognition of her more than two decades of service to the blind on the local, state and national levels. Diana is willing to do her fair share and then some.
5.	The Distinguished Service Award was presented to Catherine Williams for her more than three decades of service at the local, state and national levels. Catherine can be found in any location doing what needs to be done. She prefers to remain in the background and serves with passion and high expectations.
6.	The highest recognition presented to a blind Federationist is that of the Presidential Citation. President Marty McKenzie presented this award to Vice President Lenora Robertson for her 45 years of service to the Blind of South Carolina. Lenora joined the South Carolina affiliate in 1979, became a chapter president in 1986 and has served on the executive board for more than 30 years. Additionally, Except for two years, she serves as the door prize chairman and masterfully distributes many door prizes during conventions. She also is responsible for food preparation for the annual board retreat at Rocky Bottom and for many other events. Lenora is able to secure contributions when needed and does an excellent job for the NFB of SC affiliate.

The banquet fundraiser was one of the most successful ever this year! In the space of about 35 minutes, Approximately $11,300 dollars was donated or pledged to the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina to help fund the state’s programs.

Sunday morning brought Remembering Those Who Went Before Us: A Memorial led by Melinda Jones and her team. It was a beautiful memorial service which had a poem including those who went before us and a musical selection by Thom Spittle.

The Legislative and Advocacy Committee co-chairs provided an update on Washington Seminar and H. 3127 which is the Homestead Exemption Act. We are lobbying to have this increased by $50,000 to $100,000. While not successful in the last legislative year, plans are already underway to push this bill forward. There was also a report from Frank Coppel on PAC SUN and the Dream Maker’s Circle. The NFB of SC does an excellent job with contributions to our National Office and we must continue this good work.

There was a healthy discussion about charter bus transportation for upcoming national conventions. The cost of a charter bus for travel to New Orleans in 2025 is estimated to be approximately $17,000. After discussion from individuals who are for and against continuing this program, the convention voted to discontinue the use of charter buses at this time.

Two resolutions were passed in convention assembled this year. Resolution 2024-01 discussed the importance of the Homestead Exemption Act and the NFB of SC’s commitment to see the amount raised to $100,000. Resolution 2024-02 addressed the inaccessibility of the www.Midlandsgives.org <http://www.Midlandsgives.org>  website and encouraged the Central Carolina Community Foundation to reach out to the NFB of SC for partnership and guidance on resolving these accessibility issues.

Elections were held with the following results:

1.	President – Marty McKenzie
2.	First Vice President – Lenora Robertson
3.	Second Vice President – Debra Canty
4.	Secretary – Shannon Cook
5.	Treasurer – Valerie Warrington
6.	District 2 – Andrew Adams
7.	District 4 – Demetrius Williford
8.	District 6 – Sarah Massengale
9.	At Large – Thom Spittle 
10.	At Large – Janice Smith
11.	Unexpired At Large – Belinda Banks

Congratulations to new board member Belinda Banks as well as all of the board members who were re-elected. We also extend our appreciation to Derique Simon for his time on the NFB of SC Board of Directors.

I want to take a moment to extend my sincere appreciation to everyone who assisted in any way at all to make the 68th Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina  the huge success it was! No one person can do this and it takes a village to put on a convention. So many people gave of their time, money, door prizes, gift cards, gifts and many other items. Our volunteers were awesome and we appreciate them for all of their hard work! There are individuals who do so much behind the scenes and we extend our appreciation to them as well! I will not call names as I will clearly leave someone out. The convention belongs to all of us just as does the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina.

The 68th Annual Convention of the NFB of SC was something very special! Having the students sitting directly in front of me as I presided over the convention was an absolutely wonderful thing and I appreciate their attendance and participation so much! The family atmosphere, love that flowed among members and visiting guests and the excitement in the air is invigorating for members! There were many new members of the NFB of SC and several first-time convention attendees. Elijah Taylor said it best when he said, “I have found my tribe!” With love, hope and determination, let’s go build the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina!

Marty

Marty R. McKenzie, President

National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina

119 S. Kilbourne Road

Columbia, SC 29205

Phone: 803-254-3777

Mobile: 843-939-8091

Website: www.nfbofsc.org <http://www.nfbofsc.org/>  

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