[NFBofSC] Positive Note 1955

Mon Jan 29 03:05:01 UTC 2024

January 28, 2024

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

From:  Marty R. McKenzie, President

Positive Note 1955

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

Dear Federation Family,

We are in the last few days of January, and it has been an extremely busy
month within the Federation. I somehow thought that things may slow down
after the holiday season, but I quickly learned that this is not the case.
There are many things to share with you in this Positive Note, so let's get
to it!

Dominic Calabrese, who continues to assist the NFB of SC whenever possible,
obtained an interview for affiliate leaders with WVOC during the morning
show hosted by Gary David Barboza. David Houck was interviewed on January
25, 2024 and spoke on House Bill 3127, Homestead Exemption Act. Currently,
the first $50,000 in assessed value of a person's primary residence is
exempt from property taxes for individuals who are blind, otherwise disabled
according to the Social Security Administration, or have reached the age of
65. The Federation supports H. 3127 because it will raise the Homestead
Exemption to $100,000 if passed. David Houck encouraged those impacted to
contact the House Weighs and Means Committee and encourage them to pass this
bill out of committee into the full House. We extend our gratitude to
Dominic Calabrese for getting the interview, Gary David Barboza for granting
the interview and continuing to run our PSAs on WVOC and to David Houck for
representing the NFB of SC so well!

The year 2024 has many anniversaries in it for agencies and organizations
serving the blind in South Carolina. The South Carolina School for the Deaf
and the Blind SCSDB was founded on January 22, 1849 and celebrated its 175th
birthday on January 22, 2024. SCSDB began as a school for the deaf in 1849
and the blind was added in 1856 when it became a state agency. SCSDB has
designated the entire year of 2024 as a year of celebration with many
activities planned to bring positive attention to the school. These will be
featured in the weekly Positive Note as appropriate. Happy birthday SCSDB!

Congratulations to Federation Center Chairman Ed Bible on his election as
the Chairman of the Board for the SC Commission for the Blind Foundation. Ed
brings many years of experience and a wealth of knowledge to this role!

>From Andrew Adams and Debra Canty, Co-chairs of the Fundraising Committee

The National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina Fundraising Committee
invites you to the Sweethearts Ball on Saturday, February 10, 2024 from 5:30
to 9:30 p.m. at the Cathy Novinger Girl Scout Leadership Center, Located at
1107 Williams Street, Columbia, SC 29201. Tickets are $30 per person or $240
for a table of eight. Dress attire is semiformal and you will enjoy food,
music, dancing and good fellowship. Tickets can be purchased through PayPal
at  <http://www.nfbofsc.org> www.nfbofsc.org and click Donations or you can
send a check or money order to 119 S. Kilbourne Road, Columbia, SC 29205.
You must put Sweethearts Ball in the Notes block on the website or the Memo
field on the check. Ticket sales will close on February 8, 2024. For more
information, contact Andrew Adams at 803-269-3803 or Debra Canty at
803-775-5792.

>From the South Carolina Blind Merchants Division

The South Carolina Association of Blind merchants has something beautiful
for you. We all know that love is in the air as we approach valentine's Day,
and our affiliates annual sweethearts ball. This year the Blind Merchants
division will sell corsages and boutonnieres. Corsages are $20 and
boutonnieres are $15. If you buy both the cost is $30. All money must be in
by February 2, 2024. You can send the money to our cashapp at
$blindmerchantsofsc, or send a check to our treasurer Sean Rachal at 64
Clary Hill Drive, Aiken, SC 29805. Please make all checks out to Blind
Merchants of SC. For any questions feel free to reach out to our President
Belinda Banks at 864-909-5587, or Tiffiny Mitchell at 803-603-2098.

>From Lori Anne Coley, President, Sports and Recreation Division

The NFB of SC Sports and Rec Division is Sponsoring a Saint Patrick's Day
jackpot, where the winner will have a chance at $750.  This drawing will
help to fund a sports camp for the blind of SC, and make equitable access to
sports a reality.  Tickets can be purchase for $20 each via 

PayPal:   <https://www.paypal.me/sportrecnfbsc>
https://www.paypal.me/sportrecnfbsc or by sending a check to the Federation
Center.

Chapters and Divisions should have received their $5 Rocky Bottom Retreat
and Conference Center raffle tickets. Chairman Thom Spittle gave an overview
of the many capital projects needed at Rocky Bottom at the November Board
Retreat and at the recent Statewide Seminar. It is important that we sell as
many of these tickets as possible! The buyer of the winning ticket will
receive $500, the seller will receive $50 and the chapter or division
selling the most tickets will receive $300 for its treasury. All
Federationist are asked to put forth a special effort this year on this
fundraiser. The drawing will take place on March 23, 2024 at the Statewide
Leadership Seminar.

There are several e-mail address changes to take note of for communication
within the NFB of SC. Please see the current list below. I will provide
additional updates as they occur. Thanks to Steve Cook for making this
happen! It is something our affiliate needed in place.

Marty McKenzie, President             <mailto:president at nfbofsc.org>
president at nfbofsc.org 

Shannon Cook, Secretary               <mailto:secretary at nfbofsc.org>
secretary at nfbofsc.org 

Valerie Warrington, Treasurer         <mailto:treasurer at nfbofsc.org>
treasurer at nfbofsc.org 

Theresa Jenkins, Assistant Treasurer
<mailto:assistanttreasurer at nfbofsc.org> assistanttreasurer at nfbofsc.org 

Theresa Jenkins was recently appointed as Assistant Treasurer of the NFB of
SC. Theresa can be reached at the e-mail provided above. When contacting
Theresa to request any disbursement of funds, you must copy Valerie and
myself. As Theresa moves into this role, I will share other responsibilities
that she will take on in the coming months. We welcome Theresa to this new
role!

Applications Are Open

The 2024 online scholarship application is available at
<https://nfb.org/scholarships> https://nfb.org/scholarships. All
applications and supporting documentation must be submitted no later than
March 31, 2024. A list of eligibility requirements, as well as documents
containing answers to frequently asked questions, a submissions checklist,
and other supporting material can also be found on the scholarship webpage.
Throughout the application period, reminders and information about the
scholarship program will appear in the Braille Monitor, on our website, and
will be shared via social media. Please share!

Things to Remember

*	SC Association of Blind Merchants Fundraiser concludes on February
2, 2024
*	Sweethearts Ball on February 10, 2024
*	NFB of SC Board meeting on February 17, 2024 in-person only
*	Statewide Leadership Seminar for Chapter and Division Presidents and
NFB of SC board members on March 23, 2024 in-person only
*	Rocky Bottom Fundraiser Raffle drawing on March 23, 2024 - You do
not have to be present to win
*	National Scholarship Applications due by March 31, 2024

Assistant Treasurer, Theresa Jenkins, is new to her role and this is the
first time our affiliate has had someone in this appointed role. Please take
time to read Theresa's biography below. Welcome Theresa!

Theresa Jinkins lives in Rock Hill but was born in Gastonia, NC.  She lives
with her husband of 47 years Rick and their furry child Abby. Teressa has
two children Clay and Tracey. She retired two and one-half years ago from
York County Government.

Theresa has worked with the Rock Hill Chapter of the NFB of SC as a
non-member for about five years. In July 2022, she became its treasurer and
joined the chapter along with her husband.

Theresa looks forward to working with the NFB of SC, and assisting in any
way she can.

In her free time, Theresa enjoys camping, baking and quilting.

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/>  

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbofsc_nfbnet.org/attachments/20240128/a4905ee0/attachment.html>