[NFBofSC] Positive Note 2005

[president at nfbofsc.org]

January 12, 2025

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

From:  Marty R. McKenzie, President

Positive Note 2005

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

 

Dear Federation Family,

 

Approximately 80 Federationist gathered on Zoom for the 2025 Statewide
Seminar on Saturday morning. Attendees were excited about what is happening
in the NFB of SC and its partner organizations the SC Commission for the
Blind and the SC School for the Deaf and the Blind. According to the
presenters, things are going well at both agencies. We extend our
appreciation to Commissioner Darline Graham, Director of Administration Luis
Mendoza and President Jolene Madison for taking time out on a wintery
Saturday morning to speak with the blind of SC.

 

James Byers, member of the Cherokee County Chapter, gave a very inspiring
talk on his lived experiences at the Louisiana Center of the Blind. James is
attending the center to sharpen his skills in orientation and mobility,
access technology, braille, home management and wood shop to name a few. The
confidence that James exuded during his presentation was infectious and
seminar attendees extend congratulations to James on his efforts to live the
life he wants.

 

Sonia Timmons serves as the SC Parents of Blind Children leader and on the
national board of the Parents of Blind Children. She recently traveled to
Baltimore where she participated in plans for the upcoming national
convention in New Orleans.  Sonya also shared these updates:

*	NOPOBC is looking for both sighted and blind parents of blind/low
vision children to participate in the Parent Leadership Program hosted in
Baltimore on February 1-3. The program will teach the history of NFB, tour
the building, learn how to advocate for blind children and how to support
state POBC chapters. 
*	Reminder that advocates are available to assist with IEP and
educational advocacy needs should you run into someone that needs help,
please contact Casey Robertson at crobertson at nfb.org or education at nfb.org
*	SCPOBC plans to host a call the week of February 18th to discuss
planning youth track programming at the state convention. Please reach out
to Sonia Timmons at scpobc at nfbofsc.org if you are interested in helping. 

 

Ed Bible and David Houck gave updates from the Federation Center. The center
is a beehive of activity right now as we gear up for the Legislative
Breakfast on January 22, 2025 and work to release the Palmetto Blind. The
legislative priority for the NFB of SC is to increase the homestead
exemption which will decrease the financial burden on homeowners who are
blind, over 65 or otherwise disabled. The Federation Center continues to
raise funds to replace the old windows in the building in an effort to
improve its overall efficiency. There is a lot happening at the state
headquarters!

 

Janice Bright provided an update on the three pieces of legislation
supported by the National Office this year during the Washington Seminar.
These are:

*	The Blind Americans Return to Work Act
*	The Medical Device Non-Visual Accessibility Act
*	The Websites and Software applications Accessibility Act

 

These priorities are not new but the National Office believes we can make
headway during this Washington Seminar. Our delegation is excited to go to
Washington and meet with our representatives on the hill.

 

Career Quest, sponsored by the National Office, has invited five students
from Successful Transitions to participate in programming the weekend before
and during the Washington Seminar. The South Carolina affiliate is the first
state organization to have students invited and we are excited about this
opportunity! Congratulations to Andrenia, Andrew and all of the Successful
Transitions team on obtaining this adventure for our students.

 

Thom Spittle gave an update on Rocky Bottom including the conclusion of the
Friends of Rocky Bottom campaign. The fundraiser brought in approximately
$11,300 which will assist RBRCCB with making it through the winter.
Additionally, he auctioned off a pound cake which will be made by Trent
Tedder of the Clarendon County Chapter and won by Laverne Addison of the
Charleston Chapter. Thom encouraged members to promote Rocky Bottom as a
place where groups can travel for relaxation or retreats.

 

Frank Coppel announced the organization raised $2,440 in 2024 for SUN Shares
which placed our affiliate in the top five. We will have a total next week
but 2025 donations for SUN Shares continued to come in even after the
seminar.

 

Lastly, the location of the 2025 state convention was discussed.
Unexpectedly, the Embassy Suites in Columbia closed on January 7, 2025 and
we must identify a location for our 2025 convention. There will be
additional updates in future Positive Notes as we move forward with this
need.

 

Palmetto Connects will take place on January 14, 2025 at 8:00 p.m.
immediately following the At Large chapter meeting on the NFB of SC Zoom
platform. The phone number to call in is 929-205-6099 and the Meeting ID is
803 254 3777#. If you are joining from a PC, Mac or tablet, tap Join in the
Zoom App and enter Meeting ID 803 254 3777 and the passcode of 124578 to
join the meeting. I will host this meeting and First Vice President Lenora
Robertson will host the February meeting.  Board members  get ready, we are
sharing Palmetto Connects this year! I am asking chapter presidents to
activate their calling trees and get the word out.  Let's increase our
Palmetto Connects attendance in 2025.

 

>From David Houck, Columbia Chapter Member

During the Thursday evening Chapter meeting, the Clemson and Carolina quilt
winners were announced. The Gamecock quilt winner was Kim Crabtree of Rock
Hill and the winner of the Clemson quilt was Ronnie Simpkins of Aiken.
Thanks to everyone who bought tickets from the Columbia Chapter for these
items.

 

>From the Sports and Recreation Division

The Sports and Recreation Division is at a crucial point. We met on January
8, 2025 but did not have anyone interested in taking on the role as
president. We will meet again on February 12, 2025 at 7:00 PM to decide if
we will continue as a division or to drop back to a committee or a group.
Please join us to share your thoughts about the changes under consideration.

 

It is time for chapters and divisions to send in your dues to the state
office for 2025. Please provide a list of names with the check. If you have
new members that joined this year, please send in their contact information
as well as other information we need for our records and for the Membership
Portal. For assistance with this, contact Thom Spittle, Membership and
Mentoring Chair, at (803-331-3344 or via e-mail at membership at nfbofsc.or
<mailto:membership at nfbofsc.or> g. Thank you for your prompt attention to
this matter.

 

>From the Senior Division

The NFB of SC Senior division is currently selling tickets for a deluxe
kitchen gift basket. The drawing for this great prize will be held at the
next Senior's Division meeting. The gift basket is worth approximately $425.
A few of the items in the basket include a Talking food scale, a Talking
meat thermometer with WIFI, an Insta-pot with Wi-Fi and many other practical
kitchen aids. Tickets will be one for $5 or three for $10. If you would like
to purchase tickets, you can contact me, Shelley Coppel, at 803-796-8662 or
303-819-9795. My email address is frankandshelley51 at gmail.com
<mailto:frankandshelley51 at gmail.com> . Monies raised from this fundraiser
will help to support our efforts to resume Senior camp.

 

>From Steve Cook:

The Computer Science and Technology Division will hold a drawing soon for a
jug of candy. The cost to enter is $2 for one guess or 3 guesses for $5. If
more than one person gets the correct answer or comes the closest, their
names will go into a random drawing of just those people for the prize. It
is approximately a two gallon jar. Please help support our division to help
fund our scholarship and other technology activities. If you don't eat
candy, you can give it to someone who does, so don't let that stop you from
supporting the CSTD!

 

>From Belinda Banks, President of the Blind Merchants Division

The Blind Merchants Division of the National Federation of the Blind of
South Carolina is back with our 2025 Sweethearts Sale! We are selling
boutonnieres and corsages for the Sweethearts Ball. Boutonnieres are $15 and
Corsages are $20. Purchase both for a special price of $30. This is a
pre-sale event, so please make your purchase before February 1, 2025. For
more information or to place an order, please contact Belinda Banksat
864-909-5587 or via e-mail at banksbelinda21 at gmail.com
<mailto:banksbelinda21 at gmail.com> .

 

>From Andrew Adams, District 2 Representative

The National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina invites you to its
annual Sweetheart Ball on Friday, February 14, 2025 from 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM
at the Kathy Novinger Girl Scout Leadership Center. Tickets are $30 per
person or $240 per table. Tickets can be purchased by: 1) Sending a check or
money order to: Federation Center, 119 S. Kilbourne Rd., Columbia, SC 29205;
2) Using NFB of SC PayPal and including "Sweetheart Ball" in the memo field.
This is a wonderful opportunity to fellowship and enjoy a special evening.
Don't miss out!

 

>From Frank Loza, District 3 Representative:

Federation family, the cold weather is here, and it's time to get your NFB
of SC jackets! There are two styles: a Microfiber that comes in black or
Blue in sizes small to 4x and a Polyester Blend that comes in black, blue
and gray in sizes small to 5x. On the back of the jacket is our national
logo with the text National Federation of the Blind and "Live the Life You
Want." On the left front side are the words NFB of SC. If another state
would like one of these jackets, they can be created. The logo and lettering
are embroidered, so they can be felt. The Microfiber is $80 and the
Polyester blend is $70. If you have any questions, call Frank Loza at
803-617-8016. You can pay by check, money order, PayPal or Zelle. If you pay
by PayPal or Zelle, you will make the payment to my email, which is
floza58 at bellsouth.net <mailto:floza58 at bellsouth.net> .

 

Things to remember

*	State dues submitted as soon as possible
*	Senior Division Kitchen Basket Fundraiser - next Senior's Division
Meeting
*	Computer Science and Technology fundraiser drawing
*	Sweetheart Ball on February 14, 2025

 

 

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/20250112/bb0d2ab2/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 21173 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbofsc_nfbnet.org/attachments/20250112/bb0d2ab2/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 12738 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbofsc_nfbnet.org/attachments/20250112/bb0d2ab2/attachment-0001.png>