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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>October 14, 2014<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Memo To: Executive Officers, Board Members, Chapter & Division Presidents & Others<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>From: Parnell Diggs, President<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Positive Note 1470<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Dear Fellow Federationists:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> I begin this Positive Note with a word about the Positive Note. Last week, there were some comments on the listserv expressing varying views about last week’s edition. All comments are welcomed, especially by members of the affiliate. Your time is valuable, and it should not be wasted.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I, for one, want the Positive Note to be exciting and informative. It is important to read the Positive Note because it is the mechanism we use to get details out to the statewide membership. Your feedback is a good thing. That being said, we will try to make it short enough to keep it interesting.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Incidentally, President Riccobono now releases a weekly email entitled, “President’s Notebook”, which is patterned after the Positive Note. We are proud of this excellent tradition established by Dr. Capps and the impact it has made in the Federation. The Positive Note has been released every week without exception since August of 1986. Now delivered online, it reaches more readers than ever before.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I will be appointing statewide committees in the next few days, and I need you to tell me if you want to serve in any capacity including as a committee chair or member. I can’t promise that you will get one hundred percent of what you want, but I will do my best.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>It was a pleasure to join friends in Aiken for a meeting of our Aiken Chapter on Saturday. Valerie Bouler Johnson and I departed early in the morning and made the nearly four-hour drive for the noontime meeting. I enjoyed seeing some of the longtime leaders including Grace Smith, the widow of the late Rev. Jackie Smith, as well as Ms. Pearl Tucker, who has been a member of the chapter for more than thirty years and is now 90 years of age. Incidentally, Ms. Tucker is doing great.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We will be doing some additional work in Aiken in the months to come, and I am looking forward to this prospect. Congratulations to Steve Sheck on being re-elected President of our Columbia Chapter at the meeting attended by some one hundred persons. I want to thank Dorothy Barksdale for filling-in at the State Office while David Houck is on a church retreat Tuesday through Friday of this week.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>On Wednesday, October 15, 2014, we observe White Cane Safety Day, and annual occasion when we recognize the progress the blind community have made in the continuing effort to achieve first-class citizenship status in society. I am proud of all of the work our chapters are doing to publicize this important observance. I am also proud of our efforts during the entire month of October, which is of course Meet the Blind Month, and (this year) during our 75 Days of Action to celebrate the seventy-fifth Anniversary of the National Federation of the Blind.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic which defines you or your future. Every day, we raise expectations of blind people because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want: blindness is not what holds you back. Joining me for comments in this Positive Note is the President Emeritus of the NFB of SC. Here is Dr. Capps.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The annual election of Columbia Chapter officers and board members brought out the largest attendance during 2014 with 100 persons in attendance. The members elected to the Board of Directors for 2015 are as follows: President Steve Sheck, First Vice President Tiffany Mitchell, Second Vice President Isaiah Nelson, Secretary Pat Wolthoff, Treasurer Phil Watridge and the two At Large positions elected were Maggie Floyd and Patronda Anderson. The election was entirely democratic in nature. Therefore, I believe that all chapter members should work together for the common good of everyone. For some 60 years I have been involved in Columbia Chapter elections and while the election did not always go to suit me, I never allowed that to affect my participation and devotion to the chapter. And then there’s always next year. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I believe that a well-informed member is a better member. In recent weeks I’ve enjoyed informative articles in the Palmetto Blind, the Braille Monitor, the weekly Positive Note and the Presidential Release. I was delighted that President Riccabono told the national organization about the birth of Frank Coppel’s second grandchild as it made the Presidential Release. In the current issue of the Palmetto Blind the presentation by Marshall Tucker delivered at the 19064 NFB of SC state convention 50 years ago was exceptional as it contained tremendous information about the need for a separate autonomous agency for the blind. I appreciate the tremendous effort put forth by David Houck and Marshall Tucker in translating Marshall’s presentation 50 years ago word for word as a good bit of research was needed to get this information together. Not too many people are still around that know about this tremendous effort in the organized blind movement demonstrated 50 years ago, convincing the legislature that programs for the blind are best served by a Commission or separate state agency. The NFB of SC and the Commission for the Blind have an excellent relationship and work collaboratively in supporting programs to assist the blind. It certainly is better if you can attend NFB conventions, but those of us who cannot, certainly enjoy and appreciate the Braille Monitor’s excellent coverage of the convention. As always, the Presidential Report was outstanding and Dr. Maurer’s Banquet address was truly excellent. I note that Dorothy Barksdale and Isaiah Nelson’s names were mentioned in the Monitor Miniatures in the Braille Monitor as Dorothy is working to create a Blind Cancer Survivor’s Division. Good luck Dorothy. Also in the publication of the NFB scholarships was the first Donald C. and Betty R. Capps $7,000 scholarship which was presented to Katelyn McIntyre who is pursuing a career in music. Also, I noted Justin Williams of our Columbia Chapter received an NFB scholarship. The convention presenters were all outstanding. In referring to the October Braille Monitor there’s an excellent article by our own Chris Danielsen who got his early beginning as a member of the Student Division of the NFB of SC. Some of you may recall that President Diggs and Chris practiced law together for a while in the Myrtle Beach area. We appreciate the tremendous effort by President Diggs as he visits chapters and attends to other responsibilities in a caring and effective manner.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Final Thought: "You have to set goals that are almost out of reach. If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential." - Steve Garvey<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>