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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>December 30, 2015<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: Frank Coppel, President<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Positive Note 1533<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Greetings Fellow Federationists:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Congratulations to Tracy Spittle for finishing third in the Onkyo Braille Essay Contest. The NFB administered the Onkyo Braille Essay Contest on behalf of the North American/Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union. The essay contest, sponsored by Onkyo Corporation, a Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer, and the Braille Mainichi, part of the Mainichi Newspaper Company in Japan, was created to promote Braille literacy and to encourage the sharing of social and cultural information among blind and visually impaired persons. Way to go Tracy! <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The NFB of SC will be selling an insulated sixteen ounce NFB of SC coffee thermos for the price of $15. These coffee thermoses are very attractive and should be very easy to sell to federation members as well as the general public. We will have the thermoses on display for purchase at the Statewide Seminar. The NFB of SC is also planning a Sweetheart dance which will be held February 12, 2016 at the Federation Center from 6:00 p.m. to 9 p.m. The evening promises to be a fun and enjoyable experience with a professionally catered dinner, music and dancing. Tickets to this event will only be $25 and we will begin selling them at the Statewide Seminar. If you purchase your ticket at the Seminar, your name will be placed in a drawing for a very special prize which will be conducted during the dance. All tickets must be purchased by February 4. We are also planning to reserve a block of rooms at a nearby hotel for those of you who live outside of Columbia and would like to attend the dance. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> If you have not notified the Federation Center as to whether you are planning to attend the Statewide Seminar on January 9, please do so as soon as possible. This will help us to determine the amount of food to purchase for lunch. Remember we will be conducting an auction throughout the day to raise money for the Federation Center. Be sure to bring items for the auction such as, cakes, pies, cookies, gift baskets, and electronics. Also, please continue to sell your Orlando National Convention bus tickets. It is imperative we sell as many tickets as possible to help cover the expense of the chartered bus to Orlando. If you have not done so already, please mail your ticket stubs and money to the Federation Center or bring them with you to the Seminar on Saturday, January 9. The drawing will take place at the conclusion of the Seminar. The purchaser of the winning ticket will receive $300, the seller of the winning ticket will receive $300 and the chapter selling the most tickets will receive $300. It is not too early to begin turning in your state dues of $10 for 2016 to the state office (Federation Center). You can either mail your dues to the State Office or bring them with you to the Seminar on January 9. When you submit your dues, please provide current contact information such as, name, address, phone number and email address if you have one. These things do change and if we do not have updated information, we cannot keep you up to date on what’s going on. The deadline for dues is January 31, 2016. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>It is with great sadness that I have to report to you our Federation family lost a very special person as Julia Rembert passed away on Tuesday, December 22. I attended Julia’s funeral this past Saturday and was extremely pleased to see so many Federation members in attendance who came to celebrate the life of Julia Rembert. I am sure the heartfelt remarks made by Dorothy Barksdale and Ernest Gallman were greatly appreciated. For those of us who knew her, Julia will be missed a great deal. All of us need to continue to keep the family in our thoughts and prayers as they go through this difficult time . <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day, we raise the 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> Happy New Year to all of you! I hope that each of you have a very good year. Also I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas. Our small family got together for Christmas which included Betty, myself, Craig and our caregiver Debbie Manning. We were also glad to have Debbie’s daughter spend Christmas with us. Santa was good to us. I received several CD’s from Craig featuring Bing Crosby, Kate Smith, Andy Williams and Norma Zimer. My granddaughter Laura Setters who lives in Louisville sent me several Christmas tapes and a Red Lobster gift certificate. I’m sure I gained some weight from eating too much but all is forgiven at this time of the year. Craig gave me four jars of macadamia nuts as he knows these are my favorite. Betty enjoyed the beautiful necklace which I gave her. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Brooke West reports that she enjoyed a wonderful Rocky Bottom Christmas. She writes: “This year was one of the happiest in years for me! I feel so blessed to be working at RBRCCB, I can't thank you enough for giving me this opportunity to work for the good of others. That's really what life is all about. Jami and I had bought a locally grown Frasier Fir Christmas Tree this past Sunday on our way home from church. It fills the whole room with a wonderful fir fragrance, I can honestly say the manager's apartment has never smelled so good! It is such a joy to have a real Christmas tree to celebrate the Holidays and to be able to share the celebration of Christ's birth with loved ones! Jami and I went over to the pond to try fishing with my new rod and I actually caught a 2lb small mouth bass! I released it back into the pond so it would be even bigger the next time I catch it! I feel so blessed to be working at such a beautiful property. We really enjoyed our first Christmas at RBRCCB.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> We are saddened to report that our longtime federation member Julia Rembert passed away on December 22. Julia was 62 years old. Julia was one of the nicest people that I ever knew. It was my honor to visit Julia as I traveled to Ft. Mill and met with her and her parents. Julia went to public school for a while but most of her education came from the nine years she spent at the SC School for the Blind. For most of her adult life she worked at different places including Goodwill Industries and in the Mess Hall at Ft. Jackson. She had been a member of the Columbia Chapter for about 40 years. Julia was always present for chapter meetings as she understood the importance of supporting the federation. It was not uncommon for Julia to give me a good hug at chapter meetings as she had a sweet disposition. Active in the federation she was a member of the BBQ Committee, Kitchen Committee and Activities Committee of the Columbia Chapter. She was especially close to our federation official Dorothy Barksdale as they traveled together and were close friends for 50 years. The Columbia Chapter will miss Julia as she always did her part during the annual BBQ including helping on the serving line. Julia is survived by three children and two grandchildren. We extend sincere sympathy to her family. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> This is the last Positive Note for this year. As we enter 2016 this Friday, January 1, the next Positive Note will commence the 30th year this service has been provided to members. I feel honored to have participated in this Positive Note service for 30 years beginning in 1986. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Final Thought: Resolution: I am resolved no longer to linger. Let’s get busy!<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>