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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>January 25, 2017 <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 1589<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> On Saturday, afternoon January 28, I will be traveling to Baltimore, Maryland to participate in a State Presidents Seminar which is being held at our Jernigan Institute. At the conclusion of this meeting, I will be traveling on Monday, January 30, to Washington D.C. to join the South Carolina delegation as well as a large number of Federationists from across the country to participating in the 2017 Washington Seminar. The other members of the South Carolina delegation who are traveling to our Nation’s Capital Sunday, January 29, are Shelley Coppel, NFB of SC First Vice President, Lenora Robertson, Ellen Taylor, NFB of SC Second Vice President, Debra Canty, Diana Singleton, NFB of SC Board member, ED Bible and his wife Julie, and NFB of SC Student Division President, Alexus Blanding. Because of a severe winter snow storm last year, we were unable to send anyone to the Washington Seminar. I am extremely proud of the size of this year’s South Carolina delegation. The four legislative initiatives which are being presented to the U.S. Congress next week are as follows: <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> The Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education (AIM HE) Act <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Electronic instructional materials have replaced traditional methods of learning in postsecondary education, but the overwhelming majority of ebooks, courseware, web content, and other technologies are inaccessible to students with print disabilities. The law requires equal access in the classroom but fails to provide direction to schools for the way it applies to technology. AIM HE creates voluntary accessibility guidelines for educational technology to improve blind students’ access to course material, stimulate the market, and reduce litigation for schools.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> The Access Technology Affordability Act <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Currently, blind Americans rely on scarce sources of funding to acquire access technology. By providing a refundable tax credit for qualifying access technology purchases, Congress can stimulate individual procurement of access technology and promote affordability of these tools for blind Americans.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Appropriation to the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) for the Purchase of Refreshable Braille Devices <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Established in 1931, the NLS provides its patrons with accessible format copies of printed works. With the latest innovations in refreshable Braille, it is now easier than ever before to put Braille into the hands of more Blind people. A one-time appropriation to the NLS will save money and lead to the proliferation of critically needed Braille material for blind Americans.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Despite the ability to convert print books into accessible formats like Braille, large print, audio, and digital copies, millions of blind and otherwise print-disabled Americans are excluded from accessing 95 percent of published works. The Marrakesh Treaty calls for contracting parties to provide, in their national copyright laws, for a limitation or exception that allows for the reproduction, distribution, and cross-border exchange of accessible works.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> These priorities will remove obstacles to employment, education, and access to published works. We have scheduled appointments on Tuesday January, 31, with our South Carolina Congressional delegation to discuss these four very important initiatives. <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> The Federation on a local, state and national level spends a great deal of time improving the understanding about blindness. Thus it is crucial to correct or challenge any information that distorts the true meaning of blindness. In the November 20, 2016 Editorial edition of the New York Times there was a letter to the Editor written by a blind person that was severely derogatory about blindness. President Mark Riccobono responded to the negative letter by also writing to the New York Times. We are sharing with you President Riccobono’s letter:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> “Feeling My Way Into Blindness,” New York Times, Sunday, November 30, 2016<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>By Mark Riccobono, President, NFB. To the Editor: Re: “Feeling My Way Into Blindness” (Disability Series, Sunday Review, November 20): <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> My heart went out to Edward Hoagland when I read his essay. I remember that I once let blindness make ne a passenger in my own life. That changed when I encountered a vast network of other blind people who convinced me that blindness did not define me, who taught me nonvisual ways to handle everything and not-so-everyday tasks, and encouraged me to expect more of myself.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Without that experience, I might still live in fear of hurting myself or breaking things as I walk down the sidewalk, and I might regularly mismatch my socks.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> I am now a successful blind man married to a blind woman, living a rich, full life with her and our three children, and serving as President of the National Federation of the Blind, a membership organization of tens of thousands of blind people.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> So my next correspondence will be to Mr. Hoagland, to offer him the love and support from an extended blind family that changed my life and can change his.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> I was impressed with President Riccobono’s response and wrote the following to him: “December 1, 2016, Mark Riccobono, President, National Federation of the Blind, Dear President Riccobono: Congratulations on your excellent response yesterday (Wednesday) which appeared in the New York Times. Your letter was very effective in dealing with the terrible letter that appeared in the Sunday Times. The way you handled this was very uplifting to me and made me even more proud to be a part of the NFB. With kind regards, Donald C. Capps, President Emeritus, NFB of SC.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> I was grateful that President Riccobono responded about my letter to him: “December 1, 2016, Dear Dr. Capps, I appreciate your note very much. It is an honor to serve and to have had the mentoring of outstanding individuals such as yourself. That we get to carry on the tradition of excellence branded by our organization is fun, challenging, and a great honor. I hope you are doing well. Sincerely, Mark”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> We are fortunate in having an outstanding National President who is continuously called upon to deal with crucial issues. As individuals we can also contribute to PR initiatives. In case some of you missed hearing about the amount of snow that occurred at Rocky Bottom some three weeks ago, there was six inches of snow. No doubt it was beautiful.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Final Thought: Raising Expectations: “Courage defeats the fear of failure. Knowledge defeats the fear of the unknown. Faith defeats the fear of trying.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>