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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>January 24, 2018 <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 1641<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> I have been informed by Isaiah Nelson you still have time to sign up to ride the charter bus to attend our NFB National Center in Baltimore, Maryland the weekend of April 6-8 2018. The cost to ride the charter bus will be $100 per person. To participate, you need to mail a completed application along with a $25 deposit to Isaiah Nelson, PO Box 12063, Columbia, S.C. 29211. The remainder of the money is due no later than March 15, 2018. If you have any questions, regarding this trip you can contact Loretta Green at (843) 276-9649 or Isaiah Nelson at (803) 413-2434. If you have never had the opportunity to visit and tour our National Center, you need to make plans to do this. The experience is pretty awesome! <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> You can now begin to make your reservations for the upcoming 2018 Orlando National Convention. The date of this year’s national convention will be July 3, to July 8, 2018 and will be held at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. The 2018 room rates are singles and doubles, $88; and triples and quads, $93. In addition to the room rates there will be a tax, which at present is 12.5 percent. No charge will be made for children under seventeen in the room with parents as long as no extra bed is requested. Please note that the hotel is a no-smoking facility.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> For 2018 convention room reservations you can call the hotel at (866) 996-6338. You may also write directly to the Rosen Shingle Creek, 9939 Universal Boulevard, Orlando, Florida 32819-9357. The hotel will want a deposit of $100 for each room and will want a credit card number or a personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against your card immediately, just as would be the case with a $100 check. If a reservation is cancelled before Friday, June, 1, 2018, half of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will not be made. The schedule of the convention is as follows; Tuesday, July 3, Seminar Day, Wednesday, July 4, Registration and exhibits, Thursday, July 5, National Board Meeting and division and committee meetings, Friday, July 6, Opening General Session, Saturday, July 7, General session, Sunday, July 8, Banquet.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> The Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship committee is now accepting applications for the 2018 National conventional in Orlando Florida. The Jernigan scholarship program is sponsored by the NFB and is designed to financially assist first time attendees to attend the NFB National convention. To apply, you must complete the necessary paperwork with a letter of recommendation from your state president and submit this information to the Jernigan Scholarship committee by April 15, 2018. If you are selected, you will be notified by the committee by May 15, 2018. For more information, please read the article in the December issue of the Braille Monitor which describes the process in more detail. <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> It is our privilege to spotlight Ellen Taylor this week for her outstanding work with the blind on a local, state and national level. Ellen is a role model for federationists everywhere as she puts the federation first. Ellen Taylor is a lifetime native of the Rock Hill area. Ellen and her mother Lenora Robertson are very close and have dedicated themselves wholly to Federation matters. Ellen graduated from the public schools in Rock Hill and afterward she attended Spartanburg Methodist College where she majored in Criminal Justice, Corrections and minored in Police. Ellen Taylor and John have been together for 14 years and she says we can’t forget her cat Prissy for whom many convention pledges have been made over the years. Aside from John and Prissy the cat, she spends much of her time working in several federation activities. She is active in the Rock Hill Chapter as they do sell a lot of World’s Finest Chocolate and do yard sales aside from their chapter meetings. Ellen and Lenora have attended all of the national and state conventions since 1992 and they have been the door prize co-chairs for many of those years. Including the one beginning this coming Sunday, Ellen and Lenora have attended about eight Washington Seminars and are well versed on all the legislative issues. They both work as part of the “kitchen crew” for all the senior camps since Frank Coppel became the RBRCCB Senior Camp Director. They also work in the kitchen for Fun Day weekends and the Christmas Board Retreats each year. When asked what her specific duties are she replies, “I do whatever momma wants!” Ellen is a member of Friendship United Methodist Church where she is active in Sunday School and in the Ladies Group. Her hobbies include crocheting afghans, hats and scarfs, making snowmen out of socks (and you can get them in Clemson or Gamecock motifs) and jewelry. Let’s just say that her federation devotions take up the vast majority of her time. She doesn’t let her blindness hold her back as she has high expectations for herself and for others.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Final Thought: “Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>