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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>May 30, 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 1659<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 Lavern Addison, member of our Charleston Chapter, and Donnie Johnson, member of our Laurens chapter, who have been selected to receive a Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship which will allow each of them to attend this year’s national convention in Orlando. The Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship is designed to financially assist individuals to attend a national convention for the first time. I am certain Mr. Johnson and Ms. Addison will take full advantage of this wonderful opportunity and they will return to South Carolina full of energy and enthusiasm for the federation and share all they have learned with their fellow chapter members. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Between now and the beginning of August, I will be spending much of my time planning the program for the 2018 NFB of SC state convention. If you have any thoughts regarding program items for the agenda, please contact me at (803) 796-8662 or you can email me at frankcoppel@att.net.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Please continue to make your hotel reservations for the 2018 NFB of SC State Convention which will be held at the Marriott Hotel in Columbia August 10-12. Room rates are very affordable. Rates for this year’s convention are $109 per night for up to four in a room. In addition to the room rates there will be a tax, which at present is 14 percent. The deadline to make reservations will be July 15, 2018. There will also be a limited number of rooms available for the $109 rate Thursday, August 9, for those individuals wanting to arrive to the hotel a day prior to the official start of the convention. If you pay in advance, your reservation will be guaranteed: however, you will not have to pay as long as you arrive by 6:00 p.m. Any amount you pay, of course, will be applied toward your bill. The Marriott Hotel has given the NFB of SC a block of rooms to reserve until July 15. If you wait until after July 15, to make your hotel reservation, the hotel may not have an available room for you and you will not be eligible for the convention room rate of $109. You can make your room reservations by calling the Marriott toll free reservation telephone number (800) 593-6465 or (803) 771-7000 and inform the reservationist you are reserving a room for the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina state convention. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> We are also accepting your $80 preregistration fee for this year’s State Convention. Please send your $80 preregistration fee to the Federation Center of the Blind, 119 S. Kilbourne Rd. Columbia, SC 29205. As we did last year, we are offering a discount for families with children regarding the preregistration fee. Parents will pay the $80 preregistration fee and each child eight teen years of age or younger will pay $20. We are also offering a discount to college students in the amount of $50 during the preregistration period. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> All preregistration fees are nonrefundable and nontransferable. As in past years, the $80 preregistration fee will cover the reception on Friday evening, continental breakfast Saturday morning, the luncheon, banquet on Saturday and a continental breakfast Sunday morning. The deadline to accept your $80 preregistration fee is August 3. If you wait until after the deadline of August 3, the registration will increase to $100. Save $20 and preregister early! <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Shelley and I hope to see a large turnout of Federationists attend the NFB of SC statewide picnic which is scheduled for Saturday, June 2, at Saluda Shoal Park from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The state picnic committee Chaired by Tiffiny Mitchell has done a great job planning for this event. Remember, there will not be any program, just food, fun and fellowship. Shelley and I look forward to having a great time and seeing many of you there on Saturday. <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> Today we spotlight a longtime member of the NFB of SC who, along with her husband, has a distinguished career in service to the blind and as a federation member. I am speaking of Shannon Cook. Shannon was born and resided in Columbia until she was 11 months old. Her parents then moved to Bamberg, SC where her mom grew up. She lived in the same house that her mom grew up in. She shared a room with her Nana while growing up. She received her education at Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School, graduating 10th in the Class of 1991, then she graduated from the College of Charleston with a Bachelor of Sociology with a minor in psychology in 1995, later graduating USC with a Master of Social Work in 1999. Shannon and Steve have been married for14 years, or 5345 days as of May 30, 2018. Shannon began her career at Verizon Wireless for approximately 18 months, leaving in early 2004. She then began working at the SC Commission for the Blind as a Counselor and Service Coordinator with the Older Blind Program after the national convention in 2004. July 7th will mark 14 years at the agency. Shannon Cook was recruited into the federation by Parnell Diggs in May of 1991 by inviting her to a student division meeting. Shannon (and Steve of course) has attended 10 national conventions and 25 state conventions. In her 27 years of membership in the NFB, Shannon has been the President of the Greater Bamberg County Chapter, Student Division President, Treasurer of the Columbia Chapter, Secretary of the Computer Science and Technology Division, and a member of the NFB of SC Board of Directors. Shannon’s hobbies include being an avid reader, reading around 125-150 books per year. She enjoys cleaning and organizing. Steve and Shannon also love to watch The Big Bang Theory and Live PD. She enjoys spending time with her husband Steve, cuddling with their dogs, and spending time with friends. Many people know Shannon for making pumpkin bread in the fall. She uses her mother’s recipe. Shannon’s mother died 20 years ago, so it means a lot to her that people like it so much. Let’s give a hearty salute to Shannon Cook who “lives the life she wants.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Final Thought: “America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor." - Paul Tsongas<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>