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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>July 3, 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 1664<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> When you receive this edition of the Positive Note, Shelley and I will be in Orlando, Florida attending the 2018 NFB national convention. We are arriving in Orlando Monday afternoon, July 2, and our plans are to attend the National Seniors division seminar on Tuesday, July 3. On Wednesday, July 4, we are planning to pick up our convention packet and spend the remainder of the day in the Exhibit Hall. On Thursday, July 5, we are planning to attend the NFB national board meeting in the morning and in the afternoon, work in the exhibit hall at the South Carolina table. If you are planning to arrive to the convention later this week, and you did not pre-register, please be sure to register for the convention which is necessary to receive the special hotel rates. I will provide you with more details regarding the convention next week; so stayed tuned! <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> There are only twelve days remaining 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 is July 15, 2018. The Marriott Hotel has set aside a block of rooms for the NFB of SC 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 may be required to pay the standard room rate. You can make your room reservations by calling the Columbia Marriott reservation toll free 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> I would also encourage you to go ahead and pay your $80 preregistration fee for the state convention which will cover the Friday evening reception, the Saturday luncheon and the Saturday evening banquet as well as a continental breakfast Saturday and Sunday morning. Please send your $80 preregistration fee to the Federation Center of the Blind, 119 S. Kilbourne Rd. Columbia, SC 29205. 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. After August 3, the registration will increase to $100. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Congratulations to David and Darleen Houck who are the proud grandparents of twin girls born Thursday evening, June 28. Katie Grace weighed six pounds and Emily Elaine weighed five pounds 15.8 ounces. We understand the twins, Mama, daddy and grandparents are all doing great! <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Congratulations to Charles Black who on June 15, 2018, received the SC State exceptional employee award which is awarded once a year to an accomplished employee. The award, sponsored by the Commission for the Blind is given to an exceptional employee with the drive, motivation and knowledge to succeed. The award is given by the South Carolina Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities<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 July 4th! In last week’s Positive Note I reported that Betty and I were celebrating our 69th wedding anniversary. Among those who made congratulations was my longtime friend, Joe Ruffalo who is the President of the NFB of New Jersey and a member of the NFB Board of Directors. Joe and the NFB of NJ are special to Betty and me. The following comments are excerpts from the August 1990 Braille Monitor article, “New Jersey, Land of Potential.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> “I like a challenge; I always have. When challenged the most, I work best. In early May I was contacted by our National Office. There was a clear tone of urgency in the telephone call. I was told that the then president of the NFB of New Jersey had resigned her office, having accepted a position with the New Jersey Commission for the Blind. And, as if that were not enough, I was also advised that the 1990 New Jersey Convention had been scheduled some time ago for June 2 in Newark but that nothing had been done about a convention program. After hearing about this distressing situation, I was asked whether or not I would be willing to go to New Jersey for the express purpose of recruiting the best possible person to serve as state president. In addition, the assignment included recruiting new members across the state and restoring the vitality and enthusiasm of the affiliate. It might even include reorganizing the whole thing. On top of this I would have the unenviable responsibility of putting together a substantive convention agenda. Going to New Jersey would mean an absence of at least ten days. My May calendar listed a number of scheduled events and commitments but I would still have the responsibility and obligation as a caring Federationist to do what I could to assist other state affiliates. Arriving in Newark in northern New Jersey on Sunday afternoon, May 27, 1990, we traveled for the next week in search of prospective Federationists. Somewhat resistant at first, after I shared the successful fifty-year NFB story, the blind of New Jersey liked what they heard and seemed merely to be waiting to be approached. Relying upon more than thirty years of putting state conventions together, by Wednesday, May 30 (three days after Betty and I had arrived in Newark) the convention arrangements for the following Saturday had been completed. My son Craig drove from New York City on convention day as he was of great assistance. By cultivating the understanding and friendship of the Gateway Hilton Hotel management, I was able to get all of the convention programs printed without charge, including banquet tickets and convention badges. The hotel even agreed to give a $50 door prize for the lucky winner to dine in their fancy restaurant. There was a 25% increase in the convention attendance over the previous year’s NFB of NJ convention. In my National Report I encouraged participants to attend the upcoming Dallas NFB Convention, spoke of the Braille Monitor magazine, and expounded on the NFB National Center for the Blind. In the business session I exposed the tremendous potential of the NFB of NJ. By the close of the convention, new officers were elected for the NFB of New Jersey. Yes, I am glad I went to New Jersey and met the challenge head-on. Federationists need to work together, and I predict good things ahead for the New Jersey affiliate. Today the NFB of New Jersey is much stronger than it was a few months ago, and because of this our entire national organization has also been strengthened. Truly, New Jersey is a land of great Federation potential.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Final Thought: Becoming an exceptional federationist comes when you realize it’s my time to step up, whatever the circumstances.<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>