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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>July 18, 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 1666<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 Wednesday morning, July 11, Shelley and I met with our Events Coordinator, Katherine Price, for the purpose of discussing final arrangements for our 2018 state convention which will be held August 10-12. The Columbia Marriott has not hosted the NFB of SC state convention since 2015, and the staff is very excited about us returning to their location. As of this date, we have more than exceeded our contracted room block. If you still wish to make a reservation, you can do so; however, you will have to pay the standard room rate. I want to remind everyone you are welcome to attend the NFB of SC Board of Directors meeting which will be held at 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon, August 10. Friday evening, we will have a reception and dance. The band “Chocolate Chip and Company” will be providing the music for the evening. Our theme for the reception will be “Mardi Gras Night”. Also, we will be conducting our annual banquet fundraiser Saturday evening, August 11. All funds raised at the banquet fund raiser will be given to the NFB of SC. We need individuals as well as chapters to “step up to the plate” and contribute during the banquet which will greatly help to fund our state organization. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> If you have not done so already, I would strongly 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> At its third quarter meeting of the RBRCCB Board of Directors, which was held this past Saturday afternoon, the board voted to go ahead and hold the annual Fun Day Festival during the Labor Day weekend (August31-September 2). Four meals will be served including three on Saturday, September 1, and breakfast on Sunday morning, September 2. The board voted to charge $30 for adults and $15 for children under twelve years of age to cover all four meals including the lunch on Saturday. Those individuals who are only attending the Fun Day Festival Saturday will need to pay Valerie and Larry Warrington $8 for lunch. Room reservations for the weekend are taken on a first-come, first-served basis. If you need to make a reservation for the Fun Day weekend, you can call the Federation Center (8-03) 254-3777 or call me (803) 796-8662 no later than August 24. I hope that you are selling your $5 Fun Day tickets as this contributes to the profits. Remember, the winning ticket drawn will yield $50 to the seller and $500 to the buyer or $550 if you bought your own ticket. The chapter selling the most tickets will receive $300 for its treasury! We need to bring new items for the auction which will take place on Saturday afternoon September 1, at 12:00 noon. Let’s have a great turnout for the Fun Day Festival as Rocky Bottom very much needs our financial support. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> We have announcement from Shannon Cook. “Many of you know that I am an enthusiastic recycler. Keeping in that thought process, I will be collecting old cell phones at this year’s state convention. The phones will be donated to local organizations such as women’s shelters, men’s shelters and others, for the purpose of allowing people using those services to have a way to contact 911 if they are in a situation that warrants it. A cell phone, even if not under contract or otherwise having services can still connect to 911 if it has a charge. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> If you want to bring old cell phones to donate to this project, please put the phone and charger in a Ziploc bag to keep them together. The type of phone does not matter. Be sure to delete any information that you may need or do not want to be on the phone. The shelters wipe the phones clean, but it never hurts to be proactive on our part. The phones will be donated on behalf of the NFB of SC. This is a way we can give to our communities that does not incur a financial commitment. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at (803) 254-0222 or email me at cookcafe@sc.rr.com. Please announce this at your chapter or division meetings between now and then. Much thanks.” <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> This week we are spotlighting a long time member of the Florence Chapter. Some members remain supportive over the long haul and are a mainstay over the years. Keith Parham is just such a member. Born and raised in the Florence area, Keith attended the Florence public schools until seventh grade when he attended the School for the Blind in Cedar Springs. After graduation in 1993, Keith attended SCSDB’s Adult Program which he finished in 1996. Following this Keith Parham worked at Young’s Pecan Company until 2002. Then he became a bell ringer for the Salvation Army for 11 years. Although he was hospitalized last year, he is recovered and is ready for work. Keith tells me he has a brother and a half-brother. Keith heard of the federation while attending a Commission for the Blind Summer Team Program between 1991 and 1993. He joined the Florence Chapter in 1997 and has been an active member ever since, even serving as chapter Treasurer for a time. He has attended the 1994 Detroit NFB Convention and the 2007 Atlanta NFB Convention. Keith has attended 19 NFB of SC state conventions as well. He has also been to Rocky Bottom Retreat and Conference Center of the Blind and he loves playing beeper ball baseball. Keith Parham is the type of reliable member the federation needs who supports the blind while he “lives the life he wants.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Final Thought: A boy came home from school complaining that he failed his test on the book “Moby Dick”. Mother said, “Didn’t you study?” To which the son replied, “Yes, I read the comic book version and even read the Cliff Notes version.” Mother replied, “If you read the actual book, ‘Moby Dick’ you might have passed it, son. Short cuts will not out-perform good hard study.”<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>