<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><title>The Braille Monitor, October 2023 – The Braille Monitor, October 2023</title><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Consolas;
panose-1:2 11 6 9 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Georgia;
panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Lucida Console";
panose-1:2 11 6 9 4 5 4 2 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
h1
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1 Char";
margin-top:16.8pt;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:24.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
font-weight:bold;}
h2
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 2 Char";
margin-top:16.8pt;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:18.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
font-weight:bold;}
h3
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 3 Char";
margin-top:16.8pt;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:13.5pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
font-weight:bold;}
h4
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 4 Char";
margin-top:16.8pt;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
font-weight:bold;}
h5
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 5 Char";
margin-top:16.8pt;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#1A1A1A;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.Heading1Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 1 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1";
font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;
color:#2F5496;}
span.Heading2Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 2 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 2";
font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;
color:#2F5496;}
span.Heading3Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 3 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 3";
font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;
color:#1F3763;}
span.Heading4Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 4 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 4";
font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;
color:#2F5496;
font-style:italic;}
span.Heading5Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 5 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 5";
font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;
color:#2F5496;}
span.EmailStyle33
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;
mso-ligatures:none;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:202206613;
mso-list-template-ids:2112010968;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@list l0:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1
{mso-list-id:1027681966;
mso-list-template-ids:-407832754;}
@list l1:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l1:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@list l1:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l2
{mso-list-id:1681001695;
mso-list-template-ids:-412995852;}
@list l2:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l2:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@list l2:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l2:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l2:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l2:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l2:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l2:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l2:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l3
{mso-list-id:1806700536;
mso-list-template-ids:2144636922;}
@list l3:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l3:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@list l3:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l3:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l3:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l3:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l3:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l3:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l3:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l4
{mso-list-id:1854147709;
mso-list-template-ids:-1878517036;}
@list l4:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l4:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@list l4:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l4:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l4:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l4:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l4:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l4:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l4:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l5
{mso-list-id:2009168468;
mso-list-template-ids:1461861716;}
@list l5:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l5:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@list l5:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l5:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l5:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l5:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l5:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l5:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l5:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body bgcolor="#FDFDFD" lang=EN-US link="#1A1A1A" vlink="#1A1A1A" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>Steve Cook<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>You are invited to join us on the 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> Friday of each month at 8:00 PM Eastern for audio described movies using the below Zoom platform! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8032543777?pwd=QTVQd2RzN3l6QnNmZ0FmSnp6NG8vQT09"><span style='color:#0563C1'>https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8032543777?pwd=QTVQd2RzN3l6QnNmZ0FmSnp6NG8vQT09</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>Meeting ID: 803 254 3777<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>Passcode: 124578<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> brl-monitor-bounces@nfbcal.org <brl-monitor-bounces@nfbcal.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Brian Buhrow<br><b>Sent:</b> Sunday, October 1, 2023 11:54 PM<br><b>To:</b> brl-monitor@nfbcal.org<br><b>Subject:</b> [Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, October 2023<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div id=header><h1><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The Braille Monitor, October 2023<o:p></o:p></span></h1></div><h1 id=braille-monitor><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>BRAILLE MONITOR<o:p></o:p></span></h1><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Vol. 66, No. 9 October 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><em><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Gary Wunder, Editor</span></em><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Distributed by email, in inkprint, in Braille, and on USB flash drive, by the<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Mark Riccobono, President<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>telephone: 410-659-9314<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>email address: <a href="mailto:nfb@nfb.org">nfb@nfb.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>website address: <a href="http://www.nfb.org">http://www.nfb.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>NFBnet.org: <a href="http://www.nfbnet.org">http://www.nfbnet.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>NFB-NEWSLINE® information: 866-504-7300<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Like us on Facebook: <a href="http://Facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind">Facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Follow us on Twitter: @NFB_Voice<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Watch and share our videos: <a href="http://YouTube.com/NationsBlind">YouTube.com/NationsBlind</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Letters to the President, address changes, subscription requests, and orders for NFB literature should be sent to the national office. Articles for the <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Monitor</span></em> and letters to the editor may also be sent to the national office or may be emailed to <a href="mailto:gwunder@nfb.org">gwunder@nfb.org</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><em><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Monitor</span></em><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'> subscriptions cost the Federation about forty dollars per year. Members are invited, and nonmembers are requested, to cover the subscription cost. Donations should be made payable to <strong><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif'>National Federation of the Blind</span></strong> and sent to:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>National Federation of the Blind<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>200 East Wells Street <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif'>at Jernigan Place</span></em><br>Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>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. THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND—IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES.</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><em><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>ISSN 0006-8829</span></em><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>© 2023 by the National Federation of the Blind<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Each issue is recorded on a thumb drive (also called a memory stick or USB flash drive). You can read this audio edition using a computer or a National Library Service digital player. The NLS machine has two slots—the familiar book-cartridge slot just above the retractable carrying handle and a second slot located on the right side near the headphone jack. This smaller slot is used to play thumb drives. Remove the protective rubber pad covering this slot and insert the thumb drive. It will insert only in one position. If you encounter resistance, flip the drive over and try again. (Note: If the cartridge slot is not empty when you insert the thumb drive, the digital player will ignore the thumb drive.) Once the thumb drive is inserted, the player buttons will function as usual for reading digital materials. If you remove the thumb drive to use the player for cartridges, when you insert it again, reading should resume at the point you stopped.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>You can transfer the recording of each issue from the thumb drive to your computer or preserve it on the thumb drive. However, because thumb drives can be used hundreds of times, we would appreciate their return in order to stretch our funding. Please use the return envelope enclosed with the drive when you return the device.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Vol. 66, No. 9 October 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=contents><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Contents<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Illustration: Celebrating our Work throughout the Movement<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Together Living Blindfully: Perspectives on the Wisdom of the Shared Blind Community<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Jonathan Mosen<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Blindness, Hope, and Belief from Liberia to Littleton and Back<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Dan Burke<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Idaho’s Blind Share Our Stories on YouTube<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Ramona Walhof<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Yes, Virginia, Chapters Can Pass Resolutions<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Daniel Garcia<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Guillory Presented the National Educator of Blind Children Award<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Cathi Cox-Boniol<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Gary Van Dorn, “Go to Guy” at NFBCO, wins Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Cindy Piggott<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Reflecting on the Ten-Year Anniversary of the Marrakesh Treaty<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Marc Maurer<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>We Should All Live Ambitiously<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by John G. Paré<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Aiming Big to Achieve Our Objectives<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Jeff Kaloc<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Progress on Medical Access and Equal Wages<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Justin Young<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>My Journey of Discovery, Risk, and Reward<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Jesse Shirek<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Save the Date: 2024 Washington Seminar<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Kyle Walls<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><em><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Monitor</span></em><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'> Miniatures<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Mark Riccobono gives the September Presidential Release at a Chicago restaurant with many NFB members in attendance.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: NFB members clap and cheer for Dan O’Rourke’s completion of the Ride for Literacy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Mark Riccobono addresses the crowd at the Ride for Literacy finale at the Chicago Public Library.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Dan O’Rourke speaks to the members at the Ride for Literacy finale.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Mark Riccobono and Dan O’Rourke pose with Chicago Chapter Ride for Literacy Committee, Michelle Ault, Patti Chang, Dustin Cather, Marilyn Green, and Denise Avant.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=celebrating-our-work-throughout-the-movement><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Celebrating our Work throughout the Movement<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>On September 8, 2023, the last of several “pit stop parties” along Dan O’Rourke’s Route 66 Ride for Literacy took place in Chicago, the city where the historic highway he had just traversed reaches its end. A preview of the celebration took place the night before as President Riccobono broadcast the <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Presidential Release Live</span></em> from the Exchequer Pub in downtown Chicago, and the pictures here come from that event. In addition to celebrating Dan’s accomplishment, the release highlighted the work of the Chicago Chapter through presentations by Chapter President Denise Avant and Debbie Kent Stein, who spoke of both the chapter’s history and its current initiatives. You can access their remarks and the rest of the <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Presidential Release Live</span></em> at <a href="https://nfb.org/presidential-releases">https://nfb.org/presidential-releases</a>. The event was a fitting culmination of Dan’s journey, which had featured visits with several other chapters and affiliates along the way, and an opportunity to once again highlight the work that takes place in communities across the nation every day in order to amplify the impact of the organized blind movement. Similarly, this issue of the <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Braille Monitor</span></em> contains several articles that highlight efforts by chapters, affiliates, and individuals to advance our goals and spread our message. October is Blind Equality Achievement Month, when chapters focus specifically on community events to celebrate achievement and advance equality. We hope these articles serve as revealing snapshots of the inspiring, innovative, and powerful accomplishments that occur throughout the Federation every day and the unsung heroes that make them possible.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>-------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Jonathan Mosen]<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=together-living-blindfully-perspectives-on-the-wisdom-of-the-shared-blind-community><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Together Living Blindfully: Perspectives on the Wisdom of the Shared Blind Community<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Jonathan Mosen</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>From the Editor: The National Convention agenda listed Jonathan Mosen as “CEO, Workbridge, and Producer and Presenter, </span></strong><em><b><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Living Blindfully</span></b></em><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>; Wellington, New Zealand.” While accurate, the notation does not begin to describe all that Jonathan Mosen does or all the ways in which he has informed, inspired, and influenced the global blind community. It is no exaggeration to say that he is a world thought leader in our movement. Nor is his advocacy any less fierce and forthright for being delivered with grace and good humor. With his characteristic humility, Jonathan acknowledges that he might not be the advocate he is today without his early contact via computer bulletin boards, that were not even yet known collectively as the internet, with Federation philosophy as expressed in the writings of Dr. Jacobus tenBroek and Dr. Kenneth Jernigan. The thoughts that he shared with the convention on the morning of July 6 show that he absorbed that content, built upon what he learned, and has now taken his place as a critical voice providing wise direction for the work that still needs to be done so that “living blindfully” is also living with equality. Here are his remarks:</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Thank you, Mr. President, for the introduction and for the invitation to speak today, and good morning to my friends in the Federation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I am delighted to be at another NFB convention. When I attend one, I always feel replenished, ready to make more positive change, and prouder than ever to be blind. [Applause]<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Among the many things I’ve done in my life, I have a background in radio. After all these years of hosting shows about blindness current events, technology, providing entertainment to our community, and raising money for an important cause or two, I still believe in the power of the internet to do good, to be a vehicle for sharing knowledge, to have a place that’s uniquely ours where we’re not trying to explain blindness to sighted people; we are exclusively, unashamedly talking about the things that matter to us.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>My current podcast, <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Living Blindfully</span></em>, brings blind people together from, at last count, 113 countries. [Light applause] <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Living Blindfully</span></em> discusses a wide range of topics including policy, philosophy, employment, parenting, and more. We also talk a lot about technology because it can assist with equal participation in society. It’s technology I’d like to focus on today.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I do so mindful of the enormous responsibility this organization bears. The companies that develop the major operating systems and much of the hardware we use are based here in the United States. So blind people everywhere are counting on you to be articulate, focused, and resolute, advocating in a way that honors your proud traditions. Any success you have in bringing about more accessible technology has a direct positive benefit to many millions of blind people beyond your borders.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>In an age where technology plays a critical role in all aspects of society, the Federation has been relentless in its advocacy for accessible technology as part of its pursuit of security, equality, and opportunity. To assess the effectiveness of that advocacy, we only need to reflect on how much more information we have access to in 2023 versus, say, 1983. Computerization in general, and the internet in particular, mean it is easier for everyone to work, shop, bank, travel, communicate, be informed, and entertained. The increasing digitization of society was inevitable because of technological change. But the social change required for the blind to be included was not. Accessibility didn’t magically appear out of the goodness of people’s hearts. It happened because people in this room, alongside many pioneers in advocacy and technology who are no longer with us, and who we remember with appreciation and respect, put in the effort and made it happen. [Applause] <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Achieving the degree of accessibility we enjoy today required the use of a range of advocacy tools, including building strong relationships, being thought leaders, and, when it was absolutely necessary, legislative and legal action. It was true then, and it is still true today, that even some blind people decry the advocacy necessary to win those battles using terms like militant, radical, whining, and entitled.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Now, in January I became a grandfather for the first time. [Cheers] Thank you for that. My little granddaughter, Florence, is adorable. One of the many cool things about being a granddad is that I’m reading kids’ books again. (Just wait until Christmas when I hit the toy stores!) So, the story of the little red hen has been on my mind lately. For those who don’t know it, spoiler alert, the short version is that the little red hen tried to get help to plant the seeds, harvest the wheat, and bake the bread, but the other farm animals couldn’t be bothered. Oh but when the bread was ready, they happily volunteered to eat it. Isn’t it ironic that those who malign us as militant, who denigrate the doers, who ridicule us as radical, who attack the advocates, who berate the bakers of the bread, are publishing that criticism using the very tools that wouldn’t have been accessible were it not for the advocates they’re criticizing. [Applause] To those critics, I say the proof of the baked bread is in the eating, and you can eat it even if you didn’t bake it. To my friends in the Federation, you are the ones who make a difference, so wear the badge with honor, and take pride in being little NFB hens.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>We have baked a lot of bread, but the work is far from done. If the bread does not continue to be baked, we will starve.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>And I wish today to suggest some of the bread we must bake next. The provision of assistive technology by mainstream companies has created new advocacy challenges just as important as the battles we have won. I don’t begrudge for a moment the accolades these companies receive for their accessibility initiatives. I applaud the fact that we can now walk up to most computers and smartphones and have immediate access to them. We have life-changing tools, some of them blindness-specific, in the palm of our hand for a fraction of what they used to cost. That is staggering progress. But there’s a little secret that tends not to be covered in the media. While impressive innovation continues at pace, the quality and reliability of some of the tools we use remains a serious concern, as resolutions at several NFB conventions have recorded. I’ve worked in the technology industry, and I know that software cannot be bug-free. But today we are enduring show-stopping bugs unique to the blind that significantly degrade our ability to use some of these devices. In my own advocacy efforts, I have found it useful to apply a concept of equivalency. In other words, what would be an equivalent bug for the sighted, and would it be such a show-stopping bug that the sighted would demand a speedy resolution? I’ll give you a few examples. I am not going to call out any company by name, but if these examples are affecting you, you’ll know the companies to which I’m referring.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>If your screen reader suddenly and regularly stops speaking, that would be the same as a sighted person’s screen flickering and then completely blanking out at random intervals. Do you think the sighted would patiently wait for months until their screen worked properly again? [Shouts of “No!” from the audience] The media would be all over this, and would be calling it “screengate.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>If you’re typing on your smartphone using Braille Screen Input and you’re regularly experiencing unexpected behavior that slows you down or results in you typing gibberish, then that would be the equivalent of the virtual keyboard being next to useless for a sighted person, causing them to understandably protest loudly about them not being able to do their job, communicate, input data, and close the deal.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>If you are blind and wear hearing aids, and your screen reader is quiet to the point of being unusable when you’re on a phone call, this would be the same as a sighted person having their screen so dim every time they make a call that they can’t see it well enough to use it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>If you, in good faith, install the beta of an operating system only to find that your screen reader doesn’t work at all, that would be equivalent to a sighted person installing a beta, understanding that there may be defects, but finding with horror that their screen was blank, making their device completely useless. And imagine what would happen to the reputation of that company if it was later revealed that the team responsible released that software knowing full well that this is what it would do.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>If you scrimp and save to buy a popular Braille display, only to find you can’t connect your smartphone to it via Bluetooth because a protocol about which there was an industry-wide consensus, and that the company promised to support, hasn’t been implemented, this is the equivalent of a sighted person buying one of the leading printers on the market today, only to find that the operating system developer hasn’t kept their promise to support it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I could fill the remainder of my time with examples. If bugs like these were happening to sighted people, it would be headline news. Stock prices would plummet. Senior leaders would be filled with their email boxes overflowing, and eventually fired to give the public accountability.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The eaters who are not the bakers will say that we must be realistic and patient. We shouldn’t expect prompt resolution to blindness-specific show-stopping issues. They say assistive technology isn’t the core business of these mainstream companies, so things are bound to be a bit rough around the edges. We must be grateful, and thankful, or they might take it all away. We are a tiny fraction of their customers, so we must wait our turn. Well, the bakers know, because they baked it, that there is no legislation covering consumer rights, civil rights, accessibility, or government procurement that says it’s OK for companies to provide an inferior product to blind people. [Applause] But I’ve found plenty of law that gives this sort of behavior a name. They call it discrimination. [Cheers of agreement] The National Federation of the Blind has always been clear. Discrimination will not stand. [Applause]<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>A poorer standard of product for the blind is not merely a legal issue, it is a moral one. It is also a financial one. These large, successful companies undoubtedly have the means to resource accessibility properly. But when they prepare their annual budgets, they are allocating resources in a way that short-changes you and me. [Shout of “That’s right! from the audience]<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I’d like to address these manufacturers directly. You have made a remarkable difference to our lives. Working with us, you have helped to ensure that there has never been a better time in history to be blind. Thank you for all you have done and all you continue to do. But we are not charity cases. [Applause] Were you not doing what you are doing, you would lose the business of many entities who would no longer be permitted to buy your products. So, the relationship is a reciprocal one.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Our money is as good as anyone else’s. [Applause] We express our thanks like any other customer, by helping to return a profit to your shareholders when we buy what you’re selling. When we do this, we create a contract that you will provide us with a product that is fit for purpose. We then integrate your technology into our lives, and we come to rely on it. These products should not have such egregious accessibility defects that a blind person requires two degrees in order to operate them: one in computer science so we can work around all the bugs, and the other in Zen meditation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>For those of us fortunate enough to have found work, our jobs were usually hard won. We got them knowing full well the fundamental truth upon which the National Federation of the Blind was founded: that the problem of blindness is not the lack of eyesight, the problem is what people think blindness means. [Applause] If we, competent blind people on the job, cannot do our jobs as well as we’re capable of because of serious defects in your products you decline to fix in a timely manner, you are perpetuating myths about blindness by making us appear foolish in front of our employers. You are jeopardizing the security of our livelihoods. If there is bias in your defect assessment processes causing our mission-critical bugs to languish because they only affect a small number of people, you are preventing our equality by implying through your inaction that we are second-class customers. If your products are not dependable, you tantalize us with the promise of opportunity, but it is a promise that is not fully kept. This must stop! [Applause]<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I want to propose the following four-point plan to ensure these products become as dependable for us as they are for everyone else.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>First, in consultation with the organized blind movement, all mainstream technology companies offering assistive technology should agree on, and publish, a framework that seeks to define a line where an accessibility bug is so critical that it requires extraordinary remedial action beyond the normal software release cycle. As a working title, let’s call this the defect equity framework, or DEF for short.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Second, with the DEF in place, mainstream technology companies should collaborate with the organized blind movement to resolve the under-resourcing that is contributing to this situation. This must include hiring more blind people. [Applause] We use it; we are the best people to test it and fix it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I want to take a moment to express my profound admiration and gratitude for all the blind people working in any capacity on the technology we use every day. They can’t ever completely switch off, because when it’s time to stop thinking about work for the day, they are still blind. Sometimes, they’ll be fighting battles on the inside we can never know about. It can be tough work, but it’s vital work. So, let’s be kind to our own who are doing this work. [Applause] We need them there, and we need many more of us there.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Third, each company should establish a public database for accessibility defects, so the blind can check what bugs have already been submitted and what priority they have been accorded. We must have input into that prioritization. Right now, too many of us feel despondent and frustrated about volunteering our time and expertise to these companies, filing detailed bug report after detailed bug report, only to be ignored and fobbed off with a canned response and no progress updates.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>And fourth, every Global Accessibility Awareness Day, mainstream technology companies must do more than just publish marketing hype about new initiatives. They must provide a transparent, independently audited report that demonstrates progress as measured against the defect equity framework.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Second-class status is something we stopped accepting long ago. This proposal is a constructive, specific, better way. Let the blind and the technology industry work together and get this done. But if they will not work with us, we should not continue to accept the status quo. As Dr. Jernigan repeatedly put it, we know how to join together on the barricades.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Inadequate quality control is not the only advocacy challenge we face. Sometimes, a mainstream company can kill our productivity with kindness. It’s often said that activity should not be confused with achievement. I would also submit that accessibility should not be confused with usability. If we’re not consulted, well-intentioned sighted people may cause an app or operating system to be so verbose—and frankly, so patronizing—that it slows us down and adds no value whatsoever. Blind people must be involved in all aspects of the user experience.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>And finally, as we’ve always done, we must be vigilant about talented people who, out of a genuine desire to make a difference, use their talent to create something they assume blind people need. As Dr. tenBroek so brilliantly put it all those years ago, my road to hell is paved with your good intentions. This behavior is a high-tech form of colonization. It is also the high-tech equivalent of that person on the street who genuinely wants to be helpful, but without permission or knowledge of our destination grabs us and assumes that we need help and that they know where we are going. Knowing the needs of the market you seek to serve is Business 101.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The ideas I’ve shared with you today are a mere snapshot of the important discussions that we’ve had on <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Living Blindfully</span></em>. I hope that you will be a part of this vibrant, stimulating global conversation, as well as continuing to do the work so many of us around the world rely on you to do at the chapter, affiliate, national, and international levels through the National Federation of the Blind. Let us all continue to bake the bread of progress, never forgetting for a moment that we are worthy, together, living blindfully. Thank you so much.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>----------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: At the end of their two weeks with us, our Liberian guests each spoke to the assembled staff and students about their experience at CCB and what they will take back to their blind students. They also received certificates from Julie. Left to right are Nokutula Ncube, Julie Deden, Noah Z. Gibson, Maureen Nietfeld, Suahibu Paasewe, Miatta Kollie, and Dan Burke.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Noah Z. took advantage of our computer lab while his colleagues learned Braille. He completed over half of the 40 typing lessons in two weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Our guests were diligent learners, but especially in their Braille class. Suahibu and Miatta examine a Braille page on a Perkins Brailler.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: There are few if any sidewalks, especially in Liberian villages, let alone paved roads. ITP student Noah B. walks with Miatta on the bike path near the Center, just for the experience of something other than concrete and asphalt.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=blindness-hope-and-belief-from-liberia-to-littleton-and-back><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Blindness, Hope, and Belief from Liberia to Littleton and Back<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Dan Burke</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>From the Editor: This article originally appeared on the official blog of the Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB) at <a href="https://cocenter.org/blindness-hope-and-belief-from-liberia-to-littleton-and-back/">https://cocenter.org/blindness-hope-and-belief-from-liberia-to-littleton-and-back/</a>. It is an account of how a visit from an Uber driver with a willing spirit but a lack of expertise on blindness led to a collaboration that is helping to bring hope and opportunity to a part of the world where those priceless things are not always available, especially not to the blind. Here is how Dan Burke tells the story:</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Late in the summer of 2022, an Uber driver named Ebenezer Norman dropped into the Center and asked to speak to Executive Director Julie Deden. Norman, as he prefers to be called, unfolded the incredible and inspiring story of his efforts to raise money to build a school in Liberia, his country of origin. Liberia is a small country on the west coast of Africa which was originally founded by former slaves from the United States. Norman, who was fortunate enough to come to the US and attend Regis University, knows that good education is the future for children in Liberia and for the country as a whole.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Following many tribulations, including tragic losses which required that the school be rebuilt twice, his school, A New Dimension of Hope, is now teaching seven hundred to eight hundred Liberian children. You can visit the school on the web at <a href="https://www.ndhope.org/">https://www.ndhope.org/</a> and view a video of Norman’s story and the tribulations of getting his school up and running at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=LVeCG7_EhrM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=LVeCG7_EhrM</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Norman raises funds for his school. He has excellent administrators and educators, textbooks, a computer lab—all the things to build and maintain an outstanding education for all those children. But there was another, unexpected problem that troubled Norman and school officials. Blind children wanted to come to school, too, but they had no idea how to teach those children.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>To the credit of Norman and the faculty at A New Dimension of Hope, they didn’t want to simply send those blind kids away. They wanted them to also have the hope that education can bring. They wanted to teach those blind children.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Norman found the Colorado Center for the Blind’s website and, while out driving his Uber one day, made his way to the Center and talked with Julie Deden, and a new partnership for Norman’s school and our Center took hold. Julie, indeed all of us at the Center, were and still are moved by the thought of blind children wanting so desperately to come to school with their sighted siblings and friends, hungry for their chance to learn. We believe that blind people around the globe are our brothers and sisters, and blind children everywhere are our kids, too.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Last September, six educators from A New Dimension of Hope in Liberia and a partnering school in neighboring Ghana came for two weeks. We taught them all the Braille they could hold in that time, put learning shades on them, and gave them lessons in traveling with a white cane, taught them hands-on kitchen techniques, and generally did our level best to instill in our guests the notion that blind people can learn and become productive. Sadly, with few opportunities for blind people, many must turn to begging to support themselves in both Ghana and Liberia. Like Norman, these educators thought there could be more for those blind children, should be more for them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Liberia’s is a different physical environment than what most of us have experienced in the United States. There are few paved roads and almost no sidewalks or intersections with traffic lights. Many people in the villages surrounding the school still cook over fires every day, so no microwaves with tactile markings or Instant Pots with Bluetooth controls. But knife skills and basic measurements and determining when food is fully cooked are still useful. And so is the use of the white cane so that blind children can travel more independently and safely in their village and, soon, on their way to school.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>For the past two weeks, we hosted another four educators from A New Dimension of Hope, including the school’s principal, Suahibu Paasewe; nurse, Nokutula Ncube; and math teacher Miatta Kollie. Once more, we stuffed them with Braille, including lots of slate and stylus practice, as well as some work on the Perkins Brailler. There was regular cane travel under learning shades and time in the kitchen again. In fact, our guests traveled back to the Center’s apartments with Independence Training Program (ITP) students and instructors.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>This group included the first blind person from Liberia we had the privilege to host. Noah Zowie Gibson teaches history at A New Dimension of Hope and another school. He is active in the United Blind Association of Liberia and spent all the time he could using our typing program so he could master the keyboard by touch. He finished more than half of the program’s forty or so lessons in just two weeks!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>For blind children everywhere, Braille is the bedrock of true literacy and lifelong learning. In a small, poor country struggling to come into the internet age, Braille is even more critical, if that is possible. So, we are very grateful to the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults for donating 75 slates and styli to A New Dimension of Hope for the blind children to use at the school.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>When it comes to technology access, we showed our Liberian guests how the free, open source screen reader, NVDA worked with a Windows laptop and on the internet. Since they have primarily Chrome Books in their computer labs, we invited Showe Trela from Colorado’s Blind & Low Vision Services to give a demonstration of the accessibility options with that device’s built-in Chrome Vox screen reader. And our own Charlie Acheson spent a couple of sessions with our guests discussing smart phones like the accessibility features available on Android phones, as inexpensive Android devices are most prevalent in Liberia.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>“What struck me most was just how limited the opportunities were for blind people there,” says Julie Deden. “We’re happy to do these small things that can give those blind children greater opportunities in their lives.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Nonvisual blindness skills are essential elements for success, of course. But that’s only one aspect of what we aspire to teach at the Colorado Center for the Blind, whether we are talking about our students, older blind participants, the kids in our youth programs, or sighted members of the community, because skills aren’t enough without belief—belief in the value of those skills, in yourself as a blind person, and in the potential of all blind people to learn, grow, and contribute. Belief is the secret sauce and, working with our guests from Liberia, it is obvious that they were open to embracing that belief and carrying it home to those blind kids who are so hungry to learn that they will walk to the school and wait, all the while hoping for their opportunity to learn.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>For many of them, the next few months will bring the start of the new school term and an end to waiting.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>-------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Ramona Walhof]<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=idahos-blind-share-our-stories-on-youtube><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Idaho’s Blind Share Our Stories on YouTube<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Ramona Walhof</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>From the Editor: Ramona Walhof needs little introduction. She has served in various capacities in the National Federation of the Blind for the past six decades, including as secretary of the national organization. Ramona is always eager to share what she has learned through her various leadership roles with other national, affiliate, and state leaders, and she has a knack for finding and explaining good ideas to grow our movement. Even as she steps back from the spotlight, she is still learning and sharing, and we all benefit from her wisdom. In this article, she tells us about Idaho’s journey starting and maintaining a channel on the video-sharing platform YouTube. Although Ramona acknowledges that, like many of us, she still has much to learn about making and editing videos, she understands the importance of visual storytelling and has gained a great deal of insight about what kind of content drives engagement. Here is what she has to say:</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I have been active in the National Federation of the Blind since the 1960s. I have held both state and national offices, and I have lived and worked in four different affiliates, the latest being the National Federation of the Blind of Idaho. Since I am growing older (I am almost eighty), I am no longer a primary leader, which is as it should be. But as long as I am able, I hope and believe that I will never stop finding useful things to do. Long ago I learned that the best way to get something done is to pitch in and do it yourself or to lead the way and hope that others will catch the fever. They usually do.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>In 2016, a member of the National Federation of the Blind of Idaho who was a senior in high school offered to create a YouTube channel for us. What a good idea to help more people learn about blindness and to give our members a chance to share their stories! This young lady, Siera, created the channel and helped us shoot an introductory video. Then she moved out of state for college. For a while, we struggled to keep the channel going. Our webmaster, Kevin Pirnie, put up a few more videos and used some material from our national site. A few videos were shot at state conventions. We added a few more during the COVID pandemic, but none of this was enough to build real momentum. Too few of us had experience shooting and editing high-quality video, and it was too expensive to hire professionals more than occasionally.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I have always struggled with computer technology. I didn't get started learning about it until after I retired, and using it does not seem to come as easily as using things that I can get my hands on physically. But recently I have had a teacher a couple or three times a month and have been learning slowly and painfully to do some things with my iPhone. Then I hired a reader who is a college student and is interested in shooting videos. An NFBI member who is a YouTube afficionado also began helping. Bailie Weir found some inexpensive Rode lapel microphones on Amazon; these connect to an iPhone and produce good-quality sound. Stephanie Cascone, who directs communications and marketing efforts at the NFB Jernigan Institute, advised me to chop up some longish videos into shorter ones for new posts. My daughter has editing experience and is willing to do a limited amount. Our treasurer, Don Winiecki, has done some simple editing as well. I recruited people I barely knew or just met to shoot videos at our recent national convention in Houston, and Linda Hurlock from Montana and Grace Anderson from Alabama shot some particularly good stuff! Also during national convention, our Treasure Valley Chapter President, Susan Bradley, shot some videos and learned to operate WeTransfer, the platform we use to share the videos with each other prior to posting. I want to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has helped and everybody who has been the subject of one or more videos, whether you are named here or not. With all of this recent acquisition of knowledge, equipment, and helpers, our YouTube effort has really begun to take off. We will have more people involved as we go along, hopefully some from every chapter! I will never run out of ideas for videos, and I know that more blind people from Idaho and beyond have interesting stories to tell. So, as we grow our collective capacity to shoot and edit videos, the opportunities to use YouTube as a platform become more exciting.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>One of the wonderful things about YouTube and other social media is that there are ways of measuring whether your messages are reaching a wide audience. YouTube shows us how many people view, like, and comment on our videos, and this number is steadily increasing. As of this writing, we have 120 subscribers and 125 videos posted, with an additional twenty-five or so ready to be posted. Many people are intimidated by social media because they are unsure what to post. We have found that the only way to learn what messages resonate and engage our audience is to try posting a wide variety of videos and then to observe audience reaction. It is impossible to predict which videos will be most popular, but videos of people using a white cane independently are often viewed by many. Indeed, the first video on our channel to receive three thousand views was of me crossing the street with my white cane. Not surprisingly, kids are often fun to watch. Although a close-up of somebody talking about a hobby or experience may be viewed a lot, interesting locations and activities make a high number of views more likely. The titles matter, too. They should be catchy, descriptive, or both. Kevin Pirnie is naming most of our videos; one called “Beautiful Blind African Lady Riding Idaho Cowboy's Horse into the Sunset” is very popular. Kevin also creates themed playlists: state convention, Cycle for Independence (our annual fund-raising bike-a-thon), national convention, employment, BELL and Beyond, and "kids loving Braille.” At last count, twenty-two of our videos had been viewed more than a hundred times each, and this will change soon because several have close to a hundred views. So far our highest number of views is 3,100, but you never know when something new will take off. And you never know when something not so new will suddenly get some attention. We shot a video about library services for the blind which sat there with little attention for a month or more. Then suddenly it shot up to 153 views in a couple of days. It is fun for Kevin and me to track our video metrics and learn from what we observe. Right now we have more than 21,000 views altogether, and that number will hopefully be much higher by the time you read this. This means that we have reached somewhere between 3100 and 21,000 people with a bit of the Federation message.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Our videos are intended to interest, educate, and entertain sighted people about blindness and blind people. Of course, we also welcome blind and low-vision subscribers and viewers, their family members, and professionals, all of who may benefit from exposure to our positive philosophy of blindness. The videos have turned out to be an excellent way to help members learn more about each other as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I do not believe that every affiliate needs to do a similar channel, but I do think it is wise for as many affiliates as possible to have a presence on social media. Many affiliates already have a presence on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok, Instagram, or some other platform. While some of these platforms allow text-only posts, many also allow the posting of images and videos, and TikTok, like YouTube, is primarily intended for video content. As mentioned in an informative article in the July issue of the <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Braille Monitor</span></em>, affiliates are now being encouraged to establish a presence through our new nfb.social instance on Mastodon. The NFB national channel there, @nationsblind@nfb.social, is helpful to all of us and sets a high standard. With all of these platforms, as Idaho has learned from our YouTube experience, there is no substitute for posting items that might be of interest and then seeing what sparks engagement.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I have plans for many more videos when I have time and have help to shoot them. Perhaps I can eventually learn to shoot some of the videos myself, as many of my blind friends do. In the meantime, I am always looking for more help shooting, editing, and thinking up new things to post. As long as the NFB of Idaho remains active and new people join, we have new raw material! Everybody has stories worth sharing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Our YouTube channel is an important part of our activities during Blindness Equality Achievement Month, but like many such efforts, it will be most successful if we keep it going strong all year long! Blind Equality Achievement Month is intended to be a time when we share our experiences as blind people with the public. While the in-person events that we create during the month are a part of this sharing, posting videos and other content expands the potential audience, allowing our friends and neighbors to learn about our lives whenever they wish to do so.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The NFB of Idaho welcomes you to subscribe to Idaho's Blind on YouTube. You can do so by visiting <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@idahosblind">https://www.youtube.com/@idahosblind</a>. We will appreciate your comments, since feedback will help us create more engaging content, but you are also welcome to just silently “lurk” there. We often post five or six new videos in a week. You will recognize some of your friends, and you will meet people you do not know! If you want to contribute something, we love to receive videos from outside Idaho as well. After all, you are our friends and our Federation family! See you soon!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>----------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Daniel Garcia]<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=yes-virginia-chapters-can-pass-resolutions><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Yes, Virginia, Chapters Can Pass Resolutions<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Daniel Garcia</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>From the Editor: Chapters are the local organizational units of the National Federation of the Blind, and they act not merely as social clubs, but as a means for blind people to engage in collective action on the local level. They can do the same things that affiliate conventions and the national convention can do, including passing resolutions, as long as their activities are in line with the national constitution and do not conflict with affiliate or national policy. In this short article, Daniel Garcia, president of the Kansas City Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri, explains how his chapter and a neighboring one engaged in advocacy on local transportation issues with which we can all identify through the passage of a resolution. Here is what he has to say:</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>In 1897, eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of the <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif'>New York Sun</span></em> newspaper asking a most profoundly important question: “Is there a Santa Claus?” The answer she received was an unequivocal: “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” In the same way that many people are unaware of the true existence of Santa Claus, many Federationists may not realize that passing resolutions is not the exclusive purview of national and state conventions. Chapters can (and should) pass resolutions. The Kansas City and Ivanhoe Chapters recently did.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The December 2022 issue of the <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Blind Missourian</span></em> featured an article I wrote about how the Kansas City Chapter promoted the goals of Blind Equality Achievement Month. In that article, I explained that I had contacted the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) about the inaccessibility of the application for the complementary paratransit service. I then received a call from Lewis Lowry, Chief Transportation Officer for the KCATA, and he agreed that the KCATA and the NFB would work to resolve this issue. This conversation led to Mr. Lowry attending our November 12 chapter meeting. In January and February 2023, we attempted to contact the KCATA to continue our conversation about issues of concern to blind Kansas City passengers. Our efforts were unsuccessful, so during the March 18 chapter meeting, we passed a resolution calling on the KCATA to meet with representatives of the NFB of Missouri, Kansas City Chapter. The Ivanhoe Chapter passed a similar resolution during its March 25 meeting. The text of the resolution passed by the Kansas City Chapter is below.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>As I was writing the draft resolution in February, I was reviewing some old Kansas City Chapter records that have been given to me to sort and upload to our affiliate archive. I was humbled by the realization that what we were about to do on March 18 was nothing novel. The Kansas City Chapter has passed resolutions before. It gives me great satisfaction to know that our chapter is continuing a proud tradition of strong advocacy in Kansas City.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h3 id=a-resolution-regarding-improving-public-transportation-for-kansas-city-passengers><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>A Resolution Regarding Improving Public Transportation for Kansas City Passengers<o:p></o:p></span></h3><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>WHEREAS the National Federation of the Blind is the oldest and largest nationwide organization defending the rights of blind Americans; and<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>WHEREAS the Kansas City Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri is one of two chapters in Kansas City, Missouri that advocates for the rights of blind Kansas Citians; and<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>WHEREAS the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority is a bi-state agency responsible for providing public transportation in the Kansas City area; and<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>WHEREAS blind Kansas Citians have experienced various problems with public transportations recently including: the inaccessibility of the application for the RideKC Freedom complementary paratransit service, paratransit trips being canceled without the passengers’ consent, paratransit passengers being picked up after the agreed upon time window to initiate the trip, RideKC Freedom on-demand trips not being honored, shortage of fixed-route bus drivers causing passengers to have to wait for the next regularly scheduled bus, and fixed-route buses not announcing the bus number and route at the bus stop; and<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>WHEREAS over the past few months the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri, Kansas City Chapter has repeatedly tried to secure a meeting with Kansas City Area Transportation officials to address these issues and share ideas about how to improve transportation for blind Kansas Citians; and<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>WHEREAS our efforts have so far been unsuccessful: Now therefore,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri, Kansas City Chapter, assembled this 18th day of March, 2023, that we urge Kansas City Area Transportation Authority officials to meet with representatives of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri, Kansas City Chapter, and reengage the Rider Advisory Board; and<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon members of the city council and Mayor Quinton Lucas to renew the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities; and<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri, Kansas City Chapter will continue to advocate for improved transportation services in the Kansas City Area by various means such as contacting our elected officials, engaging in public relations to bring media attention, and partnering with other like-minded organizations representing people with disabilities and passengers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>----------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Krystal Guillory]<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=guillory-presented-the-national-educator-of-blind-children-award><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Guillory Presented the National Educator of Blind Children Award<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Cathi Cox-Boniol</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>From the Editor: Those who attended the Board of Directors meeting at the 2023 National Convention, or who read about it in the August/September issue of this magazine, may recall that Krystal Guillory was surprised when, instead of simply being called upon to give a presentation about the annual Braille Book Fair, she instead found herself receiving the Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award. Others present were perhaps not quite as surprised as she was, since Krystal is well known for her advocacy for blind students and her many activities within the Federation. But she received the award specifically for the work she does every day in the schools of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, and the local papers there took notice of the recognition. This article originally appeared on July 14, 2023 in the </span></strong><em><b><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Ruston Daily Leader</span></b></em><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>, the newspaper serving the hometown of both Krystal and the Louisiana Center for the Blind. It is reprinted here with the newspaper’s kind permission. Here it is:</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>When Krystal Guillory headed to Houston for the National Federation of the Blind conference, she had one thing on her mind—ace her presentation. So, when her name was called as the recipient of the annual Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award, she was caught completely off guard.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>“I was in shock to say the least,” Guillory said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would win a national award for teaching. I pour into my students daily, but I think as teachers we are always thinking what’s next, and there’s so much more to do.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>A teacher of blind students for over twenty years, Guillory credits her involvement in the National Federation of the Blind with dramatically increasing her effectiveness in inspiring and motivating her students. She also serves as coordinator for NFB BELL academies in the state of Louisiana and is a board member of the Louisiana division of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>“Krystal Guillory has an outstanding track record of raising expectations for blind students and their families in Louisiana, both those whom she instructs directly and others throughout the state,” said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. “She is an advocate for Braille literacy, early cane travel, and other critical blindness skills. She was instrumental in helping to create NFB BELL Academy In-Home Edition to serve blind students across the nation during the pandemic, and she enhances that program and other Braille literacy efforts across Louisiana and the United States. These qualities make her an outstanding recipient of our Distinguished Educator of Blind Students award.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The Distinguished Educator of Blind Students award carries with it a $1,000 cash prize and an opportunity to address hundreds of parents of blind students and network with other blind individuals and teachers of blind students.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Pam Allen, Executive Director for the Louisiana Center for the Blind, said the recognition was well deserved.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>“Krystal serves as the treasurer for the NFB of Louisiana, is a loving and devoted wife, mother, and leader in church,” Allen said. “She always goes the extra mile and has incredibly high expectations. Because of her creativity, commitment, leadership and dedicated service, the lives of blind children and their families have been truly transformed.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>In addition to Allen’s submission, Guillory was nominated by several individuals including parents of students she has served, students, and colleagues. Because she wasn’t involved in the nomination process, the honor came as a complete surprise.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>“My colleagues and husband were all in cahoots on the nomination and I did not know about it until I was at the conference and prepared to speak about a Braille Book Fair that I help to coordinate,” Guillory said. “I think that I am the first teacher that they have ever surprised as normally the recipients prepare a speech.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Guillory also gives credit where credit is due. Noting the support of her husband Eric and the encouragement of Ruby Ryles, who championed the push for Braille for students regardless of their functional vision, she also offers gratitude for the immense support at the local level.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Sharing that Lincoln Parish benefits from supportive administrators, colleagues and paraeducators that believe in blind children, she sees the award as a recognition for a superb team.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>“Pam Allen has been a huge support for me, my students, and families throughout our state,” Guillory added. “She has never told me no about any need when it comes to our students. She has helped us secure teaching materials and equipment, supported families to come to conventions, provided a means for us to have weekend events, and other things. And while I am so blessed to have received the Distinguished Educator of Blind Students award, I have only been successful because I work with phenomenal teams filled with hardworking teachers and blind mentors.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>In reflecting on how the award might impact her ongoing commitment and work, Guillory is notably moved.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>“As teachers, there usually aren’t many accolades received. We receive intangible gifts—a student reading for the first time, a student graduating with honors—but this tangible plaque is something I can have in my classroom reminding me even in the long, hard days that I am making a difference and touching lives. This award has rejuvenated and inspired me to dream bigger for my students and the future.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>----------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Gary Van Dorn and Jean Kerr]<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=gary-van-dorn-go-to-guy-at-nfbco-wins-minoru-yasui-community-volunteer-award><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Gary Van Dorn, “Go to Guy” at NFBCO, wins Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Cindy Piggott</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>From the Editor: Cindy Piggott chairs the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award Committee, which presents an award each month to an outstanding volunteer in the Denver area. According to their website, the award’s namesake was “a community leader dedicated to improving the quality of life for all people. Educated as an attorney, Minoru Yasui served as the Executive Director of the Denver Commission on Community Relations for sixteen years and was a champion of civil rights. Mr. Yasui died in 1986.” In August of 2023, the committee recognized Gary Van Dorn, who was nominated by his Federation family. Here is the profile that the committee shared with local readers through a community blog hosted by the </span></strong><em><b><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Denver Post:</span></b></em><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Gary Van Dorn’s motto is “to believe in the security, equality and opportunity for the blind.” The blind should be able to do all the things that everyone else can do! A sunny day on the 16th Street Mall was the stage for the August celebration honoring Van Dorn with the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award in celebration of his extraordinary volunteer efforts with the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The National Federation of the Blind of Colorado is made up of visually impaired people of all ages, their families, and friends. Their members and leaders provide advocacy and support to blind and visually impaired Coloradans across the state. They work together to promote full participation and integration of blind people in all areas of life. They serve as an advocate for change when equal access and treatment of the blind is denied. Their specific mission is to achieve widespread emotional acceptance and intellectual understanding that the real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight but the misconceptions and lack of information that exist. They do this by bringing blind people together to share successes, to support each other in times of failure, and to create imaginative solutions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Van Dorn, who is legally blind, has worked for the past thirty years as a policy/risk analyst for the Internal Revenue Service. During that time, he also has volunteered at NFBCO, serving on its board of directors.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>He attends every meeting of the [Federation] and provides professional advice regarding tax code and filing expertise. Quietly outgoing, he never seeks the limelight and always reaches out to new members on the fringe of the organization making them feel welcome. Van Dorn is always there to lend a hand setting up for conventions and meetings. He is the “Go to Guy” for any and all transportation questions or general information about Denver. His phenomenal memory provides accurate detailed information for those he talks with to quickly access the details they need or help them find the proper contact to answer questions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>In 2011, Van Dorn recognized that while NFBCO currently had a chapter in the Littleton area, there was a significant need for a chapter that would meet in downtown Denver. He sprang into action and organized the Mile High Chapter, which meets in the downtown area on Wednesday evenings. Van Dorn served as the president of this chapter from 2011-2015. He continues to serve as the treasurer of the chapter and remains very involved.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Van Dorn’s focus is transportation. Public transportation is challenging for people who can see. For those who are visually impaired or blind, it can be harrowing. Van Dorn has served as an extraordinary advocate for transit in the downtown Denver area. Not just an advocate, he is one of the 16th Street Mall “project champions.” He volunteers as a board member for the Downtown Denver Partnership and ensures that the mall and the business occupants of the mall are aware of any accessibility issues for the blind. He is actively involved in meetings regarding the Colfax redevelopment project. He is the spokesperson for the blind for RTD and frequently attends RTD meetings representing the Mile High Chapter of NFBCO. Van Dorn pays particularly close attention to changes in routes to ensure equal accessibility for the blind community.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>As the organization’s Transportation Committee chairperson, Van Dorn has inspired committee members to focus on critical issues affecting the blind community. These include:<o:p></o:p></span></p><ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l4 level1 lfo1'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Ensuring that audible announcements on the 16th Street Mall Free Bus work, even when the buses are detoured due to construction;<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo2'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Working with the Denver International Airport to improve rideshare pickup and drop-off procedures for the blind;<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo3'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Studying state regulations governing transportation networks such as Lyft and Uber to prevent price gouging; and<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l5 level1 lfo4'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Collaborating with technology experts to ensure that transportation schedules are non-visually accessible.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>In his nominating letter, Curtis Chong wrote, “Mr. Van Dorn is a caring and warm-hearted individual who never seems too busy to help someone in need. He believes in the innate normality of people who are blind or who struggle with other disabilities while at the same time, holding them to a high standard of accomplishment.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Van Dorn donated the $2,000 cash award to The National Federation of the Blind of Colorado.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, ”The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” The Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award celebrates those extraordinary volunteers who make a contribution and change lives. They choose to “live well.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award is now a program of Spark the Change Colorado. Sponsors of this award include The Yasui Family, Lanny and Sharon Martin, Lynne Butler, Don and Liza Kirkpatrick, Sharon Bishop, About Time Awards, and MYCVA Committee members. If you know of an extraordinary volunteer or would like to donate to this award, please visit our website at <a href="http://www.minyasui.org">www.minyasui.org</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>----------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Marc Maurer]<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=reflecting-on-the-ten-year-anniversary-of-the-marrakesh-treaty><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Reflecting on the Ten-Year Anniversary of the Marrakesh Treaty<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Marc Maurer</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Editor’s Note: On the afternoon of Monday, July 3, the National Association of Blind Lawyers convened for its annual meeting. One of the first items on the agenda was this presentation from Dr. Marc Maurer, the Immediate Past President of the National Federation of the Blind. Here is what he said to the gathering:</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The Marrakesh Treaty, officially entitled Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled, is a document created in a meeting that took place in Marrakesh, Morocco, in June of 2013. The meeting was a diplomatic conference attended by representatives from dozens of countries, known by the cognoscenti as a dipcon. I was then serving as President of the National Federation of the Blind, but I could not attend the meeting because I was working to get ready for our 2013 National Convention. I sent Scott LaBarre to be our representative, and a very fortunate choice that it was for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The World Blind Union had proposed that such a treaty be created in 2008, and the National Federation of the Blind strongly supported the treaty. Long before we reached the gathering in Morocco, officials in the Obama administration had tried to talk us out of the treaty. They said they would support a non-legal international understanding (a “soft law” approach they called it) that would facilitate lending accessible books for the blind across country borders. They said that this would have the same effect as a treaty. Getting a treaty adopted would be next to impossible, they told us. Even if we could get it adopted, the Senate would never ratify it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Within a few months, we hosted an executive committee meeting of the World Blind Union in Baltimore. Maryanne Diamond, who has served as president of the World Blind Union, asked, “Why are you giving up without a fight? Don’t you believe that we should share materials for the blind throughout the world?” This changed the approach of the National Federation of the Blind. We informed the Obama administration that we wanted a treaty, that we would do our best to get it, and that we would not settle for inferior substitutes that do not have the force of law.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>In Marrakesh, Scott LaBarre had the tricky assignment of finding ways to negotiate the proper language for the treaty. He was required to be sufficiently demanding to get the language in the treaty that we wanted and sufficiently charming to get people to want the language to be there. Everybody seemed to want to water down the treaty. Libraries could (some people said) share books with each other, but they would have to keep records of who borrowed the books and produce those records on demand along with proof that the people borrowing them met the definition of print disability. The librarians had a fit. They said that they could not violate the privacy rights of all their patrons and that the workload of keeping such records would be intolerable. The publishers said that lending books in Braille would be fine but that lending electronic books couldn’t be in the treaty. Blind organizations from around the world said that the treaty would have to include electronic books because the entire publishing industry was headed that way. Some publishers said that recorded books could not be lent across borders because a print book has its copyright, and as soon as you make a recorded book, it’s a different book with a different copyright. The new book has its own protection, and even if there’s a copyright exception to the print book, it doesn’t apply to recorded material.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The arguments seemed endless. When Scott LaBarre got to Marrakesh, thirty-seven distinct differences in language remained for discussion in the proposed draft of the treaty. As negotiations continued, additional differences in language and arguments about what the treaty should say were presented by the representatives of the countries involved in the diplomatic conference.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The proposed treaty was regarded with alarm by rights holders of intellectual property from many, many different disciplines. Copyright law in the United States is intended to protect the rights of those who own the copyright. Most treaties dealing with copyright are written to give added emphasis to the protections required for the holders. This treaty was directed toward creating exceptions to copyright protections, and the rights holders were worried that it might be the forerunner of other efforts to loosen copyright protection. Not only the Motion Picture Association of America but also Exxon Mobile, GE, Caterpillar, Adobe, IBM, Association of American Publishers, International Publishers Association, and many, many others opposed the treaty. Our job was to change their minds or silence the criticism. Many of our opponents came to recognize the value of the treaty and joined us in supporting it before the end of negotiations. On June 25, 2013, the language was complete. The final version was adopted on the 28<sup>th</sup>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>In October 2013, the United States signed the treaty. Then began another negotiation to get the treaty through the executive branch and onto the Senate floor. Once again, the arguments seemed endless. The State Department creates a packet of material to be presented to the Senate so that the treaty can be considered. The treaty cannot come into force, however, unless conforming legislation is adopted by Congress to bring American law into line with the provisions of the treaty itself. When the Senate considers a treaty, it can reject it or accept it. If the Senate determines to accept a treaty, it can do so with exceptions, known in the trade as RUDs—reservations, understandings, and declarations. If the Senate loads a treaty with enough of these exceptions, the force of that treaty is diminished. Scott LaBarre’s job was to get a clean packet of material out of the State Department so that the treaty could come to the Senate floor with as few exceptions as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>In the meantime, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the segment of the United Nations that deals with copyright around the world, formed in the spring of 2014 the Accessible Book Consortium to manage accessible titles that could be transported across borders to libraries for the blind. Scott LaBarre served as one of the founding board members of this international organization.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The State Department finally completed the package of materials for the Senate in the spring of 2016. In the spring of 2018, the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate received testimony from the State Department, the National Federation of the Blind, and others before unanimously recommending the treaty for passage to the Senate. The chairman of the committee noted that in a most unusual occurrence in Washington, there was bipartisan, enthusiastic support for the treaty. The Senate ratified the treaty by unanimous consent in June 2018 and adopted implementing legislation to conform US law to the treaty language. The House of Representatives adopted the same conforming bill in September. The president signed that bill into law on October 9, 2018. In February 2019, an emissary from the United States carried a ratification document to Geneva to indicate that the treaty was in effect in the United States. The United States was the fiftieth country to ratify the treaty. The title of the treaty, the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled, is significant. In Marrakesh, arguments occurred repeatedly that this title was too long, too cumbersome, too verbose. Scott LaBarre said we have done all this work, we have negotiated with so many for so long in good faith, we are not leaving blind out of the title. It must show that this treaty is to serve blind people. His argument to maintain the descriptive title was successful.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Now, nonprofit organizations or governmental entities that have a primary part of their business to serve as libraries for the blind can share books across country borders for the use of the blind. The books can be recorded, electronic, Braille, or large print. More than 130,000 books from the blindness collection in the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled of the Library of Congress have been shared with the World Intellectual Property Organization. Almost 5,000 titles from the World Intellectual Property Organization have been added to the Library of Congress collection of books for the blind. WIPO has books in eighty different languages, and since the adoption of the Marrakesh Treaty, books in thirteen new languages have been added to the Library of Congress books for the blind collection. According to the latest information from WIPO, there are more than three quarters of a million books in its collection.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The Accessible Books Consortium came into being only nine years ago. Its collection of books being distributed for the World Intellectual Property Organization will undoubtedly be one of the world’s greatest libraries for the use of the blind. This happened because of the work of the National Federation of the Blind, but especially because of the contributions of Scott LaBarre.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>----------<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=we-need-your-help><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>We Need Your Help<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><em><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Very soon after I went blind, I went to my first convention of the National Federation of the Blind. Though as a six-year-old I was not scared about my future as a blind person, learning about the NFB and going to conventions showed me tons of independent blind people who I could look up to. Real life superheroes that I could aspire to be like.</span></em><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'> - Abigail<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Blind children, students, and adults are making powerful strides in education and leadership every day across the United States, but we need to continue helping kids like Abigail. For more than eighty years, the National Federation of the Blind has worked to transform the dreams of hundreds of thousands of blind people into reality. With support from individuals like you, we can continue to provide powerful programs and critical resources now and for decades to come. We hope you will plan to be a part of our enduring movement by including the National Federation of the Blind in your charitable giving and in your estate planning. It is easier than you think.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>With your help, the NFB will continue to:<o:p></o:p></span></p><ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo5'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Give blind children the gift of literacy through Braille.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo5'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Mentor young people like Abigail.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo5'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Promote independent travel by providing free, long white canes to blind people in need.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo5'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Develop dynamic educational projects and programs to show blind youth that science and math careers are within their reach.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo5'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Deliver hundreds of accessible newspapers and magazines to provide blind people the essential information necessary to be actively involved in their communities.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo5'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Offer aids and appliances that help seniors losing vision maintain their independence.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Below are just a few of the many tax-deductible ways you can show your support of the National Federation of the Blind.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h3 id=lyft-round-up><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>LYFT Round Up <o:p></o:p></span></h3><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>By visiting the menu, choosing donate, and selecting the National Federation of the Blind, you commit to giving to the National Federation of the Blind with each ride.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h3 id=vehicle-donation-program><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Vehicle Donation Program<o:p></o:p></span></h3><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>We accept donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation. We can also answer any questions you have.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h3 id=general-donation><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>General Donation<o:p></o:p></span></h3><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they want. You can call 410-659-9314, extension 2430, to give by phone. Give online with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit our Ways to Give Page at: <a href="https://nfb.org/give">https://nfb.org/give</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h3 id=pre-authorized-contributions><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Pre-Authorized Contributions<o:p></o:p></span></h3><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly donations by direct withdrawal of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card. To enroll, call 877-NFB-2PAC, or fill out our PAC Donation Form <a href="https://www.nfb.org/pac">https://www.nfb.org/pac</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h4 id=plan-to-leave-a-legacy><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Plan to Leave a Legacy<o:p></o:p></span></h4><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The National Federation of the Blind legacy society, our Dream Makers Circle, honors and recognizes the generosity and imagination of members and special friends who have chosen to leave a legacy through a will or other planned giving option. You can join the Dream Makers Circle in a myriad of ways.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h4 id=percentage-or-fixed-sum-of-assets><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Percentage or Fixed Sum of Assets<o:p></o:p></span></h4><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>You can specify that a percentage or a fixed sum of your assets or property goes to the National Federation of the Blind in your will, trust, pension, IRA, life insurance policy, brokerage account, or other accounts.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h4 id=payable-on-death-pod-account><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Payable on Death (POD) Account<o:p></o:p></span></h4><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>You can name the National Federation of the Blind as the beneficiary on a Payable on Death (POD) account through your bank. You can turn any checking or savings account into a POD account. This is one of the simplest ways to leave a legacy. The account is totally in your control during your lifetime, and you can change the beneficiary or percentage at any time with ease.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h4 id=will-or-trust><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Will or Trust<o:p></o:p></span></h4><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>If you do decide to create or revise your will, consider the National Federation of the Blind as a partial beneficiary.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Visit our Planned Giving webpage (<a href="https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give/planned-giving">https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give/planned-giving</a>) or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>In 2022 our supporters helped the NFB:<o:p></o:p></span></p><ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo6'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Send 371 Braille Santa and Winter Celebration letters to blind children, encouraging excitement for Braille literacy.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo6'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Distribute over three thousand canes to blind people across the United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout their communities.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo6'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Deliver more than five hundred newspapers and magazines to more than 100,000 subscribers with print disabilities free of charge.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo6'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Give over seven hundred Braille-writing slates and styluses free of charge to blind users.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo6'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Mentor 207 blind youth during our Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning® Academy.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li style='color:#1A1A1A;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo6'><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Award thirty scholarships each in the amount of $8,000 to blind students.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Just imagine what we will do this year, and, with your help, what can be accomplished for years to come. Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>----------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: John G. Paré]<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=we-should-all-live-ambitiously><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>We Should All Live Ambitiously<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by John G. Paré</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>From the Editor: John is the executive director of our Advocacy and Policy Team, and he led the team in providing information about the programs he supervises and the legislative proposals we support. Along with his team, which some call the four J’s (John, Justin, Jeff, and Jesse); they gave us both our progress and our marching orders. Here is what John said to the 2023 National Convention:</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>CNBC recently began promoting the tagline “Live Ambitiously.” Their website includes a video where each of their anchors and newscasters describe how their ambition helped get them to where they are today. I wonder how many people think about blind people when they think about living ambitiously. Do they think we have dreams of a good education, rewarding jobs, a welcoming home, and a family? Or are their expectations so low that they think we are happy to just sit at home fighting inaccessible websites, applications, and technology?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The Cambridge Dictionary defines ambition as “a strong wish to achieve something.” That’s exactly what I observe with the members of the National Federation of the Blind. We are determined to live the lives we want and we are willing to work as hard as necessary to ensure all blind Americans have this opportunity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>This concept is not new for us. In his 1956 speech, “Within the Grace of God,” Dr. tenBroek said: “Our access to the mainstreams of community life, the aspirations and achievements of each of us, are to be limited only by the skills, energy, talents, and abilities we individually bring to the opportunities.” Not only are we individually ambitious, but we, the whole of the National Federation of the Blind, have collective ambition as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>One example is our effort to pass laws and influence regulations that would improve opportunities and protect the civil rights of blind Americans. You will be hearing more about our specific bills in a few minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>On May 18, Tony Coelho, the father of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999, published an article on Websites and Software Applications Accessibility. They said: “It’s about time that businesses embraced digital accessibility as a key brand imperative and took ownership of the role that web and software design play in the employee and customer experience. People with disabilities should be able to universally access technology even as new innovations occur.” We could not agree more.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>We are working with Senator Duckworth and Representative Sarbanes to get the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act reintroduced in both the Senate and House respectively. Regarding ADA website accessibility regulations, the DOJ must move forward on both the Title 2 and Title 3 NPRM. They began this work in 2010. Twelve years is long enough. The DOJ Civil Rights Division must move forward NOW.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>On March 27, 2023, Elizabeth Schoen, a member of the National Association of Blind Students, was scheduled to fly on JetBlue from Minneapolis to Boston. But JetBlue refused to let her board her plane because she was traveling with a guide dog. They said there was a problem with her paperwork but refused to work with her to resolve the issue. JetBlue employees even mocked her when she took the initiative to call customer service. While she did not fly that day, Elizabeth did not stop advocating for herself. She reported the problem to JetBlue and filed a complaint with the US Department of Transportation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>On April 27, 2023, Al Elia, Justin Young, and I accompanied Elizabeth to the Department of Transportation in Washington, DC, to meet with Blane Workie, the Assistant General Counsel for the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection. Elizabeth told her story once again reliving each traumatic moment. It is because of Elizabeth and so many others who have reported airline discrimination that we now have the attention of the Department of Transportation. Blind people who travel with guide dogs have the right to travel on airlines and we will do everything in our power to protect that right.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>California SB581 is a bill that would dramatically hinder our legal advocacy in that state. Tim Elder, the president of the NFB of California wrote the bill sponsor with our concerns and offered edits to rectify the issue. At the last moment, the state legislature scheduled a hearing on this and other bills. We contacted Shannon Dillon, who coordinates our California state-level advocacy, and asked her if she could attend and speak at the hearing. She dropped everything she had planned and went to the state legislature for the morning hearing. After several hours, the hearing was adjourned until the evening. Shannon went home and then returned at 5:00 p.m. to learn that nearly forty bills would be discussed. She had to wait until 10:30 p.m. to testify. As a result of Shannon’s perseverance and persuasive testimony, I am happy to report the bill was suspended.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Scott White is responsible for our NFB-NEWSLINE® service. NFB-NEWSLINE is the largest and most effective newspaper and information service available to the blind anywhere in the world. It is available via the telephone, the web, the Victor Reader Stream, the NLS digital talking book player, the Amazon Echo, and the IOS app. There are 577 publications and some portion of NFB-NEWSLINE is accessed every 1.4 seconds. Recent additions include the <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Modesto Bee, Bismarck Journal, Hickory Daily Record, Shanghai Daily,</span></em> and <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Kiev Independent.</span></em> There are also TV listings for every cable and satellite provider, seven-day weather forecasts, emergency alerts, and job listings. If you do not already use NFB-NEWSLINE, I urge you to sign up.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Sean Seward is our manager of the Independence Market. He, along with our organizational technology group, is working hard to launch our eCommerce system. In the meantime, you can browse our catalog on our website and order items by calling our main number. We have over 400 items in our catalog including white canes, Braille and audio watches, kitchen aids, measuring tools, and games. We also have NFB logoed shirts, jackets, and hats. If you don’t already have any NFB logoed attire, check out our catalog.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>United States Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens, once said: “We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.” Our dream is a world where blind people can live the lives we want as valued and respected members of society.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>We will not let low expectations of blind people diminish our dreams for an equal education.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>We will not let low expectations diminish our dreams for employment and career advancement. We will not let the discrimination we experience diminish our ambition. When we encounter an inaccessible website, we will demand that it is fixed. When we encounter an inaccessible medical device, we will strengthen our advocacy. When regulations hinder our opportunities, we will demand that they are changed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>This work is not easy but we are up to the task. Our resolve is steadfast, our determination is relentless, and our ambition is strong. We will work together with love, hope, and determination, and we will live the lives we want ambitiously.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>----------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Jeff Kaloc]<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=aiming-big-to-achieve-our-objectives><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Aiming Big to Achieve Our Objectives<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Jeff Kaloc</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>From the Editor: As John Paré pointed out when introducing him to the convention, Jeff Kaloc has experience as a staffer on Capitol Hill. Now he brings that expertise to the other side of the table in helping us to craft our legislative efforts. Here is what Jeff said to the convention:</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>It is good to be with everyone here in Houston! The fact that you are here at this convention, the largest gathering of blind people, speaks volumes about what becoming a member of the National Federation of the Blind means by expressing our voices, contributing to the organized blind movement, and making progress each and every day!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Houston is known for many things. The same can be said about the entire state of Texas. The saying goes that everything is bigger in Texas. Now that I’ve been here a few days, I’d have to agree. Let’s keep that sentiment in line with our goals, to aim big with our policy objectives.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The Access Technology Affordability Act’s support has grown enormously since it was introduced several Congresses ago. With politics becoming more partisan, it is refreshing to forward a bill that is bipartisan because accessibility isn’t solely a Republican or Democratic policy, it is an American ideal. The bipartisan support is evident in its reflection of cosponsors. In the 117<sup>th</sup> Congress, the bill had 165 House cosponsors and forty cosponsors in the Senate. In the current Congress, the 118<sup>th</sup> Congress, the bill has been introduced by Representative Mike Kelly, a House Republican, with Representative Mike Thompson, a Democrat, as the lead cosponsor. In the Senate, the bill is sponsored by Democratic Senator Ben Cardin and Senator John Boozman, a Republican, as the lead cosponsor. The support for this bill has grown in other ways, too. It is legislation known by committee staff and recognized by Congressional leadership.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>None of this progress would have been possible without our hard work and dedication to advocate for this legislation. Whether it be attending Washington Seminar, calling and writing your members of Congress, attending at town halls, and being active on social media, we made sure our voice was heard and this bill has gotten the attention it deserved. We understand the importance of addressing the high cost of access technology that places far too many blind people at a disadvantage. Affordable access technology is often the determining factor to passing a class or applying for a job opening. It allows blind people to interact in the digital world that has now become a necessity for everyday life. That is why we must stay vigilant in our efforts by continuing to advocate until this legislation is passed and signed into law!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>None of our advocacy would be possible without the ability to cast a ballot. How can we feel that our ballots matter if it cannot be cast both privately and independently? That is why we at the National Federation of the Blind have been relentless in our efforts to ensure that whether you choose to go to the polls or remain at home, voting can and must be accessible for all blind Americans. We need to continue to advocate for enhanced training at polling places. Poll workers need to be properly trained and equipped to operate ballot-marking devices. We need to ensure that ballot-marking devices are set up and fully operational from the beginning of Election Day. In addition, we also urge that more blind people become poll workers, thereby becoming involved in the election process.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Since the pandemic, remote voting has increased significantly. Countless states have allowed voters without disabilities to cast their ballots from the safety and convenience of their homes. The same principle must be allowed for blind voters. Thirteen states permit accessible remote voting for the blind and print-disabled by allowing blind voters to cast ballots through electronic ballot delivery and return. These states have worked with security experts to ensure that this process is both accessible and secure. Over thirty states have allowed for blind voters to request a ballot to be delivered electronically. While this helps in requesting and marking the ballot, the entire process is not accessible, as it requires us to still print, sign, and return a ballot by mail. We know there is a better way to provide security and accessibility because, as mentioned previously, thirteen states allow electronic ballot delivery and return.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>These policies are more important now than ever. We now face new challenges that impede our path to accessible remote voting. Relentless attempts from organizations entrenched with ill-advised policies have provided state legislatures and governors’ offices with misguided and nonfactual information about election security concerns regarding electronic ballot return—attempts cloaked in fear rather than expertise. The baseless attempts have caused havoc, thereby stalling our efforts to provide electronic ballot return in numerous states.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>But the National Federation of the Blind has never been known to back down from a fight! That is why we cannot stop our advocacy now. That is why we are continuing our efforts to educate our lawmakers and state officials about the practice that can be put into place to ensure election security and enhance accessibility. Everything that we have worked for is on the ballot in 2024, and we will continue to advocate until every blind voter in the United States can vote with the same ease of use as voters without disabilities!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>----------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Justin Young]<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=progress-on-medical-access-and-equal-wages><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Progress on Medical Access and Equal Wages<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Justin Young</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>From the Editor: John Paré told the convention that Justin Young is sometimes called the smartest member of the government affairs team because he has associates, masters and doctorate degrees. Here is what Justin told the convention about progress on his areas of focus:</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><em><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The Merriam-Webster Dictionary</span></em><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'> defines progress as “a forward or onward movement to an objective or goal.” Over the past year, we have made progress in the areas of nonvisual access to medical devices, accessible prescription labels, and ending the payment of subminimum wages.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>On March 1, 2023, Representative Jan Schakowsky from Illinois, along with thirty-two initial cosponsors, introduced H.R. 1328, the Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act. The bill authorizes the FDA to adopt nonvisual access standards for class II and III medical devices with digital interfaces. Some examples include continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps, and CPAP machines. By adopting these new nonvisual accessible standards, it would ensure we are able to independently, safely, and accessibly operate our medical devices. Between the months of March through May, as a direct result of our hard work, we have gained an additional sixteen cosponsors, bringing the current count to forty-eight. This is significant because for the 117<sup>th</sup> Congress, which is a two-year cycle, we had a total of sixty-five. I know we can meet and exceed that number in the 118<sup>th</sup> Congress. We are working diligently to ensure there will be a companion bill in the Senate this Congress.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Along with having access to medical devices, we must also be able to correctly identify prescription medicine. Several affiliates have done work to ensure that pharmacies are required to provide accessible prescription drug labels. In 2023, the states of Maryland and Hawaii passed laws mandating that prescription drug labels are nonvisually accessible. Additionally, the State Boards of Pharmacy in Washington and Florida are working on regulations to adopt guidelines for accessible prescription labeling. Furthermore, Tennessee, which passed a law on accessible prescription labeling last year, has begun the implementation process.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Along with making progress on accessible medical devices and prescription labeling, we are also making progress on eliminating the practice of subminimum wages both at the federal and state levels. On February 27 and 28, 2023, the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act was introduced in the United States Senate and House of Representatives respectively. The Senate bill is S. 533, and the House bill is H.R. 1263. This bill will phase out, over a five-year period, Section 14C of the Fair Labor Standards Act, ensuring we all have the right to a fair wage. It is time to eliminate this antiquated and discriminatory practice. In addition to the introduction of the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act, the AbilityOne Commission adopted a policy that went into effect on October 19, 2022, which prohibits subminimum wages on AbilityOne contracts. At the state level, there has also been progress to eliminate subminimum wages. On April 12, 2023, the Virginia Governor signed HB1924, which phases out the payment of subminimum wages completely by 2030, making it the seventeenth state to eliminate or limit the use of subminimum wages. There have also been efforts in Minnesota, Illinois, and Kentucky to end subminimum wages over the past year. It is past time for us to earn a fair wage for the work we perform. With the strong determination of the National Federation of the Blind, we will achieve our goal of living the lives we want as valued and respected members of society.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>----------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Jesse Shirek]<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=my-journey-of-discovery-risk-and-reward><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>My Journey of Discovery, Risk, and Reward<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Jesse Shirek</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>From the Editor: Jesse Shirek is the newest member of the government affairs team in the Advocacy and Policy Department at the NFB Jernigan Institute in Baltimore. He was originally hired to work with the NFB-NEWSLINE® team after proving himself in multiple technology and affiliate leadership roles. Here is what Jesse had to say to the national convention:</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>My path to our national convention stage has been a journey of discovery; of risk and reward.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I have served in many capacities in the National Federation of the Blind, including serving on the national scholarship committee and as NFB of North Dakota affiliate president. My dreams came true when I was invited to become a national staff member in 2021, advancing our NFB-NEWSLINE program.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Let me take you back to my first job delivering newspapers in North Dakota at age twelve. Yes, people used to be paid to deliver newspapers. What do you think is the biggest struggle for a blind person delivering a newspaper? I bet you cannot guess. The biting thirty-below-zero cold? Uh-uh. Trying to keep your eyes open, walking a mile at 5:00 a.m. every morning? Not it. The hardest thing is watching your father read the newspaper that you just delivered. You are separated by those pages; you cannot read the words on the page because you are blind. As a young blind person, there were many things out of my reach. I did not believe I could hold a job at a restaurant, give a speech, graduate from a university, convince a congressman to cosponsor legislation, and I did not believe I could downhill ski. But yet I have done all of these things and many more. [Applause] Each milestone I conquered involved risk, physical or emotional. I was terrified starting out, and in some cases, the first and second time, I failed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Let me tell you about learning to downhill ski. This activity involves risk, in my case more to other skiers than myself. If you have not skied blind, you are matched with a person, hopefully an advanced skier, to give instructions like “turn left, turn right, slow down, stop, stop, STOP!” I skied the beginner hill for a half-hour, feeling shaky and nervous. We went up the ski lift to the intermediate hill. What could possibly go wrong? My first run, gravity took over and I slid under the orange fence meant to keep me out of the trees. I made my way down with my guide and was willing to give it a second chance. On the next run, he told me to turn left. I turned left. I sensed someone in front of me and quickly shifted right. I felt two bumps under my skis. I realized I just ran over someone’s skis and I hit the ground. I sat there shocked. I then heard a familiar voice say, “What was that?” Her ski guide, Dale, responded, “That would be your boyfriend.” My now wife, Sherry, with her infinite wisdom, said to her guide, “Dale, you have to teach him how to ski. His ski guide does not know what he’s doing and he’s going to kill somebody.” With Dale’s good instructions, soon I was skiing from the top of the mountain. I share the story because I want to remind us there is no reward without risk. It is always important to get up when we crash, and be careful who we trust to guide us. If we want to find success as a blind person, look within our Federation family. Reach out and ask for help. And be guided down the mountain by a fellow Federationist.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Each person in this room guides government affairs as we ski our legislative priorities down the mountain. We share what issues are important to blind people. We share personal stories. Legislation is crafted based on the collective experience of our movement, and our leadership formulates a plan.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>You may have guessed that I have traversed my way from NFB-NEWSLINE to government affairs. I have two major areas to move: autonomous vehicles and Social Security.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>We will get the Blind Americans Return to Work Act introduced in Congress. This legislation affects blind people who receive Social Security disability benefits. Currently there is a limit to the amount of money a blind person can earn each month before completely losing their benefits; it is called substantial gainful activity or SGA. We refer to this as the earnings cliff because we, as blind people, are harmed by the earnings cliff if we fall off. For example, if a blind person receives $1,000 in disability benefits, you would lose $12,000 in earning potential. That's what it looks like to fall off the earnings cliff.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Blind people are limiting our opportunities because we don't want to fall off the earnings cliff.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Our movement wants to make working less risky for blind people. [Applause] We are asking the government to eliminate the earnings cliff. [Applause] We propose a two-for-one phase-out. For every two dollars of income that a blind person earns after SGA, you would give back one dollar of benefits. We would gradually be moved down the hill to full employment without the need for benefits. [Applause] When this legislation is introduced, we will hear about it through our many channels of communication. And we will call on the organized blind movement to contact our congressmen and senators to ask them to cosponsor our legislation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I want to encourage each of us: take some risks in our lives. Help the National Federation of the Blind with our advocacy efforts. We cannot expect the future to change unless we are willing to change our beliefs, question what is possible, try something new, push harder. We have a strong voice. Our voice matters! I challenge each of us: change our future! Push forward our priorities today! Thank you!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>----------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>[PHOTO CAPTION: Kyle Walls]<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=save-the-date-2024-washington-seminar><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Save the Date: 2024 Washington Seminar<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Kyle Walls</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>From the Editor: Kyle Walls does a great deal of work behind the scenes that is crucial to advancing the legislative and policy goals of the National Federation of the Blind, including writing, research, and logistical support. Here is his reminder about our annual midwinter visit to the halls of Congress:</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The 2024 Washington Seminar is only a few months away! Next year’s event will be held at the Holiday Inn Washington Capitol (550 C Street, SW) from Monday, January 29, through Thursday, February 1, and we can’t wait to hear the sound of hundreds of white canes once again confidently striding through the halls of Congress. In accordance with longstanding tradition, the Great Gathering-In, one of the premier Federation events and the official kickoff meeting of the Washington Seminar, will take place on Monday, January 29, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Capitol Ballroom at the hotel. Then all of you will meet with your members of Congress over the next three days. We will have more details, including hotel reservation information, the legislative priorities, and a full schedule of events as the date gets closer. We look forward to seeing all of you in our nation’s capital!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>----------<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=monitor-miniatures><em><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Monitor</span></em><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'> Miniatures<o:p></o:p></span></h2><h3 id=news-from-the-federation-family><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>News from the Federation Family<o:p></o:p></span></h3><h4 id=rookie-roundup-report><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Rookie Roundup Report<o:p></o:p></span></h4><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Pam Allen and Tracy Soforenko<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>From the Editor: Pam Allen, the first vice president of the National Federation of the Blind and chair of its board of directors, organizes the Rookie Roundup, a gathering for first-time convention attendees, each year. Tracy Soforenko, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia and also a member of the national board, chairs the Jernigan Fund Committee, which provides financial assistance to individuals attending their first convention. Here is what they have to say about this year’s gathering:</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Enthusiasm at our first day of convention reached Texas proportions as we kicked off our Rookie Roundup. As first-time convention attendees arrived, we observed everyone singing and clapping to “Deep in the Heart of Texas.” Using a rodeo theme, 400 attendees learned tips and tricks from a diverse set of Federation leaders from across the country. Presentations included welcoming remarks in English and Spanish; a special greeting from President Riccobono and First Lady Melissa; and remarks from Norma Crosby, NFBTX president and national treasurer, along with several members of our Jernigan Fund Committee and Texas affiliate, all designed to help our first-time attendees make the most of their convention experience. John Berggren, convention chair extraordinaire, reviewed some logistics to help the week run smoothly. We were delighted to hear reflections from Dr. and Mrs. Maurer as our evening concluded. One attendee commented that they could not wait to put some of the networking strategies shared into practice, while another said that they were motivated by the positivity and energy in the room, reassuring them they were not alone and were part of a larger community. The rookies felt especially welcomed by the many veterans who greeted them personally and by the team of Louisiana Center for the Blind staff and alumni who helped distribute special ribbons and tote bags as the evening ended and they headed out to experience all the convention had to offer. Throughout the week, it was exhilarating to hear the cheers from the first-timers whenever they were recognized from the stage. Thanks to all our affiliates who work throughout the year to find ways to encourage members to attend convention and to all who support the Jernigan Fund, which offers convention scholarships. We are already planning for 2024!<o:p></o:p></span></p><h4 id=first-time-conventioneers-share-their-experiences><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>First-Time Conventioneers Share Their Experiences:<o:p></o:p></span></h4><h5 id=a-hot-time-in-houston><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>A Hot Time in Houston<o:p></o:p></span></h5><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Maryanne Melley</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>From the Editor: Maryanne Melley is president of the National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut.</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The National Federation of the Blind Convention in Houston this year was hot and steamy both outside and in. There were many pleasurable moments and some disappointments. For the most part the positives outweighed the negatives. I send my sincere gratitude to Norma Crosby and the Texas affiliate for hosting an amazing event. I can only imagine the magnitude of effort it takes to prepare for such a task, and Norma handled it with such grace and grit. It was a wonderful surprise to have the return of local tours at the convention again. The last time I recall this taking place was in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2007. Tours of the Museum of Natural Science, The Houston Space Center and a Houston Astros baseball game offered a variety of choices. Having President Riccobono throw the first pitch at the ball game to chants of “NFB!” from the crowd was incredible. And that’s just the fun stuff. The vast array of meetings that we were offered, the opportunity to attend and learn about so many products and issues was enough to keep anyone busy throughout the week. The speakers during General Sessions were compelling and informative. It is difficult to pick favorites for this article and not take up ten pages so I will only pick three.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Saturday’s “What’s New with JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion” seminar shed new light on many new keystrokes that are up and coming that will make using our computers much more streamlined. But one of the best new features coming out in the autumn will be JAWS assisting you to line yourself up properly for a Zoom meeting. It will be able to tell you if your face is on the screen rather than your shirt; also if you forgot to put the dirty laundry away, it will let you know that also. Imagine how professional you will look in a job interview or in a meeting with your legislators if they are seeing your face and a clean background.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Another informative meeting was the National Association of Guide Dog Users. President Raul Gallegos held a meeting with updates on the Air Carrier Access Act for travelers with guide dogs. We have been having issues with the airlines which you may recall hearing President Riccobono speak about. They require us to fill out a form for our dogs before they can fly with us. These forms are inaccessible. Though we would prefer the airlines to have the same ADA laws apply to us, for now thanks to NAGDU there is progress being made toward these forms becoming obsolete.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Finally, at the “How to Get Legislation Passed in Your State” session, the information that was shared on electronic ballot delivery and return was frustrating but helpful. Hearing about the hard work that was done on bills being passed just to be vetoed by the state governor was disheartening. However, we are not deterred. With what I learned at the meeting plus the language of Resolution 2023-04, I now feel more confident than ever to approach my legislators in Connecticut to achieve accessible independent voting for the blind.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The only disappointing part of this convention is the same I find at every national convention. It is the lack of common courtesy at the elevators. Many people do not allow those that are on the elevators to get off before they go charging in. They also trample over people who are in front of them waiting in line, even though they have been told that they are there. Why does this happen every year? What happens to “we are a loving family” when it comes to elevators? Don’t get me wrong, plenty of people were very kind and helpful with swiping their card so people could then press their floor number. Doing both was a challenge. I just wish people would remember from year to year how to behave in a more generous manner. We are all going to the same places. We all must be patient and wait our turn. In the big scheme of things this is a minor matter but an important one. All in all, let us all keep deep in our hearts and minds what President Riccobono said in his banquet speech: It is up to us, the blind, to change our world for the better. Whether it be accessible websites, voting, medical devices, and more. Nobody is going to do it for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h5 id=a-first-timers-convention-story><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>A First-Timer’s Convention Story<o:p></o:p></span></h5><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>by Cindy Scott-Huisman</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I hadn’t solo traveled since college days in the 1980s, but I didn’t let that keep me from making plans to attend my first National Convention of the National Federation of the Blind 2023.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I first attended an NFB meeting in late 2019, and became Central Arkansas Chapter president in 2020. I joined the State Board in March of this year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>Once I made my decision to attend convention, I wasted no time making reservations for the Houston-Americas Hotel, and air travel. I was on the same flight with my friends, Cindy and Kyle Kiper, departing Little Rock, but I had a different connection in Dallas, so I was on my own for that leg of the trip and from the airport to the hotel. I made friends along the way.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I have traveled extensively, both during the fifty-one years of my life before central-eyesight loss and the five-plus years since becoming legally blind, almost entirely with family and friends. My husband of almost thirty-three years was confident I would be fine, yet somehow it felt a bit like when a parent drops their child off at kindergarten on the first day of school. Although I had reservations about a few of the details, everything went perfectly smoothly!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I experienced so much friendliness every step of the way on this adventure.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>During the weeks after making reservations and as the time approached for my departure, I thought through all kinds of preparations, and worked towards being organized. I felt at ease throughout the entire trip. I uploaded the Hilton Honors app, and was so pleased by its accessibility.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>The first evening after I arrived a small group went to Xin Chao, one of [blind chef] Christine Ha’s restaurants. This was a definite highlight. I had just finished watching her win Season 3 of Master Chef the day before I left town.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>There’s so much to do during convention days. With plans already on my calendar before and after convention dates, I opted to arrive on July 3. Lesson learned! In order to feel like there is enough time to get through the Exhibit Hall and everything else, I want to attend the entire convention in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I volunteered in the Independence Market. This was a fun opportunity to interact with fellow attendees. Another memorable activity was going to the hot tub with a friend from my chapter. She and I grew closer throughout the week.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I truly appreciate the information provided on NFB-NEWSLINE® about surrounding restaurants, the room service menu, and the item about the layout of the hotel and convention facility.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>One evening twelve of us went out to eat together at a nearby restaurant owned by Pat Green, The Rustic. I made new friends and got to reconnect with others.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I loved all the teamwork on display for getting around. One time I was waiting in the elevator bay in the lobby, and someone suggested that we spread out and pay attention to each of the six elevators, and when the next one arrived, alert the others. Everyone present seemed to think this was a great idea.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>For future convention plans, I hope to figure out how to meet up with people more successfully. There were a couple of folks I tried to find, and I never did. I did make it up to the Presidential Suite one morning, and I was happy to get to meet President Riccobono. While I was there, I also got to have a quick visit with Shawn Callaway. He had spoken to the Central Arkansas Chapter a couple of years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I was amazed by the packed-full schedule of speakers, punctuated by fit breaks and door prize announcements throughout the three days of General Sessions. The culmination of the banquet was remarkable.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>My travels home were seamless.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>All in all, I am proud of myself for reaching a bit out of my comfort zone, and learning so much in the process.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h4 id=in-memoriam-tom-anderson><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>In Memoriam: Tom Anderson:<o:p></o:p></span></h4><p><strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>From the Editor: Rob Tabor, first vice president of the National Federation of the Blind of Kansas, shared the sad news of Tom’s passing to the affiliate listserv. Rob said:</span></strong><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>We of the Kansas affiliate regret to announce the loss of a good man and a longtime Federation leader. Tom Anderson passed on Tuesday of this week in the late afternoon hours at Advent Health in Overland Park, Kansas, where he was hospitalized to treat very severe COVID symptoms. Many Federationists will fondly remember Tom's eloquently delivered invocations at NFB national conventions over many years. Those involved with the Communities of Faith Division will miss his leadership in the devotional services which take place every morning at convention. As a Braille and communications instructor at Colorado Center for the Blind, Tom touched untold hundreds of lives over many years before retiring and returning to Kansas. Back in Kansas, Tom went immediately to work, serving on several state advisory committees pertaining to blind Kansans, while serving as a member of the Kansas affiliate board of directors. Above all, Tom was a wonderful husband to his wife Linda, also a long-time Federationist. Tom will definitely be missed by all and forgotten by none.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>----------<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 id=nfb-pledge><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>NFB Pledge<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1A1A1A'>I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></body></html>