[NFBOH-Cleveland] Fwd: FW: [Ohio-talk] Spring 2018 Buckeye Bulletin

[Cheryl Fields]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Suzanne Turner via NFBOH-Cleveland <nfboh-cleveland at nfbnet.org>
Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2018 16:19:34 -0400
Subject: [NFBOH-Cleveland] FW: [Ohio-talk] Spring 2018 Buckeye Bulletin
To: Cleveland Chapter List' <nfboh-cleveland at nfbnet.org>, Frankie
Jones <victory71351 at aol.com>, Brooke Dowdy <bdowdy1983 at gmail.com>,
"william.h.turner" <william.h.turner at ssa.gov>, Natassha'
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Cc: Suzanne Turner <smturner.234 at gmail.com>



-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of
barbara.pierce9366--- via Ohio-Talk
Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2018 4:06 PM
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: barbara.pierce9366 at gmail.com
Subject: [Ohio-talk] Spring 2018 Buckeye Bulletin

I expect everyone had given up hope of ever seeing this document. I
trust it will soon beon NEWSLINE as well. At least I hve sent the
files to Richard for NEWSLINE.

Happy reading,
the Editor

Spring 2018 Buckeye Bulletin
A publication of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio


Barbara Pierce, Editor
198 Kendal Drive
Oberlin, OH 44074
barbara.pierce9366 at gmail.com <mailto:barbara.pierce9366 at gmail.com>
(440) 774-8077

http://www.nfbohio.org <http://www.nfbohio.org/>
Richard Payne, President
1019 Wilmington Ave., APT. 43,
Kettering, OH 45420
rchpay7 at gmail.com <mailto:rchpay7 at gmail.com>
(937) 829-3368



The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise
expectations, because low expectations create obstacles between blind
people and our dreams. Live the live you want. Blindness is not what
holds you back.

The National Federation of the Blind of Ohio is a 501 (c) 3 consumer
organization comprised of blind and sighted people committed to
changing what it means to be blind. Though blindness is still all too
often a tragedy to those who face it, we know from our personal
experience that with training and opportunity it can be reduced to the
level of a physical nuisance. We work to see that blind people receive
the services and training to which they are entitled and that parents
of blind children receive the advice and support they need to help
their youngsters grow up to be happy, productive adults. We believe
that first-class citizenship means that people have both rights and
responsibilities, and we are determined to see that blind people
become first-class citizens of these United States, enjoying their
rights and fulfilling their responsibilities. The most serious
problems we face have less to do with our lack of vision than with
discrimination based on the public’s ignorance and misinformation
about blindness. Join us in educating Ohioans about the abilities and
aspirations of Ohio’s blind citizens. We are changing what it means to
be blind.

The NFB of Ohio has nine local chapters, one for at-large members, and
special divisions for diabetics, merchants, students, seniors, parents
of blind children, guide dog users, and those interested in Braille.
This newsletter appears three times a year and is circulated by email,
posted on NFB-NEWSLINE®, our digitized newspaper-reading service by
phone, and can be read or downloaded from our website,
www.nfbohio.org. For information about the National Federation of the
Blind of Ohio or to make address changes or be added to the mailing
list, call (440) 774-8077 or email barbara.pierce9366 at gmail.com
<mailto:barbara.pierce9366 at gmail.com>. For information about
NFB-NEWSLINE, our free digitized newspaper-reading service, call (866)
504-7300. Local NEWSLINE numbers are: 330-247-1241 (Akron),
330-409-1900 (Canton), 513-297-1521 (Cincinnati), 216-453-2090
(Cleveland), 614-448-1673 (Columbus), Dayton: 937-963-1000 (Dayton),
567-242-5112 (Lima), 567-333-9990 (Mansfield), 740-370-6828
(Portsmouth), 937-717-3900 (Springfield), 56-806-1100 (Toledo), and
330-259-9570 (Youngstown).

Dream Makers Circle

You can help build a future of opportunity for the blind by becoming a
member of our Dream Makers Circle. Your legacy gift to the National
Federation of the Blind or the National Federation of the Blind of
Ohio can be made in the form of a will or living trust or an
income-generating gift or by naming us as the beneficiary of a
retirement plan, IRA, pension, or a life insurance policy. You can
designate a specific amount, a percentage, or list NFB as one of
several beneficiaries. For additional information contact Patti Chang
at (410) 659-9314, extension 2422 or at pchang at nfb.org
<mailto:pchang at nfb.org>.

Vehicle Donations

The National Federation of the Blind uses car donations to improve the
education of blind children, distribute free white canes, help
veterans, and much more. We have partnered with Vehicles for Charity
to process donated vehicles. Please call toll-free (855) 659-9314, and
a representative can make arrangements, or you can donate online by
visiting www.nfb.org/vehicledonations
<http://www.nfb.org/vehicledonations>.






Contents

>From the President’s Desk
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480747>
Brief Report on the 2017 State Convention
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480748>
2017 Awards Committee Report
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480749>
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio Scholarship Class 2017-2018
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480750>
2018 Committee Appointments
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480751>
Editor’s Musings
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480752>
The NFB’s 2018 Legislative Program
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480753>
Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act (S.
2138/H.R. 1772)
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480754>
Access Technology Affordability Act (S. 732/H.R. 1734)
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480755>
Oppose the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 (H.R. 620)
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480756>
The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for
Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled
(Marrakesh Treaty)
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480757>
The Pre-Authorized Contribution Plan Yesterday and Today
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480758>
Meet the Blind Month and White Cane Awareness Day in Cincinnati
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480759>
Farewell to Aidan Carter
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480760>
Ronnie Leeth’s Gone Fishin’
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480761>
Wellness Tips <applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480762>
Buckeye Briefs <applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480763>
Activities Calendar
<applewebdata://23EC6F36-DFB0-41B9-B774-CB386A6B84B8#_Toc511480764>







*****

>From the President’s Desk <>
by Richard Payne

As some of you already know, just before the Washington Seminar I
attended a meeting for state presidents. Among other things we
discussed a code of conduct that the National Board instructed
President Riccobono to develop so that we all would have something
clear to read, discuss, and sign to indicate our agreement with. In
the social climate today I think this was a very good idea. So we read
and discussed the proposed code of conduct. President Riccobono has
asked state presidents and the members of the Board of Directors and
the members of at least some important committees to sign this
document. I want to take the space in this column to outline this code
for you and to tell you what I think it means for Ohio.

The National Federation of the Blind knows that the world is better
off when all of the Federation’s members can contribute all that they
have to offer to the organization as well as to the world’s people.

 When we talk about all of the world’s people, we literally mean all
races, ethnic backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, disabilities,
etc. Our belief in the innate capacity of the blind unites us, and we
cannot allow social and cultural differences to divide us or prevent
us from reaching our full strength and maturity as an organization.

The NFB provides a loving, supportive, and encouraging family that
shares in the challenges and triumphs of our blind brothers and
sisters. This deeply held faith in one another sustains members during
times of challenge and cheers us on to individual and collective
successes. Love is the force that permeates our organization and
pushes us to expect the best from each other.

The National Federation of the Blind embraces diversity and full
participation as core values in its mission to achieve equality,
opportunity, and security for the blind. We are committed to building
and maintaining a nationwide organization with state affiliates and
local chapters that is unified in its priorities and programs and is
directed by the membership. We respect differences of opinion,
beliefs, identities, and other characteristics that demonstrate that
blind people are a diverse cross section of society. Furthermore, the
organization is dedicated to continuing to establish new methods of
membership and leadership development that reflect the diversity of
the entire blind community. In promoting a diverse and growing
organization, we expect integrity and honesty in our relationships
with each other and openness to learning about and experiencing
cultural diversity. We believe that these qualities are crucial to
fostering social and intellectual maturity. Intellectual maturity also
requires individual struggle with unfamiliar ideas.

We recognize that our individual views and convictions will be
challenged within the organization, but we expect this challenge to
take place in a climate of tolerance and mutual respect in order to
maintain a united organization. While we encourage the exchange of
differing ideas and experiences, we do not condone the use of
demeaning, derogatory, or discriminatory language, actions, or any
other form of expression intended to marginalize an individual or
group. The National Federation of the Blind does not tolerate
discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, gender
identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin,
citizenship, marital status, age, genetic information, disability, or
any other characteristic or intersectionality of characteristics.

These principles address the way we should behave and interact within
the Federation family and in our communities. The world is changing,
and we must change with it. Our values must be stated in a way that
anyone who cares to know will understand who we are and what we stand
for.

We have made a point of establishing a culture of inclusion and of
encouraging all kinds of people to provide leadership in the NFB of
Ohio. Of course the Federation stands for belief in the capacity of
blind people and the right of all blind people to live full and
meaningful lives. We must all study our history and understand why the
NFB takes the stands it does about agency accreditation, access to
technology, and the legislative priorities we have developed at the
state and national levels. All this requires commitment by chapters
and divisions in the affiliate. It means that we all must read and
study the Braille Monitor and the Buckeye Bulletin and take part in
organizational activities.

It also means that we must all work at raising the money that we need
to carry out local and state activities. We don’t like to hear this
news, but it is the simple truth. We have to raise the money we need
to do our work because, if we don’t, no one else will. We have to be
willing to invite our families and friends to support the NFB, and we
have to support it ourselves. We must learn to work with the new
online methods of fundraising and work hard at the old-fashioned kind
of projects as well.

All these are things I have learned since becoming President of the
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio in April of 2016. They mean
hard work for us all, but they also represent the promise of equality
and freedom for the blind community in Ohio and the country as a
whole.

My friend Eric Duffy has often said that everyone wants to be
President and is sure that he or she could do the job better than
whoever holds the office. Then, when the chance to lead comes,
everything changes. I honestly did not know what a challenge being
your President would be, but I am glad for the experience and grateful
for the chance to lead the affiliate.

*****

Brief Report on the 2017 State Convention <>
by Barbara Pierce

 The seventy-first convention of the National Federation of the Blind
of Ohio was held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Columbus October
27 to 29, 2017. The national rep was Shawn Callaway, president of the
NFB of the District of Columbia and member of the NFB Board of
Directors. Co-chairs of Convention Arrangements were Sheri Albers and
Rachel Kuntz, and the Capital Chapter of the NFB of Ohio was our host.
Sheri and Rachel were tireless in sorting out problems and making sure
that everyone had a great experience. Our host chapter and especially
Chapter President Shelbi Hindel made everyone feel welcome and did a
great job with hospitality.

The first convention event was the board meeting late Friday morning.
It dealt mostly with convention arrangements. After that was a lovely
meet-and-greet with light and delicious refreshments. Those who were
interested in a walking tour of the hotel with mobility tips could
join Shawn Martin before the general session to familiarize themselves
with the facility. Dr. Carolyn Peters, chair of the Membership
Committee, hosted a rookie round-up for new convention attendees.
Other affiliate leaders joined Carolyn to provide information about
the convention agenda and some history of the affiliate.

The first general session of the convention opened at 2:00 p.m. Shawn
Callaway delivered the national report, which provided updates on what
is happening across the NFB. We also heard from Opportunities for
Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) and the Bureau of Services for the
Visually Impaired (BSVI). In addition Rachel Kuntz reported on her
demanding and exciting adult rehabilitation training at BLIND, Inc.,
in Minneapolis; and Dick Davis described the program and philosophy of
rehabilitation at BLIND, Inc., one of the three NFB adult rehab
centers. We also heard from the Talking Book Library in Ohio and
received a report on our Columbus Seminar on May 9 at the Ohio
Legislature and an update on the bills we were discussing with our
lawmakers.

The evening was devoted to committee, division, and chapter meetings.
There were also a lively hospitality open house and the Ohio
Association to Promote the Use of Braille (OAPUB) production of the
radio play, “Baby Snooks.” The Braille readers in this play did an
exceptionally good job of reading their scripts.

OAPUB and the Diabetes Action Network conducted breakfast meetings
early Saturday morning. The general session opened with “Why I Am a
Federationist” by Lilly Pennington, who served as an intern at our
national headquarters last summer. We also heard from the Ohio State
University Program in Visual Impairments; Medical Mutual of Ohio,
which is discovering the benefits of hiring the blind; a report of the
2017 Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning Academy in Ohio, by
BELL coordinator Heather Leiterman; and a report from Disability
Rights Ohio.

During the lunch break parents interested in revitalizing that
division, seniors, guide dog users, and students all met to conduct
business. Hospitality was available from 1:00 to 3:00. The afternoon
provided a wide choice of presentations. There were workshops on
membership, advocacy, leadership and philosophy, and technology. If
one was nimble and able to get up and leave a fascinating discussion,
one could get to two of these offerings, but it was an exercise in
frustration to decide how to divide one’s time.

At 5:30 the social hour began, with the banquet starting at 6:30. We
enjoyed award and scholarship presentations, which are described in
detail elsewhere in this newsletter. Shawn Callaway gave a moving
address, and Richard Payne served as master of ceremonies. Annette
Lutz conducted the not-so-silent auction as well as giving away door
prizes this year. That auction raised $1,618, and Money for the
Movement raised $2,790. After the banquet was a great party with live
music.

The Sunday morning general session was mostly devoted to a business
meeting. The sitting board members were all returned to office, and we
made plans for another year of activity. Everyone went home
revitalized and determined to get things done. If you missed this
convention, you are the loser. Don’t make the same mistake this year.
Details about the 2018 convention appear at the top of “Buckeye
Briefs.”

*****

2017 Awards Committee Report <>
by Cheryl Fields

Editor’s note: Cheryl chairs our Awards Committee. Here is her report
of the 2018 awards:

It was a pleasure and an honor to chair the NFB of Ohio 2017 Awards
Committee. This may be a unique committee in the Federation and the
most important committee of the Ohio affiliate. I say this because of
the Gavel Award application. The Awards Committee has the
awe-inspiring responsibility of reviewing applications from every
chapter and division in the Ohio affiliate brave enough to subject
itself to the rigor of the application process.

The Gavel Award reflects advocacy by the membership; member commitment
to the Federation’s legislative agenda at the local, state, and
national levels; organizational growth; education of the sighted
community; and commitment to funding the movement at all levels. When
each of these factors is considered in detail and measured as
objectively as possible, the results speak volumes about the health of
each chapter and division and the integrity of the Ohio Affiliate as a
whole.

Because it takes all of us to create the collective action necessary
to promote the National Federation of the Blind, we have a few other
awards that allow us to recognize and celebrate those individuals and
organizations that support our vital work. Since they are presented
only when a good candidate emerges, I must report that none of these
awards was presented at the 2017 Dream Convention. Because we continue
to educate each of you about the value of these awards, I trust that
this will change in 2018 and beyond.

While sitting at my table at the 2017 Dream Convention anxiously
waiting for President Payne to call for the committee report and
presentation, I had many thoughts. One of these was to wonder how many
dreams had been transformed into reality during that weekend. My eyes
still mist knowing how crucial this work of ours is today and into the
future. Then it was time for Robert Spangler and me to walk to the
podium and present the 2017 Gavel Awards.

The 2017 Chapter Gavel Award was most certainly deserved for the
second year by the Capitol Chapter. Under the leadership of President
Shelbi Hindel, this outstanding chapter has earned this award for two
consecutive years. The Ohio Association of Guide Dog Users walked away
with the Division Gavel Award. This division is a testament of
excellence with distinction by astonishing us with taking division
honors for the fifth consecutive year. President Deanna Lewis, we
salute your awesome leadership. In addition, the Cleveland chapter,
under the leadership of President William H. Turner, became the 2017
Chapter on the Move.

I challenge and encourage every president to share the Gavel Award
application and description of the other awards with your members,
evaluate it, and use the information as a guide for your 2018 agenda.
Reach high and raise the expectations of your chapter or division.
Watch and learn from these three amazing leaders. Today there is a
clean slate. Give them some strong competition.

The 2017 Awards committee members are to be applauded for volunteering
their time and talents. I am extremely grateful for their dedication
to the process and for their patience with me as the chair of a state
committee for the first time. If you have not had the honor of serving
on this committee, you have missed a very important opportunity to
have a wider perspective on the Ohio affiliate. The next time
President Payne asks you to serve on a state committee, consider
requesting the awards committee. You will be glad you did.

*****

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio Scholarship Class 2017-2018 <>
by Jordy D. Stringer

Editor’s Note: Jordy Stringer chaired this year’s Scholarship
Committee. Largely because of his hard work we had more scholarship
applicants than ever before. Here is his report of the presentation of
the scholarship awards at this year’s convention:

A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But
when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something
very special.—Nelson Mandela

It was with great honor that I served as coordinator for the 2017
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio Scholarship Program. The
Scholarship Committee extends its most sincere appreciation to all of
the amazing students who applied to last year’s program and encourages
those who were not selected to apply again this year.

The National Federation of the Blind of Ohio is a membership
organization changing what it means to be blind. We are committed to
promoting equality, opportunity, independence, and dignity for all
blind Ohioans, and we are committed to doing what we can to secure
career opportunities and equal access to education for all blind
people.

We all enjoyed a grand celebration during the annual banquet at the
NFB-O state convention; part of that celebration was the scholarship
presentation. We presented three awards to three amazing students.
Please find each student’s name with his scholarship award and title,
as well as the student’s favorite quotation and his comment on it.
They all have big dreams and are well on the way to living the lives
they want.

First was Michael Mulchin from Marysville, Ohio. Michael, who began
his freshman year in 2017, received the Robert M. Eschbach Memorial
Scholarship in the amount of $1,000. “If you have built castles in the
air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put
the foundations under them.”—Henry David Thoreau

Often I find myself with lofty goals. I’ve built several castles in
the sky, and not all of them have stayed. When I put in hours of
painstaking work and come up short, these are the times I feel the
sting of failure. This quotation reminds me that failure need not be a
mindset. Solutions to difficult problems are not easy to find, but
they are the foundations of our livelihood. Giving up can never be the
first alternative. Instead I can take my work from the air to the
ground. Life is too precious to give up on ambitions without first
taking a grounded step toward solving the problem.

Next is Jonathan Thomas from Fairfield, Ohio. JT received the Barbara
E. Fohl Memorial Scholarship; it too is valued at $1,000. “If you live
for people’s acceptance, you’ll die from their rejection.”—Lecrae

I really love this quotation, and I believe that it is very true. If I
go out into the world and search for people’s acceptance, I don’t
think that I will get far in life. I could spend all of my time
searching for people’s acceptance, and those same people could turn
around and say that I’m not good enough because of the color of my
skin, or how I talk, or because I am blind. At the end of the day, if
I live for people’s acceptance, I probably won’t be able to handle
their rejection. So I’ve decided not to care about what people think
and just do my own thing, and that’s why I really enjoy that
quotation.

Finally Robert Sabwami from Dayton, who is attending Wright State
University this fall. Robert was the recipient of the Jennica Ferguson
Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship is the largest awarded by the
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, valued at $1,500. “Don’t ask
yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive.
And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who
have come alive.”—Howard Thurman

I like this quotation because I believe the world not only needs
people who are positive thinkers; it also needs people who can be
instruments of change. We need to be a people who radiate energy,
positivity, and mindfulness in our interactions.

Deadline for application for the 2018-2019 Scholarship Program is
Friday, June 1, 2018. The application can be downloaded as a Word
document from the Ohio website, nfbohio.org <mailto:nfbohio.org>.
Email completed applications to Dr. JW Smith at smithj at ohio.edu
<mailto:smithj at ohio.edu>.

*****

2018 Committee Appointments <>
by Richard Payne

Editor’s note: The NFB-O president appoints all committees. Here are
his appointments for 2018. The charge for each committee is listed.
The first name listed is the chair.

AWARDS COMMITTEE

            Charge: To oversee the awards process, to provide
information and feedback when necessary, and to make reasonable
judgments about NFB-O awards.

Cheryl Fields, Chenelle Handcock, Annette Lutz, Barbara Pierce, Robert
Spangler, and Emily Pennington



BELL ACADEMY COMMITTEE

Charge: To organize the BELL Program and plan efficient ways to
promote and execute this very important BELL Academy. The chair will
also recruit anyone who she believes can make the 2018 BELL Academy a
success. The members of this committee will be screened because of the
type of program it is.

Rachel Kuntz, Sheri Albers, Debra Baker, Mary Anne Denning, Barbara
Pierce, Paul Jordan, and Paula Jordan

CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE

            Charge: To make sure that all NFB-O constitutions are in
compliance with the state and national constitutions, both
philosophically and rhetorically.

Colleen Roth, Cheryl Fields, and Barbara Shaidnagle

CONVENTION PLANNING COMMITTEE

            Charge: To assist and advise the president in the planning
and functioning of our state convention and to provide additional
assistance in planning and executing affiliate activities at national
conventions.

Suzanne Turner, Sherri Albers, Rachel Kuntz, Susan Day, Natassha
Ricks, Cheryl Fisher, Lucas Cassi, Shawn Martin, Annie Carson, Rosa
Jones, and Milena Zavoli

EDUCATION COMMITTEE

            Charge: To advise the president about policies,
legislation, strategies, and initiatives in which the National
Federation of the Blind of Ohio should be engaged to improve
educational opportunities for blind youth throughout the state.

Debra Baker, Chris Sabine, Colleen Roth, Macy McClain, Elif Emir
Öksüz, and Marianne Denning

FINANCING THE MOVEMENT COMMITTEE (SUN coordinator, Jernigan Fund
coordinator, PAC coordinator)

            Charge: To make members aware of these specific
organizational fundraising opportunities and to implement strategies
to increase participation throughout the year.

Sherry Ruth (Jernigan Fund coordinator), Colleen Roth (SUN
Coordinator), and Barbara Shaidnagle (PAC Coordinator)

FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE

            Charge: To investigate additional opportunities to
increase NFB-O resources and to implement effective fundraising
strategies and programming.

Lucas Cassie, Annette Lutz, Deanna Lewis, Annie Carson, Milena Zavoli,
and Gloria Robinson

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE

            Charge: To increase the organization's visibility and
effectiveness in the state legislature and to continue to support our
efforts in Washington throughout the year.

Sherri Albers, JW Smith, Lillie Pennington, Suzanne Turner, Ivory
Pattilo, Shawn Martin, Barbra Pierce, Parnell Diggs, and Mike
Leiterman

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

            Charge: To implement effective strategies to recruit and
retain members and to reinvigorate the chapters and divisions of the
NFB of Ohio.

Caroline Peters, Jim Wise, Chanel Hancock, William Turner, Amy Banano,
Susan Day, and Annie McEachirn

PROMOTION AND PUBLICITY COMMITTEE

            Charge: To promote and publicize the programs and events
of the NFB of Ohio and to acquire as much positive publicity as
possible for its activities.

Suzanne Turner, Wanda Sloan,Octavia Culbert, Sharon Dodds, MariLyn
Piepho, Annie Carson, and Cheryl Fisher

RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE

            Charge: To oversee the submission process and to write and
distribute clearly articulated and philosophically sound resolutions.

Barbra Pierce, Mike Leiterman, Debra Baker, and MariLyn Piepho

SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE

            Charge: To conduct the affiliate scholarship program and
to develop and implement effective strategies to increase the
visibility of the program and increase participation.

JW Smith, Barbara Pierce, Bob Pierce, Emily Pennington, and Lucas Cassi

WEBSITE AND NEWSLINE® COMMITTEE

Charge: To facilitate the maintenance of our website by assisting the
president in updating its content. To promote and advertise NEWSLINE®
among existing users and recruit new users to this program.

Rachel Kuntz, Walter Mitchel, and Robby Spangler

*****

Editor’s Musings <>
by Barbara Pierce

As I sit down to write this column, I am preparing for my forty-first
Washington Seminar. I have been to Capitol Hill several other times to
talk with members of Congress, but I can remember turning Bob Eschbach
down only once for the actual nationwide trip to Washington. We used
to refer to these trips as our Marches on Washington, but pretty early
on we changed the name because of the need to describe the activity as
an educational effort. We never use the term “lobbying” because
not-for-profit organizations cannot lobby. For one thing we do not
have the money to buy Congressional votes, so we must depend on sweet
reason in our dealings with the law-makers.

We have not always done battle with winter weather for this trip. In
1979, for example, we went to Washington in April. A handful of us
went off to the Atomic Energy Commission to deliver a press release
objecting to the director’s having commented during the Three Mile
Island emergency that the leaders were like the blind leading the
blind in the early hours of the crisis. You can imagine that we did
not appreciate such a term being used to describe incompetence. I
can’t remember how we were received, but I can’t imagine that they
were very sensitive to our concerns at that difficult moment. But I
would bet that that commissioner did not use such a pejorative phrase
again.

In the good old days, when the affiliate had very little money, we
drove to the Washington Seminar, starting by driving all over the
state to collect the people who were going. Bob Eschbach’s daughter
Mary Connyngham was one of the early drivers. In those days Ohio had
twenty-one House members and our two Senators. Mostly we all went to
all the meetings. I have a memory of a gathering of Ohio delegates
outside an office pooling our impressions while I wrote them with a
slate and stylus against a wall of the hallway. We reported on the
meetings to people at the hotel, who wrote their notes on Braille
cards that were filed so that Jim Gashel could consult them throughout
the year.

We always had great fact sheets, but I remember designing the first
folders that we used for handing the fact sheets out along with other
literature about the NFB. Those presentation folders definitely
professionalized our presentations.

In the early nineties we began adding other meetings to the Washington
Seminar. The lawyers, merchants, and students began holding mid-winter
meetings at the seminar. Then the parents began working with their
members on the Sunday before we gathered on Monday for the kick-off of
the seminar. There were also committee meetings in Baltimore over the
preceding weekend.

One year Stevie Wunder came into our hotel during the Great
Gathering-in meeting. He heard that hundreds of blind people were
there, and nothing would do but that he would come down to see what
was what. President Jernigan was at the mic when word arrived that
Stevie Wunder wanted to talk with us. Of course we stopped what we
were doing to listen to him. KJ grabbed me and told me to stick with
Stevie and get him to commit to doing some spot announcements for the
NFB in the coming weeks. I had no idea how to accomplish that task,
but I figured that I had better get myself to the podium and stand
beside him while he talked. I would say that this was the
mid-eighties, so I was under forty at the time. I have no idea how old
Stevie was, but he clearly thought it was more interesting to leave
the platform on the arm of a woman than with his pal JJ Jackson. I
don’t suppose he had any idea that I was blind, but, when he grabbed
my arm to leave, I immediately began guiding him. Believe me, I was
very careful not to drop him off the back edge of the steps down to
the ground. JJ was having a fit at this trip. He could see well enough
to see my cane, and I am sure he had visions of my causing Stevie to
fall. But we got down safely, and I stuck to him like glue till we got
out of the hall, and I got his agreement that we could call JJ to talk
about spot announcements. I don’t know where the discussions went from
there. I don’t remember any Stevie Wunder PSAs for the NFB showing up
on the radio or TV afterward, but it was certainly a memorable night
for me.

Our Washington Seminars today are a far cry from those early efforts.
We use computers to record our reports, and we have committee lists in
Braille to refer to. We are old hands at traveling to and around
Capitol Hill. It is much less interesting since 9/11 and the closing
of the basement of the Capitol for getting from one side of the Hill
to the other. In Ohio we divide the meetings among three or four
groups rather than going together. We don’t need nearly the stamina
that we did in the early days. But through the years we have earned
the respect of the staffers. We come with good materials, and we can
discuss the issues intelligently. This is still the first volley in
our campaign for legislative justice each year. We still need the help
of every member back home to follow through as constituents throughout
the year. No one should write off the Washington Seminar as something
that a few people do every January. We are working for you and every
blind Ohioan. Please prepare to do your part to make this effort
effective by calling your representative to underscore our message on
the Hill.

*****

The NFB’s 2018 Legislative Program <>
by Barbara Pierce

Editor’s note: I will begin by making a plea to each of you to keep
this article for reference during the remainder of this year. What
follows is the four fact sheets that our eight Ohio representatives
took to every Ohio office on Capitol Hill at the end of January. These
are the issues that the entire national organization will be working
on for the rest of this year. From time to time we will send out pleas
for each of you to contact your member of Congress and the two Ohio
Senators to urge some action or other. It will be much easier for you
to help with this effort if you can refer to the fact sheet in
question before your call or email. I cannot stress too strongly how
important your support of these legislative efforts is. The first
document is the cover page for the fact sheets. It is called the
“Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans,” and it briefly summarizes
each of the issues. Then, in the order listed in the agenda, come the
four fact sheets. These are carefully written arguments. The first
page states the problem we face, and the second page offers our
solution to it. The bill numbers appear at the top of the fact sheet,
and the contact in the primary sponsors’ offices appear at the end of
each fact sheet. The very last thing on each fact sheet is the contact
information for the NFB staff member with responsibility for that
issue. Please carefully read each of these documents. Even if you
think you understand the issue, you will benefit from reading the fact
sheet again. We have stripped out the end notes from this document. If
you need those references or you want to send a fact sheet to someone,
go to the NFB website to view the original of the fact sheet in
question or to download it.

Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans
Priorities for the 115th Congress, Second Session

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and
friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind.
Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives we
want.

•                The Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher
Education (Aim High) Act

Electronic instructional materials have replaced traditional methods
of learning in postsecondary education, but the overwhelming majority
of ebooks, courseware, web content, and other technologies are
inaccessible to students with print disabilities. The law requires
equal access in the classroom but fails to provide direction to
schools for the way it applies to technology. The Aim High Act creates
voluntary accessibility guidelines for educational technology to
stimulate the market, improve blind students’ access to course
materials, and reduce litigation for schools.

•                The Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA)

Currently, blind Americans rely on scarce sources of funding to
acquire access technology. By providing a refundable tax credit for
qualifying access technology purchases, Congress will stimulate
individual procurement of access technology and promote affordability
of these tools for blind Americans.

•                Opposition to the “ADA Education and Reform Act of
2017” (H.R. 620)

The ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 would undermine the ADA by
significantly eroding equal access protections and progress made over
nearly three decades.

•                The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to
Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or
Otherwise Print Disabled

Despite the ability to convert print books into accessible formats
like Braille, large print, audio, and digital copies, millions of
blind and otherwise print-disabled Americans are excluded from
accessing 95 percent of published works. The Marrakesh Treaty will
enable the cross-border exchange of accessible format copies, thereby
vastly expanding the availability of accessible foreign language
literature to blind and otherwise print disabled Americans.

These priorities will remove obstacles to education, employment, and
access to published works. We urge Congress to support our legislative
initiatives.

*****


Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act (S.
2138/H.R. 1772) <>
Until a market-driven solution for accessible instructional materials
is achieved, blind college students will be denied access to critical
course content.

Technology has fundamentally changed the education system. The scope
of instructional materials used at institutions of higher education
has expanded. Curricular content comes in digital books, PDFs,
webpages, etc., and most of this content is delivered through digital
databases, learning management systems, and applications. The print
world is inherently inaccessible to students with disabilities, but
technology offers the opportunity to expand the circle of
participation. Studies have found that, of the 6.6 million students
with disabilities in grades K-12, the number who go on to pursue
postsecondary education is growing.

Blind students are facing insurmountable barriers to education.
Instead of fulfilling the promise of equal access, technology has
created more problems than the print world ever did. Data show that
students with disabilities face a variety of challenges, including
matriculation and college completion failure, solely because, in the
absence of clear accessibility guidelines, colleges and universities
are sticking with the ad-hoc accommodations model. Currently, schools
deploy inaccessible technology and then modify another version for
blind students, usually weeks or even months into class, creating a
“separate-but-equal” landscape with nearly impenetrable barriers. With
only a 17.9 percent employment rate, compared to 65.3 percent among
people without disabilities, students with disabilities should not be
denied access by the innovations that can ensure full participation.

Institutions of higher education need help to identify accessible
material and comply with nondiscrimination laws. Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act and Titles II and III of the Americans with
Disabilities Act require schools to provide equal access, and in 2010,
the US Departments of Justice and Education clarified that the use of
inaccessible technology is prohibited under these laws. The 2011 Aim
Commission recommended to Congress that accessibility guidelines be
developed for postsecondary instructional materials. In the seven
years since, over a dozen institutions have faced legal action for
using inaccessible technology, and complaints are on the rise. Most
litigation ends with a commitment from the school to embrace
accessibility, but that commitment does little in a vast,
uncoordinated higher education market.

Accessibility solutions are available, but guidelines are sorely
needed to stimulate the market. The Accessible Instructional Materials
in Higher Education Act will bring together people with disabilities
and the higher education, publishing, tech developing, and
manufacturing communities to develop a stakeholder-driven solution to
the issue of inaccessible instructional materials. With input from all
relevant stakeholder communities mainstream accessible instructional
materials can be achieved, benefitting both institutions of higher
education and the students with disabilities they aim to serve.

Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act:

Develops accessibility guidelines for instructional materials used in
postsecondary education. A purpose-based commission is tasked with
developing accessibility criteria for instructional materials and the
delivery systems/technologies used to access those materials.
Additionally, the commission is tasked with developing an annotated
list of existing national and international standards so that schools
and developers can identify what makes a product usable by the blind.

Provides a digital accessibility roadmap for institutions of higher
education. The guidelines developed by the commission will contain
specific technical and functional criteria that will clearly
illustrate how to make educational technologies usable by the blind
and other students with print disabilities. Such criteria will prove
to be beneficial to procurement officers, informational technology
staff, chief technology officers, and other key personnel at
institutions of higher education.

Offers flexibility for schools while reiterating that pre-existing
obligations still apply. Colleges and universities are permitted to
use material that does not conform to the guidelines as long as equal
access laws are still honored. Conformity with the Aim High guidelines
is only one path to compliance; schools can pursue a different path
but in doing so will forfeit the combined expertise of the relevant
stakeholder communities involved in the development of the Aim High
guidelines.

REMOVE BARRIERS TO EQUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM.

Cosponsor Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act.

To cosponsor S. 2138, contact:

Samuel Weinstock, Legislative Correspondent, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

Phone: (202) 224-4543, Email: samuel_weinstock at warren.senate.gov
<mailto:samuel_weinstock at warren.senate.gov>
To cosponsor H.R. 1772, contact:

Jennifer Wise, Legislative Fellow, Congressman Phil Roe (R-TN)

Phone: (202) 225-6356, Email: jennifer.wise at mail.house.gov
<mailto:jennifer.wise at mail.house.gov>
For more information, contact:

Gabe Cazares, Government Affairs Specialist, National Federation of the Blind

Phone: (410) 659-9314, extension 2206, Email: gcazares at nfb.org
<mailto:gcazares at nfb.org>
For more information visit: www.nfb.org/aim_high <http://www.nfb.org/aim_high>
*****


  <>
Access Technology Affordability Act (S. 732/H.R. 1734)

Increase the availability of access technology and promote
affordability of that technology for blind Americans

Access technology enables blind Americans to participate in today’s
connected world. Although blindness is easily measurable, it affects
each person differently and at different ages. Despite these
differences, manufacturers have designed various tools that enable
each blind American to perform tasks that they were once unable to
accomplish themselves due to their disability. Braille note takers are
frequently used in schools, screen reading software allows workers to
check their email at home, and screen magnification software can help
seniors losing vision learn about community activities. Access
technology equips blind Americans to seek employment and stay
employed. For the 58 percent of blind Americans who are not in the
labor market, it is a vehicle that makes possible and increases the
chances of engaging in and securing employment. However, despite this
critical need, public and private entities struggle to meet consumer
demand. This leads to untimely delays in the delivery of crucial
technology and ultimately harms the blind consumer.

The high cost of access technology creates a difficult economic
reality. According to the United States Census Bureau, 72 percent of
blind Americans are either unemployed or underemployed, yet most
access technology continues to range from $1,000 to $6,000. For
example, a leading screen reader is $900, a popular Braille note taker
is $5,495, one model of a refreshable Braille display is $2,795, and a
moderately priced Braille embosser is $3,695. Consequently, most blind
Americans do not have sufficient financial resources needed to
purchase these items. These financial barriers can ultimately lead to
a loss of employment, insufficient education, or even isolation from
community activities.

Medical insurance will not cover the cost of access technology.
Current definitions of "medical care," "medical necessity," and
"durable medical equipment" within common insurance policies do not
include access technology. These definitions were adopted in the 1960s
when medical care was viewed primarily as curative and palliative,
with little or no consideration given to increasing an individual's
functional status. Many states’ Medicaid programs and individual
health insurance plans have adopted similar definitions and likewise
will not cover the cost of access technology.

Access Technology Affordability Act:

The Access Technology Affordability Act provides a simple solution
that will increase the availability of access technology so that blind
Americans can procure these items for themselves. It establishes a
refundable tax credit for blind Americans in the amount of $2,500 to
be used over a three-year period to offset the cost of access
technology.

Historically, Congress has created similar tax incentives (e.g.,
Disabled Access Credit) for business owners required to make
accommodations, including access technology, for employees and patrons
with disabilities. Even though Congress created these tax incentives
to increase accessibility in the community, these incentives are
underutilized. Meanwhile, blind Americans, for the most part, must
depend on others to procure access technology for them.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to meet the access technology
needs of all blind Americans. Accessibility requires an individualized
assessment of one’s own skills and needs. Therefore, blind Americans
should be given the opportunity to procure access technology on their
own to ensure that they are receiving the tools that are most useful
for them.

REMOVE FINANCIAL BARRIERS AND INCREASE THE AVAILABILITY OF ACCESS TECHNOLOGY.

To cosponsor S. 732 in the Senate, contact:

Ryan Losak, Legislative Correspondent, Office of Senator John Boozman (R-AR)

Phone: (202)224-4843, Email: ryan_losak at boozman.senate.gov
<mailto:ryan_losak at boozman.senate.gov>
To cosponsor H.R. 1734 in the House of Representatives, contact:

Jacob Olson, Legislative Director, Office of Congressman David Young (R-IA)

Phone: (202) 225-5476, Email: jacob.olson at mail.house.gov
<mailto:jacob.olson at mail.house.gov>
For more information, contact:

Kimie Beverly, Government Affairs Specialist, National Federation of the Blind

Phone: (410) 659-9314, extension 2441, Email: kbeverly at nfb.org
<mailto:kbeverly at nfb.org>
For more information visit www.nfb.org <http://www.nfb.org/>
*****

Editor’s note: We lost the ADA Education and Reform Act fight in the
House of Representatives. The bill was passed almost entirely by
Republicans. It has not yet been introduced in the Senate, but Senator
Tammy Duckworth has written a letter opposing the bill. Thirty-seven
Senators have signed the letter, and we would like Sherrod Brown, at
least, to add his signature to it. When the bill is introduced, we
will have a fight on our hands to keep it from being passed. The
arguments made below are the same ones to make in the Senate battle.
If we are not to lose the ground we have gained since the ADA was
passed in 1990, we must stop this bill from being passed in the
Senate. You can call Senator Portman at (202) 224-3353. Senator
Sherrod Brown’s phone number is (202) 224-2315.


  <>
Oppose the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 (H.R. 620)

The ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 would undermine the ADA by
significantly eroding equal access protections and progress made over
nearly three decades.

In 1990 the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed
with broad bipartisan support. After years of advocacy by people with
disabilities and extensive negotiations with the business community, a
compromise was reached which balanced the cost to businesses of
accommodating people with disabilities with the desperate need to
eliminate the physical and systemic barriers that were isolating them
from the rest of society and denying them educational, economic, and
employment opportunities. Over twenty-seven years later, while much
still needs to be done, the ADA has tremendously benefitted the blind
and others, with and without disabilities. The blind have more access
and more ability to participate in economic and community life than we
have ever had, while businesses have an expanded customer base, and
many accommodations that benefit people with disabilities also benefit
others. Now, H.R. 620 (and other proposed ADA “notification” or
“reform” bills) threaten to bankrupt the promise of the ADA.

H.R. 620 would eliminate the right to equal access that is guaranteed
by the ADA. Instead, the bill would require only that a public
accommodation show “substantial progress” toward fixing an access
barrier, a standard which has no clear legal definition. The
introduction of this vague standard disregards the right of people
with disabilities to demand an immediate remedy to an access barrier.
Given that this standard is not clearly defined, a business may be
able to create a quick partial remedy to an access barrier, not a real
solution. For the blind, this could mean continued inaccessibility in
online shopping or digital banking platforms, as well as the inability
to maintain the privacy of medical information that other people have
during visits to the doctor’s office, or to independently peruse the
menu choices at a restaurant.

H.R. 620 would undermine the ADA by eroding the threat of litigation,
and thereby eliminate a major incentive for compliance. Under the
bill, a covered business need not comply with its existing obligations
under the ADA at all until receiving a detailed letter from a person
with a disability who experienced an access barrier. The business will
then be required only to achieve “substantial progress” in remedying
the barrier to avoid a lawsuit. The result will be that many
businesses will never need to fully comply with the ADA, despite being
notified of access barriers that have been experienced by their
potential patrons.

This bill is founded on inaccuracies and misunderstandings. Proponents
of H.R. 620 argue that the bill is necessary because of the existence
of “drive-by lawsuits” designed to exploit Title III of the ADA. This
argument has no researched data behind it and rests entirely on
anecdotes and ``sensationalized media stories. There is also confusion
as to whether the ADA permits litigants to seek monetary damages under
Title III lawsuits, which it does not.

The Americans with Disabilities Act:

The ADA is already a compromise that is designed to acknowledge the
concerns of the business community. It explicitly states that any
remedy must be “readily achievable” if the access barrier exists in an
establishment that predates passage of the bill (1990). The “readily
achievable” standard considers the difficulty of the remedy as well as
the expense and relationship to the structure of the establishment in
question. In addition to this standard, there are provisions within
Title III that require certain factors to be considered when
determining obligations to undertake Title III remedies, such as the
size of the business and the financial resources available to the
business.

The federal government already provides extensive educational and
technical assistance resources to aid businesses with their ADA
compliance obligations. The following resources make Section 2 of H.R.
620 redundant:

•                Ten regional ADA centers, funded by a grant from the
Department of Health and Human Services, that provide technical
assistance, trainings, and other resources for businesses;

•                An ADA hotline for businesses to call, operated by
the Department of Justice; and

•                An ADA website, containing numerous resources, tools,
and information for businesses.

The Department of Justice already facilitates mediation and
alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. When the ADA was enacted
nearly thirty years ago, Congress encouraged the use of mediation as a
way to resolve disputes. To that end, the Department of Justice refers
ADA disputes to professional mediators specifically trained in the
requirements of the ADA. This mediation is provided at no charge,
making Section 5 of H.R. 620 unnecessary.

CONTINUE SUPPORTING EQUAL ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY FOR BLIND AMERICANS
WHILE ALSO AVOIDING WASTEFUL AND DUPLICATIVE PROGRAMS AT TAXPAYER
EXPENSE.

Oppose H.R. 620.

For more information, contact:

Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Government Affairs Specialist, National
Federation of the Blind

Phone: (410) 659-9314, extension 2210, Email:
dhedtler-gaudette at nfb.org <mailto:dhedtler-gaudette at nfb.org>
*****

Editor’s note: For now the following issue is relevant only to the
Senate, where treaties are ratified. Recently the Marrakesh Treaty
Implementation Act, S. 2559, has been introduced in the Senate with
Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Bob
Corker, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and Dianne
Feinstein, a leading Democrat, as initial cosponsors. This is a very
good sign for passage, but it does mean that we need to lean on both
Robert Portman and Sherrod Brown, our Ohio Senators, to cosponsor and
support this bill. Please contact both offices to urge them to sign
onto this bill. The message is to cosponsor S. 2559. The fact sheet
below tells the story of why they should do so. Both offices have
already received this fact sheet. The aides we spoke to are Angelique
Salizan in Brown’s office and Seth Gold in Portman’s office. You can
use the phone numbers above or write an email to the aide at
Angelique_salizan at brown.senate.gov
<mailto:Angelique_salizan at brown.senate.gov> or
seth_gold at portman.senate.gov <mailto:seth_gold at portman.senate.gov>.
Please help. Here is the final fact sheet:


The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for
Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled
(Marrakesh Treaty) <>
An international copyright treaty will give blind Americans access to
millions of published works and improve the distribution of books
around the globe.

Millions of Americans are being denied access to published works.
Despite the ability to convert print books into accessible formats
like Braille, audio, and digital copies, over 95 percent of published
works are unavailable to people with print disabilities. Literacy and
equal participation in society are critical elements of a fulfilling
and independent life, but until uniformity is built into the
international copyright system, blind Americans will be excluded from
accessing published works on terms of equality. A blind student
seeking to learn Spanish will likely struggle to find an accessible
format in that language; a work printed in English may have already
been converted into an accessible format overseas, but because copies
are not exchanged across borders, domestic entities might need to make
a duplicate copy or just might deny access altogether by failing to
reproduce the work.

An uncoordinated legal approach prevents the cross-border exchange of
accessible books. Unlike the United States, where copyright law
includes the Chafee Amendment and other exceptions, roughly two-thirds
of the world’s nations do not have domestic copyright laws that permit
making copies for the blind, limiting the number of works available in
an accessible format. Moreover, many countries consider distribution
of accessible copies an infringement as well, and even amongst nations
that permit distribution, limitations vary. Instead of exchanging
books across borders, works are needlessly duplicated, and circulation
is significantly limited.

The Marrakesh Treaty was adopted to achieve this goal. On June 27,
2013, a diplomatic conference convened by the World Intellectual
Property Organization, (WIPO) in Morocco adopted the Marrakesh Treaty
with enthusiastic support from the US delegation. The treaty, signed
by the United States on October 2, 2013, currently has eighty-eight
signatories, has been ratified by thirty-three countries, and has
entered into force as of September 30, 2016.

The Marrakesh Treaty has broad stakeholder support. Blind people
should have full and equal access to all works that enrich lives,
further education, and share critical information; the treaty balances
this priority with the interests of rights holders. WIPO’s adoption of
the Marrakesh Treaty was supported by American-based companies the
international publishing community, legal experts, and blindness
advocates. The treaty will have tangible benefits for all involved.
This is why the Senate must act swiftly to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty
and why Congress must pass its associated implementing legislation
immediately.

The Marrakesh Treaty calls for contracting parties to provide in their
national copyright laws for a limitation or exception that allows for
the:

Reproduction of works by an authorized entity for the purposes of
converting them into accessible format copies exclusively for
beneficiary persons.

Distribution of accessible format copies exclusively to beneficiary persons

Import of accessible format copies for the purposes of making them
available domestically

Export of accessible format copies for the purposes of making them
available to a beneficiary person in another country

REMOVE BARRIERS TO ACCESS OF PUBLISHED WORKS.

Support ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty.

For more information, contact:

Gabe Cazares, Government Affairs Specialist, National Federation of the Blind

Phone: (410) 659-9314, extension 2206, Email: gcazares at nfb.org
<mailto:gcazares at nfb.org>
*****




The Pre-Authorized Contribution Plan Yesterday and Today <>
by Barbara Shaidnagle

Editor’s note: Ohio is lucky that longtime Federationist Barbara
Shaidnagle has recently retired to Ohio. Some of us knew her late
husband Joe. The Shaidnagles have always been active in the
organization wherever they have lived. Barbara came to the state
convention, where she made herself useful throughout the weekend. But
she was distressed to note that we spent no time at all talking about
the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) Plan and encouraging people to
sign up or increase their PAC contributions. Richard Payne immediately
invited her to get busy talking up the PAC Plan. Here is her
recollection of the early days of this program and her plea for us to
become active in it. This is what she says:

I met E.U. Parker on my first visit to Laurel, Mississippi, shortly
after becoming engaged to Joe in 1974. At some point he told us all
about the Preauthorized Check Plan he had devised as a means of giving
money to the National Federation of the Blind. Richard "Dick" Edlund,
then the NFB’s National Treasurer, renowned for stepping up to the
microphone and introducing himself by simply saying, "P.O. Box 11185"
to send the crowd into a frenzy, called the program "painless," and
indeed it was, once Joe and I signed on, probably for the very minimum
of $2.50. That amount would eventually increase, and Dick and E.U.
were right: we never missed the money that we would otherwise have
spent on pizza or something equally transient.

I knew that PAC money was used for projects like bailing out
Federationists who might have been removed from airplanes against
their will for sitting in the exit row and being fined for doing such
a thing or helping fund trips to Washington, then called "The March on
Washington," to inform Senators and Representatives about what the
National Federation of the Blind needed them to do to assure security,
equality, and opportunity for their blind constituents. It was even
used to help people on the local level get to their state capital to
talk to legislators on issues of concern to the blind.

Eventually Joe and I were able to attend National Conventions, and
during the Financial Report we heard the PAC money amount raised,
heard the amount of money the NFB spent helping blind people, and
suddenly I realized--our money did that!

People tend to get enthusiastic during a state or national convention
and sign up for the PAC plan, then decide, not that they have made a
mistake, but that perhaps they should not have signed up to allow so
much money to come out of their account. Well, there is nothing wrong
in decreasing the amount withdrawn. The NFB is a proponent of, not
"giving till it hurts," but "giving till it helps." And every amount,
no matter how small you think it is, helps: helps college students
insist on the right to have an accessible test; helps blind children
to get a Braille instructor once a week; or helps someone to go to the
national convention for the first time.  These are just small
examples. You might have heard or read about something great happening
for a blind person, success with a lawsuit for example. PAC money was
probably involved with that.

So you see, PAC is very important. Please think about signing up on
the PAC Plan, for an amount that will be painless and will go towards
helping blind people live the life they want. Here is the link you can
follow to print the form to send to the national office:
https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/pac-form-fillout-accessible.pdf
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/pac-form-fillout-accessible.pdf>
*****

Meet the Blind Month and White Cane Awareness Day in Cincinnati <>
by Annie McEachirn Carson

Editor’s note: Annie Carson is the Cincinnati chapter’s Recreation
Chairperson and Event Coordinator. The following story is her
description of an event last October. She provides a great pattern for
other chapters to celebrate Meet the Blind Month. This is what she
says:

What follows is the story of The Meet the Blind Month and White Cane
Awareness Day event held by the National Federation of the Blind of
Cincinnati last October. I was assisted in the planning of this
celebration by Sheri Albers, NFB of Ohio Vice President and member of
the Cincinnati Chapter, Walter Mitchell, Chairman of the Cincinnati
Fundraising Committee, and Kim McEachirn, member of the Cincinnati
Recreation and Fundraising committees. The organizing of this event
began in the summer of 2017. During this time Kim McEachirn came up
with the idea of producing a T-shirt including a special design: a
blue eye with “Meet the Blind” above the eye and “Mind to Mind” below
it. With the support of the fundraising committee, Kim and I met with
a designer, Tommy Rueff, Director of Happen, Inc. and a local T-shirt
manufacturer who transformed Kim’s dream into reality, completing the
order of 100 T-shirts. These unique T-shirts would be sold as a
fundraiser for the local chapter by request and during our event.

In September I arranged for Sheri Albers and me to participate in a
thirty-minute interview conducted by Robert Harris with Cincinnati
City Cable. A summary of the National Federation of the Blind, the
Cincinnati Chapter’s Meet the Blind Month, and White Cane Awareness
Day event were discussed. See the link for the complete interview.
https://vimeo.com/234562206 <https://vimeo.com/234562206>
After the success of the video on Cable TV, internet, and Facebook,
the planning committee became more excited about our vision for the
Meet the Blind Month and White Cane Awareness Day event scheduled on
October 2.

Over the following weeks, invitations were sent to the Clovernook
Center for the Blind, the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and
Visually Impaired, and the general public through a variety of social
media outlets. Traditionally, the opening ceremony for the Meet the
Blind Month and White Cane Awareness Day had begun at City Hall;
therefore, as in previous years, we felt it important to involve a
city official in reading the Meet the Blind Month and White Cane
Safety Day proclamations. Vice Mayor David Mann, who seemed honored to
read the proclamations to a crowd of more than 50 attendees, spoke
passionately about his own personal connection between family and
community. As a father of a hearing-impaired daughter and a husband
whose wife, Betsy, volunteers her time in doing audio description for
the blind at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, David Mann is well
aware of the individual’s need to achieve and willingness to serve.

Leading up to the event on October 2, the planning team focused on all
of the intricate details in order to bring the event to fruition.
Several volunteers from organizations such as Cincinnati City Cable,
Happen, Inc., Cancer Justice Network, Inc., Clovernook Center for the
Blind, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Davis Cookie
Collection, Chick-Fil-a, Graeter’s, and the Friends of the African
Union supported the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
Cincinnati Chapter by donating their skills, talents, and resources.

With the use of excellent sound systems at both City Hall and Fountain
Square, the team shared their message with those near and far.
Beautifully designed programs were created and handed out to some of
the sighted friends and to David Mann.

Due to the tragedy in Las Vegas, I started the ceremony with a moment
of silence for those killed or injured during the mass shooting, after
which I officially welcomed everyone to our celebration with the
purpose of sharing that blind people desire to use their skills and
talents and to be independent to go and come at their convenience. NFB
Cincinnati chapter Vice President Lisa Hall read (from Braille) a
brief history of Meet the Blind Month and White Cane Awareness Day,
David Mann read the proclamations, and Lillie Pennington, Cincinnati
Chapter member, sang “Glory, Glory Federation” with the crowd
enthusiastically joining the chorus. As I thanked David Mann on behalf
of the NFB, I presented him with a T-shirt. The program finished with
Sheri Albers inviting the crowd to join in the white cane walk to
Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati.

The walk to Fountain Square, led by Sheri, was pleasant and well
organized. Several sighted volunteers walked alongside NFB members.
Upon arrival at Fountain Square, friend and volunteer Cassy Kohs took
several pictures to commemorate the special event. I then introduced
the recreation committee and fundraising committee, and Lisa Hall read
a Braille copy of each of the proclamations. Sheri and I then led the
group in the one-minute message of NFB. For the next two hours Walter
Mitchell and Kim McEachirn spread the organization’s message by
periodic announcements over the sound system while NFB
friends/volunteers Lisa, Julie, and Cassy helped sell T-shirts. Jean
Selvidge, sighted member of the NFB, was diligent in providing
literature to the public and also assisting in the sale of the
T-shirts.

The Cincinnati Chapter is truly grateful for the 50-plus attendees
that participated in the event. Some of these attendees included many
of the Cincinnati Federation Family, Dr. Carolyn Peters, the President
of the Miami Valley Chapter and state board member, and Gloria
Robinson from the same chapter, Sam Foulkes and several blind
co-workers from Clovernook Center for the Blind, the community
relations team from the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and
Visually Impaired, volunteers, and visitors. Together, we did it!
“With love, hope, and determination,” we achieved our goal.

*****

Farewell to Aidan Carter <>
by Eric Duffy

Editor’s note: On Monday, January 8, word shot around the affiliate of
the sudden death of Aidan Carter, one of our BELL students from year 1
of the program. Everyone was incredulous and grief-stricken at the
news. Aidan had a uniquely deep and cheerful voice. Just thinking of
him brings back his happy, teasing presence. Probably the person
closest to Aidan in the program was Eric Duffy, who always establishes
a joking and affectionate report with kids. It is fitting that we
asked Eric, who was president of the affiliate and coordinator of the
BELL Program in its early years, to write this recollection of Aidan
Carter:

When we begin a new program in the National Federation of the Blind,
we don’t understand fully how it will affect the lives of those with
whom we work. What’s more, we don’t understand the way what we do will
affect our own lives. When we held the first Braille Enrichment for
Literacy and Learning (BELL) Program in Columbus, we thought a lot
about how we could make life better for blind children. We were going
to teach them Braille or help them improve their Braille skills. We
were going to be mentors and role models for them. But we didn’t
consider what they were going to do for us.

They challenged us to think about teaching and learning in new ways.
They pushed us to be even better mentors and role models than we
thought it was possible to be. They tested our endurance levels as we
struggled to keep up with them.

But boy, did they give back! Their desire to learn was infectious.
They were delighted to be around blind people like themselves. They
were ready to take on the world and meet the challenges of life, no
matter what they were. This was definitely true for Aidan Carter.

Aidan had multiple disabilities, but nothing was going to stop him. I
spent a lot of break time with Aidan racing up and down the hallways.
He often told me that I was going to jail or that I was under arrest.
Aidan was an honorary sheriff because of the work he did in the
community even as a young child. Aidan’s purpose in life was to make
all whom he came in contact with smile. That he did. He had a business
card that said he was a smileologist. I told him he was a fake
sheriff.

As I was leaving Ohio for New Jersey, I knew it was not possible to
see all of the BELL kids to let them know I would not be at the next
program. I did have the opportunity to spend some time with Aidan.
Much to my surprise, when I met him at the school for the blind, he
had a few things for me. He gave me a necklace he had made, some
chocolate, and a bottle of Coke. These were things Aidan knew I liked.

Last summer he came back to the BELL Academy as a volunteer because he
had aged out of the program. Aidan was a happy kid, who seemed never
to have a bad day. We know he did because we all do. Aidan just went
through life determined to be cheerful and to do what he could to help
others. I can’t count how many times I have heard him ask, “How can I
help, What can I do, What do you need?”

We do the work we do to support BELL, and we change the lives of blind
children, but they change our lives in immeasurable ways as well.
Aidan turned 15 on December 30. He changed his corner of the world for
the better in ways that many will not, even if they live to be 115.

I am glad to have known Aidan Carter, and I am proud to have been his
friend and grateful that he was mine.

Here are words from his Pastor:

My dear friends,

It is with great sadness that I share the news that our dear and
beloved friend Aidan Carter passed away last night. Aidan died of
apparent complications of the flu. Service details will be forthcoming
after the family meets with Spence Funeral Home tomorrow. Please hold
Heidi, Todd, and Kendall in your prayers. Please also hold each other
in prayer as we grieve the loss of this most amazing friend in our
life together. Blessings on us all in these days.

My love to you all,

Pastor Dave

I was touched by the funeral service; I got to listen to the live
stream. There were great stories and funny stories that involved
Aidan. It was clear that he was an important part of his church
community. Through the stories that were told, Aidan made people smile
even during a time of sorrow.

I am grateful to Richard Payne and the National Federation of the
Blind of Ohio for making a contribution to the Ohio State School for
the Blind in Aidan’s memory. Here is the thank you that the affiliate
received:

On behalf of the students, staff, and faculty at the Ohio State School
for the Blind, we want to thank you for your very generous donation of
$50.00 to the OSSB-Parent, Teacher, Student Foundation memorial fund
honoring our amazing student, classmate, and friend--Aidan Carter.

Since the first day he came to our campus, he quickly warmed his way
into the hearts of everyone with his ready smile and positive attitude
about life. In fact, his motto was printed on business cards that he
handed out to those he met--Aidan Carter, Smile-ologist
Extraordinaire. "If you've lost yours, I'll help you find it." Aidan
made an impact on his peers and the staff at OSSB on a daily basis
with his loving spirit. We are grateful for your donation, which will
allow us to provide educational programming that was meaningful to
Aidan and his family, while providing some tangible way for all of us
to remember him in our hearts.

Thank you for supporting us as we celebrate Aidan's life, his family,
and the powerful impact they have had on our school community.

With gratitude,

LVK [Laurie V. Kaplin]

Joel Vlazzoli, Treasurer

OSSB PTSF

Aidan Carter, you brought a smile and joy to the lives of everyone you
knew. I for one will never forget you. Rest in peace, you old fake
sheriff.

*****

Ronnie Leeth’s Gone Fishin’ <>
Editor’s note. The following story by Brian Albrecht appeared in the
Plain Dealer on August 14, 2014. Cheryl Fields sent it to the Buckeye
Bulletin in January of this year. It was so charming that we could not
resist sharing it with our readers. Here it is:

Joe Temkiewicz had a hard time believing it as Ronnie Leeth recently
pulled fish after fish from a northwest Ontario lake, apparently
guided by pure instinct, since Leeth is blind. Temkiewicz,
sixty-eight, of Sheffield Village, had taken Leeth and another
visually impaired Vietnam vet on an all-expenses-paid, week-long
fishing trip starting Aug. 1 to one of his favorite angling areas in
Canada.

"He outfished me. I never saw anybody with the touch that Leeth has,"
Temkiewicz said. "He'd say, 'I feel one swimming by,' and sure enough,
bang! there's a walleye every time. After about twenty times, I really
believed he could feel the fish swimming by."

Leeth also pulled in a real whopper, a forty-one-inch Northern pike,
giving Temkiewicz the verbal ammo to fire good-natured jabs at other
anglers, saying, "Hey, if a blind guy can catch a forty-one-incher,
how big a one can you catch?" It was just the kind of banter and
experiences Temkiewicz had in mind when he first got the idea for the
trip more than two years ago. The zoning administrator and building
inspector for Sheffield Village had served with the Army in Vietnam
from 1967-68. He said, "I just feel lucky. I came out pretty much
unscathed, physically and mentally. A lot of guys didn't, and haven't
had a life as settled as my own. So I thought maybe this would be a
good thing to do."

He contacted a fishing resort, Hidden Bay Lodge, which offered to fly
in the vets and provide them with free food and fishing gear.
Temkiewicz, a past commander of Amvets Post 55, said that post and VFW
Post 8686, both in Sheffield Lake, raised funds to provide $4,000 to
cover trip expenses. The hardest part was finding vets to take.
Timkiewicz said it didn't matter what era they came from or which
branch of service. "If you were disabled 80 percent or more, then
you're going," he said. "It didn't matter if you were in a wheelchair,
blind, or lost a limb. I wanted to take somebody who'd never be able
to make this trip on their own." He sought potential candidates from
area VA facilities and doctors who treated veterans, but was told that
although they'd pass along his offer, they couldn't give him any names
due to patient confidentiality rules.

Timkiewicz finally found Leeth, fifty-eight, of Cleveland, an Air
Force Vietnam-era vet, and Wayne Comstock, sixty-five, a resident of
the Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky and a Marine who served in Vietnam.
Both are visually impaired, but that loss is not service-related.

Timkiewicz--joined by Mike Vaborski, Ron Krall, and Brad Rauscher, all
of Sheffield Lake–drove twenty-two hours to the resort, where they
then took a forty-five-minute flight to a remote fishing cabin on a
lake. He had high praise for the Hidden Bay Lodge staff, who made sure
they had homemade pies and cookies before flying off into the
wilderness. "They treated us fantastic," he said. The vets spent four
days mostly fishing–morning, afternoon, and evening. "I didn't know
how they'd handle it, especially Ronnie, but he wanted to go fishing
every minute of the day," Timkiewicz recalled. "He had a guide dog,
she'd never been able to go swimming before, and I think she had a
better time than Ronnie." It was a completely new experience for
Leeth. "I've never done anything like that before. There were no
stores, no cars, no nothing. Just us and nature," he said. "It was
unbelievable. To be able to go out and catch that many fish, and come
back to the dock and filet them, cook them, and eat them, fresh out of
the water, not only one day but everyday, was just awesome," he added.

And yes, there was something extrasensory about his fishing. "It was
just a natural thing. I could feel them when they were down there. I
don't know how, but I knew," he said. "Joe would say, 'How did you do
that?' And I'd say, 'I don't know, but don't move, here they come.' I
amazed myself," he added.

Leeth is a student at Cuyahoga Community College, studying human
services, and plans to open a nonprofit senior adult care facility in
Cleveland named after his mother, Othella House. When it got too dark
to fish, Leech studied. "It was very peaceful up there. No phone, no
TV, no distractions. So I got a lot of studying done," he said.

There also was campfire talk. As Timkiewicz noted, "We didn't talk
about the service. We talked about life–how we got there, what we did
when we were younger. Just getting to know each other."

Leeth also fondly remembered the "talking and communicating, just
bonding." He said Comstock, the other Vietnam vet, was quiet at first.
"He was not saying nothing. Then he came out of his shell and fished
and was talking and laughing and joking with us," Leeth recalled.
"That was the amazing part, to see him open up. That was beautiful."

Comstock said "the whole trip was pleasurable – the lake itself, the
cabin, the fishing. I thought it was very nice of them to take me."
Both he and Leeth also got their own fishing gear, in case they get a
chance to go angling again. Leeth said he'd go again in a heartbeat.
Only next time, one thing he learned from this trip was: "Use better
insect repellent."

Temkiewicz also was happy with the results, though he noted he wasn't
initially aware of all the attention that had to be paid to the basics
of everyday life when dealing with a visually impaired person. Little
things, like making sure the table was always set exactly the same
way, so they always knew where to reach for things. "Everything went
better than what I thought it would be for them," he said. "It was
trying, but it was worth it. Absolutely."

*****

Wellness Tips <>
by Suzanne Turner

Editor’s note: Suzanne Turner is president of the Cleveland chapter.
She has asked to provide a brief tip in each newsletter. She has a
master’s degree in public administration and a Bachelor’s degree in
social work. She is a Quality Care Navigator for Medical Mutual. This
is what she says:

Mindfulness is a tool you can use to cope with stress. To be mindful
is to pay attention, to be present, and to be accepting. By training
your mind to focus only on the present, you can learn how not to get
lost in regrets and worries. Click on the word “mindfulness” above and
learn more.

*****

Buckeye Briefs <>
This year's state convention will be held November 2, 3, and 4 at the
Holiday Inn Cleveland-Strongsville Hotel, located at 15471 Royalton
Road, Strongsville, Ohio 44136. The room rates are $82 per night with
free breakfast. Shuttle service from the bus station to the Holiday
Inn will also be provided. This hotel is cozier, which will fit with
the plans for our 2018 convention.

The National Convention will be held July 3 through July 8, 2018, at
the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, 9939 Universal Boulevard, Orlando,
Florida 32819-9357. Reservations can be made directly with the hotel
at (866) 996-6338. The hotel will want a deposit of $100 for each room
and will want a credit card number or a personal check. If you use a
credit card, the deposit will be charged against your card
immediately, just as would be the case with a $100 check. If a
reservation is cancelled before Friday, June 1, 2018, half of the
deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will not be made.
Convention registration with the NFB National will be available after
March 1 through the National website, www.nfb.org
<http://www.nfb.org/>.

Longtime leader in the Cincinnati area Deborah Kendrick wrote to
report changes in the leadership in that chapter. She has been
president for four years, but she has now stepped down in a general
cut-back in demands on her time. Unfortunately, she then rebroke her
leg in a fall. So she is back in Florida recovering. David Perry and
Kim McEachirn also left the chapter board, as did Lisa Hall, who had
filled in admirably for Deborah while she was recovering. The new
officers as of January are president, Sheri Albers; vice president,
Deanna Lewis; treasurer, Emily Pennington; secretary, Christopher
Sabine; and board members, Paul Jordan, Annie McEachirn Carson, and
Paul Dressell. Congratulations to all.

On Friday, January 26, 2018, Chris Faust, CEO and President of
Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, selected Lisa
Hall as Blind Employee of the Year. She will be representing
Clovernook in Washington, D.C. in April for the National Industries
for the Blind Conference. Lisa has been a proofreader at Clovernook
for eleven-and-a-half years. Congratulations to Lisa from the entire
NFB of Ohio family.

We are delighted to report that Jordy Stringer is a new independent
living specialist with the Southeastern Ohio Center for Independent
Living (SOCIL). He will be coordinating and managing the programs and
activities to increase and promote independence for people with a
disability residing in Hocking County. Because he is a blind person,
he knows very well the barriers that keep people with disabilities
from reaching their highest socio-economic potential. He urges people
to contact him with questions about independent living services at
office: (740) 280-1475 or cell: (740) 422-9177.

News from the Cleveland Chapter: The following are the 2018 officers
of the NFB of Cleveland: president, Suzanne M. Turner; vice president,
Rosa Jones; secretary, Cheryl Fields; treasurer, Natassha Ricks; and
Board members, Theresa McKinney, Shirley Patterson, Octavia Colbert,
and Robert Campbell. Congratulations to these hard-working officers.

The Cleveland chapter’s Community Engagement Committee kicked off 2018
by hosting Louis Braille’s 209th birthday celebration with Saint
Adelbert Elementary School in Cleveland. Cleveland chapter members
introduced Braille to two kindergarten classes, two first grade
classes, and two third grade classes on January 10, 2018.

The chapter would like to announce several honors. The chapter honored
former president William H. Turner for his ten years of chapter
leadership at the Holiday Celebration. This honor was a surprise to
William, whose family was present. He was given a plaque and Owen
McCafferty streamed the event live on Facebook. Congratulations to
William.

Member Ronnie Leeth Graduated from the University of Akron with a
degree in social work. Ali Benmerzouga was honored as the 2017 Tutor
of the Year by North Coast Education Services of Solon, Ohio.

Cleveland now has a listserv. You can go to nfbOH-Cleveland at hnfb.org
to check it out.

In January Ronnie Leeth of the Cleveland chapter was chosen as an
Honors level recipient for Learning Ally's Mary Oenslager Scholastic
Achievement Award, which means he received a $1,000 scholarship.
Congratulations.

Congratulations also to Cleveland chapter member Regina Dorfmeyer. Two
of her paintings were selected by Accessible Expressions Ohio
Celebrating Life through Art. From photography to music, painting,
drawing, dance and movement, VSA Ohio works to promote the enrichment
of art for all abilities across all artistic media.The organization
works to change perceptions about ability and disability by helping
connect people to accessible, creative opportunities.

Colleen Roth, president of the At-Large Chapter, writes to report that
the chapter has a new vice president as of the October 27 meeting.
LuAnn Bowers from Liberty Center was elected. Congratulations to Luan.

BSVI Partners on Finding Pathways in Higher Education: Finding the way
around the campus at Columbus State Community College is getting
easier, thanks to a pilot project between Opportunities for Ohioans
with Disabilities and Columbus State Community College (CSCC). Audible
instructions are now available to anyone using an IOS-based smart
phone app called BlindSquare. These announcements offer details such
as bus stops, unmarked street crossings, or temporary construction
sites, as well as providing indoor navigation throughout CSCC campus
buildings. “BlindSquare combines data from GPS outdoors and Bluetooth
beacons inside campus buildings for seamless navigation,” says Sarah
Kelly, the OOD program administrator who mastered the coding and other
skills needed to get this highly customized system going. The project
goal involves not only navigating the campus, but also being able to
get to campus from several miles out in all directions through the
BlindSqEvent app, a free version of BlindSquare available to anyone
with an iPhone. The app targets travelers with wayfinding challenges,
such as vision or cognitive impairments, with the goal of facilitating
independent travel. This technology offers increased independence to
the hundreds of students receiving services from CSCC’s Office of
Disability Services. Customized QR codes also make signage accessible
to those with literacy barriers. BSVI hopes to expand this technology
access to other Ohio campuses in the future, so stay tuned.

Upcoming Events: June 8, 2PM-6PM, attend National Federation of the
Blind Cleveland’s Afternoon Senior Gala, Mitchell’s Restaurant and
Lounge, 24900 Euclid Avenue, Euclid. Purchase $35 tickets by May 20.
Includes live music, food, and door prizes, plus guest speaker Barbara
Pierce, President of NFB Ohio Senior Division.

An off-year reunion for OSSB alumni is coming the week-end of June 29
to July 1 at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Columbus-Worthington, 175
Hutchinson Avenue, Columbus. This get-together is open to anyone who
has ever attended OSSB, not just graduates. For attendee questions
and/or program suggestions, email mfoster100 at gmail.com
<mailto:mfoster100 at gmail.com>.

Announcements: Universal Low Vision, one of Ohio’s major assistive
technology distributors, has moved from Grandview to its new address:
200 East Campus View Blvd., Suite 200, Columbus, OH 43235. Please take
note for future visits. Phones and emails have remained the same, as
well as its website: https://www.ulva.com/ <https://www.ulva.com/>.

Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) offers a streamlined
application/ job portal called OOD works.com. This website allows
applicants to learn more about what vocational rehabilitation is, take
a self-assessment, apply for services, and make updates such as
contact information. Any Ohioan interested in vocational
rehabilitation resources may visit www.OODWorks.com.

The following blog provides advice, location, and what-to-do resources
on college fairs for high schoolers deciding where and what to study.
https://choosework.ssa.gov/blog/2018-03-06-attending-a-college-fair
<https://choosework.ssa.gov/blog/2018-03-06-attending-a-college-fair>
This blog gives specific details and other valuable information for
those on SSI or SSDI who are interested in return to work using the
Ticket to Work program.

https://choosework.ssa.gov/blog/2018-03-15-finding-help-on-the-path-to-work
<https://choosework.ssa.gov/blog/2018-03-15-finding-help-on-the-path-to-work>.

AFB CareerConnect has launched the Transition to College: Program
Activity Guide for students with vision loss considering
post-secondary education to achieve career goals. It includes 24
activities available online, in printable format, and in downloadable
UEB braille. Details and free download here:
https://www.afb.org/blog/careerconnect-blog/introducing-the-transition-to-college-program-activity-guide-for-students-with-visual-impairments/12
<https://www.afb.org/blog/careerconnect-blog/introducing-the-transition-to-college-program-activity-guide-for-students-with-visual-impairments/12>.

As you write your resume and prepare for job interviews, do you know
how to discuss gaps in your employment history? This blog discusses
tips for how to address these issues in your resume, in a cover
letter, and during a job interview.
https://choosework.ssa.gov/blog/2018-03-22-addressing-employment-gaps-during-job-search
<https://choosework.ssa.gov/blog/2018-03-22-addressing-employment-gaps-during-job-search>.

*****

Activities Calendar <>
April 23, conference call board meeting, NFB-O Board of Directors

May 6, Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati

June 1, Deadline NFB of Ohio Scholarship applications

July 3-8, NFB Convention, Orlando, Florida

October, Meet the Blind Month

October 15, White Cane Awareness Day

November 2-4, NFB of Ohio convention, Strongsville


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-- 
Wishing You All the Best,

Cheryl E. Fields


A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human
life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will
never sit.
--D. Elton Trueblood