<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:NanumGothic;
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Ohio Members and Friends,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Maggie Stringer is the editor of the National Community Service Division Newsletter. She emailed it to us and you should take a peak. But, here are stories about two of our Ohio members.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Suzanne<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>A TAKE DOWN YOU WON’T SEE COMING<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>National Athletic Training Month<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Asia Quinones-Evans<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:106%'>For sports fans, sports are the epitome of hard work and dedication. To get to the pinnacle of their sport, even the most naturally gifted athletes have to give it their all. It is our honor to introduce to our readers, Miss Asia Quinones-Evans.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:106%'>“I am blind, but I was not born blind.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:106%'>I had 20/20 vision until the world suddenly went black eight years ago, in September of 2014 when it was discovered that a brain tumor was compressing my optic nerve, causing 100% vision loss in less than a week. I had sight throughout my life until the month prior to turning 17, meaning I had no visual impairment experience nor the need to learn the skills. It was never in my plans to go to college, however, after gaining a significant number of blind skills, I decided to be a first-generation college student in my family by enrolling at Lorain County Community College to pursue two Associates of Applied Sciences degrees in Sports and Fitness Management and Coaching and Promotion. It has not been an easy transition from attending classes in person to everything shutting down and going virtual due to the COVID – 19 pandemics throughout 2020 & 2021, but things are getting better and slowly transition back to in person. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:106%'>I chose this major because I wrestled 6 years and developed a great passion for the sport. When I wrestled at Ohio State School for the Blind, I had a blind coach, and this motivated me to learn more about becoming a wrestling coach. It is not usually a requirement to have a degree to become a wrestling coach unless someone wants to become a coach for a college team. I was very motivated to learn more about how to provide for my athletes. I wanted to learn about how they can do such a demanding sport and mitigate getting injuries.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:106%'>This path is not typical for a blind person due to many challenges with learning fitness without sight. I have a background in sports, so this makes it somewhat easier. After I went blind, I was told by my athletic director that I could not wrestle due to liability of injury. I had many bruises, busted lips, and even bruised bones from wrestling with sight. As a female wrestler this is even more difficult. I did not understand why I could not wrestle without sight when I never complained with getting injured being a smaller female. Wrestling is one of the easiest sports to adapt for the blind because all that must be done is to keep constant contact while in a match or practice. The referee is responsible for ensuring that this rule stays applied while a blind wrestler in in the match. I do know that when I continue to look for positions, I will come across the same inability to understanding that a blind person can be a coach for such a demanding sport. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:106%'>I am involved in my community by having the opportunity to assist coaching a youth wrestling team in my local area. I work with the athletes more individually when they need help. I am apart of several divisions of the NFB of Ohio. I am the Treasurer of my local chapter, the Treasurer of the Ohio Association of Blind Students, the Secretary of the Ohio Communities of Faith, and a Board member of the Ohio Association of Guide Dog Users.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:106%'>Asia is living her life as a champion! <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:106%'>“It is not the size of a woman, but the size of her heart that matters.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>#CelebrateBlindAthletes<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>//<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%'><span style='font-family:"NanumGothic",serif'>A PILLAR OF Perseverance </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%'><span style='font-family:"NanumGothic",serif'>National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%'><span style='font-family:"NanumGothic",serif'>Written by Eric Duffy</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:105%'><span style='font-family:"NanumGothic",serif'>March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness month, which gives us the opportunity to both celebrate and educate others about cerebral palsy. We immediately thought of Eric Duffy of Kettering, Ohio. A man who has dedicated most of his life educating the world on his blindness and CP not being the characteristics that would defines him or his future. Eric is a proud father of two sons, and is a dynamic leader within our federation and on Capital hill. We are proud to have him share a part of his story with us!</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:105%'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"NanumGothic",serif'>“Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect a person's ability to move and maintain balance and posture. CP is the most common motor disability in childhood. COULDC estimates that an average of 1 in 345 children in the U.S. have CP.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:105%'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"NanumGothic",serif'>I am the only one in my immediate family with a disability. CP and blindness were not anything my parents were familiar with, but something they had to learn about very quickly. My mom always told the story of how people in my family often carried me because I was blind, and therefore, they weren't aware of my struggles with walking and balance for a while after I was born.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:105%'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"NanumGothic",serif'>When most kids my age were starting school, I was having surgeries on my legs. I don't remember the exact ages of the surgeries, but I remember being in the hospitals having casts and doing physical therapy.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:105%'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"NanumGothic",serif'>I have always fallen fairly frequently, and that is something I remember that from an early age. Although when I was young, I didn't know much about CP, I knew that I would not be able to walk, run, jump, and do other things in the same way other kids did. In my early days at the Ohio State School for the Blind, I made a conscious effort to build my upper body strength. I did pushups, pullups, isometrics, and anything else I could think of. No one prompted me to do this. But this upper body strength came in handy during the rough and tumble of boyhood and later as a wrestler. I completed all of my Physical Education requirements, although I could have gotten an exemption. In addition to that, I did physical therapy while at school and on Saturdays when at home.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:105%'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"NanumGothic",serif'>I had the last surgery on my legs at the age of 14. I missed several months of my seventh-grade year, but when I came back to school, I wanted to try out for the wrestling team. I was not permitted to wrestle that year, but the following year I made the team. I was not that good, because wrestling does require a lot of leg strength.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:105%'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"NanumGothic",serif'>Other than in those early years of my life, CP has not been something I've thought about very much. I do the things that I want to do, and it does not slow me down. When I am traveling outside, it literally does slow me down, and it does help me to walk with someone for balance. Now I tend to walk with others more than I used to, because I am getting older, and falls are harder on the body.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:105%'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"NanumGothic",serif'>I have never been treated differently in the Federation because of my CP. Those who know I have it, have all been very supportive. Over the years I have had the opportunity to talk with many parents of blind children who also have CP, and my hope is that I have been able to help these children and their families.”</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:105%'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"NanumGothic",serif'>#CerebralPalsyAwareness</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:105%'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"NanumGothic",serif'>"Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flow charts. It is about one life influencing another."</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>National Federation of the Blind of Ohio (NFBO)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Suzanne Turner, Ohio Affiliate Vice President<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Cleveland Chapter, President<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> (216) 990-6199<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Please click on the links below to learn more about the organization<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>The Ohio Affiliate<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><a name="_Hlk18941617"></a><a name="_Hlk14090147"></a><a name="_Hlk14085768"><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'></span></span></a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGe_1qGbkX8"><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGe_1qGbkX8</span></span></span></span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'></span></span></span></a><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>“Live the life you want” featuring, National President, Mark Riccobono<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><a name="_Hlk18067489"></a></span></span></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DesLNDBpYVE&feature=share"><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18067489'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DesLNDBpYVE&feature=share</span></span></span></span></span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18067489'></span></span></span></span></a><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18067489'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18067489'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18067489'>Visit and take a moment to like our Facebook Page!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18067489'></span></span></span></span><a href="https://m.facebook.com/NationalFederationOfTheBlindOfOhioClevelandChapter/"><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18067489'>https://m.facebook.com/NationalFederationOfTheBlindOfOhioClevelandChapter/</span></span></span></span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18067489'></span></span></span></span></a><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18067489'> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18067489'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18067489'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18067489'></span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk18941617'></span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14090147'></span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk14085768'></span><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>