[NFBOK-Talk] President's Notebook: Thanksgiving message

Thu Nov 23 00:02:28 UTC 2017

NFBOK Family, 

Thanksgiving greetings to you and yours. I wish you each health and
happiness as we begin the holiday season. I am thankful for you and for the
Federation along with the work that we do together to bring hope to blind
people in Oklahoma and beyond. We do have much to be thankful for. However,
there is still much work ahead. In President Riccobono's message below you
will hear about some of them. We also have a lot of things happening in
Oklahoma as well. One that we can mention now is that our 44th Annual
National Federation of the Blind of Oklahoma state convention is on the
books and scheduled for April 12-15 in Tulsa. More information is
forthcoming. Stay tuned! 

If you are interested in state and national legislation and would like to
work on our legislative efforts please contact me. We have some plans ahead
of us and need some members to assist with the work. Washington Seminar is
coming up as well. We will be in Washington D.DC. from January 29-January
31, 2018. If you are interested in attending there may be some assistance
available.  Please call me to discuss what the options might be for you to
attend. I would particularly like to hear from those members who have not
attended before. E-mail or call if you are interested. 

Have a very happy Thanksgiving! Don't miss President Riccobono's message
below!

Your sister in the Federation,  

Jeannie 

Jeannie M. Massay, President

National Federation of theBlind 

Of Oklahoma

405-600-0695

president at nfbok.org <mailto:president at nfbok.org>  

www.nfbok.org <http://www.nfbok.org> 

Follow us on Twitter @NFBOK

Follow us on Facebook @nationalfederationoftheblindok

Live the life you want!

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 they want.

***** 

President's Notebook

National Federation of the Blind

Mark A. Riccobono

officeofthepresident at nfb.org <mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org> 

(410) 659-9314

Dear Fellow Federationists,

Happy Thanksgiving to you! I am thankful for the love and hard work you put
into our organization every day. The scope of projects we have going on and
the tremendous number of areas where our organization has impact is
remarkable. The fact that we continue to evaluate what we do and keep it
authentically grounded in the hopes and dreams of blind people is what makes
it effective and powerful. Thank you for being part of that engine of hope.

I hope that each of you finds great joy in the Thanksgiving holiday this
week. I will be spending time with my immediate and extended family on the
Eastern Shore of Maryland. Next week, we will be in full holiday and
strategic planning mode at the NFB Jernigan Institute as we decorate for the
season, welcome our supporters for a partnership dinner, and host the
meetings of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind
and the Board of Directors of the Jacobus tenBroek Fund. It will be nice to
get away with the Riccobono family before doing some intense planning with
the Federation family. I hope that your Thanksgiving gatherings are fun and
relaxing and that any travel you undertake is safe and uneventful.

Critical Actions This Week:

Legislative Updates:
On Thursday, November 16, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Senator Orrin
Hatch (R-UT) introduced the Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher
Education (AIM HIGH) Act (S. 2138) in the United States Senate. The
legislation will authorize the creation of voluntary guidelines to help
colleges and universities meet the needs of blind students and students with
other disabilities that make it difficult or impossible to read print.
Please contact your two senators to encourage them to cosponsor S. 2138.

As you call your senate offices regarding S. 2138, please also encourage
your senators to cosponsor our Access Technology Affordability Act (S. 732).
Immediately following the Thanksgiving recess, the Senate will devote its
attention entirely to tax reform, and it is crucial that senate offices hear
from us during this critical time. You can reach your senate offices by
calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Finally, don't forget to start making plans to attend our 2018 Washington
Seminar. You can find more information regarding how to make hotel
reservations and other logistics for 2018 by reading the
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm17/bm1710/bm171010.htm>
Braille Monitor.

Dates to Keep in Mind:

*	January 29, 2018: Great Gathering-In
*	January 28-February 1, 2018: Washington Seminar
<https://nfb.org/washington-seminar> 
*	March 22-23, 2018: Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium
*	March 31, 2018: Deadline for scholarship applications,
www.nfb.org/scholarships <http://www.nfb.org/scholarships> 
*	April 12-15, 2018 : NFBOK State Convention, Tulsa at the Doubletree
by Warren Place 

With gratitude for your friendship,

Mark A. Riccobono

President

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