[NFBV-Announce] The Vigilant: October 2019

Thu Oct 3 03:34:26 UTC 2019

The Vigilant - October 2019

Joe Orozco, Editor

>From the President's Desk

The flurry of activity across the affiliate can only mean we are deep into
state convention planning. Thanks to the generous support from members from
all chapters, those plans are nearly final, and I am truly pleased with an
agenda I believe you will find invigorating.

By now everyone should have seen the special flyers targeting key highlights
for Seniors, Students, Parents, and working age adults. There will literally
be something for everyone, but to make it truly special, you need to join us
and invite some friends to come with you. We need you to help encourage
others to participate in this year's convention. The programming will be
thought-provoking, but your presence will make it memorable.

Membership Coins

At our 2019 National Federation of the Blind of Virginia convention, we will
be distributing membership coins to the individuals who are on the
membership list. We need to ensure that people who joined chapters in the
past 6 months are not forgotten. Chapters should work with Sandy Halverson
to get updated information into our New Member Form. Coins will be
distributed on Friday and we will do a special event on Saturday morning to
recognize our members. The membership coins are provided free to our members
and are a symbol of our efforts to come together to advance our cause for
freedom and independence.

Sandy can be reached via email at: sjh300 at outlook.com

Special Dietary Requests for Banquet

Speaking of Sandy, she is also our point person for special dietary requests
for the state banquet. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free requests will be
accommodated. Kosher meals should be shipped to the hotel to the attention
of the guest. Please notify Sandy no later than Friday, October 25 if your
needs fall into the other categories.

Membership Coin Holders On Sale at convention

We have received many questions about the special NFB of Virginia Membership
Coin Holders. These coin holders turn your membership coin into a pendent or
key chain so you can display it proudly. The custom made, stainless steel
coin holders will be available for sale for $20 at the convention. We
believe we have sufficient coin holders to cover demand. However, if you
would like to reserve a coin holder in advance of convention, please contact
Chris Walker to reserve your coin holder.

Chris Walker can be reached via email at: chrisvinson1 at gmail.com

Note: coin holders can be purchased with cash or check. We cannot accept
credit cards for the purchase of a coin holder.

Convention Financial Assistance

State convention runs from Friday morning of November 1 through Sunday at
noon on November 3. As such, some people will choose to arrive on Thursday
evening. The state convention is far and away one of our key annual
highlights in the affiliate, but it also means the event needs to be
properly budgeted.

Every year the affiliate president receives a few requests for convention
assistance from affiliate members. I am putting some ground rules in place
to help clarify expectations.

If you are planning to request assistance, please send your request to me in
email. Your request should factor in the following:

1. What are my total expected costs?

Please take into account travel, lodging, meals, a banquet ticket, and
convention registration. I have no idea how much it costs to get from your
home to the Renaissance Portsmouth. You need to do the research. In
addition, the banquet is a highlight of the convention and you don't want to
miss it. Many people choose to share rooms and you will start seeing
roommate requests posted to our announce list starting soon. Brittany Ingram
has agreed to help with connecting people with roommates. She can be reached
at: brittany.e.crone at gmail.com <mailto:brittany.e.crone at gmail.com> 

2. What can I afford myself?

No one will be going to convention for free. You will need to provide some
of the funding for convention. Individuals requesting financial assistance
should expect to make a significant contribution to your convention
expenses. You should be factoring in this expense into your budget.

3. What is my chapter contributing?

Your chapter is a resource for financial assistance. Please do not come to
the Virginia Affiliate requesting financial assistance if you have not asked
your local chapter first. I will be following up with chapter presidents to
understand how you are contributing at the chapter level to programming and
fundraising.

4. How much are you requesting from the affiliate 

After considering other sources, how much are you requesting from the
Virginia affiliate. Please note that we do not provide funding in advance.
Mark Roane will provide funding at convention but you need to work locally
to get your travel and room expenses addressed. It is not Mark's job to hunt
you down at convention and it is not Mark's job to provide you funds as you
walk into the hotel.  However, Mark will gladly sell you some Virginia
Peanuts. 

Speaking of selling, fundraising is the means through which we have the
resources to provide financial assistance. When I talk to your chapter
president, I am checking to determine if you are engaged in the chapter and
affiliate fundraising. We will certainly be selling items at the convention
(coin holders, peanuts, etc.) and you will be expected to help with that
activity if you receive financial assistance. We will need marshals and
other volunteers across the convention. We will ask you to assist. You
should be hustling throughout convention and afterward back in Virginia to
help sell our products to fund our movement. 

We are asking that requests are submitted no later than October 7, 2019. You
should be planning in advance, booking your hotel room and taking advantage
of the early registration pricing. Remember, all the information you need
about the hotel, registration and other essential details are on the
convention landing page: nfbv.org/convention

We want everyone to join us in Portsmouth and we hope this guidance
clarifies the process. However, if you have questions, I am glad to address
them. My email is tracy.soforenko at gmail.com

Project RISE Growing Statewide 

I am truly thrilled by the success we continue to experience with Project
RISE. We had 17 students at our Northern Virginia kickoff event in
September. The students ended the session by joining Federationists from
across Virginia, Maryland, and DC at a DC Area-wide  chapter event at
National Harbor. We have 26 students signed up for the program and the
program is still growing. Our students are having a remarkable experience,
and they are sharing the program with their friends. Expect to see many of
these students at our state convention. If you know students between the
ages of 14-21, have them check out our web site: NFBV.org/rise, or contact
the coordinators at rise at nfbv.org.

Please note that in order to fully participate at the Project RISE specific
programming at the state convention, we need students to apply to the
program in early October. Details on applying online can be found at the web
site listed above.

Virginia Affiliate Audit committee

the following individuals have agreed to serve as the 2019 Virginia
Affiliate Audit Committee:

.       Sean McMahon, Chair

.       Jacki Brown

.       Harold Wilson

Final Thoughts

Why do we volunteer so much of our time to this movement? Maybe it's because
of the vast number of people we would have never met had we never joined the
organization, people who in some cases become lifelong friends. Maybe it's
because we understand that for every blind person we see confidently heading
off to work in the morning, there are too many blind people who are still
struggling to be given that first chance. Maybe it's because someone gave,
us, a chance, and the organization provides the best vehicle to give back.
Whatever the reason, I am so blessed to be among you, a warm and vibrant
group who has played a significant role in shaping me into the person I am
today. You make the hard work fulfilling. You make it exciting. You make it
worth it.

Yours in service,

Tracy Soforenko, President

National Federation of the Blind of Virginia

This Month's Words of Inspiration

"Listen earnestly to anything your children want to tell you, no matter
what. If you don't listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little,
they won't tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them all of
it has always been big stuff." - Catherine M. Wallace

The Chapter Leadership Institute 2019-2020

By Domonique Lawless and Joe Orozco

How would you feel if you had applied for a leadership program, only to be
told at the interview point blank that the coordinators aren't sure if you
have what it takes to make it through the year?

How would you feel if your application stirred enough uncertainty to require
a second telephone call?

How would you feel if these interviews were used as a means to scrutinize
and interrogate some of your personal challenges?

Would you still be interested in being considered for the program?

We love our Chapter Leadership Institute participants. We believe in them
and are fiercely protective of them, and if we are a little hard on them, it
is only because we want them to dig deep and discover that sturdy stuff we
know they are all made of in order that they might propel their local
chapters to new heights of success. And, well, as we told them in their
acceptance letters earlier this evening, we now have almost a year under our
belts, which makes us a little smarter about pushing them out of their
comfort zones in new and creative ways.

Without further delay, please join us in congratulating next year's class in
the Chapter Leadership Institute.

2019-2020 Class Roster

.       Renee Valdez: Greater Alexandria Chapter

.       Christine Grassman: Potomac Chapter

.       Brittany Ingram: Fredericksburg chapter 

.       Oscar Montiel :  Prince William Chapter

.       Lois Fritz: Peninsula Chapter

.       Jennifer Rae Blinsmon: Tidewater chapter

.       Patrick Johnson: At Large Chapter

.       Annie Ascher: Chesapeake Bay Chapter

.       Annette Carr: Fairfax Chapter

.       Michael Kitchens: Tidewater Chapter

.       Jimmy Morris: Richmond Chapter

.       Naim Abu-El Hawa: Potomac Chapter

.       Bobbie (Roberta) Cohen : Fairfax Chapter

.       Jacki Bruce: Greater Williamsburg Chapter

.       Jessica Reed: Fredericksburg Chapter

Learning To Lead One Step At A Time

By Brittany Ingram

The journey that has brought me to this point in my life, where i am
furiously trying to balance family, personal health, and volunteer
responsibilities has been a long and tiresome road. i have been asked to
share some of my journey with you and I hope I can do my story justice.

At first glance, I am not an image of perfect leadership. I never dreamed of
really taking the world by storm or making a career out of activism. I am
quiet, reserved, introverted, a reader, and a thinker. I enjoy a simple
lifestyle that includes good homemade meals and playing with my baby. So
when I received a phone call that would up root my quiet little world, I was
you could say, blind-sighted. 

I have been a member of the National Federation of the Blind since I was
nine years old. I lost my sight when I was five and was told when I was six
that I was broken. My blindness is due to childhood abuse which resulted in
Steven Johnson Syndrome. After being placed in foster care I was told that
because my eyes were damaged my family did not want me. Of course this was
completely absurd and my grandmother was quick to gain custody of both me
and my little brother; but the words calling me unwanted and broken have
never really left me. And they were quite believable until my grandmother
decided to expose me to the organization where blind and broken are as
opposite as earth and sky. 

I remember all the events of my years with the organization running through
my mind when the president of the Historic Fredericksburg chapter called me
in July of 2018. My daughter was about nine months old and since she had
been born I had only gone to one monthly meeting and had not even thought to
pay my yearly dues. For all intents and purposes i was inactive and focusing
on learning to parent as a blind mother. So I was shocked to say the least
when I was asked to participate in the Virginia Chapter Leadership Program.
I immediately thought I was the wrong person for the job. I was not an
example of strong blind independence and I had a baby girl who was starting
to show signs of needing additional attention and care. 

Yet, I thought of how much smaller and disinterested the chapter had seemed
the last time I had been there and I started to feel both sadness and
resolve building up. For reasons I did not fully comprehend, they wanted me
to represent the Fredericksburg chapter in this leadership thing. I sighed
and agreed just so long as it did not interfere with my parenting duties. I
made it clear that as much as I loved and believed in the NFB, my daughter
came first. And so i was in.

I have been on a roller coaster ride this past year. I started out with very
little confidence, ability, or even conviction. Doubts, second guesses, and
fear of imperfection and useless contributions have plagued my heart and
mind for months. But something strange and unexpected has also been coming
over me; and it all started in December when a project was sent out for the
Leadership members to complete in preparation for our first gathering in
January. It was a personality quiz that highlighted your strengths,
preferences, and overall character. 

I was once again taken by surprise. Here was something that told me what I
was good at. Organization, communication, and staying focused. I felt like I
was looking into the mirror for the first time. And as time passed, I began
to recognize those and other skills coming forward. I noticed how certain
traits translated beyond my leadership role and into my role as wife and
mother, friend and sister, and how it began to shape my daily priorities. I
was curious and when that happens there is only one result; I go diving into
books and research everything I can get my hands on. How could I utilize
these traits and skills into my leadership role to their most productive
uses? What really defines leadership and do I have all the qualifications?
Is there a way to use my shortcomings and weaknesses as effectively as I use
my strengths and talents? The answers were right there if I could only find
them. 

Here is what I have learned so far. I will probably never stop discovering
new philosophies, debatable definitions, and opinionated preferences when it
comes to leadership. But, between the conversations with the other
participants, all the books and resource materials, and my own revelations;
I also am beginning to understand who I am and how I personally portray the
image of a leader. 

Everything in life is about balancing priorities, knowing yourself well
enough to know when to draw the line in the sand, and not wish any tie on
what you are not fully passionate about. This past year I have not only made
some great friends through this program, but I have discovered who I really
am, the kind of person I want to model for my daughter, and the kind of
partner I hope to be for my husband. Doubt and fear are still a daily
obstacle for me, but I am learning to work with them and use them to my
advantage; as reasons for doing instead of reasons for running. I still have
a lot to learn, a lot to improve on, but leadership is no different than any
other goal in life; I just have to slow down, breathe deeply, and take the
journey one step at a time.

NFB Pledge

I pledge to participate     actively in the effort of the National
Federation of the Blind to achieve equality,     opportunity, and security
for the blind; to support the policies and programs     of the Federation;
and to abide by its constitution.

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