[NFBV-Announce] Member to Member, let's get to know each other!

[jackibruce6 at gmail.com]

Hey NFB Family and Friends,

 

If you attended the Board Meeting yesterday, you learned the Membership
Committee will be highlighting four NFB of Virginia members every Tuesday.
Our plan is to introduce each member to all of the members in our Affiliate.
Don't be surprised to get a phone call soon, we want to learn about YOU!

 

This is our first submission and although I said we would be highlighting
four members each week; this time we are highlighting only one member, John
Halverson. Please read on and get to know John!!

 

Member to Member: John Halverson

 

 

John Halverson, a member of the Potomac Chapter, has been with the NFB since
1973 and what a life he has led!

 

John has lived in many places but his beginnings were in the state of
Washington. He went to public schools at a time when accessibility was a
foreign word and had no real meaning in his life, there were no laws like
there are now. The upside, John says, is being an active member of his
community. When he went to school, he had a resource teacher come in once a
day; he began to learn Braille in the 2nd grade.   John and his family moved
to California when he was in the 7th grade. At that time, there were only
three schools for the blind; he didn't live near any of the schools so he
continued in public schools. John has a fabulous and positive attitude
about it all. He says learning the way he did made him figure out how to do
things on his own. John did say one of the downsides of all of this was he
didn't know or learn blindness skills early or well; he didn't get his first
white cane until he was in high school! 

 

John really began to thrive when he went to the University of California
where he studied economics. He said he had great teachers. In fact, one of
his economics professors went on to win a Nobel Prize! John claimed he
didn't like math until one of his professors showed him the way LOL. John
said he had a light bulb moment, he understood the concepts and everything
fell into place; he's loved math since then.

 

John was a part of Junior Senate. He had heard about the NFB but the Orange
County Chapter met at the same time as his Senate group so he wasn't able to
attend NFB meetings. 

 

John was in Michigan on St. Patrick's Day when he heard Dr.  Journagan was
slated to speak. There was eighteen inches of snow that day which means the
multitude of people who were expected to attend ended up being John and one
other person.  They had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Jernigan for six
hours!

 

Guess who was there for the first Washington Seminar? If you said John, you
hit the nail on the head. He was a member of the 2nd Leadership Class the
NFB held. John has so many firsts in lifetime it would take a novel to list
them all! Let me tell you a bit more about this wonderful man.

 

John learned many of his blindness skills while he was in California, He
learned how to cook and other life skills, wood working (he made a huge set
of stereo speakers), and did, as he says, weird mobility training. As part
of that training, John walked across the Golden Gate Bridge; while he was
walking, a traffic cop stopped him and asked what he was doing, John replied
he's walking across the bridge, the cop said okay and went on his merry way.
Not so weird, John learned how to use public transportation, riding the bus.

 

John was back at the Washington Seminar the next year. Although he wasn't
living  in California, so many people asked him about issues there, he spent
most of the day talking about California. From that year, 1974, John has
been involved with the data analysis connected with Washington Seminar!

 

At the 1984 National Convention, Marion Barry, the Mayor of DC at the time,
was the speaker, everyone loved Marion. The next day, Dr. Jernigan  said all
members could do what they wanted to do by putting their minds to it. John
said this was a very powerful speech. Marion wanted to give free bus passes
to all blind people. John was in the group who opposed this. John did an
editorial on TV the camera showed him from the chest up John was able to
read the Braille he had placed at his waist and looked at the camera during
the entire editorial. He said heard the editorial was shown during Saturday
morning cartoons; John says he's glad it was shown.

 

John has been Affiliate President for both Michigan and District of
Columbia; he enjoyed this role in both Affiliates.  John has been the
President of the Blind Students  as well as President of many chapters in
many states. John is a true leader!

 

Fighting for civil rights has been a passion for John. For example, John
fought to have a separate office for Services for the Blind  instead of
combining the Services for the Blind Office   with the Welfare Office. John
has never met a U.S. President but he knows several Cabinet Members. He has
worked with Margaret Hetler (Secretary of Health), appointed by President
Reagan, on disability issues each year. Working with the Surgeon General and
others, John developed ways to combat disability issues.

 

John would like to see more young people be involved with the NFB of
Virginia. This is one of John's passions as a member of the Membership
Committee. John is also involved with our Silver Bells Program and he's the
Corresponding Secretary of  the Board of the Potomac Chapter. John leads the
Potomac Book club too.

 

Its not all work and no play for John! He loves to read especially thrillers
and Military History books. He can be found behind his computer on many days
doing research and writing and reading emails.

 

One last little tidbit, last year at our National Convention, President
Riccobono awarded John and his wife, Sandy, the Jacobus tenBroek award. This
is the highest honor that can be given to a NFB Member! Tracy Soforenko, our
Affiliate President, gave John the Saville Allen award, this is the highest
honor the Affiliate can award. Much deserved I say and I'm sure you agree.

 

I hope you have learned more about this long standing NFB Member and friend.
John, thank you for being you and for all you've done and continue to do to
enrich the lives of blind people!

 

 

Peace,

 

Jacki Bruce

 

Corresponding Secretary NFBV

mailto:jackibruce6 at gmail.com

tel:(757)291-1789

 

Membership Committee Chair

Email: membership at nfbv.org <mailto:membership at nfbv.org> 

Phone: 757-354-4170

 

Find us on Facebook @NationalFederationoftheBlindofVirginia

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Subscribe to our Youtube: NFB Virginia

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

STRONGER TOGETHER!

 

 

 

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