[nfbwatlk] Greater Seattle chapter - April meetin, March meeting summary

[mjc59 at q.com]

Hello everyone,

If you want to be a part of a growing, dynamic group of blind people, then come to a Seattle NFB chapter meeting!

Our April meeting will be Saturday, April 20th at 10 a.m. in the Edmonton Room at CityU, 521 Wall St.

We had 24 people at our March meeting! We had a great discussion about wearing sunglasses and appearance which arose out of a discussion here on the list a few weeks ago. Members shared experiences with the appearance of our eyes, which often look different due to eye conditions, and our own and sighted people's perceptions of this. We all care about our general appearance according to the situation, but do not feel the need to hide our eyes for the sake of making sighted people more comfortable with us.

Michael and Sara gave a report on the panel discussion and open house regarding the new Learning Lab program in the Seattle Public Schools. The panel was well received. They appreciated the participation of chapter members. They are interested in the chapter cosponsoring some activities such as and end of the year school barbecue, family education classes and a braille class.

Our chapter now has 2 committees; membership, chaired by Andrea Travis and fundraising, chaired by Mike Mello. 

We have $1,954.45 in our treasury. We will be using some of this money to assist members who want to attend the NFB national convention in Orlando. Those attending convention for the first time were told of the Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship program. https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm13/bm1301/bm130115.htm Applications are due April 15th.

At our April meeting we will be talking about when it is appropriate, or not, to use low vision techniques. There is a Braille Monitor article by Norm Gardner on this topic. If you want to read it ahead of time, go to http://nfb.org/Images/nfb/Publications/bm/bm00/bm0003/bm000310.htm. We will also have a presentation by a group of UW Business School students who are developing a tactile board game.

After the April meeting all who wish to are invited to join us for lunch at Cyclops Café at 2421 1st Avenue (SW corner of 1st & Wall) View the menu at www.cyclopsseattle.com. who are designing a tactile board game. After the meeting over a dozen members enjoyed a fun lunch together a a nearby Mediterranean restaurant. In April we will be having lunch after the meeting at Cyclops Cafe at 2421 1st Avenue (SW corner of 1st and Wall)  View the menu at www.cyclopsseattle.com (Yes, they do have a big sign in front that looks like a huge eyeball)