[nfbwatlk] NFBW President's notebook

[Marci Carpenter]

Additional social media platforms for the NFB of Washington;
Facebook: Washington Association of Blind Students https://www.facebook.com/BlindStudentsWA/?fref=ts <https://www.facebook.com/BlindStudentsWA/?fref=ts> (page)

Twitter: Washington Association of Blind Students @nfbwabs

Go to nfbnet.org <http://nfbnet.org/> where you will find listservs for NFBWABS and our state guide dog users.

Happy New Year to all!

Marci Carpenter, President
NFB of Washington
mjc59 at comcast.net <mailto:mjc59 at comcast.net>
(206) 604-5507

> On Dec 23, 2016, at 6:30 PM, Marci Carpenter via nfbwatlk <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Greetings Friends,
> 
> As 2016 draws to an end I wanted to share some thoughts and items with you. This has been a good year for the NFB of Washington. Our chapters are growing, young blind people are becoming more active in our organization and we had an outstanding state convention
> 
> All of our chapters are bringing in new members, raising money and raising awareness about blindness in local communities. All held social events during the summer and/or in December/ Kris Colcock, former chapter President, who now lives in Mason County, said of the Greater Seattle party; "It was great to see a lot of friendly faces and a lot of new faces. The chapter is growing and thriving!” \
> 
> The new year will bring some of the usual Federation events; Washington Seminar, National Convention, State convention and all of our other local, state and national activities. We will have four members attending the 2017 Washington seminar; Marci Carpenter (Seattle), Danielle Fernandez (Tacoma), Mike Freeman and Matthew Hines (both from Clark County. The NFB will be pursuing some familiar issues and some new ones with our Congressional delegation. More details about them will be posted soon. I want to thank the National Association of Blind Students (NABS) for providing some of the funding for Danielle and Matt. We will be posting information about the dates and times of our appointments with our representatives and asking all of you to email/call/tweet them about our issues on the day we meet with each of them.
> 
> The 2017 NFB national convention will be in Orlando at the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel. The dates are different this year. Convention starts with the parents’ seminar and rehab professionals seminar on Monday, July 10, and ends with the banquet on the evening of Saturday, July 15. If you have never attended a national convention i would strongly encourage you to go. It is a truly life-changing experience. I want to have a large Washington delegation at convention. We hope to raise enough money to assist many people. Watch this list and the Braille Monitor for information regarding the Kenneth Jernigan ConventionScholarship program, which provides some funding to assist first-time convention goers. Be sure to apply for them!
> 
> Our Tacoma/Pierce County chapter will be starting up again this year. Check this list and our social media pages for details. Our Washington Association of Blind Students is active and will be hosting student events throughout the year.
> 
> We will be working with the Washington state legislature to remove the antiquated and discriminatory subminimum wage language from state statute. Sat tuned for more information and ways you can help.
> 
> We are searching now for the site of our 2017 NFB of Washington convention. I want this one to be bigger and better than 2016!
> 
> Communication is key for getting our message out and continuing to build our chapters and affiliate. If you know of blind people, sighted allies or parents of blind children who do not receive NFB publications sign them up for the Braille Monitor and Future Reflections. Get them signed up for this listserv. Encourage them to follow our social media pages (listed below)
> Facebook: National Federation of the Blind of Washington https://www.facebook.com/groups/wafederationoftheblind/ <https://www.facebook.com/groups/wafederationoftheblind/> (a group), Washington State POBC (parents group) https://www.facebook.com/groups/WAPOBC/ <https://www.facebook.com/groups/WAPOBC/>  
> 
> If you have ideas for projects or programs you think we should pursue please contact me directly by phone or email. I want our chapters and affiliate to continue to grow and thrive in the year ahead and it will take the work and love of all of us to make it happen. I feel fortunate to be the leader of a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of blind children and adults in Washington state.
> 
> I hope that all or your holidays are full of love and cheer. Let’s go build the National Federation of the Blind of Washington in 2017
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