[Nfbwv-talk] President Riccobono's Notebook for November 28, 2016

Wed Nov 30 15:39:45 UTC 2016

November 28, 2016
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,

I hope that everyone enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Just because we are getting into December does not mean the pace of our work has slowed down. The NFB Board of Directors will be here this weekend for meetings to review our progress and plan for 2017, and the list of things to discuss is impressive. As you will find in the critical items below, there are a number of items that require your immediate attention. I also want to call your attention to our communications survey that is not quite time sensitive enough to be critical, but is very important and will help shape a number of activities for us in 2017. Finally, I would like you to stay on high alert just in case we need action on the Marrakesh treaty during the next ten days.

Critical Actions This Week:

Giving Tuesday:
#GivingTuesday is right around the corner. Entering its fifth year, #GivingTuesday is a global initiative for philanthropic activity. People all over the world give through social media on the day after Cyber Monday. You can all influence others. Please mark your calendars for November 29, 2016. Let's see if we can make this our biggest #GivingTuesday ever. We are asking you to donate and to share, retweet, and paste our "asks" on your social media. We are using #NFBdonate2016 as our hashtag. Our social media campaign for #GivingTuesday will direct people to our donation page through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For more information, please read our Voice of the Nation's Blind blog post on giving options<https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/it-starts-me-fundraising-national-federation-blind>.

Washington Seminar:
The Holiday Inn Capitol is accepting reservations for the 2017 Washington Seminar, which will occur from January 30-February 2. Please call (877) 572-6951 or go to https://nfb.org/washington-seminar to make your reservations using booking code F7B.
The rates are $188 for a room accommodating up to four persons, and the applicable tax is 14.5 percent. These rates are good for check in as early as January 29 and check out by February 3. While the reservation deadline is December 28, I urge you to take care of this now before the holidays get too busy. If you would like to reserve a meeting room during the Washington Seminar, please contact Diane McGeorge before December 10 at (303) 778-1130, extension 219, or send an email to Lisa Bonderson at lbonderson at cocenter.org<mailto:lbonderson at cocenter.org>.

Communications Seminar:
If you have not designated an attendee for the affiliate communications seminar scheduled for Presidents' Day weekend, February 17-19, then please do so this week; the official deadline is December 1. The purpose of the seminar is to help affiliates develop a communications strategy and provide them with the tools to implement such a strategy. If you do not currently have an individual who is handling communications for your affiliate, then please nominate someone who is interested in, and capable of, learning about communications and working with you and other affiliate leaders to implement such a strategy.

Please send nominations to me and to communicationsteam at nfb.org<mailto:communicationsteam at nfb.org> no later than Thursday, December 1.

News:

Communications Survey:
As we close out 2016 and plan for 2017 and beyond, we are evaluating various aspects of how we accomplish our organizational goals. To help us plan, we would value your feedback on the NFB's organizational priorities, as well as which forms of communication are most useful and effective for you. This information will help us build a successful communications plan for the future. The survey is confidential and should take approximately five minutes to complete. Please distribute the link (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/B9MR89H) far and wide. We encourage all willing participants to complete the survey by Monday, December 12.
Slam That!:
Some say that blind students cannot learn science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. The members of the National Federation of the Blind say "Slam that!" Dates and a location are now available for the 2017 NFB Youth Slam-a week-long, hands-on, STEM learning program for one hundred blind and low-vision high school students from across the country. This program of the NFB Jernigan Institute's National Center for Blind Youth in Science will be held July 23-29, 2017, at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland. Individuals who are interested in volunteering to help the members of the NFB "Slam that!" and are available July 21-29, 2017, should apply at http://www.blindscience.org/nfb-youth-slam-volunteer-page. The deadline to apply is January 31, 2017.

New Bulletin Board:
We have a new bulletin board in the Betsy Zaborowski conference room. The multi-layered, interactive bulletin board features highlights of the 2016 NFB BELL Academy. The background is Braille paper containing surplus handouts from an NFB BELL Academy Training Seminar. There is a button to the right of the board that, when pressed, plays "Braille is Beautiful."

Dates to Keep in Mind:

*        January 30, 2017: Great Gathering-In

*        January 30-February 2, 2017: Washington Seminar<https://nfb.org/washington-seminar>

*        March 30-31, 2017: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium

*        March 31, 2017: Deadline for scholarship applications<http://www.nfb.org/scholarships>

*        April 15, 2017: Deadline for Jacob Bolotin Award applications<https://nfb.org/bolotin-award-main>

*        July 21-29, 2017: Youth Slam, Towson University

*        September 12-17, 2017: BLAST, Nashville, Tennessee

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

Mark A. Riccobono
President
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 659-9314 | officeofthepresident at nfb.org<mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>

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