[Nfbwv-talk] 1/16/17 President's Notebook

Tue Jan 24 13:49:37 UTC 2017

Sorry for the delay in getting this to all of you.  I have been really swamped.

January 16, 2017
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,

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Knowing that each of you are likely undertaking Federation work of one kind or another today, it is appropriate to salute our civil rights leaders-from all sectors-and the leadership lessons we can take away from their service and dedication. I have sometimes wondered what a meeting between Dr. Jernigan and Dr. King might have been like. While Dr. Jernigan had the opportunity to be influenced by Dr. King's work, to our knowledge, the reverse did not happen. However, today more and more of the leaders of the Federation are making an impact on other civil rights movements by sharing the Federation philosophy with those movements. Our recent work to expand the diversity in the law through our tenBroek Law Symposium is just one of the many examples that exist. It is up to us to also take the knowledge and innovations of those movements and apply them to our unique struggle for first-class status.

A special thank you goes out to Garrick Scott who completed his service as president of our Georgia affiliate this past weekend. We thank Garrick for his many years of leading our affiliate and the many years of service we know he has ahead of him. Garrick has successfully passed the torch to our newest affiliate president, Greg Aikens.
Congratulations to Greg who we will look forward to getting to know at our upcoming retreat.

Speaking of the affiliate president retreat, you can expect to receive a logistics email later today. I did not want to send it as part of the notebook knowing that it might get lost in the other announcements.

On this day of service and in honor of Dr. King's legacy, I leave you with one of Dr. King's quotes that I believe is a description of the leaders of the Federation. I thank each of you for your work and dedication. "Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle: the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."

Critical Actions This Week:
Feedback Regarding Social Security Administration Forms:
Though we continue to push the Social Security Administration toward accessibility, many SSA office intake-processing forms remain inaccessible to the blind. At this time we are in need of NFB member stories regarding SSA's inaccessible forms. If you have encountered either this year, please contact Valerie Yingling at (410) 659-9314, extension 2440, to share your experiences.

News:
Section 508 Refresh Regs:
Last week, new technical standards were published to bring information and communication technology (ICT) into compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which requires government agencies and contractors to make their electronic information and technology accessible to the blind and others with disabilities.

Law Symposium Registration Open:
Registration is now open<https://nfb.org/civicrm/event/register?reset=1&action=preview&id=60> for the 2017 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium to be held March 30-31, 2017. For additional information, contact Lou Ann Blake at lblake at nfb.org<mailto:lblake at nfb.org> or (410) 659-9314, extension 2221.

eBooks and EPUB Accessibility Event:
We will be hosting an eBooks and EPUB accessibility event on Thursday, March 23, 2017. With the rapid adoption of EPUB 3, this event will look at creating and implementing accessible EPUB 3 in a variety of different settings.

January Monitor:
The January issue of the Braille Monitor is now available on the website<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm17/bm1701/bm1701tc.htm>.

Onkyo Braille Essay Contest Winners:
Last week we announced the winners of the 2016 Onkyo Braille Essay Contest. The NFB administered the Onkyo Braille Essay Contest on behalf of the North America/Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union. The essay contest, sponsored by Onkyo Corporation, a Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer, and the Braille Mainichi, part of the Mainichi Newspaper Company in Japan, was created to promote Braille literacy and to encourage the sharing of social and cultural information among blind and visually impaired persons.

Did You Know?
Affiliate Guide to Records Management
The Jacobus tenBroek Library has released a guide to assist state affiliate and national division leaders who are considering sending their records to the archives. Structured as an FAQ, this document provides easy answers to the most common questions concerning evaluating and preparing your files for submission to the archives. The guide is available online at http://nfb.org/archive-faqs. For additional assistance, please contact Anna Kresmer at akresmer at nfb.org<mailto:akresmer at nfb.org> or (410) 659-9314, extension 2310.

Dates to Keep in Mind:

*        January 30, 2017: Great Gathering-In

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

*        March 23, 2017: eBooks and EPUB accessibility event<https://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=6317&qid=1522699>

*        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 10-15, 2017: National Convention, Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, Orlando, Florida<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm16/bm1611/bm161101.htm>

*        July 21-29, 2017: Youth Slam<http://www.blindscience.org/nfb-youth-slam>, Towson University

*        September 12-17, 2017: BLAST<http://blindmerchants.org/blast-2017/>, 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>

[National Federation of the Blind]<https://nfb.org/>

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The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.

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