[Nfbwv-talk] President Riccobono's Notebook for July 24, 2017

Tue Jul 25 14:20:56 UTC 2017

I have already submitted the legislative directors information requested in the below message.

July 24, 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,

I am fully energized after a great 2017 national convention. Thank you for the work each of you did to make it a smooth, energetic, and powerful convention this year. The number of first-timers was impressive as always, and I noted a number of leaders helping to make sure our rookies had a great experience.

This morning I was in Towson, Maryland, for the kick-off of our 2017 NFB Youth Slam. It is impressive to me that we have a number of Federationists who grew up in the NFB Youth Slam program now serving as mentors in 2017. Moreover, we have some of our mentors back again who began working with our STEM programs back in 2004 when we first started this journey. It is really inspiring to watch our students become mentors and it gives me great hope for the plans we have in store for the next five years. Our educational programs are among the most important things that we do-let's keep building the pipeline that brings young people into our organization.

I note that we are also in the middle of a number of NFB BELL Academies-many happening for the first time in certain states. I encourage you to follow the hashtags #NFBYouthSlam and #NFBBELL to keep up on the milestones being achieved this summer.

This week is the twenty-seventh anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This past Saturday, I participated in an ADA celebration in Maryland. As Senator Ben Cardin said at that event, "We can celebrate for the next hour or so and then it is back to work." As you engage in ADA events across the country, continue to remind people of the importance of having a National Federation of the Blind and the need for us to continue emphasizing our advocacy priorities at the local, state, and national levels. We should be proud of what we have built, but we should recognize that it continues to thrive because we work on building it every day.

News:
Links to Speeches:
For those members of your affiliate that were unable to attend convention or who want to enjoy the convention speeches again, I am sending the links to the 2017 President Report<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/convent/2017/presidential-report-2017.html> and the banquet speech, Innovation, Blindness, and the Emerging Pattern of Thought<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/convent/2017/banquet-speech-2017.html>.

ADA Regulation Update:
The National Federation of the Blind has been working to encourage the promulgation of ADA Title II and Title III internet regulations. On July 20, 2017, the Office of Management and Budget released the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions announcing that the Administration was suspending action on hundreds of regulations, including the ADA Title II and Title III internet regulations. We are evaluating next steps, and I will keep you informed on needed advocacy.

Legislative Directors Contact Information Needed:
The Advocacy and Policy team would like to update the list of legislative directors. Please confirm your current legislative director or directors. If your affiliate does not currently have a legislative director, please appoint one. Please send their first and last name, email address, and phone number to Kyle Walls at kwalls at nfb.org<mailto:kwalls at nfb.org>.

USPS Service Issues:

Over the weekend our Oregon affiliate created significant social media traffic resulting from a member being denied assistance at a post office. You may recall I wrote about this in the May issue of the Braille Monitor<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm17/bm1705/bm170508.htm>. If members of your affiliate are experiencing similar problems, and you are unable to persuade postal officials that the USPS policies do not prohibit them from assisting blind people, please let me know. We may wish to take more advanced actions to help break down this barrier for blind people.

Reminder:

National Division Reports:
Please remember that, per my email of July 6, 2017, I am expecting to receive the new national division report from each division president. I expect that much of the information was compiled for the division meetings at convention, so it should be relatively simple to complete the report. Please send this to me by August 15, 2017.

Dates to Keep in Mind:

  *   July 23-29, 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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