[Nfbwv-talk] President Riccobono's Notebook for 3/13/17

Tue Mar 14 12:55:55 UTC 2017

March 13, 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 want to encourage each of the affiliates to be active with our #WhyImAFederationist campaign in social media. We are generating a lot of buzz around the organization and what we do-keep up the great work.

In talking with Federationists recently, I have heard some great stories of how affiliates pulled them in and got them engaged. I have also heard some pretty interesting tales of where we dropped the ball. Luckily, the people I have talked to are now members, but it makes we wonder about the people and places we missed. I encourage each affiliate to consider carefully how we manage our communications. We want to make sure we can get back to potential members, new contacts, and our existing members in a timely fashion. I am certain that the ideas generated at our recent communications seminar should help build capacity in our affiliates.

Finally, we recently completed the Herding Cats Seminar. If you have recommendations of individuals from your state or others that I should consider inviting to the seminar in the future, please let me know. We need to keep growing the list.

News:

TIME Act Introduced:
Congressman Harper has introduced the Transitioning to Integrated and Meaningful Employment (TIME) Act to remove barriers to employment opportunities for people with disabilities by phasing out Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and facilitating the transitioning of people with disabilities now working in segregated employment settings into competitive employment opportunities in their communities.

Social Security Forms:
The NFB is seeking members who currently receive social security benefits and would like social security forms to be accessible and available online, so that blind individuals can privately and independently complete these forms. We are particularly interested in hearing from members who are iOS users. Please contact Valerie Yingling at vyingling at nfb.org<mailto:vyingling at nfb.org> to discuss how you can help NFB push the Social Security Administration toward accessibility.

Discrimination Case of Blind Healthcare Worker:
We are working with Manuel G. Morse to bring suit against his employer, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Inc. (BWH); its corporate parent, Partners Healthcare Systems, Inc.; and Epic Systems Corporation, a maker of software used at BWH and throughout the healthcare industry. Mr. Morse's lawsuit alleges that he is unable to do his job as a hospital dispatcher because Epic's software is not compatible with the text-to-speech screen-reading technology that he uses on his workplace computer, and that his employer and Epic are aware of the problem but have refused to take all appropriate steps to remedy it. Mr. Morse has been on indefinite paid leave since May of 2015 because of this issue.

Reminders:

Scholarship Application Deadline Approaching:

Please pass along the attached flyer to any students that would be interested in applying for an NFB scholarship. The deadline is March 31.

Convention Preregistration Open:
Go to http://nfb.org/registration to preregister through May 31.

Dates to Keep in Mind:

*        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<http://nfb.org/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>

*        May 1, 2017: Deadline for Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/distinguished-educator-of-blind-students-award-form-fillable.pdf>

*        June 4, 2017: 6K Dot Dash<https://nfb.org/dot-dash>

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

*        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>

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