[Nfbwv-talk] President Riccobono's Notebook for May 16, 2017

Fri May 19 19:27:02 UTC 2017

May 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,

Listed below are a number of important things to give attention to. Allen Harris reports that the Jernigan Fund Committee has delivered news to each of this year's recipients. Therefore, if your affiliate has been holding off on convention funding until the Jernigan Scholarships have been completed, you need wait no longer.

In the midst of all of the Federation activity, I would like to note today is Oriana's seventh birthday. A day she now shares with NFB second vice president Ron Brown and board member Carla McQuillan. Warmest birthday wishes to these three Federationists!

News:

The May Presidential Release can be downloaded from https://nfb.org/images/nfb/audio/podcast/presidential-releases-en/pr461.mp3.

Affiliate Website Support:
Dialing 311 for information? Searching the yellow pages? These are increasingly things of the past. Many people find us using the internet, coming first to our website. An easy-to-use, eye-catching website is crucial for assisting members and attracting newcomers. We would like to make managing your website easier.

The Jernigan Institute can purchase, manage, and renew your domain name at no cost to the affiliate. You may host your website for free on the NFBNet server. And we are now providing website themes for both Drupal and WordPress, two popular management platforms for managing your website. The themed templates mirror the layout of www.nfb.org<http://www.nfb.org> and help to provide a consistent branded look across our affiliates and divisions. While we cannot provide support for the WordPress theme, limited support will be available for the Drupal theme.

Additionally, we will be offering training to interested affiliate webmasters at the Jernigan Institute this summer. On August 25-26, attendees will become familiar with the Drupal theme and learn to build a working affiliate website on the Drupal platform. More details about this training will be sent in the near future.

If you are interested in receiving the website themes or sending a webmaster for Drupal website training, contact John Berggren (extension 2329 or jberggren at nfb.org<mailto:jberggren at nfb.org>) for additional information.

Dare to Be Remarkable Call for Presentations:
We are soliciting proposals for presenters at the three-day, national training conference for education and rehabilitation professionals who work with blind transition-aged students or adults.  More information, including proposal details and event registration, can be found at https://nfb.org/dare-be-remarkable-call-presentations.

Strengthening Our Partnership with Target:
The relationship that the National Federation of the Blind shares with Target Corporation is a positive, productive one, as demonstrated by our selection of Target as one of our partners in the Strategic Nonvisual Access Partnership (SNAP) program.<https://nfb.org/national-federation-blind-strategic-nonvisual-access-partner-certification> This is our way of acknowledging our support of Target's commitment to the enculturation of accessibility throughout their organization. This extends beyond website and app accessibility into policy and practice. We have recently been informed of a problem with accessibility in one of the Target retail stores, where a blind patron was not provided appropriate assistance while shopping in the store. We are working collaboratively with Target to resolve this matter, and we would like to know if there are others that are experiencing problems obtaining shopping assistance at their local Target retail store. We are equally interested in hearing examples of how your local Target store provides quality service to their blind customers. Please email your comments to mkroeger at nfb.org<mailto:mkroeger at nfb.org>, or call Melissa Kroeger at (410) 659-9314, extension 2207.

NOPBC Seeking Recommendations for PLP at National Convention:
The National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) is seeking recommendations for our next Parent Leadership Program (PLP) to be held at the 2017 National Convention in Orlando. Do you have a parent who shows the commitment and leadership potential to found or strengthen a parents division in your state?  If so, please send the parent's name and contact information to the NOPBC, and they will send that parent an invitation to become a part of the PLP. Parents from your state who are already in the program will also be sent invitations. The NOPBC will be able to provide a small travel stipend for unreimbursed expenses for parents who need it.

To participate in PLP, parents will need to arrive in Orlando by Sunday, July 9, so that they can attend the NOPBC Seminar on Monday, July 10, along with special PLP meetings, mentor matches, and other NOPBC and NFB events throughout the week. To make a recommendation, send the parent's contact information to Carol Castellano at carol_castellano at verizon.net<mailto:carol_castellano at verizon.net>, or call her at (973) 377-0976.

Reminders:
Affiliate Exhibits at National Convention:
If your state affiliate or division would like to have a table in the exhibit hall, please remember to reserve your spot by May 31, 2017. You can register online<https://nfb.org/national-convention-exhibitor-application>. If you have any questions, please contact Anna Adler at (410) 659-9314, extension 2282, or AAdler at nfb.org<mailto:AAdler at nfb.org>.

Dates to Keep in Mind:

  *   Spring conventions<http://nfb.org/state-conventions>
  *   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

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

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.

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