[Nfbwv-talk] President Riccobono's Notebook for April 23, 2018

[Smyth, Charlene R]

April 23, 2018
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,

We had a great time last week with the hearing about the Marrakesh Treaty. It was a historic step on a long journey that is not yet done for us. It is worth pausing to recognize that progress is often slow but our progress is always advancing, due to the commitment of so many great Federationists. A considerable amount of credit goes to Scott LaBarre and Marc Maurer for their detailed attention, skillful negotiation, and visionary leadership in this process. Thank you to those who came to the hearing from around the Federation.

Please continue to send me those thoughts about the national convention. The time is drawing near to finalize the agenda and start making plans for the presentations at the convention. This week our Bolotin and scholarship committees will meet to discuss those important aspects of our convention. This being our last year in Orlando for a while, I hope that you are encouraging people to be with us at our family reunion.



News:
Marrakesh Treaty Update:
After a very successful hearing last week (audio recording available at https://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/treaties-041818), both the Senate Foreign Relations and Judiciary committees are poised to vote on the Marrakesh Treaty and its implementing legislation. In preparation for that vote, we have been asked to redouble our efforts to build bipartisan cosponsor support for S. 2559, the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act. Over the next few days, affiliates who have representation on either of these committees will be contacted by our Government Affairs team with more information and should mobilize swiftly to bring on more cosponsor support ahead of these important votes.



Ticketmaster Accessibility
The NFB is investigating the accessibility of Ticketmaster's website and mobile app, as well as the effectiveness of requesting equal access through Ticketmaster's customer service personnel. If you have recently purchased tickets or attempted to purchase tickets through Ticketmaster, we would like to hear from you. If you have identified ways to work around Ticketmaster, perhaps by purchasing tickets directly through a concert venue, we would like to know about those workarounds. Please direct your feedback to Valerie Yingling at vyingling at nfb.org<mailto:vyingling at nfb.org> or 410-659-9314, extension 2440, no later than April 27.


2018 National Convention Exhibit Hall Affiliate & Division Registration: Deadline May 31:
Remember to fill out the registration form to reserve your State Affiliate or Division's spot in the 2018 National Convention Exhibit Hall<https://nfb.org/national-convention-exhibitor-application> before the May 31 deadline. Make sure you select "NFB Affiliate Exhibitor" as your Exhibitor Type. Contact Anna Adler at aadler at nfb.org<mailto:aadler at nfb.org> or 410-659-9314, extension 2282, if you have any questions.
Complete information about sponsoring and exhibiting, including the exhibit hall dates and times, is available online<https://nfb.org/sponsor-and-exhibitor-info>.  If you know any vendors or service providers who may be interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at the National Convention, please encourage them to check us out and share the convention information with them. Email Anna Adler<mailto:aadler at nfb.org> if she should reach out or can help with follow up. Thank you-we're looking forward to another great convention!

Congratulations to our Nebraska affiliate for passing a blind parents bill. The bill still needs to be signed by the governor, but we can now count Nebraska as our tenth state with strong protections for blind parents.


Dates to Keep in Mind:

  *   May 1, 2018: Deadline for NFB EQ program applications<http://www.blindscience.org/nfbeq>
  *   May 1, 2018: Deadline for Distinguished Educator of the Year nominations<https://nfb.org/divisions-and-committees#DistinguishedEducatorBlindChildren>
  *   May 31, 2018: Deadline for preregistration for 2018 National Convention<https://convention.nfb.org/>
  *   July 3-8, 2018: National Federation of the Blind National Convention<https://nfb.org/convention>, Orlando, Florida
  *   July 29-August 4, 2018: NFB EQ<http://www.blindscience.org/nfbeq>

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>

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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