[Nfbwv-talk] President Riccobono's Notebook for 3/19/18

Tue Mar 20 13:18:50 UTC 2018

March 19, 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,

Spring is going to arrive this week and with it comes all of the anticipation of our national convention, our dynamic summer programs, and the many innovative things our chapters are taking on. In case you have been under a rock, the University of Maryland Baltimore County made history as a number sixteen seed in the NCAA tournament, knocking off the number one seeded team from Virginia-not to pick on any particular affiliate. Speaking of an underdog achieving great things against seemingly insurmountable odds, this happened the same week that we got the Marrakesh Implementation Act to drop in the United States Senate (S. 2559). Both are examples of hard work, great preparation, dogged determination, and taking full advantage of opportunities when they come. There have been many times when the National Federation of the Blind is thought to be the underdog, but this does not bother us. We continue to move forward despite the critics. It is now time for us to prepare to get Marrakesh passed in time to celebrate at our 2018 National Convention.

I want to remind you about the pending deadline for the Jacob Bolotin Awards. I am certain you have been thinking about the innovative projects, individuals, and organizations that are out there creating new opportunities for the blind. Now is the time to put the ideas in writing so we have plenty of nominations for our committee to consider next month. The deadline is April 15-note that you can do your Bolotin nominations and still have a couple of days to file your taxes since they're not due until April 17 this year. (But please do not wait until the last minute on your nominations or your taxes.) It would be great if we could get a nomination from every affiliate. It would make the committee's work really difficult-but since Federationists are used to doing hard work, do not let that hold you back from sending in all of your nominations.

I wish to acknowledge the tremendous work of Joy Harris who stepped down as president of the National Federation of the Blind of Alabama during the affiliate convention last weekend. Joy has been a longtime leader and her accomplishments are well documented in our organization. Joy is now working on assisting our new president, Barbara Manuel, in getting up to speed at the helm of our Alabama affiliate. Congratulations to Joy and to Barbara. Please welcome Barbara to our affiliate leadership list and be prepared to answer the questions that each of us have had as new affiliate presidents.

It is an extremely busy time here at the national office: we just completed a weekend of meetings and we are getting ready to host our annual tenBroek symposium, as well as other related meetings. We are also looking forward to our Greater Philadelphia chapter visiting on Saturday. I am hoping to take a couple of days off with the family during spring break next week before heading full speed into the national convention planning rush. Consequently, there will not be a notebook next week.

Critical Actions This Week:

Scholarship deadline:

The deadline to submit scholarship applications is March 31. Please ensure that the students in your state have submitted all their forms by then. Hopefully all the affiliate presidents will be finished with their recommendation letters soon after that.

News:

Marrakesh Treaty Legislation Introduced:

Senator Charles E. "Chuck" Grassley (R-IA) and Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Bob Corker (R-TN), and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) have introduced the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act, S. 2559. The entire press release can be found at https://nfb.org/national-federation-blind-applauds-introduction-legislation-implementing-marrakesh-treaty.

Positions Open:

We have three positions open at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute: web content coordinator<https://nfb.org/web-content-coordinator>, social media and project coordinator<https://nfb.org/social_media_coordinator>, and facilities maintenance/custodian<https://nfb.org/logisticsassistant>.

2017-2018 Nationwide Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest:

The competition was sponsored by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in partnership with the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB), which is an NFB division. Eighty-one students from twelve states took part in the contest. The list of winners can be found at https://nfb.org/blind-students-win-braille-reading-contest.

National Convention:
2018 National Convention Exhibit Hall Affiliate and Division Registration:
Now is the time 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>! Just select "NFB Affiliate Exhibitor" as your exhibitor type. Last year our applications exceeded capacity and we had to turn some people away, so please be sure to register before the May 31 deadline. 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. Let Anna know<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!

Other Important Links:

- General Convention Info Page:
https://nfb.org/convention

- Exhibitor Application:
https://nfb.org/national-convention-exhibitor-application

- Sponsor Application:
https://nfb.org/national-convention-sponsor-application

Dates to Keep in Mind:

  *   March 22-23, 2018: Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium<https://nfb.org/law-symposium>
  *   March 31, 2018: Deadline for scholarship applications, www.nfb.org/scholarships<http://www.nfb.org/scholarships>
  *   April 15, 2018: Deadline for 2018 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award competition<https://nfb.org/bolotin-award-main>
  *   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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