[NFBWV-Talk] Fwd: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 06/29/2020

Wed Jul 1 00:54:17 UTC 2020

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: President, National Federation of the Blind <
OfficeOfThePresident at nfb.org>
Date: Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 3:27 PM
Subject: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 06/29/2020
To: President, National Federation of the Blind <
OfficeOfThePresident at nfb.org>

President’s Notebook National Federation of the Blind Mark A. Riccobono
officeofthepresident at nfb.org 410-659-9314

Dear Fellow Federationists,

Two weeks, just two weeks, until we kick off our most dynamic convention
ever. It is hard to believe that we will not be gathering in person. It is
even harder to believe how quickly we have reworked and built a new
convention format for 2020. I have examined the registration numbers, and
you are going to be blown away. The tremendous support and growth in our
movement is because you have led the way in reaching out and building
during this challenging and critical time.

Here is the link you have been anticipating: the agenda for the 2020 Annual
Convention of the National Federation of the Blind can be found at
https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/2020-national-convention-agenda.
This is the HTML version of the agenda and it does not yet include all of
the Zoom meeting ID links. There will be many versions of the agenda to
follow, but we wanted you to have the agenda text as early as possible.

I anticipate being with all of you at the Rookie Roundup on July 7. Please
plan to be there.

If you are still working on verifying your convention registration list, I
urge you to make it a priority as tomorrow is the deadline. If you require
assistance, please let me know ASAP.
On a non-convention-related matter, I want to call your attention to a
couple of blog posts from this week. These are to close out Pride Month.
These posts are part of our ongoing effort to think critically about the
diversity of our movement and actions we can undertake to ensure our
meetings and activities allow all of our blind members to participate
fully. Please be sure to review “What Pride Means to Me
<https://www.nfb.org/blog/what-pride-means-me>” by Connor “Carley” Mullin,
and my post today entitled “Love Is Love: Supporting Our LGBTQ+ Members and
Celebrating Pride Month
<https://www.nfb.org/blog/love-love-supporting-our-lgbtq-members-and-celebrating-pride-month>
.”

Finally, seriously, if you have not verified the convention registration
list for your affiliate, stop reading this and please turn your attention
to that list right...now.

Convention *Host a Banquet Party during #NFB20:*

Formal attire. Favorite dishes. Federation family. The annual banquet is
the highlight of each convention and it’s a great opportunity for small
local gatherings. Following local guidance, host a banquet party with
members near you! During banquet, we are going to be dropping into parties
with the chance to say hello to the whole convention. If you’ll be hosting
a banquet party, please email rstevens at nfb.org or call 410-659-9314,
extension 2246, with your contact information by Monday, July 13. More
information on drop-ins during banquet will be provided to the hosts prior
to the start of banquet.
*Legal Office Hours during Convention:*

Disability rights attorneys will be available to discuss employment
discrimination, access barriers, and other concerns with individuals on
Tuesday, July 14, and Wednesday, July 15, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. eastern.
Schedule your private, twenty-minute appointment by emailing
vyingling at nfb.org.

News *Thanks to Affiliates:*

Many of our affiliates have been contributing to our NFB BELL® In-Home
Edition. Putting on quality, nationwide programming like this takes
resources, and I am happy that our state affiliates stepped up to support
our national organization with financial resources in this regard. Thanks
go out to the following affiliates for your help with NFB BELL this year.

NFB of Alabama

NFB of Arizona

NFB of California

NFB of Connecticut

NFB of Georgia

NFB of Illinois

NFB of Missouri

NFB of New Jersey

NFB of Ohio

NFB of Pennsylvania

NFB of Utah

Please note that if any affiliates are missing from this list, contact
Patti Chang at pchang at nfb.org and we will correct our records.

In addition, many affiliates have made very generous general contributions
meant to support all of our COVID-19 increased expenses and activities.
Those contributions also make a huge difference.

*Access Technology Affordability Act Update:*

The past week has been a banner week for the Access Technology
Affordability Act (H.R 2086/S. 815). We added eight cosponsors in the House
for a total of 109 cosponsors. Special thanks to the following states:

California (Rep. Grace Napolitano)

Florida (Rep. Michael Waltz)

Indiana (Rep. Susan Brooks)

Missouri (Rep. Jason Smith)

North Dakota (Rep. Kelly Armstrong)

Oklahoma (Rep. Tom Cole)

Virginia (Rep. Denver Riggleman)

Washington (Rep. Dan Newhouse)

Please continue to urge your representative and senators to cosponsor this
bill. Congress is likely to begin negotiations on another COVID-19 relief
package when they return from the July 4th recess. The more cosponsors we
have, the more likely Congress will include the provisions of the Access
Technology Affordability Act in that legislation.

Reminders *Hotel Contracts – Canceling and Postponing Events:*

A number of affiliates have been asking about hotel contracts as they
relate to postponing or canceling events. If your affiliate needs to
reschedule or cancel a convention or another event, we recommend calling
the hotel to ask what their position is on this. Almost all hotels have
been quite cooperative, especially if we are in a position to reschedule an
event. If you receive pushback, you should look at your contract and see
what your “impossibility” or “force majeure” clause says. Generally these
clauses give you leverage to use in dealing with a hotel. Patti Chang has
been helping some of our affiliates strategize on this topic. If a phone
call and pointing to your contract do not resolve the issue, please reach
out to her at pchang at nfb.org or extension 2422. This also brings home the
need for you to be sure that in new contracts we have good language around
impossibility. Please be sure you are reading through new contracts
carefully and that these clauses apply to NFB as well as your state. Below
is good language. You should expect push back on such language, but it is
key that you get as much of it as possible, especially the disaster
language and the curtailment of travel provisions.

Force Majeure: The performance of the Agreement by either party is subject
to acts of God, war, government regulation, disasters, stay at home/shelter
in place orders, fires, disease, strikes, terrorism or threats of
terrorism, civil disorders, curtailment of transportation facilities
preventing or unreasonably delaying at least 25% of Event attendees and
guests from participating at the Event, or other similar cause, including
emergency or non-emergency conditions, beyond the control of the parties
making it inadvisable, illegal, impossible, or commercially impractical to
hold the Event, for the Hotel to provide the meeting and sleeping rooms or
related facilities and/or services for the Event, or for either party to
fully perform the material terms of the Agreement. The Agreement may be
terminated without penalty and with performance fully excused for any one
or more of these reasons by written notice from one party to the other.
Should the Organization decide to proceed with the Event when a force
majeure event exists, all attrition penalties under this Agreement shall be
waived by the Hotel.

Dates to Keep in Mind:

   - June 22-July 3: NFB BELL® In-Home Edition
   - June 30: Deadline for resolution submission <nfbmd at earthlink.net>
   - June 30: Accessibility Boutique: Technology and Training Options for
   Seniors
   - July 12 (noon eastern): Deadline for enrolling as an eligible voter
   for the 2020 National Convention (must be an active member and already
   registered for the 2020 National Convention)
   - July 27-August 7: NFB BELL® In-Home Edition
   - July 7: #NFB20 Rookie Round-Up

   - July 14-18: NFB National Convention <https://www.nfb.org/convention>,
   Everywhere

   - February 8, 2021: Washington Seminar Great Gathering-In

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
<https://www.google.com/maps/search/200+East+Wells+Street,+Baltimore,+MD+21230?entry=gmail&source=g>

(410) 659-9314 | officeofthepresident at nfb.org

[image: 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.

-- 
Sheri Koch, President
National Federation of the Blind of West Virginia
304-993-5103