[Njabs-talk] NJABS Minutes for Sunday, June 10, 2012

[Benjamin Vercellone]

My apologies for being late with the minutes.

NJABS Minutes for Sunday, June 10, 2012

8:08 PM -- The call began. We talked about things that are going to take 
place in Dallas at this year's national convention. Shafeka will talk 
about a spinoff of something we did.

8:09 PM -- Ben recited the NFB pledge.

8:11 PM - Shafeka talked about an event that NJ held a year ago called 
Looking Good without Looking. Blind people dressed in outfits that we 
coordinated, and we walked down the runway. This program is now on the 
national level. It is $5 for attendees. People should participate in 
that. It is also going to be very fun. New Jersey started that.

8:16 PM - Alex and Conchita spoke about the Salsa Night being held at 
the national convention. It will be held from 7:30 to 12:00 on Wednesday 
during convention. We will learn how to dance non-visually. They will 
teach Salsa using the braille cell. They will also teach Salsa in a way 
so it will not matter if people do not know it yet. There will be a 
competition at the end. The Texas Association of Blind Students is doing 
a raffle for an Apple TV. There are other events going on as well. There 
will be dancing. We will be able to meet new people. There will be a 
cash bar. It is going to be a lot of fun. They hope to see us there. 
This event is by the Spanish translation Committee. They will provide 
Spanish translations during convention. If people are Spanish speakers 
and would like to help, there is a Sunday meeting at 9:00 PM. This is if 
you are interested in doing translation. Alex said that Spanish speakers 
can feel free to attend the Spanish Seminar. Alex's email is 
alexandera.castillo at gmail.com <mailto:alexandera.castillo at gmail.com>. 
You can sign up on the Facebook page for the Salsa Night. They made an 
event page. It is called National Federation of the Blind Salsa Night. A 
man named Chris will be there. He sells nice canes. The first prize will 
be a gold cane. There are really awesome prizes. It is actually a gold 
cane. Evelyn said last year's Salsa Night was good. You have to sign 
yourself up. Conchita's email address is hernandezlegorreta at gmail.com 
<mailto:hernandezlegorreta at gmail.com>. The Facebook page is open to the 
public. It is not just on Alex's and Conchita's page. You can look it 
up. Thank you in advance. It is going to be great.

8:25 PM -- Mark Melonson began to tell us about a Self Defense program 
that will be held at the national Convention. Mark is the U.S. southern 
regional director of One Touch. This course at convention is an 
Instructor certification course. It will be held on June 30th, July 1^st 
, and July 2nd. It is an intense training seminar. Attendees will learn 
techniques to teach others. It is a confidence booster. The system was 
first taught by Professor Stephen Nicholls. He was attending a Guide 
Dogs for the Blind meeting in London. It was his first time in front of 
blind people. He needed to do a lot of learning at first. He fumbled at 
first but he went on to teach blind people about self-defense. What is 
going to be taught? It will consist of actual defense techniques and our 
approach to teaching. Some instructors are sighted and some are blind. 
It will be a lot of fun. You will get to learn skills that could 
actually be used to save your life or somebody else's. This will be a 
certification process. The cost is $320. When certifying instructors, 
they have to do background checks and other things. There is audio and 
DVD's. It is a 2 and a half day seminar. After that you will be paired 
with another instructor. You will be paired for 6 months with a teacher 
and will be in probation. One Touch is trying to get an open session on 
the third day for people to come in and train. This would be on July 
second. This is the first time One Touch is offering an instructor 
certification at convention. Once somebody becomes an instructor, he or 
she is free to go out and teach somewhere. Mark is from Houston. He 
works with a couple students. He goes out and teaches. Some instructors 
volunteer but the majority is paid. Concerning funding, a letter has 
been sent out by Lisa Martinez. It has been sent to all state chapters 
in order to basically seek sponsorship. If you are interested, contact 
your NFB state leadership. They can set up a fund so that everybody 
there can be sponsored. All states have received this letter. There is 
no age restriction for this opportunity. Thank you Mark.

8:38 PM - If you are going to Dallas, people are still getting their 
flights. It will be a great convention. Evelyn will be in a play 
performed by members of the Louisiana Center for the Blind. You can buy 
your ticket from Evelyn on Monday July 2 at the Louisiana table from 10 
AM to 12 PM. She will be working the LCB table and selling tickets to 
the play. It is $7. It is about Dr. Jacob Bolotin. He was the first 
licensed blind Doctor in the U.S. The play is titled One Man with 
Courage. This is the last conference call for the summer. We will be 
reconvening in September. Evelyn hopes we have a great summer.

Members who were present on this call:

Evelyn Valdez - president.

Shafeka Hashash -- vice president.

Benjamin Vercellone -- Secretary.

Greg Rivera -- Board member.

Maxine Lomax -- board member.

Conchita.

Alex.

Mark Melonson.