[Njabs-talk] NJABS Minutes for 031112

[Benjamin Vercellone]

NJABS Minutes for March 11, 2012.

Members present:

Evelyn Valdez --President.

Benjamin Vercellone -- secretary.

Maxine Lomax - board member.

Greg Rivera - board member.

Jason Capadi.

Anthony Rayes.

Isaiah Wilcox.

Philip So.

Harrison Hoyes.

8:06 PM - Evelyn invited us.

The title of this conference call was Meet the professionals.

There were 3 guest speakers with a lot of Talent. Evelyn invited them to 
speak of what they do in the workplace.

8:07 PM - Maxine recited the NFB Pledge.

8:08 PM - Evelyn welcomes Isaiah. He works for the Department of Defense.

8:09 PM - Isaiah began. He thanked Evelyn. He spoke concerning his 
Background. He has worked with Business communication. He was a Student 
division president in Georgia. Now he is in the NFB Fellows program. He 
Works for department of defense which is an Agency of the government.He 
basically administers contracts. For example, if the air force needs 10 
c130 airplanes, he will contact their office. They will put together a 
proposal for the planes. They will write a contract for whoever has the 
best. The officer signs off. It is Isaiah's job to oversee the contract. 
He is a Cost price analyst. Once the contract is issued, he will audit 
it. He will make sure the contract is not using too much tax payer 
money. He will look at a proposal. Currently it costs $7000000 
concerning the planes. He says it is a Fun job. He was hired right out 
of college. This was after an internship. He Worked hard and Liked his 
work. President Obama put some things in place concerning Accommodation. 
Isaiah has Jaws on his computer. If he needs the iPhone, something will 
be signed and the iPhone made secure. He travels a lot. He needs to make 
arrangements. Someone can pick him up, or he can make arrangements with 
a Taxi. He says he was a computer guy. He loves what he does. He would 
Love to entertain questions. If anyone wants to know more, contact him 
and he will give more information. Philip asked something about the 
aircraft and production and the $7000000 contract. There is a lot of 
production of airplanes. Isaiah said the Contract can be for building 
new planes and modifying old ones. The C130 is a good plane. After so 
long, they will rebuild the entire plane. The money goes to training as 
well I think. It goes to many things. Anthony asked something about 
computers. Isaiah said the department is hugely involved with computers 
which are able to talk to one another. They have computers in 128 
countries. This is making it more efficient. They are able as employees 
to work with someone from California or Afghanistan. I think he said he 
has been in the Program for 3 years. Evelyn asked what other access 
technology he uses besides the iPhone. He uses Jaws, a Computer, and a 
Scanner that can do 1000 pages at a time. He can make the scan Encrypted 
to himself. He has Adobe OCR. He has an iPad and iPhone and a wireless 
keyboard. He can make his iPhone go into airplane mode and simply use 
his Bluetooth keyboard. Then he can make accurate notes. The Boss asks 
him to take notes. His notes were so good on Friday that she sent them 
out to the entire agency. He typed them on his iPhone. He has a handheld 
magnifier just in case there is something there that he cannot put into 
the computer. He is in the keystone program which has to do with 
accessibility. PowerPoint's can be emailed to him. He can take a look at 
them beforehand. Concerning the Keystone program, you can go to the 
disability resource center at your school and request the program 
through them. They will come to your place and ask questions. They will 
be getting a big picture of who you are and what you do. They will 
combine them into a document that can be searched online in a database. 
He can't promise anything. When the agency goes out and searches for 
applicants in your area, and they see your resume, if you fit what they 
are looking for, they will contact you. He has had an Internship and 
been the executive at the Department of Labor. Both of these have been 
before now. If you have any questions, you can contact him. His job Pays 
really well. He is 23 and has life insurance. There is a lot of mobility 
within the organization.

8:26 PM - Mr. Wilcox finished. He Wishes us well.

We now moved onto our second guest. His name is Philip So.

8:26 PM - Evelyn Introduced him. He attended the student convention last 
May. He was a scholarship winner in perhaps 02.

8:27 PM -- Philip began. He has a bachelor's degree. He is a Research 
analyst now. He advises clients, Like Pepsi or coke. The Marketing field 
is divided into the client side like coke and the agency side. Companies 
hire advertising agencies to do the work. Marketing research is where he 
works. It is a multicultural environment in terms of hiring. There is a 
Quantitative and a qualitative aspect. He is with the first. As an 
example, A company like Disney with Hannah Montana may want to come up 
with something. They will come to the marketing research firm. They will 
find out the size of the market. Is there a market? Who should be the 
intended buyers? They will do research and come up with answers and get 
back. Then they will go to the advertising agency with the information. 
Then the advertising company will bring it to Disney and then Disney 
will bring it to the media I think. It is a really long workflow. It can 
take from months to 5 years. He is a Research analyst. He uses Excel and 
PowerPoint and other analytical software.

8:33 PM Philip finished.

Evelyn asked if there were any questions. Philip has been there since 
December of 2010 I think.

8:34 PM. - Harrison Hoyes was introduced. He works in financial 
advising. His branch is in Morris Town. He Helps people in retirement. 
He Graduated college and majored in business. He went to Blind Inc.

Through his connections with Blind Incorporated, he was able to find a 
job with a person's help. The person hired people with disabilities. He 
works with financial plans with his clients. He uses jaws and zoom text 
and Clarity magnification. For most of the day, clients are calling in. 
They want a trade or a job. He puts together financial plans. There is a 
lot of excel spreadsheet work. He has been with Morgan Stanly for 3 
years. Is there a way you can move up from regular financial assistant? 
Yes. The next step is for him to be the financial advisor. Since he 
started out, his group has been restructured and relocated and his roll 
changed. It might happen here I think, or maybe in another company or he 
may start his own group. This work depends on Relationships and trust. 
How is it structured? His work occurs in the current branch location. It 
is not in a corporate office. It is A little more difficult to move. You 
have to ask people for their business. Concerning moving up, you may 
start dealing with wealthier people. With experience you can do more. 
The Career progression and growing potential is limitless but is up to 
you. You have to do your job and meet people who will be able to trust 
you. You can be the assistant branch manager or go into operations.

8:43 PM -- Harrison finished.

8:43 PM -- announcements.

March 31^st is the deadline for the NFB Scholarship. Patti Gregory Chang 
was on our last Call. If you are a graduating senior in high school or 
if you are earning your bachelor's degree or you are a grad student, can 
apply. There will be info on the list serve.

The next announcement is for girls. You have been invited by Linda 
Thomas and Hannah Bacan (spelling of Hannah's last name may be wrong). 
Linda Did the Looking Good without Looking presentation in 2010 at the 
state convention. She did something on thruoureyes. She gave makeup 
tips. Guys, if you know any girls, tell them. It is Saturday March 31 at 
10 AM to 2:00 PM. The event will be at Immaculate Heart in Ridgewood. 
She will advise on makeup and fashions and other things. You need to let 
her know so she can order things.

8:49 PM -- attendance was taken. Evelyn thanked us.

8:50 PM - Call ended.

Respectfully submitted,

Benjamin Vercellone,

Secretary.