[Ohio-talk] Buckeye Update

[COLLEEN ROTH]

Hi Eric,
This is certainly a positive Update.
I am glad you responded to the email you received this week and I am not surprised by your quick response.
The Bell Program is definitely a great opportunity for these blind children.
After all, the blind children of today are our future.
Congratulations, Richard, for your award. I am glad you were able to help this blind customer use JAWS to access the Website.
Colleen Roth



----- Original Message -----
From: Eric Duffy <eduffy at deltav.org>
To: "NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List" <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Date: Friday, Nov 30, 2012 01:59:42 PM
Subject: [Ohio-talk] Buckeye Update

>
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
> Buckeye Update
> Friday, November 30, 2012
> 
> I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I certainly did. We
> have much to be thankful for in the National Federation of the Blind of
> Ohio. I am reminded of that each and every day as I work with you and the
> public to further the work of our organization.
> Please remember to join us for our teleconference Board of Directors
> Meeting Sunday evening at 7:00 PM.  Dial (605) 475-4875. Use access code
> 201909 followed by pound
> .. 
> The Capital Chapter held its annual election this month. The
> following individuals were elected: Shelbi Hindel, President; Jim Debus,
> Vice President; Carol Akers, Secretary; Stefanie Clayton, Treasurer; and
> Angela Clark Board member. Congratulations to all. I want to thank Beth
> Debus for serving as chapter president for the past two years.
> I participated in a call for states interested in having a BELL
> Program in 2013. BELL stands for Braille enrichment and learning. We will
> bring students ages 4-12 together for two weeks during the summer for
> intensive instruction in Braille and blindness skills. Right now we are
> making plans to conduct the program in the Columbus area. I can see us
> expanding our work in this area in years to come. We will need to raise
> between $3,000 and $6,000 for this program. We will also need a lot of
> volunteers. We all know the importance of Braille, and the need to see that
> blind children have the opportunity to be literate. So I will count on your
> help as we move forward with our plans to ring bells for Braille in Ohio.
> At my request Arnold Shaheen has already contacted the state Lions
> organization in an effort to obtain support for BELL. If you are a Lion talk
> about BELL in your club. For that matter don't limit your effort to Lions.
> talk about it at meetings of any service organizations you can get to. 
> I have had  a number of people say things such as, "we really need a
> BELL Program in Ohio. I really want to help make this happen any way I can."
> Well the first thing we have to do is fund it. It is up to each and everyone
> of us to make it happen. I know we can do it.
> Congratulations to our first vice president and friend Richard Payne
> for his outstanding job performance at G.E. Capital. Richard was named
> Employee Of the Month for providing, "World class-service" to customers on a
> daily basis.  He was also given a special citation for providing excellent
> service to a blind customer who was having trouble navigating the company's
> Website using JAWS. The Federation family is made up of many talented and
> capable individuals, and we are proud that Richard Payne is part of our
> family.
> Once again I urge you to help us see that the Convention on the
> Rights of Persons with Disabilities is ratified by the United States Senate.
> It is especially important that Senator Portman hears from us on this issue.
> Please call him at (202) 224-3353 and let him know you support this treaty.
> The senate might act on this by Tuesday, so don't delay.
> BSVI has a new Director and a new Business Enterprise Program
> Manager. Matt Mumma is the new Bureau Director, and  Melinda Duncan is the
> BEP Manager. They both started work the Monday of Thanksgiving week, and I
> received separate calls from them that afternoon. This says a lot about the
> relationship we have with RSC and its Director Kevin Miller. In the past
> Bureau staff have done their best to shield the BE Program from our
> influence. The attitude has been that there is an elected committee of blind
> operators to represent the interest of the program, and therefore no other
> input is necessary. So the call from Melinda Duncan was refreshing and
> leaves me with a great deal of optimism about the future.
> Here in part is an email I received this week:
> I am asking for help on behalf of my father. He recently suffered a
> pretty serious heart attack and as a result an anoxic brain injury and
> severe vision loss due to oxygen deprivation of the optic nerve. He is only
> 56 and was a very independent person before this happened. He was active
> physically with softball, volleyball, and bowling (to name a few sports) and
> loved cognitive challenges such as crosswords, Sudoku, and chess. He was
> also very handy, and had remodeled most of the house he shares with my mom,
> as well as was an electrical technician for his current job. The doctors are
> not optimistic that he'll regain enough vision to return to a "normal" life
> and are pretty sure he cannot return to his current field of work. I would
> love any information you may have that could help us begin to understand how
> to handle the new circumstances and how to help my dad be able to do the
> things he enjoys again. 
> It goes without saying that I responded to this message immediately.
> That is why we have the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio. There is
> no better organization to help this man and his family. We are all too
> familiar with how much of the general public views blindness and us as blind
> people. But we know the truth about blindness. Let's continue spreading our
> philosophy and our programs throughout the land.
> Have a great weekend. Shop with Scrip, and get your orders in by
> 7:00 PM., Monday evening. I'll meet you on the call Sunday evening.
> Eric Duffy, President
> 
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