[Ohio-talk] news letter
Wanda Sloan
wsloan118 at roadrunner.com
Wed Aug 28 14:38:01 UTC 2013
Well, aren't you a good State V. P. Good show, Rich.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of richard payne
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 8:32 AM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'
Subject: [Ohio-talk] news letter
Spring 2013
Buckeye Bulletin
A publication of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
Barbara Pierce, Editor
237 Oak Street
Oberlin, OH 44074
bpierce at oberlin.net
http://www.nfbohio.org
(440) 774-8077
Eric Duffy, President
(614) 935-6965 (NFB-O Office)
eduffy at pobox.com
P.O. Box 82055, Columbus, OH 43202
Voice of the Nation’s Blind
The National Federation of the Blind of Ohio is a 501 (c) 3 consumer organization comprised of blind and sighted people committed to changing what it means to be blind. Though blindness is still all too often a tragedy to those who face it, we know from our personal experience that with training and opportunity it can be reduced to the level of a physical nuisance. We work to see that blind people receive the services and training to which they are entitled and that parents of blind children receive the advice and support they need to help their youngsters grow up to be happy, productive adults. We believe that first-class citizenship means that people have both rights and responsibilities, and we are determined to see that blind people become first-class citizens of these United States, enjoying their rights and fulfilling their responsibilities. The most serious problems we face have less to do with our lack of vision than with discrimination based on the public’s ignorance and misinformation about blindness. Join us in educating Ohioans about the abilities and aspirations of Ohio’s blind citizens. We are changing what it means to be blind.
The NFB of Ohio has twelve local chapters, one for at-large members, and special divisions for diabetics, merchants, students, seniors, parents of blind children, and those interested in Braille. This semi-annual newsletter is circulated by email and posted on NFB-NEWSLINE®, our digitized newspaper-reading service by phone, and on our website, www.nfbohio.org. For information about the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio or to make address changes or be added to the mailing list, call (440) 774-8077 or email bpierce at oberlin.net. For information about NFB-NEWSLINE, our free digitized newspaper-reading service, call (866) 504-7300. Local NEWSLINE numbers are: 330-247-1241 (Akron), 330-409-1900 (Canton), 513-297-1521 (Cincinnati), 216-453-2090 (Cleveland), and 614-448-1673 (Columbus)
Table of Contents
Editor’s Musings
by Barbara Pierce
>From the President’s Desk
by Eric Duffy
The 2012 Convention Report
by Shelbi Hindel
The National Federation of the Blind of Ohio Awards for 2012
by Barbara Fohl
Committee Appointments for 2013
Ohio Joins the BELL Choir
by Debbie Baker
Managing Rentals: How a Blind Guy Has Succeeded
by Tim Janning
Bob Eschbach Dies
by Barbara Pierce
Parents: Part of the Solution for Our Blind Children or Part of the Problem?
by Carol Akers
How We Grew from 20 to 120
For White Cane Safety Day
by Deborah Kendrick
Change Our Lives—Why I Go to National Convention
by Chris Kuell
Buckeye Briefs
Calendar of Events
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio 2013 Scholarship Program
Editor’s Musings
by Barbara Pierce
A lot of water has flowed over the dam since our last newsletter. We have conducted the sixty-sixth NFB of Ohio convention and participated in the NFB’s annual Washington Seminar. We are also deep in making plans for Ohio’s first BELL (Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning) Program for blind and low-vision youngsters ages four to twelve. We have elected a new president, Eric Duffy, and, after voting to eliminate our state scholarship program because of our financial emergency, we have in fact expanded it to three awards, thanks to the generosity of several members of the Springfield chapter.
You can read more about these activities in the following pages. But first a word about changes in this newsletter. Because we have lost all of the outside funding that we once enjoyed, the affiliate must cut corners wherever possible. One difficult decision has been to eliminate both the print and CD editions of this semi-annual publication. The text of the newsletter will appear on the sponsor’s channel of NFB-NEWSLINE®, so every blind Ohioan who has signed up for our free digitized newspaper-reading service has immediate access to the newsletter. It will also be posted in both Word and MP3 on our website ( <http://www.nfbohio.org/> www.nfbohio.org). Deborah Kendrick has volunteered to read and record the newsletter for the website. Anyone with a computer can go to the website and read or download for later reading either edition of the publication. We hope that this will ensure that everyone who wants to read the news from the NFB of Ohio will continue to be able to do so.
Several articles later in this issue will provide the details of our November convention. I would like to take the opportunity here to thank J.W. Smith for his four years of dedicated service as president of this affiliate. He always viewed himself as a transitional leader, and last summer he decided that it would be time to retire in November. These have not been easy years for the Ohio affiliate. J.W. has been outspoken in articulating the need to find new funding sources, and he has himself been generous with his musical talent in raising funds. We are all deeply grateful to him for his leadership and his commitment to what the Federation stands for.
In early February Eric Duffy and I attended a seminar for affiliate presidents and legislative directors that was held at the Jernigan Institute in Baltimore the weekend before the Washington Seminar. It was an excellent meeting that revved us up for moving on to Washington and a very busy day on Capitol Hill. A complete report of the Washington Seminar appears in the March Braille Monitor, including the texts of the fact sheets for the three legislative issues we brought to congressional attention.
I trust that you will read the material in the Monitor carefully. Here is an update on these issues since the Monitor was published:
The Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act (H.R. 831) has now been introduced by Congressman Gregg Harper (R-MS). A few members of Congress have already stepped up to cosponsor this bill, but none, so far, from Ohio. We should all keep the pressure on our Representatives to get onboard.
The TEACH (Technology, Education, and Accessibility in Colleges and Higher Education) Act still does not have a lead sponsor at this writing. But we are going great guns with the Space Available legislation (H.R. 164 and S. 346). Neither Ohio Senator is among the eleven who are cosponsoring the bill in the Senate. Senator Tester of Montana is the lead sponsor, and both Republicans and Democrats are cosponsors. Please lean on Doug Babcock in Senator Brown’s office and whoever does veterans issues in Senator Portman’s office. Remember that we want 100 percent service-connected disabled veterans to have access to air transport on military flights when space is available. Serving personnel and retired veterans are already eligible, but those totally disabled in the line of duty cannot remain in the armed services long enough to retire, so they should be eligible now for this benefit. Please help. Ninety-six members of the House are already cosponsors. Among these are Congresswoman Beatty, Congressman Chabot, Congressman Johnson, Congressman Joyce, Congressman Latta, Congressman Ryan, and Congressman Stivers, all from Ohio. If your member’s name is not on this list, you should organize your chapter to make calls about this issue and ask the member to sign on. You should also turn up at town meetings and stand up to ask why he or she has not signed on. Marcia Fudge’s staff has told us that she will not sponsor the bill, and I am urging Cleveland to put pressure on her to change her mind.
Lots more is going on in the Federation this spring. Keep reading to find out more.
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>From the President’s Desk
by Eric Duffy
Since becoming president of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio in November 2012, I have had much to do and a lot to think about. Part of the overall premise of the National Federation of the Blind is that it’s ok to be blind, in fact that it is respectable to be blind. Almost every day it occurs to me anew that we must expand our thinking to be sure that we realize and demonstrate to others that it is respectable to be a member of the National Federation of the Blind.
When I first joined the NFB in 1984, I heard people say that I was getting involved with a militant and radical organization. I have found this to be nothing close to the truth. The fact that we challenge each other and the world to look at blindness in new and positive ways does not mean that we are all radicals or that the Federation is a radical organization.
Walking tall and standing strong for what we believe does not make us militants. I was proud to stand on the picket line to educate the public about the shabby ways that the National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving People with Blindness and Visual Impairment (NAC) was treating the blind and the fact that they were providing accreditation to any agency with the willingness to cough up enough money. That was in the mid or late ‘80s. Today NAC is all but dead. Chances are that it would be thriving today and continuing to damage the lives of blind people were it not for the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind.
This summer I was proud to hold a sign alerting the public to the fact that Goodwill and other charities running so-called sheltered workshops pay many of their disabled workers far less than the minimum wage. Even more egregious than this impulse to balance the books on the backs of disabled workers is the fact that this reprehensible practice is permitted under federal law.
I am proud to ask members of Congress to support the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act of 2013 (H.R. 831), introduced by Representative Gregg Harper (R-MS). We are determined to end this unfair, immoral, and discriminatory practice on the part of Goodwill and other charities like it. We are determined to change the law that allows such an atrocity to take place at all in the United States of America.
If we must confront an international icon of service to the disabled and unfortunate like Goodwill in order to bring these changes about, then so be it. If actions and moral positions such as these make us militant and radical, then I for one am proud to be militant and radical!
Recently I had occasion to room with a teacher from the Indiana School for the Blind. He and I were at the Jernigan Institute to receive training on how to plan and conduct successful Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL) Programs in our states. He is the teacher for his program in Indiana, and I am the coordinator for our Ohio program. We were both excited about BELL and glad to be a part of an organization that has created and supports such a program.
One evening my new friend told me that he and other members of the faculty and staff of the Indiana school have been bringing students to our national conventions for many years. I was immediately envious. We have not had a single member of the faculty or staff of the Ohio State School for the Blind attend a national convention in a very long time. Why not?
Neither this story nor my envy ended there. My friend told me that, after listening to one of President Maurer’s reports to the convention, he asked a middle school student what she thought of what she had heard. She said, “I don’t know.” They had the same exchange repeatedly throughout the week until the teacher concluded that he had better stop asking the question because she was clearly not mature enough to get it.
Then, on the way home, while the group was eating lunch at McDonalds, the young girl suddenly said, “I know!”
The adults at the table said, “What do you know?”
The student said, “I can be whatever I want to be. I can do whatever I want to do. Blindness doesn’t have to stop me. That’s what the convention was all about.”
Wow! She got it. That’s what it’s all about. Again I asked myself, why aren’t the faculty and staff of the Ohio State School for the Blind bringing students to our conventions? Why haven’t they joined our Capital Chapter?
A few years ago the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission sent staff members to our national and state conventions. Where have they been in the last several years? There is no better way for them to develop an understanding of our movement and the most positive and creative ideas in the field. The Rehabilitation Services Administration has ruled that it is appropriate to send consumers to conventions of the organized blind as part of an Individualized Plan for Employment. If this has ever been done in Ohio, I am not aware of it. That of course doesn’t mean it hasn’t been done, but we all know that it has not happened frequently enough to be helpful to Ohio consumers. We all know that participation in an NFB convention can be a life-changing experience, and it has been for many of us.
We want professionals to be a part of our movement, but there is more to this story. We have a wealth of knowledge and experience concerning blindness. As blind people we live, work, and play in the world every day. Often, however, we are expected to give away our expertise free of charge. When policy makers are making decisions about our lives, we still often have to fight for a seat at the table. Even when we don’t have to fight for the seat, we still have to ask for it, and we are expected to do so meekly.
The organized blind should have a seat at the table whenever and wherever decisions are made that affect our lives. We should expect to be paid for providing our knowledge and experience just as the professionals are.
It is ok to be blind. It is respectable to be blind. It is ok to be a member of the National Federation of the Blind. It is respectable to be a member of the National Federation of the Blind. I am proud to be a member of this organization. Let’s stand together and make sure the world understands our message.
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Report of the 2012 NFB of Ohio Convention
by Shelbi Hindel
Editor’s Note: Shelbi Hindel is secretary of the NFB of Ohio. Here is her summary report of the affiliate’s 2012 convention:
The sixty-sixth annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, held November 2 to 4, promised to be an exciting and spirited one, months before it started. In July J.W. Smith announced that he would not stand for re-election for president. In the 2011 convention the cry was, “Jump.” This year it was, “Vote for” and the name of one’s favorite candidate for president. Richard Payne’s supporters even passed out cookies that said, “Vote for Pain.” (No one seemed to be quite sure of the significance of the pun on Richard’s last name.)
Going into the convention, it seemed that Richard Payne and Eric Duffy would have a showdown shortly before noon on Sunday. Miami Valley was the host chapter, and Richard had his own cookie, so it really seemed that Eric might be outgunned.
The convention theme was “To touch the untouchable dream,” taken from the title of one of the Federation’s Kernel Books. The convention is certainly a time when we dream as an organization. We dream, we plan, and we work together to make our dreams come true.
The schedule for this convention was different from any we have had for a very long time, if ever. The meeting of the board of directors took place Friday morning. This was the first chance most people had to meet Kevan Worley, our national representative, from Colorado. Wherever he goes, Kevan brings with him his commitment to and enthusiasm for the National Federation of the Blind. He brought plenty of both to Ohio, and we were glad to benefit from it. Kevan brought another theme to the convention. During his presentations and even in the hallways of the hotel, he was often heard to mention the Colorado Center for the Blind, where Kevan received the rehabilitation training that forever changed his life. Kevan will tell anyone who will listen that, not only did he receive quality training at the center, he also learned to put blindness in its proper perspective in his life. According to many Ohio Federationists, Kevan ranks among the best national representatives we have ever had.
The first general session of the convention was held Friday afternoon. It has been a long time since that has happened. We thought this was an important change to make in order to have more participation by public officials. With a presentation entitled “Blind People Need and Want Jobs,” Kevan talked about his varied work experiences and what he thinks blind people must do to get and keep jobs. Of course he mentioned his own company, Worley Enterprises, his second personal convention theme.
RSC Director Kevin Miller and interim BSVI Director Rose Reed talked about the Rehabilitation Services Commission and the Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired. Director Miller was presented with a plaque for the agency’s support of NFB-NEWSLINE®. He said this was the first plaque he has received since becoming agency director.
The rest of the session was devoted to rehabilitation training and jobs with presenters from the Cleveland Sight Center, the Sight Center of Northwest Ohio, and the Cincinnati Association for the Blind. Representing the Cleveland Sight Center, Cleveland chapter leader Suzanne Turner gave a lively and inspiring presentation about her own life experience.
For the second year in a row, the Not the Royal Shakespeare Company took the stage Friday evening with a radio play performance by blind readers. This year’s presentation was a radio episode of the program, “Our Miss Brooks.” This event was sponsored by the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille and was directed by Bob Pierce. All actors and actresses read Braille scripts.
Saturday morning began with a meeting for diabetics and one for those wishing to promote the use of Braille. Kevan Worley got another chance to mention worleyenterprises.com and the Colorado Center for the Blind when he opened the Saturday convention session with a riveting report from the national office that managed to touch on many of the Federation’s nationwide activities and programs. Reading was next on the agenda with a report from the Talking Book Library presented by Tracy Grimm, and a presentation entitled “Beyond BARD” by NFB-O Board member Deborah Kendrick.
Richard Payne then talked about “Living the Dream.” He told his personal story about becoming blind and how he lives life with the knowledge that blindness is only one of the many characteristics he possesses. He did not encourage anyone to vote for Payne, but Eric Duffy was observed eating a pain cookie during Richard’s presentation.
Shelley McCoy concluded the morning session with a presentation entitled “Teaching the Blind of Today and Tomorrow.” Shelley participated in the NFB program, Teachers of Tomorrow. It was clear from her remarks that this program is deepening and enriching these teachers’ commitment to high expectations and excellence in the instruction of blind students.
For the first time since I can remember, we did not have a convention session Saturday afternoon. One could shop at the Dayton Mall, visit the exhibit area, go to meetings, or simply relax. I’m sure some people tried to do all of these things. The Miami Valley chapter organized a trip to the mall to demonstrate shopping techniques used by the blind. Many people, blind and sighted alike, don’t think it is possible for a blind person even to get to the mall without sighted assistance. A group of dedicated shoppers dispelled that myth that afternoon.
For the first time this year we gave exhibitors the opportunity to speak at the close of the morning convention session, but not one exhibitor took advantage of the opportunity. The exhibit room featured GW Micro, a candle company, a local dog kennel, and a table for the Springfield chapter. We truly are a working convention, and we don’t leave a lot of time on the agenda for exhibitors. When the exhibit room is open, a lot of other things are going on as was the case Saturday afternoon.
In addition to the shopping trip mentioned above, there were meetings for parents of blind children, blind students, blind seniors, and guide dog users. Later that afternoon there was a seminar for parents of blind children and a workshop for blind users of iOS devices.
The annual banquet provided Kevan Worley with another opportunity to talk about the Colorado Center for the Blind and worleyenterprises.com. Kevan’s banquet speech was all that we could have hoped for. It was upbeat, inspiring, and somehow just the right length.
Scholarships and awards were also presented during the banquet. Kaitlin Shelton, a freshman majoring in music therapy at the University of Dayton, received the Jennica Ferguson Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $1,500. Kyle Perkins, a freshman in computer science at the Ohio State University, received a $1,000 NFB of Ohio scholarship. A complete report of the other awards presented this year appears elsewhere in this newsletter.
We usually conclude the banquet with what we call Money for the Movement, a chance for chapters, divisions, and individuals to make financial contributions to support the work of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio. Mark and Crystal McClain demonstrated their love for our organization and their commitment to blind students by donating $1,000 to be used for a scholarship. At its Friday meeting the board of directors had voted to suspend the scholarship program until such time as the organization’s finances improve significantly. Mark and Crystal believe in the value of the scholarship program even though their daughter Macy has not received a scholarship, and they hated to see it suspended even though this was the only responsible action for the board to take at this time. Their gift has kept the program alive for another year.
The time change gave us a chance to grab an extra hour of sleep Saturday night. We needed it, because we had a busy weekend with more to go. Sunday morning opened with a memorial service. Those who had died since our last convention were honored.
NFB Ohio board member and Cincinnati chapter president Sheri Albers told us why she is a Federationist. Barbara Pierce and Paul Dressell talked to us about leadership and the history of the NFB of Ohio.
Barbara Pierce and Kevan Worley engaged the audience in a lively and meaningful discussion of NFB philosophy. This was Kevan’s last chance to mention the Colorado Center for the Blind and worleyenterprises.com, and you can bet he took advantage of it. The convention then accepted reports from the treasurer and the Nominating Committee. By this time I think it is safe to say that there were no Vote-for-Pain cookies left, and everyone was ready for the elections to begin.
The following officers and board members were elected: president, Eric Duffy; first vice president, Richard Payne; second vice president, Barb Fohl; secretary, Shelbi Hindel; treasurer, Sherry Ruth; and at-large board members, Crystal McClain and Bruce Peters. Barbara Pierce was elected for one year to complete Richard’s unexpired term. Congratulations to all those elected.
Eric Duffy and the convention thanked J.W. Smith for his service as NFB-O president. He succeeded Barbara Pierce as president, and we all know she is a tough act to follow. He was forced to pilot us through some rough financial waters, and he kept us united. One more time, thank you, J.W.
Now it is Eric Duffy’s turn to lead, and the financial waters are rougher than ever. The need for the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio is as great as it has ever been. I am confident that Eric will lead us well, and I know that we will not let him or each other down.
Our conventions enable us to rekindle old friendships and make new ones. They give us the chance to dream together, plan together, and then start working to make our dreams come true. I am already looking forward to our next convention, and I hope you are as well.
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National Federation of the Blind of Ohio Awards for 2012
by Barbara Fohl
The Awards Committee worked hard this year because we had more submissions for the Chapter Gavel Award than in a number of years, and four divisions submitted reports for the Division Gavel Award. In addition to choosing a winner in each of those categories, we presented a Unique Activity Recognition Prize and the Knall Garwood Award to an individual who has provided long and continuous service to our state affiliate. These awards were presented at our convention banquet on Saturday, November 3, 2012.
Our Division Gavel Award went to the Ohio Association of Guide Dog Users (OAGDU). They received a gavel, a plaque, and a check for $50. OAGDU added eleven new members this year and held monthly business meetings by conference call rather than having only one meeting at our state convention. Members are involved with local chapters and our affiliate as committee and board members, and they also participate in national activities. For example, one member organized the Goodwill informational picket in Cuyahoga County. At least three members of the division participated in those protests. One member is on the alumni board of Guide Dogs for the Blind. Another member is president of an alumni chapter of Guide Dogs for the Blind that covers Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. One member volunteers for her county’s SPCA. Two members are teachers of the visually impaired, and they regularly advocate for their students. Their board has been working to resolve issues surrounding the Cleveland Zoo’s lack of compliance with the ADA pertaining to guide dogs, and one member had a successful visit to the Cleveland Zoo recently.
For the second year in a row the Chapter Gavel Award was presented to the Miami Valley chapter. They also received a gavel, a plaque, and a check for $50. If they win again next year, they will keep the gavel. The chapter has been outstanding in all areas of Federation activity that we cover in the questionnaire. They promote the NFB to chapter members by making regular phone and email contact with them and by mentoring each other, especially new members. The chapter president spoke at the Mississippi state NFB convention. One member graduated from the Neighborhood Leadership Institute in 2011, and one member was in charge of her firm’s United Way campaign. Members receive referrals from hospitals, nursing homes, the Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired, and the chapter phone. They counsel callers about blindness, and they provide information about the NFB, local chapter meetings, and blindness resources. The annual chapter banquet was in December. Members from the Columbus, Springfield, and Cincinnati chapters and the merchants division attended the event. Suzanne Turner from the Cleveland chapter spoke at one of their meetings, and their president spoke at the Cleveland chapter’s information seminar. They conducted two fundraisers and contributed liberally to the state and national organizations.
The Unique Activity Recognition was presented to the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB) for its 2011 fundraiser, a read theater production of the radio drama entitled, “Fibber Has a Happy Face.” The division received a $25 check and a chance to describe the activity at the banquet.
The Knall Garwood Award certificate was presented to Eric Duffy, who has been active in our movement and has done much for the state affiliate for many years. Here is the letter the committee received nominating him for the award.
In 1991 this affiliate presented Eric Duffy with its Alfonzo Smith Award chiefly for his tireless work operating a phone solicitation office in Columbus to try to solve our funding crisis. He devoted hours and hours of volunteer time to training and supervising the callers, and it seemed to us that this was effort above and beyond the service that was reasonable to expect of an NFB officer.
But that was twenty-one years ago. In the intervening years Eric has served as first vice president, except for the fifteen years when he was our one employee, serving as director of field services.
The Knall Garwood Award is intended to honor Federationists who have served this organization faithfully and with distinction over an extended period of time. It seems to me that Eric truly deserves this honor for his ongoing work on behalf of this affiliate.
For almost twenty-five years Eric has been the face and spirit of the NFB in Columbus. Working with the secretary of state’s office on voting access, holding the Governor’s Council on People with Disabilities together through years of conflict and uncertainty, testifying for the NFB in legislative hearings, representing the NFB in meetings with BSVI and RSC officials, fighting for the rights of blind vendors, and articulating the NFB’s positions in crises large and small, Eric continues to provide an astute and compassionate, yet tough-minded presence in disability discussions in Ohio. The NFB of Ohio’s widely recognized reputation for fairness and political sophistication in the disability community is largely the result of Eric’s role in the state. It was Eric’s proposal to RSC that resulted in its recent decision to fund NFB-NEWSLINE in Ohio. He is generous in sharing his mastery of access technology with anyone who contacts him, and he has taught many of us how to operate the devices we depend upon.
In my view the length and variety of Eric Duffy’s service to the NFB of Ohio and to all blind Ohioans make him a fitting candidate for the Knall Garwood Award in 2012.
Cordially,
Barbara Pierce
This year the National Federation of the Blind of Cleveland brought the life and work of Thelia Y. Turner to the attention of the Awards Committee because of her life-long service and dedication to the mission of the chapter and by extension to the Ohio affiliate. Since the NFB of Ohio has no official posthumous awards, the Awards Committee was pleased to salute Thelia Turner for her life-long service to the blind. We presented her family with a certificate at the memorial service at the convention on Sunday morning, November 4, 2012, and read the letter from her chapter.
This concludes the report of the Awards Committee for 2012. It also concludes my service on this committee. I hope that chapter and division leaders will reflect on the activities of some of the exemplary organizations in this affiliate. My hope is that we can all improve our chapters and divisions by learning from and inspiring each other.
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Committee Appointments for 2013
Editor’s note: Each winter the president appoints committees with the advice of the board of directors. Eric Duffy is urging committee chairs to use the free conferencing phone services to pull their committees together to get started with the year’s work. Here are the committees for 2013:
Deaf-Blind Coordinator: Lisa Hall
AWARDS COMMITTEE: Paul Dressell (Chair), Shelbi Hindel, Jerry Percell, Colleen Roth, J.W. Smith, and Kathy Withman
CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE: Shelbi Hindel (Chair), Annette Anderson, and Colleen Roth
CONVENTION PLANNING AND ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE: Karen Warner (Chair), Sheri Albers, Carol Akers, Mike Anderson, Susan Day, and Richard Payne
EDUCATION COMMITTEE: Debbie Baker (Chair), Mary Ann Denning, Susanne Turner, and Carol Akers
FINANCING THE MOVEMENT COMMITTEE: Sherry Ruth (Chair), Annette Anderson (SUN Coordinator), Barb Fohl (PAC Coordinator), and Barbara Pierce (Jernigan Fund Coordinator)
FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE: Karen Whalen (Chair), Shelbi Hindel, Tim Janning, Crystal McClain, Sherry Ruth, and Brian White
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE: Barbara Pierce (Chair), Debbie Baker, Susan Day, Sheri Albers, Susanne Turner, and Brian White
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE: William Turner (Chair), Stephanie Claytor, Beth Debus, Chanell Hancock, Richard Payne, and Colleen Roth
PROMOTION AND PUBLICITY COMMITTEE: Deborah Kendrick (Chair), Susan Day, and Barbara Pierce
RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE: Deborah Kendrick (Chair), Paul Dressell, Bruce Peters, and Colleen Roth
SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE: Barbara Pierce (Chair), Aleeha Dudley, Deborah Kendrick, Bob Pierce, and J.W. Smith
WEBSITE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: Barbara Pierce (Chair), Mary Ann Denning, Macy McClain, and Deanna Louis
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Ohio Joins the BELL Choir
by Debbie Baker
Editor’s Note: Debbie Baker is an NFB of Ohio leader and a teacher of the blind with decades of experience. We are very lucky that she has agreed to be the lead teacher in our two-week program this summer to work with young students who should be getting Braille or getting more Braille during the school year. The program will take place in twenty-nine locations in twenty-one states. Even though we have not yet raised all the money to make the program happen in Ohio this summer, we are determined to make it happen. Anyone who would like to contribute to this project should write BELL in the memo line and make the contribution check payable to NFB of Ohio. Send checks to our treasurer, Sherry Ruth, 6922 Murray Ridge Rd., Elyria, OH 44035. Now read what Debbie has to say about the BELL Program:
During the weeks of July 15 and 22, 2013, the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio will sponsor the BELL (Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning) Program in partnership with the National Federation of the Blind. We will offer the program to children ages four to twelve at 470 Glenmont Avenue in Columbus, Ohio. Students will enjoy both whole-group activities and individualized learning centers during weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Students will celebrate a birthday party for Louis Braille on the first day. They will read and write Braille each day and will use it to play a scavenger game as they travel through the Glenmont school building using their canes. Another scavenger game invites them to use sounds as clues. They will play BELL Jeopardy using Braille. Competent successful blind adults will read Braille to the students and mentor them as they practice traveling with their canes, identifying coins, and playing goal ball. Students will participate in the nonvisual skills of cooking and making “Ooblek,” which strengthens their fingers. They will play Braille Twister and Get your Body into It. The latter game incorporates hula hoops to represent the dots of the Braille cell, and students hop around the cell as the game directs. Of course there will be Braille journaling every day and special sharing of students’ bell ringer moments as they rejoice over their newfound beginnings toward literacy and the freedom that Braille brings.
Please pass along this information about the BELL Program to any family you know in the Greater Columbus area with a child who would benefit from two weeks of intensive drill in Braille skills and confidence building. It’s going to be a lot of fun for everyone and great inspiration for the kids.
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If you or a friend would like to remember the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio in your will, you can do so by employing the following language:
“I give, devise, and bequeath unto the Ohio Council of the Blind dba National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, P.O. Box 82055, Columbus, Ohio 43202, an Ohio nonprofit corporation, the sum of $ (or “ percent of my net estate” or “The following stocks and bonds: ) to be used for its worthy purposes on behalf of blind persons.”
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Managing Rentals: How a Blind Guy Has Succeeded
by Tim Janning
Editor’s Note: Tim Janning is an up-and-coming leader of the NFB of the Miami Valley. One of his many virtues is that, when he agrees to do something, he carries through promptly. In a phone conversation recently he mentioned his work managing rental properties. I commented that Buckeye Bulletin readers would enjoy learning how a blind man got into such work and continues to make a success of it. Tim thought for a moment and agreed that he could write something, and within a week the following article was on my desk. This is what he says:
I first got into the rental business in the late seventies and early eighties when real estate values seemed to be going up rapidly, and I thought it would be a good place to invest. I had recently purchased a home for myself, and I thought real estate would be a good activity to pursue and something I would be interested in. At the time I never really considered how much of an impact my vision loss would have on these plans. At that time I knew very little about managing rental property and caring for it, but I knew that, if there was something to learn, I would be ready. Necessity was really the great motivator for me to learn. I realized that the more I could do on my own, the better off I would be. Perhaps that is the same philosophy I have applied to dealing with my vision loss. I have always just determined what I needed to do and then figured out how to do it. Sometimes a little creative thinking is needed to solve problems, which is something I have no trouble with. In property management and dealing with a variety of people from greatly different backgrounds, my educational background has helped me out a lot. I have a master’s in business administration and an undergraduate degree in rehabilitation education. I have also worked at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in a financial position.
One motivating factor in my interest in real estate was my underlying concern about the way people view people with visual impairments. I had already experienced people’s misconceptions about blindness while I was working at Wright Patterson and during my education. I knew that, if I were to succeed in real estate, it would be strictly up to me, and no one would be in my way to hold me back. Once I was involved in the rental business, I realized I had a lot more to learn, especially about understanding people with different social and economic experience--something that really cannot be taught in the classroom. My education did give me a good foundation for managing real estate. I just had to fine tune it to the specific situation.
I have always had a knack for solving mechanical problems, so I was able to acquire the skills to handle maintenance problems. Going in, I had absolutely no skills in maintaining rental property, but I quickly learned plumbing, wiring, construction, and other skills. The more I learned, the more I actually began to enjoy doing some of the maintenance and renovation. As a matter of fact, I learned so much about property maintenance that several years later I began buying distressed properties and in some cases doing a total renovation. Some of the properties I acquired were in designated historic neighborhoods in the Dayton area with specific guidelines for renovating them.
Looking back, I do not think that my vision loss had much of an impact on my activities in the rental business; my biggest problem was transportation. Usually I was able to work out transportation issues with little difficulty. Many people are willing to make a little money running errands for me or giving me a ride or picking up material. Few renters or people who have done work for me concern themselves much with my vision problems; I am sure they were aware of it, but they said little. Occasionally someone would ask a question about my vision or wonder out loud how I was able to do certain things, especially when I did a job without seeming to look at it. Other times renters offered me a ride if they saw me out walking around. I have developed some very good friendships with several of the people I have rented to or who have worked for me. Over my years in the rental business, when I have been around someone doing work for me, I have been amazed at how much people depend on vision only and ignore information from their other senses.
I sometimes find things that need attention that others may have overlooked. I try to let people know how much they can discover by using their other senses rather than just vision. I have lost nearly all my vision now and rely on touch and my other senses. I have been in this business for over thirty years, and, even though my vision has dramatically declined over the years, I still maintain a very active role in managing and caring for my properties because I want to be involved and always know what is going on with my rental properties.
I have had to change the way I do many things because of my ongoing vision loss. I now have no usable vision and need to rely on alternative means to accomplish things. A number of years ago I could read normal print, then needed large print, followed by screen and video magnifiers. Now I use text-to-speech software. When I was in grade school, I had some training in Braille but was never encouraged to use it. At the time I was not very interested in using Braille since I had fairly good reading vision. I now realize how important it is to learn Braille and use it if one wants to be literate. I am trying to learn Braille, but I have to admit that it is going slowly, and I am always tempted to use some other method. The assistive technology available today is wonderful, but I believe it should be used in conjunction with Braille.
Today I take care of property management: tracking various expenditures, tracking and implementing maintenance issues, and being aware of situations with renters or employees. I really enjoy doing these things. When it comes to repair or renovation work, I think of myself as a manager of the work being done. I am familiar with such activities and can explain or assist someone working for me who may be doing something unfamiliar.
Over the years I have found the rental business to be very rewarding and interesting as well as challenging. Problems are always going to come up that one would rather not have to deal with. The challenge is to discover ways to deal with any situation: financial, maintenance, or personnel or customer issue.
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Bob Eschbach Dies
by Barbara Pierce
When out of the blue I played a voicemail message from Pat Eschbach asking me to call her, my heart leapt into my mouth. It was Tuesday, January 22, and, even though she sounded calm, I knew it had to be bad news about Bob. Sure enough, I learned later that day that a week earlier he had been diagnosed with cancer throughout his body. By a miracle he was not in much pain. Plans to return to Ohio in the immediate future were put on hold. Daughter Mary and son Fred gathered, and, quietly and without fuss in the early hours of that Tuesday morning, Bob slipped away to be with his Lord and, I am sure, to sing and dance as his joyful spirit had been longing to do again.
Bob was friend and mentor to all of us who found our way to the Federation in the seventies and eighties. He was the guiding force and moral compass for the affiliate, and he and his devoted wife Pat whipped this affiliate into an organization worthy of his conception of what we in the NFB could be and what we should do for the blind citizens of Ohio.
Eric Duffy fondly recounts his first contact with Bob. Eric needed a letter of recommendation for an NFB scholarship. Bob invited him to a chapter meeting, and, master politician that he is, Eric recognized that he would make a better impression if he demonstrated interest in this organization with money to give away. Eric did not get any of that money in 1984, but he did get well and truly bitten by the Federation bug, and that changed his life. He received a scholarship three years later, but by that time he had realized that the friendship of the Eschbachs and the philosophy of the NFB were far more valuable gifts than the cash that would be spent immediately.
Tom Anderson, Paul Dressell, Helen Johnson, Ray Creech, and dozens more NFB of Ohio leaders depended on his wise counsel and rolled up their sleeves whenever he decided that things needed to be done in Ohio. When Bob and Pat left the state for Pennsylvania in the mid nineties, I must admit that I felt a bit exposed without his wise counsel. But whenever Bob and Pat were in the state, they attended board meetings and were as involved as they could be in chapter activities. Here is the tribute to Bob I wrote for the March issue of the Braille Monitor; it attempts to express my love and respect for my oldest Federation friend:
Bob was a musician, social worker, ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, blindness agency administrator in two states, NFB affiliate president, member of the NFB board of directors, president at one time or another of both the National Association of Guide Dog Users and the Deaf-Blind Division. Wherever he went, Bob was a voice for calm reason and Christian love. Bob’s parents were missionaries in the Philippines when he was born. Because of his blindness and hearing loss, he was sent home to Ohio to attend the Ohio State School for the Blind. After graduating from Otterbein College, he earned a master’s of social work and then a degree leading to ordination to the ministry. He worked in community mental health and pastored five churches in Ohio before going into work with the blind. During these years he discovered the National Federation of the Blind and quickly rose to the presidency of a then troubled affiliate. Under his leadership the NFB of Ohio became a strong and committed part of the NFB.
In 1974 Dr. Jernigan called Bob to tell him that an energetic young woman in Oberlin had written to him with plans to organize an NFB chapter in Lorain County, Ohio. Bob called me and offered both friendship and wise advice about writing a constitution. He asked to come visit, arriving in time for dinner. After a meal that he continued to rave about throughout our long friendship, we discussed Federation philosophy and the Ohio affiliate. By the time he left the next morning, I was committed to his vision of the work to be done in the state to improve the lives of blind Ohioans, and I was eager to get started as a member of his team.
Bob served as president of the NFB of Ohio from 1973 to 1984, when he became assistant director of the Ohio Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired. During the late seventies and eighties he was also a member of the NFB board of directors. In recent years Bob and his wife Pat lived in Arizona, where he generously made his years of experience available to the Arizona affiliate. The Eschbachs were planning to return to the Otterbein Retirement Community in Ohio early this year. A week before his death, doctors discovered cancer throughout his body. He died quietly at home with his family around him. Bob is survived by his wife Pat, his children Mary and Fred, and Mary’s two sons Jason and Ian. Also surviving him are a legion of his friends and admirers, who will miss his wisdom and humor.
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Parents: Part of the Solution for Our Blind Children or Part of the Problem?
by Carol Akers
Editor’s note: Carol Akers shares the presidency of the Parents of Blind Children Division with Cindy Conley.
Everyone has parents, but the similarities fade here because not all parents have the same expectations for their kids. This is true for differently abled kids and typical kids as well. The first and most important influence on any child is parents and those parents’ attitudes, nurturing, and involvement. But what about parents who have kids who are different: how do they know what is appropriate and necessary for their children? How do they know what is too much involvement in their child’s life or not enough involvement? That is where outside influences, resources, and networks of other parents and educators play an important role in the solution. None of us can know it all or do it all. We have to rely on others to help us--others who have traveled this path before us and paved the way. That is where the Parents of Blind Children and the National Federation of the Blind can be a priceless help.
For blind people and parents who have blind or visually impaired children, these organizations of blind people are a wealth of resources for information, knowledge, guidance, mentors, positive examples, and peers. If only we could require that hospitals, physicians, and other entities with early exposure to families of blind children give them a how-to handbook as a resource guide for the road ahead, it would save many headaches for parents. It is very important for new parents of blind children to be able to seek out positive role models to know what is possible in the future of their own children. This can enable them to imagine the future and the possibilities for independence and equality among their sighted peers.
Parents have so much to explore, so much to learn. The possibilities are vast with the right influences. If you develop a relationship with an organization such as these, the future is bright, the friendships are many, and your children can blossom into wonderful young adults and later into successful adults.
Today’s blind children have more choices than in the past, when there were few opportunities beyond the jobs of broom-making or piano-tuning. These may have been fine jobs for their time, a source of income and pride for the workers, from the 1860s to the 1950s. But with the technological advances and with proper training, mobility and literacy skills today, blind children have few limits to what they can achieve. However, these achievements are possible only if parents have the knowledge, support, and resources to make it happen. This is another reason to tap into the NFB and POBC organizations.
Learn more by going to the website < <http://www.nfb.org/> www.nfb.org> and clicking the label “resources.” This will give you information on Resources for Living, Working, Learning, and Recreation. You can find profiles of blind people doing all types of jobs and other activities and information about how blind students learn things such as engineering and science. No one has to settle for less. Shoot for the moon. There is also an area labeled “Information about Vision Loss For.…” This includes parents and teachers, students, and those losing vision. These links will connect you with the POBC site and many other great resources to share with family, friends, and teachers. Let’s learn together and change what it means to be blind for our children. Remember, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. We want to be problem-solving parents.
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How We Grew from 20 to 120
For White Cane Safety Day
by Deborah Kendrick
Editor’s note: October is Meet the Blind Month, and October 15 is White Cane Safety Day across the country. The NFB of Cincinnati has developed a great way of celebrating both events, and the party gets bigger and better every year. Here is Deborah Kendrick’s description of the 2012 event:
“You see us on the streets, carrying long white canes, coming and going where any person with sight might come or go. You see us in offices and shopping malls, amusement parks and hospitals, on college campuses and soccer fields. You see the white canes we carry and dog guides at our sides, and maybe you wonder `How does that work?’"
Thus began the press release widely distributed to the media this past September in Cincinnati, announcing the October 15 White Cane Safety Day walk from City Hall to Fountain Square. The NFB of Cincinnati has commemorated October 15 in this way for the past five years, but this year the event took a major leap forward, due in large part to a wonderful collaboration of the Cincinnati NFB chapter with the two blindness service agencies in our city, the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
John Mitchell, executive director of CABVI, has joined us for the walk in past years and expressed tremendous enthusiasm for becoming more involved. At his invitation collaborating agency Clovernook Center joined the planning committee as well. Thus a committee including key staff from CABVI and Clovernook; Sheri Albers, president of the NFB of Cincinnati; and Deborah Kendrick, who serves on both the NFB of Ohio and CABVI boards and who initiated the first downtown white cane walk in 2006, began plans for White Cane Safety Day 2012 in early September.
As planning began, it was important to get what could be perceived as a cultural or perceptual difference onto the table. We explained that this event needed to be orchestrated by the blind rather than for the blind, and, while agencies in some cities might not have been so receptive, our position was immediately understood and embraced by all.
After a month of hard work by everyone, the results were heartwarming indeed. On a bright and chilly October 15, 120 walkers gathered at Cincinnati's city hall for a walk celebrating independence. Four of our nine city council members joined us, including Councilmember Cecil Thomas, whose impassioned solidarity in past years has become legendary (when he wrapped his necktie around his eyes and learned to use a white cane).
Many among us carried the paddle signs designed for the occasion reading “White Cane Safety Day Promoting Safety, Independence, and Equality for People who are Blind” and proudly displaying the NFB Whozit along with the logos of CABVI and Clovernook. Large easy-to-read buttons declaring October 15 to be White Cane Safety Day were distributed to all walkers. And, of course, many in attendance wore the NFB 2012 Meet the Blind Month T-shirts in a variety of colors.
NFB chapter President Sheri Albers welcomed the 120 walkers and introduced Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls. Vice Mayor Qualls then read the proclamation from the Mayor's office, denoting October 15 as White Cane Safety Day in Cincinnati and October as Meet the Blind Month. Energy was high and white canes were everywhere as the animated crowd proceeded from city hall to Fountain Square. On the Square we conducted a brief ceremony. Again Sheri Albers welcomed the crowd. Deborah Kendrick read the proclamation from a Braille copy, and John Mitchell and Robin Usalis, the executive directors from the collaborating agencies, made brief remarks.
Refreshments and information were distributed, and many references to “when we do it again next year” could be heard throughout scattered conversations. It is worth pointing out that this event would not have been so large or successful without the full support and collaboration from the two local blindness agencies. Paddle signs and buttons were designed by a the entire committee and funded by CABVI, and refreshments were arranged by Clovernook. The press release was written by NFB and distributed by CABVI. NFB members secured the mayoral proclamation and extended personal invitations to local politicians. Both service agencies provided transportation for their many blind employees, and both deemed the event sufficiently significant that all employees, blind and sighted, were paid for their time while attending.
By all accounts, White Cane Safety Day 2012 was a huge success in Cincinnati. Spirits were high, enthusiasm contagious, and evidence clearly indicative of the power of working together.
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Change Our Lives—Why I Go to National Convention
by Chris Kuell
Editor’s note: This is the time of year to make plans to attend the NFB national convention if at all possible. It will be in Orlando, Florida, this year in the beautiful Rosen Centre Hotel. The dates are July 1 through 6. With the affiliate unable to provide convention assistance at all, our Ohio numbers will be small, but, if it is at all possible for you to attend, you should plan to do so. It is very difficult to explain to someone who has never attended a national NFB convention just what a life-changing impact it can have on the life of a blind person or the family of a blind child. You will find information about convention and hotel registration on the NFB website, < <http://www.nfb.org/> www.nfb.org>. The following article, which appears in the April 2013 Braille Monitor, will give you some idea of how important the convention can be to someone who has never been to one. Here is the Monitor headnote followed by the article:
This example of how attending the NFB national convention has changed the lives of many of us is reprinted from the Fall/Winter 2012 issue of the Federationist in Connecticut, a publication of the National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut which is edited by Chris Kuell. He is the president of the Danbury chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut.
Most of us who faithfully attend NFB annual conventions have stories about the impact our first convention had on us. This is what Chris says about attending his first national convention:
In the summer of 1998 my wife and I entrusted the care of our kids to my brother and his wife, said a few prayers, and headed to Dallas for our first NFB national convention. My gut was full of anxiety, both because it was our first time leaving the kids for more than a few hours and because of the unknown that the convention was to me then. I really had no idea what to expect, except that a blind friend named Betty Woodward had encouraged us to go. She told us it would change our lives. Since my entire life had been overturned in the previous year after I lost my vision, I figured any further change could only be positive.
We caught a shuttle van from the airport to the hotel. A guy on the seat next to me asked if I was going to the NFB convention, and I said, yes, how about him? He told me he was going to his fifth convention. His name was Ed, and he was from Detroit. I asked whom he was traveling with and got my first shock of the week. "Nobody," he said.
"Nobody?” I asked, trying to wrap my head around this concept. I had received a white cane from our state agency for the blind and even knew my way to my kids’ school and the local Rite-Aid, but the concept of traveling to another state alone was beyond my comprehension. How could you find the door? How could you find the front desk to check in--or your room, for that matter? My brain nearly burst with questions.
I held my wife's elbow tightly as we checked in at the front desk, surrounded by blind people. Several asked my wife for directions, which she gave. We had to walk down a long hallway to another building to get to our room. As we walked, I heard little feet and kids laughing as they sprinted by. "You won't believe it," my wife said. "That was three blind kids, racing with their canes down the corridor." Blind kids, running? Once again my mind was filled with one question: how?
We spent the afternoon listening to talks. I popped into a meeting of blind diabetics and another full of blind scientists and engineers. Before dinner we went to the pool for a swim. There I met Dan, a blind computer teacher who answered some of my many questions about JAWS. We spoke with two women who had driven down from upstate New York with a van full of kids. I talked with a blind single mom who was raising a daughter the same age as my son. She worked as an accountant at a company in Virginia.
My wife wanted to clean up before dinner, and she turned the TV on for me before showering. I listened as a man with a strong voice and a slight Tennessee drawl spoke about a blind man who was sitting at home waiting for someone to help him. He said the guy called and called his state agency for the blind, but they rarely called him back, and, when they did, they rarely did anything for him. They reminded him of all the things he couldn't do. The man felt worthless, he felt afraid, and he lost all hope for the future. As I listened, tears began to stream down my cheeks. The man on the television said he was talking about a guy named Bill, but I didn't think that was the case. He was talking about me.
After dinner we went to the bar, where I learned another truth—blind people like to drink. I talked with a guy named Mike from Canada and a man named Felix from San Diego, who had lost his sight, had it restored through surgery, and then lost it again. I heard stories of frustration, stories of adventures, and stories that made me laugh so hard my belly hurt. I felt more relaxed than I had since the day the doctor had removed the bandages from my eyes and I couldn't see anything.
After a week we left Dallas, and both my wife and I had changed. She didn't want me clutching her elbow anymore, and she wanted me to try doing more things by myself. Rather than my questioning how other blind people did things, I thought to myself—if they can do it, I can do it as well.
In 1999 we brought the kids with us to the convention in Atlanta, and in 2000 I attended the national convention by myself. I've been to conventions in Philadelphia, Louisville, and back to Atlanta again. With each convention I meet new people, make more friends, and come home reenergized to make a difference in the world.
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Buckeye Briefs
The NFB has just launched a new program that should allow every affiliate to make a difference in funding our work. It is a vehicle donation program which will allow us to accept car donations anywhere in the United States. We have been turning car donations away because we have not had an effective program for managing them and turning them into cash for the organization. We have now solved this problem, and we need everyone’s help to take advantage of this opportunity.
After extensive research the Federation has made an agreement with Vehicles for Charity to process car donations. Besides cars, we also accept vans, RVs, motorcycles, dirt bikes, boats, trucks, and tractors. However, it is up to us to capture the donors by promoting the fact that we can accept vehicle donations and finding creative ways to get the word out. To begin, Joanne Wilson is asking each of us to take some immediate steps to help with this effort:
Remind your chapter and division members that the NFB is now accepting vehicle donations. Encourage them to send all referrals to the page on our website <www.nfb.org/vehicledonations> or to our toll-free vehicle donation number (855) 659-9314. The national office will soon develop standard text for the front page of our website, and we will put it up immediately.
Is anyone looking for a new opportunity to contribute to the Federation by being in charge of this program? We need Federationists who can find creative ways to get the word out and who will uncover opportunities to promote the program in Ohio. If you are interested in helping or need more information about the program, contact Eric Duffy.
The deadline for submitting applications for the 2013NFB of Ohio scholarship program is May 1. This year we have three scholarships: the Jennica Ferguson Scholarship for $1,500 and two NFB of Ohio scholarships for $1,000. For one of these smaller awards, applicants from Clark or Logan County will be given preference. For your convenience the text of the entire 2013 scholarship form appears at the end of this newsletter. It is easy to copy the text to another file in order to send it to interested students. We urge everyone to circulate the form as widely as possible.
The NFB Scrip Ohio fundraising program continues to be an easy way to donate to the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio without having to sell anything or take money out of your pocket. When you purchase gift cards for your favorite merchants and restaurants from <www.shopwithscrip.com> we will receive a percentage of your purchase. To sign up, visit the website shown above and use enrollment code 444D4FLD314L4.
Carol Akers and Cindy Conley, presidents of Parents of Blind Children of Ohio, write as follows:
Parents of Blind Children of Ohio Gift card Give away: $1 per ticket or six for $5. Many of you are familiar with the annual Parents of Blind Children spring fundraiser. For many years, even before my becoming a member twenty-eight years ago, the division held its annual fundraiser in the form of a gourmet food basket drawing. It has been a wonderful source of funds to support the activities of our children throughout the years. The amount of food collected has on average filled five laundry baskets to the brim, resulting in five winners! Our faithful Ohio chapter and division members have helped to fill the baskets with donated items and have helped to sell the tickets each year, thus ensuring our success.
This year, as you know, we are having fewer face-to-face board meetings, creating a challenge for the Parents Division to continue with this annual fundraiser. But, as with every problem, we must find a solution and a back- up. So we came up with a wonderful plan.
1. The cost of shipping baskets would be outrageous, providing we were even able to receive items to fill the baskets with no in-person board meeting.
2. We wanted to help fund the BELL Program this summer.
So here is our solution: the Parents of Blind Children of Ohio Annual Fundraiser will benefit the BELL program 2013 We will draw for multiple prizes. We have a $100 grocery gift card, a $25 grocery gift card, a Bath and Body gift card, and a pool of restaurant cards such as Subway, Bob Evans, Pizza Hut, and more.
Please don’t drop out of supporting this great fundraiser just because we will not be meeting in person. You can still supply items for the drawing in lieu of the food items you would have donated. You can do your part to support POBC and BELL:
1. Buy tickets from your local president, or contact Mark McClain to order tickets—(937) 935-6189.
2. If you don’t want to buy tickets but want to support the program, send a contribution.
3. Send contributions to add to the pot of prizes.
4. Order gift cards through our Scrip program to use as a donated food item for the drawing.
You see, there are many ways we can create a solution for the problem of not gathering together for a face-to-face spring board meeting to hold our fundraiser. We are counting on you to remain supportive of our fundraising efforts to give back to the NFB by helping sponsor the BELL program. And you have a chance to win a great prize in return.
Thank you for your continued support, and remember, our children are the future of our organization.
To celebrate Meet the Blind Month, October 13, 2012, the Miami Valley chapter had a Barnes and Noble bookfair during the Saturday morning story time. They had Braille alphabet cards and other NFB literature at the table in the children’s department. When story time started, a member read The Little Engine That Could in Braille and a short Halloween Braille storybook. The children enjoyed this presentation; they followed this activity with a project coloring a picture of guide dog puppies. Braille children’s books were available for the children to examine by touch.
As of November 1, 2012, these are the officers of the NFB of Lake County: president, Sue Driscoll; secretary, Barb Fohl; and treasurer, Joel Sarich.
At its November meeting the Capital Chapter elected the following officers: president, Shelbi Hindel; vice president, Jim Debus; secretary, Carol Akers; and board member, Angela Clark. In January we held a belated birthday party for Louis Braille at the Ohio State School for the Blind. This was an event enjoyed by all. We plan to continue celebrating Louis Braille’s birthday for many years to come.
The American Library Association celebrated Read Across America this year on March 1, the birthday of Dr. Seuss. NFB chapters were urged to create opportunities to take part in the celebration using Braille in schools and public places. A couple of our chapters did exactly this.
Cheryl Fields reports that the NFB of Cleveland celebrated the birthday of Dr. Seuss on March 1, 2013, at the Cleveland Sight Center. As the auditorium door swept open and our guests breezed in, Cleveland chapter members welcomed children, grandchildren, and friends with hot chocolate and cookies. We sat in a circle to read the classic, The Cat in the Hat. Chenelle Hancock opened the book and began reading: “The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play." We all took turns reading one page of the story, which turned out to be fun. We soon realized that most of us struggled with reading contracted Braille. Joann Williams, an experienced Braille reader, and Thelia Turner’s grandson Jerret helped us to read the story to the children. As we finished the whimsical tale, you could hear applause and laughter. We stayed after for more cocoa and cookies and a discussion of the importance of Braille literacy. We are looking forward to next year’s celebration. Wow, what a teachable moment for the Cleveland chapter.
Susan Day and Debbie Baker of the Springfield chapter visited Kenwood Elementary School on March 1 and read books to seven kindergarten and first- and second-grade classes. They passed out Braille alphabet cards and answered questions about blindness, Braille, and guide dogs.
On March 1 Kathy Withman of the Miami Valley chapter went to Monticello Elementary School, where she taught first and second grade for almost eighteen years. She visited two groups of second graders in celebration of Read Across America to educate the children about Braille and its importance for blind people.
When she and Linda Pelfrey got to the classroom, Kathy talked about the beginnings of Braille and the night writing code of the French Napoleonic soldiers that was its basis. She explained how Louis Braille improved and enriched this code so that he and other blind children would have more books to read. They also demonstrated the slate and stylus. Linda read the book, The Little Engine That Could, so the kids heard just how a great Braille reader should sound. While they answered questions about our guide dogs and other things, we passed around preschool Braille books so the students could see and touch the raised dots. We also gave them Braille bookmarks and Braille alphabet cards. We gave the teachers a Kernel Book for their classroom or school library and a set of Braille puzzle riddles and group activities about blindness and some art activities to use with the children.
On Sunday, March 17, 2013, the Cleveland Chapter began in full swing its goal of visiting area churches. Members of the NFB of Cleveland are spreading the mission of the National Federation of the Blind in churches throughout northeast Ohio. They started by visiting East Mt. Zion Baptist Church, a historical site in the heart of Cleveland. East Mt. Zion is one of the oldest African American religious institutions and has partnered with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation to provide support, comfort, and a platform for those in grief and distress or for others in need of serenity and affirmation. The church has been in existence for over a hundred years and remains one of the pillars of the community.
Ten NFB members and three volunteers were at the service we attended. They had a significant presence in the service. They told the story of what it means to be blind by articulating the philosophy of the NFB, explaining the three issues we took to Capitol Hill during the Washington Seminar, and extending an invitation to become an NFB member or volunteer. Pastor Bowie centered his message on the chapter’s significant contribution within his congregation and beyond. Three Federationists attend and serve in East Mt. Zion in various capacities. He spoke of how during the Bible days people with handicaps were seen as beggars and as a nuisance. He went on to say, “With training, education, and awareness blind people make a difference in spite of their circumstances.” The church members were so impressed with the mission and overall purpose of the NFB that they donated $500 to the cause.
The Miami Valley chapter held a Jazz Explosion in December 2012. We sponsored a great jazz concert at the Jazz Central Club in Dayton. Chapter member Ken Baccus is an accomplished jazz keyboard artist. He performs at this club most Sunday evenings with his band, which includes a saxophone, two trumpets, percussion, and singer. The music was terrific, and the club was packed. Pizzas were donated by the Pizza Factory, and our sponsor, Mr. Heck, provided fried chicken for all.
Many members of the Capital Chapter joined our members at the event. Dr. Smith sang “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Georgia.” He sounded great. Wanda Sloan sang “The Sunny Side of the Street” and “Summertime.” She did a great job. Ken’s young daughter also sang, showing off her wonderful voice. This event was fun, and everyone who took part enjoyed the evening. We plan to do a follow-up event this year, perhaps a Gospel Explosion.
In January the NFB of Miami Valley received a Braille Literacy Week Proclamation, and the NFB of Lorain County received two. The 2013 officers of the NFB of the Miami Valley are president, Richard Payne; vice president, Tim Janning; secretary, Kathy Withman; treasurer, Gus White; and board member, Gloria Robinson.
Sue Driscoll, who replaced Ann Marble as president of the NFB of Lake County when Ann was forced to leave the leadership because of illness, has provided the following report: 2013 will be an exciting year for the NFB of Lake County. Calendars were distributed at the January planning meeting with the dates of all twelve meetings marked. Our annual Beat-the-Winter-Blues party was held in February, complete with crafts, games, prizes, music, and tons of good food. Spring will bring a doll program put on by one of our sighted members and a visit from an Ohio certified volunteer naturalist, who will engage us with the scents and sounds of spring. July will find us at a nearby park for our yearly summer cookout. We will continue our fundraising efforts and reserve tables at health fairs throughout the year. The year always ends with a great lunch at a local spot to celebrate the holidays. Our meetings are held at 10:00 a.m. at the Mentor Library--just down the street from the James A. Garfield National Historic Site--on the first Monday of every month.
Colleen Roth says that the At-Large Chapter will begin meeting by telephone the first Sunday of every month at 7:30 p.m. The first meeting will be April 7, 2013. Everyone is welcome, especially those who do not have a local chapter nearby. Those who have three-way calling may be able to help someone who has difficulty getting on the call. We hope this will be an exciting way for people in the chapter to get together and keep abreast of activities in the affiliate. The number to call, shortly before 7:30, is (605) 475-6767. The access code is 583-9230, followed by the pound sign.
Ohio is now selling chances for a drawing of an iPad, which is of course accessible as soon as VoiceOver is turned on. All chapter and division presidents and members of the state board of directors have tickets to pass out and sell. They are $5 each. We are counting on everyone to sell and buy tickets. The drawing will take place at noon on July 6 at the national convention.
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Calendar of Events
March 31, National Federation of the Blind scholarship deadline
April 20, NFB-O telephone board meeting
May 1, NFB of Ohio scholarship application deadline
May 15-22, White Cane Recognition Week
May 20-23, Business Leadership and Superior Training, Indianapolis
May 31, Deadline for convention preregistration
July 1-6, National Federation of the Blind annual convention, Orlando
July 15-27, Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning, Columbus
October, Meet the Blind Month
October 15, White Cane Safety Day
November 1, beginning of the Braille Readers Are Leaders contest
November 1-3, National Federation of the Blind of Ohio annual convention, Wyndham Garden Dayton South Hotel in Miamisburg
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OH_TOP_K
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF OHIO
2013 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
In 2013 at its convention, November 1 to 3, at the Wyndham Garden Dayton South Hotel, the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio will present three scholarships: the Jennica Ferguson Memorial Scholarship of $1,500 and two $1,000 NFB of Ohio scholarships to recognize achievement by a blind post-secondary scholar. All applicants for these awards must be (1) legally blind and (2) pursuing or planning to pursue a full‑time post-secondary course of study during the 2013-2014 academic year.
Criteria: The scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence, service to the community, and financial need.
Membership: The National Federation of the Blind of Ohio is an organization dedicated to creating opportunity for all blind people. Recipients of Federation scholarships need not be members of the National Federation of the Blind.
Making Application: To apply for the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio scholarships, complete and return the application accompanying this page to be received by May 1, 2013. Please provide all the applicable information requested in this application, and attach to your application all the additional documents requested and arrange to have recommendation letters sent directly.
Winners: The Scholarship Committee reviews all applications and selects the scholarship winners, who will be notified of selection by July 1 and will be brought to the state convention November 1 to 3 at Federation expense. This trip is in addition to the scholarship grant.
The National Federation of the Blind of Ohio convention will be the largest gathering of blind people to occur anywhere in the state this year. You will meet other blind students and exchange information and ideas. You will also meet and talk with blind people who are successfully working in their chosen professions or occupations. State officials, legislators, and the makers and distributors of new technology attend Federation conventions. Above all, a broad cross section of the most active segment of the blind population of Ohio will be present to discuss common problems and plan concerted action. It will be an interesting and exciting weekend.
The Awards: The winners must participate throughout the convention in order to receive their awards at the banquet on Saturday evening, November 2.
The Jennica Ferguson Memorial Scholarship is presented in memory of an extraordinary young woman who died at eighteen and embodied the best the Federation has to offer the world. Applicants from Clark and Logan Counties will be given preference for one of the NFB-O scholarships.
Attach the following documents to your completed application:
1. Send us a letter: we want to get to know you. What information on your application needs or deserves further explanation? How have you dealt with your blindness? What are your hopes and dreams?
2. Have two letters of recommendation sent directly to us.
3. Provide transcripts through December 2012 from the institution now being attended and from all other post-secondary institutions attended. If you have not yet attended a post-secondary institution or are not about to complete at least one term of study, send your high school transcript.
4. Have sent a letter from a state officer or chapter president of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio showing that you have discussed your scholarship application with that officer. The state president, Eric Duffy (614) 935-6965, will provide contact information for a state officer or chapter president upon request.
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF OHIO SCHOLARSHIPS APPLICATION FORM
Read cover sheet for instructions and explanation. This form may be photocopied, but only if the cover sheet is also copied.
To apply for a scholarship, complete this application form and mail completed application and attachments to Barbara Pierce, chair, National Federation of the Blind of Ohio Scholarship Committee, 237 Oak Street, Oberlin, OH 44074; phone, 440-774-8077, email, <bpierce at oberlin.net>. Applications must be received by May 1, 2013.
Name (please include any student or other names by which you have been known):
Date of birth:
Spring '13 school address:
Personal phone number while at school:
Home (summer) address:
Home phone number:
Cell phone number: ___________________ Email address:
Institution being attended in spring semester, 2013, with class standing (freshman, senior, etc.):
Cumulative grade point at this institution:
Institution to be attended in fall of 2013, with class standing:
List all post-secondary institutions attended with highest class standing attained and cumulative grade point averages:
High school attended and cumulative grade point:
Vocational goal:
State your major or proposed major:
Awards and honors (attach list if necessary):
Community service (attach list if necessary):
Name of state officer or chapter president who has interviewed you and promised to send a letter:
How did you learn about this scholarship program?
(See cover sheet for list of required attachments.)
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