[Ohio-talk] Buckeye Update

[Eric Duffy]

National Federation of the Blind Of Ohio
Friday, August 15, 2014

Third place goes to the dogs. Well I guess I should say to the Dog Users. You might, of course know, that I am referring to the fact that the Ohio Association of Guide Dog Users is the third organization to turn in its membership list. I would have put money on Loraine County coming in third after talking with the president yesterday, but that just goes to show you that you never know what's going to happen in this outfit.

On Tuesday afternoon, Deborah Kendrick was a panelist at the state-wide meeting for BSVI Counselors. The topic was Braille. BSVI asked for a presentation, because Deborah and I have been talking about how important it is that BSVI clients have the opportunity to learn Braille should they choose to do so. We believe that it should be a given that Braille will be a part of the training provided by the agency unless the consumer opts out. Braille is a skill that counselors should encourage consumers to master to whatever degree is possible. For some individuals we might be talking about no more than functional literacy. Others might become highly literate and proficient in Braille. This is a song we're going to have to keep playing until it gets stuck in the heads of BSVI staff. Deborah represented us well, and I thank her for that.

I then talked about why counselors should attend the conventions of consumer organizations. The fact that we had to present these topics at all tells me that we have a long way to go in our efforts to educate the Vocational Rehabilitation Agency and the Public as a whole. What other group has to keep waving the literacy banner? Counselors understand the need to participate in meetings of Trade organizations. Why must we offer carrots, candy, and apples to motivate them to get involved with organizations of the blind?

I remind you to get your newsletter articles and other information to Barbara Pierce as soon as you possibly can. Today is the deadline for submitting this information, but the window of opportunity will be opened for a while longer. We are working on the convention issue, so it will be out in early September if not before.

We made $515 from our ticket sales for the cash drawing. remember that Susan Day was the winner of the $500 prize. We are a little more than a month away from our Board of Directors meeting in Columbus on September 20. The meeting will be at our convention hotel which is the Holiday Inn, Worthington 7007 North High Street. You are invited to attend and participate in the meeting.

I hope all chapters and divisions are hard at work on their annual reports, and that this year's Gavel Award competition is going to be a spirited one. Get those reports in to JW.

We must gather high quality auction items for the Not-So-Silent Auction that will take place on the Friday evening of convention. Let me know what you are contributing, and I will be glad to include it in a future update. I certainly hope to have some good reports by the time of the fall board meeting.

I remind all chapter presidents that on Monday evening at 8:00 PM., we will have a conference call for those who are interested in at least exploring the possibility of bringing a BELL Program to your area of the state next summer.Remember this is an exploration discussion only at this point. Please use our usual conference call line. (605) 475-4875. Access code 201909 followed by the pound sign.

I will write again next week. As I said a few paragraphs ago, there is still much to be done in order to teach others what we already know in the National Federation of the Blind. The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.