[Ohio-talk] Buckeye Update

[Eric Duffy]

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio Buckeye Update
September 11, 2014
	Thirteen years ago  the world as we knew it changed forever. We all know what happened on 9/11/2001. Even those who were not yet born and who are now old enough to comprehend such things know what happened. I cannot say understand what happened, because none of us really understand it. But as I said the world as we knew it changed that day.
	We in the National Federation of the Blind are changing the world too. But we are changing it for the better. I spent last weekend at the Jernigan Institute with twenty-eight high school students. Six of these students will be helping with the STEM2U program at COSI Columbus, in May of 2015. One of these students, of course, is Lillie Pennington. I enjoyed seeing Lillie's leadership skills in action last weekend.
	When I see the competence and confidence of these kids, I know that the future of our organization is in good hands. I know that we are changing what it means to be blind, and I know we really do help blind people live the lives they want.
	The newsletter is wrapped up and should be in your inbox shortly. It is another good one. It could be better, however. I know chapters and divisions are doing good things, but we got little in the way of reports this time. 
	I am about to begin my second day of meetings for the audio advisory committee for the National Library Service. President Riccobono appointed me to represent the Federation on this committee, and I appreciate the opportunity to serve. I will give a report on our work  at the board meeting.
	The board of directors meeting will be held at the Holiday Imm, Worthington 7007 North high Street. We will start at 10:00 AM. I know that Kaiti Shelton will be there, but she is the only one I have heard from who is not on the board. So without a doubt, Kaiti will have a lunch and a chair for the meeting. Others who plan to attend, but who are not on the Board will not be so lucky unless I hear from you by 11:00 AM., On Wednesday September 17. The cost of the lunch is $13.
	I am proposing that we have a leadership breakfast for chapter and division presidents and treasurers on Sunday morning of the convention. The cost for the breakfast is $13. If you are a president or  treasurer and plan to attend please bring your payment to the board meeting. You will have other opportunities to pay, but this is an easy way to do it.
The final push is on to get the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) treaty ratified by the United States Senate. Here is why it is so important that this treaty be ratified:
	•	A broad coalition of over 850 U.S. disability rights, civil rights, faith, business, and veteran organizations support ratification of the CRPD. In addition to the National Federation of the Blind, these organizations include: American Association of People with Disabilities, Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Coalition for Mental Health, Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Center, Higher Education Consortium for Special Education, Lutheran Services in America Disability Network, The Jewish Federations of North America, Muslim Public Affairs Council, NASCAR, AT&T, IBM, National Association of Blind Veterans, and Disabled American Veterans.
	•	This treaty will extend the values of the Americans with Disabilities Act worldwide, and improve access for Americans with disabilities, including veterans, who live, work, or travel abroad. 
	•	Ratification of the CRPD will not result in any international authority over U.S. law. The U.S. is currently party to over ten thousand treaties and international agreements, through which the U.S. has strengthened its position as a global leader, not weakened it. 
	•	The CRPD protects parental rights and highlights the important role of parents in raising children with disabilities. The treaty requires that "in no case shall a child be separated from parents on the basis of a disability of either the child or one or both of the parents."
	•	Two proposed reservations to the CRPD provide additional protection to parental authorities, ensuring that state and federal disability law and protections are fully preserved, including laws providing the parental right to homeschool one's child.
	•	The CRPD does not address abortion or other health practices. It addresses the right of people with disabilities to have the same rights as others. 

Last December, a floor vote in the Senate to ratify the CRPD fell just five votes short of the necessary sixty-seven votes to ratify. The Senate is expected to again take a vote on ratification this month. This may be the last chance for the CRPD to be ratified by the United States.
Contact Senator Portman , and urge him to vote in favor of ratification of the CRPD. He can be reached at (202) 224-3353. Senator Portman is still undecided on this issue.
	Next week we will vote on the July board minutes. I have pasted and attached them to this message. I will see you on the 20th at the board meeting.


Board of Directors Meeting
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
July 17, 2014

	1. President Eric Duffy called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. Conference line 605-475-4875 access code 201909# was used. 

	2. Seven members of the board were present: Eric Duffy, Richard Payne, Shelbi Hindel, Sherry Ruth, Debbie Baker, Deborah Kendrick, and Barbara Pierce. A few nonboard members also participated. Barbara expressed gratitude to them for their participation. 

	3. Eric will be sending out a memo to chapter presidents regarding chapter membership lists. This year the affiliate will be using Constant Contacts for the data base. Read the memo and follow the instructions given to provide as much of the information requested as you are able. This information is due August 17. The reason for the urgency is the upcoming convention issue of the newsletter. 

	4. Lake county chapter has disbanded. Anne Marble was president, and Barb Fohl was secretary of the chapter. One person is the primary cause of the trouble within the chapter and should have been asked to leave. Presidents of chapters were urged to  consult their state officers when difficulties arise within the chapter. 

	5. J.W. Smith emailed the gavel award questionnaire and information about writing letters to nominate individuals for the various awards. If you have questions about this process, ask a member of the awards committee, which J.W. chairs. 

	6. This year is the fiftieth anniversary of the Beatles' first tour in America. Art Schreiber, an NFB member from New Mexico, covered two weeks of that tour as a reporter. He spoke on a program, Thru Our Eyes, last night, and our president urged us to listen to the program. A good number of people on the call did so. Fred Schroeder of Virginia told Eric that Art spoke at their state convention, and this brought in a lot of people. Fred said their state did not use this as a fundraiser, but he wishes they had done so, Art is from East Liverpool, Ohio. Richard suggested to Eric that we have a not-so-silent auction fundraiser. Eric said we’d have to find a way to bring in people from the outside because our own people can not fully support the work of the affiliate. This means we’d have to have first-rate, high-quality items that outsiders would want to spend their money on. If we want to have Art do a fundraiser for Ohio, we will have to purchase a plane ticket for him from Colorado and provide lodging and food for the weekend because he would be our convention guest after the fundraiser.  This activity would take place on Friday evening. Deborah moved that we invite Art Schreiber to come to Ohio to put on a fundraiser celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Beatles first tour in America with the understanding that NFB of Ohio  would pay for his plane ticket attempting to co oberate with the Colorado affiliate, provide food and lodging for the weekend, promote the event heavily, and have a not-so-silent auction. Debbie seconded this motion. It passed with no negative votes and one abstention, Richard. The publicity committee will have to start working on the promotion of this fundraiser very soon. We can not wait until the September board meeting. Deborah stated that she will have an article about Art in her column. Art is willing to help us with publicity in anyway he can, such as by doing telephone interviews with radio stations. He suggested finding a radio station that plays Beatles-style oldies to promote the program. Eric informed us that there will not be a NAPUB play this year nor will the committees and groups be meeting Friday evening. Instead there will be an abbreviated session on Friday afternoon to accommodate those presenters who can not come on the weekend. Our committees and groups will be scheduled to meet late Friday afternoon. This is a different schedule from the one  we are accustomed to, but everyone will have to work together and be flexible. It has been suggested that we have a Beatles cover band perform. Publicity materials will be available for everyone to use as soon as possible. 

	7. BELL will be starting Monday morning, July 21. Volunteers will be arriving in Columbus on Saturday, and setup will be on Sunday. This program has gotten a lot of support, for which much gratitude was expressed. 

	8. The convention issue of the  Buckeye Bulletin will be coming out in late August or early September. Articles and announcements need to be to Barbara by August 15. 

	9. The meeting adjourned at 8:19 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Shelbi Hindel 
   

     

minutes sh bp ed.doc