[Ohio-talk] FW: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 12/20/2017

Thu Dec 21 10:23:05 UTC 2017

Please read this information from our national president. You should be proud that the NFB is growing and of your part in this. Thanks for all you do. 

Richard Payne,  President

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio

937-396-5573or 937/829/3368

Rchpay7 at gmail.com

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

From: President, National Federation of the Blind [mailto:OfficeOfThePresident at nfb.org] 
Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2017 5:00 PM
To: President, National Federation of the Blind <OfficeOfThePresident at nfb.org>
Subject: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 12/20/2017

President’s Notebook

National Federation of the Blind

Mark A. Riccobono

officeofthepresident at nfb.org <mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org> 

(410) 659-9314

Dear Fellow Federationists,

It seems hard to believe that we have come to the end of December. With eleven days left in the year, it is beginning to hit me that our work for 2017 is nearly complete. Of course, the Federation is a forward-thinking organization and so our work is clearly mapped out for the months and years ahead—we have a long way to go to meet our ultimate objectives.

This year we have continued to grow in membership at the local level. As we grow our base and our programs, the work of our organization becomes increasingly complex. How do we share information and communicate our priorities? How do we continue to keep a united organization and to foster the relationships necessary to achieve our goals? These questions are ones that I think about on a daily basis, and I appreciate the contributions you all make to help me answer them in the years ahead. 

As I consider what is in store for 2018, I am certainly filled with hope, energy, and love. Even as we struggle to gain recognition in society, our organization is finding new generation of leaders whose skills and diverse backgrounds will undoubtedly prove vital in the work ahead. The survey responses of those attending our affiliate president retreat demonstrate energy, imagination, and a readiness to further their own personal development. Some of you expressed the hope that I would understand how much you are working to be the best president that you can be. Let me take this opportunity to express my recognition and appreciation for the work you do at the local level and for the struggle of balancing the work of being a local leader along with all of the other demands of life. You help to power this organization and I am humbled by the work that you are doing.

In 2018 I want us to be even more aggressive about getting our message of hope and opportunity out into the public. I also want to do better to encourage the leadership development of our state affiliate boards and our future leaders. In that process I will continue to seek more powerful tools for us to coordinate among the local, state, and national levels. To that end I am hitting the road beginning with the first weekend of the year to work regionally with some of our local leaders on building a stronger leadership corps within some of our affiliates. We are going to seek more tools to assist our local leaders, and I will be continuing to solicit input from each of you about what might strengthen our sharing of information.

As we come to the end of the year, I am most aware of the tremendous joy that comes from building a relationship with each of you. I take great joy in the opportunity to get to know each of you at a personal level. The diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives is one of the true strengths of our organization. It helps to enrich our work together, and it raises my expectations every day. I am not likely to have the time to call each of you during these last eleven days of the year to share my appreciation for you and my warmest wishes for a joyous holiday season and a fantastic 2018. Please know that if I could do so, I would extend to you those wishes from the Riccobono family and a thank you for the opportunity to serve as your President. It is an honor to get to know each of you as friends.

It is no surprise that during this time of year we are also quite focused on preparations for our Washington Seminar. Please be sure to give the logistics your attention. Some of you have missed my previous note about the logistics for the affiliate president retreat. We will send that to you in a separate email including some expanded detail.

Finally, let me take the opportunity to publicly share a happy birthday to the First Lady of the Federation, Melissa Riccobono. She makes it possible for me to do what I do and her own contributions to our movement are very significant. In case you feel compelled to drop her a note, her email is  <mailto:melissa at riccobono.us> melissa at riccobono.us. Today is her birthday, and I know she would love to hear from each of you as she values the relationships as much as I do.

Happiest of holiday wishes to you and your family. Together in 2018, with love, hope, and determination, we will transform our dreams into reality.

Critical Actions This Week:

Please Pay Your Pledge:
A number of affiliates have not yet paid pledges made during the honor roll call at the 2017 NFB National Convention. If we are going to accomplish all that we hope to in 2018, it would be helpful to have these pledges paid before 2017 ends. Please send your contribution to the National Federation of the Blind, 200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21230, and indicate that it is to complete the affiliate’s pledge from the convention. Remember that contributions to the tenBroek Fund should be made payable to the Jacobus tenBroek Fund, not the NFB. If you have questions about your pledge, please contact Patti Chang at (410) 659-9413, extension 2422, or  <mailto:pchang at nfb.org> pchang at nfb.org. Thank you for helping the Federation end the year financially strong. 

Washington Seminar Update:
The legislative priorities of the National Federation of the Blind during the 115th Congress, Second Session will be:

1.       The Accessible Instructional Materials In Higher Education “Aim High” Act, (S. 2138/H.R. 1772)

Electronic instructional materials have replaced traditional methods of learning in postsecondary education, but the overwhelming majority of educational technologies are inaccessible to blind students. The law requires equal access in the classroom but fails to provide direction to schools for the way it applies to technology. The Aim High Act creates voluntary accessibility guidelines for educational technology to stimulate the market, improve blind students’ access to course materials, and reduce litigation for schools.

2.       The Access Technology Affordability “ATAA” Act, (S. 732/H.R. 1734)

Currently blind Americans rely on scarce sources of funding to acquire access technology. By providing a refundable tax credit for qualifying access technology purchases, Congress will stimulate individual procurement of access technology and promote affordability of these tools for blind Americans.

3.       Opposition to the “ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017,” (H.R. 620)

H.R. 620 erodes protections for people with disabilities by removing incentives for businesses to comply with the law, and by placing excessive burdens on the very people the law aims to benefit. The ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 would weaken the ADA and set the disability community back nearly three decades.

4.       The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled “Marrakesh Treaty” 

An international copyright treaty will give blind Americans access to millions of published works and improve the distribution of books around the globe.

The fact sheets and frequently asked questions for each of these legislative priorities will be posted to  <https://www.nfb.org/washington-seminar> https://www.nfb.org/washington-seminar in the coming weeks.

Relatedly, don’t forget to make your hotel reservations with the Holiday Inn Capitol before the end of the year. You can make your reservations online by visiting the  <http://ichotelsgroup.com/redirect?path=rates&brandCode=HI&regionCode=1&localeCode=en&GPC=FB8&hotelCode=WASSM&_PMID=99801505> Holiday Inn Capitol’s reservations portal, which will already include our group code, or by calling the hotel directly. The telephone number to call is (877) 572-6951, and the booking code to reference is FB8. The 2018 room rate is $192.00 per night. This rate does not include DC sales tax, currently 14.8 percent. The last day to make your room reservations is Tuesday, January 2, 2018, so please make your reservations as soon as possible.

Blindness Professionals Contacts:
To facilitate the promotion of numerous Federation programs that occur throughout the year, we are working to build up our database of professionals who work in the field of blindness (education and rehabilitation). If your affiliate has contact information for blindness professionals (e.g., teachers of the blind/VI, rehab counselors, directors of special education, rehab directors) in your state or region, we would love to add those individuals to Connections, our unified database. By growing our database we increase our opportunities to build the Federation through our numerous programs. Please send any contact information that you may have to Natalie Shaheen at  <mailto:nshaheen at nfb.org> nshaheen at nfb.org. Thank you in advance for your help! 

News:

2018 National Convention: 
We are pleased to announce that the host committee for our 2018 National Federation of the Blind National Convention will be co-chaired by our presidents from our Florida, Iowa, and Virginia affiliates. Thank you to these three affiliates for stepping up to the challenge of making this our best convention ever. I am certain you will hear from them soon about plans for 2018.

Sheltered Workshop and Honda of America Manufacturing Sued for Disability Discrimination:
Michael A. Denoewer, an individual with autism, filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio against his former employer, U-CO Industries, a sheltered workshop located in Marysville, Ohio, and Honda of America Manufacturing, for which U-CO is a Tier 1 Supplier. We are providing legal support for his efforts. More information is available from  <https://nfb.org/sheltered-workshop-and-honda-america-manufacturing-sued-disability-discrimination> our press release. 

Reminders:

NFB Independence Market: 
The National Federation of the Blind Independence Market ecommerce site will be down for maintenance from December 21, starting at 5:00 p.m., through January 1, 2018. We appreciate your patience and understanding. Please note that the Independence Market will be closed from December 23 through January 1. If you have any questions, please call the Independence Market at (410) 659-9314, extension 2216, on or before December 22 or after January 1. Please note that no orders will be able to ship out after noon on December 22 until January 2. 

Dates to Keep in Mind:

*	January 29, 2018: Great Gathering-In
*	January 28-February 1, 2018: Washington Seminar <https://nfb.org/washington-seminar> 
*	March 31, 2018: Deadline for scholarship applications, www.nfb.org/scholarships <http://www.nfb.org/scholarships> 
*	March 22-23, 2018: Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium
*	April 15, 2018: Deadline for 2018 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award competition <https://nfb.org/bolotin-award-main> 
*	July 3-8, 2018: National Federation of the Blind National Convention, Orlando, Florida

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.

Mark A. Riccobono

President

200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

(410) 659-9314 | officeofthepresident at nfb.org <mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>  

 <https://nfb.org/> 

                          <http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>      <https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice>      <https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind> 

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want. 

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