[Ohio-talk] Buckeye update

Sat Apr 13 16:03:17 UTC 2019

Great update Mr. President! Two thumbs up!

The gathering was really a blast, full of great activities and friendship/sisterhood/brotherhood!

Also, It was really a clear active picture of our famous and great quote, “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.”

That’s exactly what I have personally experienced and lived this past long weekend in Columbus. Thank you so much for helping me see, feel and practice that!

Have a great day y’all.

Ali Benmerzouga

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio -  Cleveland Chapter, Board Member,

Chair of Cleveland Chapter Legislative Committee,

Cell Phone - 440-590-0315.

Please Visit and like our Chapter’s Facebook Page:

https://m.facebook.com/NationalFederationOfTheBlindOfOhioClevelandChapter/

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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.

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From: Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Richard Payne via Ohio-Talk
Sent: Saturday, April 13, 2019 11:24 AM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List' <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Richard Payne <rchpay7 at gmail.com>
Subject: [Ohio-talk] Buckeye update

Buckeye update

April 13, 2019

        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.

Alexa    tells me that at the   time I am writing this to you it is around 5:30 AM and around 66 degrees. This is a great time of the year when spring really stick’s it’s head out. This is also a great season because it seems to change attitudes and put most people in a good mood.

Last week end during the Bell academy training, I was reminded of just how important the National Federation of the blind   is to the lives of young kids and how good positive adult roll models play a real part in making a difference. I would like to take the time to thank Eric and all the volunteers for the dedication shown to Bell and the kids so far.
        The board of directors meeting started on Sunday morning . While several members of the board were not able to attend, it was a very good meeting. I will send more information from that meeting at some point soon. We decided to assist with some limited funds to help members to attend the national convention. We also lifted the charter for the Butler county chapter.  We will do our best to stimulate new growth in that area soon.
        We are also concerned about the health of the Student Division. Suzanne turner has agreed to help build the division, between now and the convention. and this is a welcome addition to the many things that she does for the NFB.
        We have a solid board of directors, and I want to thank them for their hard work in putting together a fantastic weekend of training and fellowship. We can all be proud of our accomplishments during the weekend.
        President Riccobono and two members from our national staff delivered inspiring and informative presentations as part of our leadership training on Sunday afternoon. Current and future leaders were actively involved in the training, and it was very up-lifting.
        The federation family worked hard, and part of the weekend was for us to get to know each other better with so many new people. We shared several meals together and I noticed new friendships and collaborations going on. I
        can not leave out the Columbus seminar thanks to Mike and Sheri for the work that it took to put this together. By now you know that the parental rights bill has been introduced.  Representative Richard Brown was a hit and really gave us the momentum to prepare for the visit that we had on Tuesday morning. Lisa worm from DRO also was very uplifting with her pointers about how to testify at a hearing. We had a great gathering in dinner and then went over the information for the next day.
The next morning the group prepared to load several methods of transportation and were on the road to represent the blind of Ohio.
We now have a bill number for our parental rights legislation. This is the same legislation that passed the house unanimously last year. This is a new General Assembly. And We cannot rest on our past. accomplishments. Make your Representative aware of this bill. Ask him or her to cosponsor H. B. No. 188 GA 133 Prohibit blindness from denying or limiting care of minor Rep. Crawley Rep. Cross as Introduced

Link to Bill 188 info:  https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/legislation-summary?id=GA133-HB-188 <https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/legislation-summary?id=GA133-HB-188>
Chapters should talk about the issues that we have worked on so hard and find ways to get more involved in working on the local state and national level.
While there is so much to cover time requires me to jump to the next project or on-going ones. Let’s go build the federation.

Richard Payne,  President
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
937-396-5573or 937/829/3368
Rchpay7 at gmail.com<mailto: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