[Ohio-talk] NFB President’s Notebook - week of 05/13/2019

Wed May 15 10:36:19 UTC 2019

From: President, National Federation of the Blind <OfficeOfThePresident at nfb.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2019 9:35 AM
To: President, National Federation of the Blind <OfficeOfThePresident at nfb.org>
Subject: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 05/13/2019

President’s Notebook

National Federation of the Blind

Mark A. Riccobono

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

410-659-9314

A belated happy Mother’s Day to all the great moms who also serve as presidents of our affiliates and national divisions. I hope that each of you received the love and praise you deeply deserve. Thank you for carrying the unique role of mom and president, which is a challenging and dynamic balancing act that is worthy of our deepest appreciation.

Now that we are wrapping up the collection phase of our membership data we are moving into the full implementation phase of our new-member process. Through this process, all new members should be added to our system through the online form found at https://www.nfb.org/civicrm/newmember/form. This form is meant to be used by the designated person in the local chapter or, if you choose, the designated person in the state affiliate. The online form will (1) ensure that our central Connections database has all member information; (2) trigger welcome emails to go to the new member; (3) notify affiliate presidents of new members; and (4) prompt mailing of the new-member packet, which will include a print/Braille membership certificate and the membership coin. Please note that it is critical that this form be completed by a designated person who has responsibility for membership at the chapter and/or affiliate level. Coordination at the local level is critical for this to work. We will be monitoring the process for problems at the national level. If you find any issues with the form, please report them to membership at nfb.org <mailto:membership at nfb.org> . Please begin using this form today and use it for any new member who was not included in the submission of your original membership list for which your affiliate received coins earlier this year. 

I am headed to Minnesota to make a presentation for Global Accessibility Awareness Day to share the perspective of our organization. While I am there I will also make a visit to BLIND, Inc. Meanwhile, our 2019 Convention planning is in full swing. I hope you have made your reservations. You should have received the delegate reimbursement information. If you did not, please let us know as soon as possible.

News:

Blind Parents Connection:
The second episode of the Blind Parents Connection Podcast is now available, and this one is all about feeding your children. Listen and share these stories, tips, and tricks <https://www.nfb.org/our-community/blind-parents> . We continue to look for more blind parents to interview. If you have recommendations, please email them to podcast at nfb.org <mailto:podcast at nfb.org> .  

Reminders:

Upcoming Student Seminars:
There are two upcoming student seminars. The Southeast Student Seminar will be August 9-11, and the Pacific Student Seminar will be August 16-18. Registration opens May 15 for each of them. Contact Kathryn Webster (nabs.president at gmail.com <mailto:nabs.president at gmail.com> ) with questions.

Affiliates:

Urge Your Chapters to Join PAC or to Renew Their Commitment to PAC:
I note that not all of our chapters contribute to PAC and that some chapters have recently become inactive on our PAC plan. I urge chapters to renew their PAC contributions during our upcoming national convention. Our state leaders should be urging all of our chapters to join PAC or to renew their PAC contributions.  

Dates to Keep in Mind:

*	June 16-22, 2019:  <http://www.blindscience.org/nfbeq> NFB EQ, Baltimore, Maryland

*	July 7-12, 2019: NFB National Convention <https://nfb.org/convention/2019> , Las Vegas, Nevada
*	February 10, 2020: Great Gathering-In; Washington Seminar begins

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. 