[Ohio-Talk] Membership

Tue Aug 11 14:26:30 UTC 2020

great article by President Riccobono, I have re-read it and shared with our
chapter

On Mon, Aug 10, 2020 at 5:39 PM Richard Payne via Ohio-Talk <
ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Ohio,
>
> I decided to use the national presidents article to tell you what I have
> been thinking about over the last week here it is and after that you will
> find some information and dates that should be of interest to you.
>
>
>
>
> Membership in the National Federation of the Blind: Equality, Opportunity,
> and Security through Collective Action
>
>
> by Mark Riccobono
>
> From the Editor: Our elected President assumes responsibility for an
> incredible number of tasks, one of them overseeing our program to recruit,
> grow, and nourish our membership. It is obvious that President Riccobono
> sees this as a major priority, and here is what he says about his coming to
> the organization and what we must do to ensure that others keep coming:
>
> One of the most important titles I have been able to put next to my name is
> member, National Federation of the Blind. I first became a member in 1996,
> and I cannot imagine a day in my life when I will decide to no longer be a
> member of this great organization. As I travel the country talking to
> people
> about the work of our movement, certain predictable questions come up
> including but not limited to: what does it mean to be a member; how do I
> join; and what are the benefits of membership? More often than not, I find
> that people have not joined because of misconceptions about membership in
> our organized blind movement. I also find that the idea of "membership" in
> an organization takes on different meanings depending on your background
> and
> perspective. In this article I will attempt to share with you what
> membership in the National Federation of the Blind means to me and what I
> believe we, collectively, hope it means for each of our present and future
> members. If you are not yet a member, this article is an invitation to
> explore joining us and an opportunity to create understanding about who we
> are and why we need you to be in our family. If you are already a member, I
> hope this article speaks to your experience in our movement and contributes
> to your growth as a leader. If you are not sure whether you are or are not
> a
> member, I hope this clears things up and encourages you to make your
> membership status definitive.
>
>
> What Do We Mean by Membership?
>
>
> It is important to begin with some organizational basics related to
> membership. Let us start by talking about what membership in our
> organization is not. I grew up in the 1980s when the Members Only brand
> emerged in the United States. It was a cool thing to have something that
> sported the name "Members Only," and we sought opportunities to create
> social circles for ourselves that we considered "members only" regardless
> of
> whether you owned any of the merchandise. For example, in elementary school
> my friends and I had a Ghostbusters Club (based on the 1984 movie) where we
> could easily limit the participants since there just were not many
> characters in the movie. We created our own rules and expectations for
> participation-sometimes driven by the movie but often with our own
> agreed-upon alterations-and we had a good time. However, the goal was not
> to
> bring other people into our club. In fact, we liked that it was a closed
> membership. We were already friends and our "members only" club
> strengthened
> our bond. This notion of membership is much different from what I have
> found
> in the National Federation of the Blind over the past twenty years. In our
> organization we believe in an open membership policy where all are welcome
> to be considered for membership and, with only a few exceptions, our
> meetings are open to non-members to observe even if they cannot vote on
> matters of importance-only Federation members can determine its policies
> and
> elect its leaders. While only members of the Federation have certain rights
> and privileges within the organization, we hope to have as many blind
> people
> as possible join with us in our mission to improve the lives of all blind
> people.
>
> Open membership means that we do not put significant qualifiers on being a
> member of our organization. It is worth talking about the handful of
> qualifiers we do have for membership.
>
> To begin, you have to want to be a member, and you need to pay dues to a
> chapter, division, affiliate, or the national organization. Our goal is not
> simply to sign people up for the membership roll; we seek members who want
> to actively participate.
>
> In general, another qualifier is that the majority of our members have to
> be
> blind. On a nationwide basis better than 90 percent of our members are.
> Thus, on a national basis, we do not need to worry about sighted
> individuals
> joining and taking over our organization. However, at the local level this
> sometimes becomes a problem when a small chapter starts inviting many
> sighted people to be members. The constitution of the National Federation
> of
> the Blind and every entity under the Federation requires a majority of the
> membership be blind. By blind, we mean a functional definition of blindness
> as Kenneth Jernigan so eloquently described it decades ago in his speech "A
> Definition of Blindness." One major exception to this policy is our
> National
> Organization of Parents of Blind Children-one of our national special
> interest divisions-where a majority of the members in that specific
> division
> need not be blind. In fact, that division includes the vast majority of the
> Federation's sighted members, but it is not the exclusive place where
> sighted people participate actively as members. I list this as a membership
> qualifier because we are, first and foremost, an organization of blind
> people, led by blind people, and directed by blind people. While we are on
> the topic, you cannot be elected to our national board of directors unless
> you are blind.
>
> A final qualifier is that an individual must be prepared to uphold the
> standards we expect from each other in this organization. The standards of
> membership and for leaders of our organization are set by Federation
> members
> themselves. They are articulated in our Code of Conduct
> (https://www.nfb.org/about-us/history-and-governance/code-conduct).
> Essentially, we come together through the common bond of blindness to serve
> as a vehicle for collective action by the blind. We seek to treat each
> other
> with dignity and respect, and we value an atmosphere free from
> discrimination and harassment of any type. It is worth noting that those
> seeking to be leaders of this organization have additional responsibilities
> above those of everyday members. While all members of the organization are
> asked to support the policies and programs of the Federation-see the
> Federation pledge at the end of this article-leaders of the organization
> are
> expected to implement the policies and programs. This means that leaders
> need to take actions consistent with the organization's policies and that
> leaders should not commit themselves to organizations that actively work
> against the Federation.
>
> In short, the membership of the National Federation of the Blind is the
> class of individuals, a majority of whom are required to be blind, who pay
> dues to the organization at the local, state, or national level (joining at
> the local and/or state level gives you automatic membership in the national
> organization).
>
> The mechanics of qualifying to be a member of the National Federation of
> the
> Blind are truly that easy. However, the process of understanding the power
> of membership in this organization and coming to be an active participant
> in
> the decision-making process of it often feels much more daunting to new
> members. This is why we have recently initiated an onboarding process for
> new members to welcome people into our organization and assist with
> navigating the things that long-time members like me take for granted
> today.
>
>
>
> This Week-Join the Twitter Chat Regarding the ADA:
>
> Join us on Twitter on Wednesday, August 12, at 2:00 p.m. eastern for our
> Twitter chat focused on the ADA. This will be a continuation of our panel
> discussion, "Leveraging the ADA," that took place during the #NFB20
> <
> https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/nfb20?__eep__=6&source=feed_text&epa=HASHT
>
> AG&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARB4pho-Y2i_XtQTrHScv7zesvtj39kiE5q_aE8npwQCIS0jNFFlFXD
>
> OuB5eXBsi8SdJzR9Krj1pSWUNFkBED0_pfL9Q2yzV9HbKsmol4VHPU6Xm_cxgFmbSwZXeDY36Yn7
> <https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/nfb20?__eep__=6&source=feed_text&epa=HASHTAG&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARB4pho-Y2i_XtQTrHScv7zesvtj39kiE5q_aE8npwQCIS0jNFFlFXDOuB5eXBsi8SdJzR9Krj1pSWUNFkBED0_pfL9Q2yzV9HbKsmol4VHPU6Xm_cxgFmbSwZXeDY36Yn7>
>
> 0wV6MxY1W3jleHi_qsL1upi7KMA7ervw0sStrJ_WECP-B0j1TPjGcmkh65QuRlYyfv8hWIc_jylj
>
> LTGpdbhKHtyN6ZrnLr684a936weyif3qeaamr0eLXjSZPD1Fa2_RNl4SCv6KmEKgcQRgEF_MJM1A
> j8H3OURtIWVI04_OkOTBiN4YVAIjk1OjhU2AkUZpPV6N9cWIF60d98g&__tn__=%2ANK-R>
> National Convention. For more updates and information, follow us on Twitter
> at @NFB_Voice. Access the Twitter chat questions
> <https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/twitter-chats>  that will be discussed.
>
>
>
> August 21.
>
>
>
> GoDaddy:
>
> The NFB is investigating the accessibility of GoDaddy's website building,
> hosting, and domain registration services. If you have used or tried to use
> GoDaddy's services, the NFB needs to hear from you. Please contact Valerie
> Yingling at vyingling at nfb.org <mailto:vyingling at nfb.org>  or 410-659-9314,
> extension 2440.
>
>
>
> New Blog Post-Tech Review: The Mantis Q40 Braille Display from APH:
>
> The Mantis Q40 is a new forty-cell refreshable Braille display sold by the
> American Printing House for the Blind. Learn about the general
> specifications, assessment, and more on the
> <https://www.nfb.org/blog/tech-review-mantis-q40-braille-display-aph>
> Voice
> of the Nation's Blind Blog.
>
>
>
> Free White Cane Program-Share with New Contacts:
>
> The National Federation of the Blind believes that no blind person should
> be
> without a white cane, regardless of their ability to pay for it. The Free
> White Cane Program is available for any blind individual in the fifty
> states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Also learn about
> choosing
> a cane size and cane travel training. Share the Free White Cane Program
> <https://www.nfb.org/programs-services/free-white-cane-program> .
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Dates to Keep in Mind:
>
>
> *       September 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m. eastern
> *       September 13: Open-House Gathering call, 4:00 p.m. eastern
> *       October 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m. eastern
> *       October: Meet the Blind Month
> *       November 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m. eastern
> *       December 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m. eastern
> *       December 9: Open-House Gathering call, 8:00 p.m. eastern
> *       February 8, 2021: Washington Seminar Great Gathering-In
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Richard Payne,  President
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
>
> 937/829/3368
>
>  <mailto:Rchpay7 at gmail.com> 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.
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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-- 
Dave Bertsch
330-472-4084