[Ohio-Talk] Must read.

Fri Jul 31 02:22:50 UTC 2020

Dear Ohio,

As we move forward with the National Convention behind us, I want to take
this time to provide important  information and updates.

First, a thank you to all Ohio members who lend a hand during the National
Convention.  We got through our first virtual experience together.  Members
took charge and assisted others with accessing seminars, obtaining door
prizes and by trouble shooting resolving various issues. Again, Thank you!
Ohio strong is certainly who we are!

I have received a thank you from the National Office in regards to the Ohio
Affiliate sending notes of gratitude to the National staff for their
tremendous efforts on forming the National Convention as an inclusive,
rewarding and a remarkable virtual experience. As the President of Ohio,
Receiving this type of compliment is a wonderful reflection on our
commitment on honoring those who pull up their sleeves and get the job done.

I also would like to thank those who had taken part in previous routine Zoom
Conference Calls as they were interrupted, due to the National Convention.
We have resume those calls for participating members. There will be more
upcoming presentations offered soon on Zoom, such as additional  Zoom
trainings, educational content and some fun programming. As a reminder, The
10:00 AM Coffee Break check in calls have returned. So, each day at 10:00 AM
you should join in on the Zoom meetings just to check in or share how you
are doing during the pandemic. Additionally, The Happy Hour Calls are back
in swing as well. On every Thursday night at 7:00 pm, Cheryl fields, chair
of the Ohio Community Service Committee offers attendees an opportunity to
express themselves in song. Each week there is a different genre.

Note: You may have thoughts about hosting a Zoom meeting. Please email me
directly and we will find a way to make the meetings happen. 

Speaking of Zoom, the Ohio Affiliate Board  of Directors recently decided to
upgrade our Zoom account while planning for the Ohio State Convention. I
would now like to invite you to visit WWW.NFBOhio.ORG and get registered for
the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio 74th  State Convention . The
dates are November 6th, 7th and 8th of 2020. The theme this year is "The
Vision, Beyond Vision".

Here is a tip!

Wait for it! 

Registration is free!

Yes, you can register with no fee. Please invite others to attend and come
and learn about our powerful movement.

Moreover, the state convention Committee has been adjusted to assist with
addressing immediate and necessary preparations to meet important deadlines
and  to help direct attention to organize a successful and all-encompassing
virtual convention this year. And So, due to time constraints, I have asked
Vice president, Turner to take on the role as the matriarch for the Ohio
State Convention. We will assemble several teams to deal with various
components of that weekend.  Several of you have already reached out to
serve. If you have not heard from me by now reach back out. However, We need
to have members as a whole make suggestions and comments. Lastly, if you
wish to take part in making this year's state convention the best that it
can be, then again reach out to me.

I could write more but you will start hearing from me, and or other leaders
more often leading up to our 2020 Ohio State Convention. 

*Please read the information in the lower body of this email from the
National Office.

From: President, Mark Riccobono

The Presidential Release will be available by Friday afternoon for August
chapter meetings. I again urge chapters to be incorporating the release into
their meeting in a meaningful way.

* If you have not already done so, please complete the convention survey by
July 31 and encourage other members to do the same.

Critical Actions:

*NFB20 Survey--Please Provide Feedback This Week:

Thank you for your participation, engagement, and support during this year's
national convention. Please complete this short survey by Friday, July 31,
to provide feedback on your convention experience.
<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/nfb20> Take the survey now.

News:

*NFB20 Continued--Additional Reports Now Available:

A couple of presentations originally scheduled for the Saturday agenda of
the NFB 2020 National Convention had to rescheduled for after convention.
They are available now on our YouTube channel. Additionally, find other
NFB20 content there as it becomes available. Now available: 

*         Protecting and Expanding the Right of the Blind to Live in the
World: A Report from the Advocacy and Policy Department

*         Connecting with the Heartbeat of the Federation: A Report from the
Jernigan Institute

*         Leveraging the Power of the Americans with Disability Act

*         NFB20 Virtual Choir

And more coming soon!

*Check out the
<https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW144PTYGib0LmONUtu33ZWl_EI3dpXEi>
NFB20 YouTube Playlist! Please note that all highlights will be posted soon
to nfb.org/convention.

*NFB BELLR In Home Edition:

We have nearly 140 participants registered for our final session of NFB BELL
In Home Edition. Thank you all for the work you have done to mentor these
students and their families and introduce them to our Federation. This
session did start out with some technical difficulties, and the Zoom links
that were originally sent have been updated. Students have been split into
five classes, each taught by a different experienced NFB BELL Academy
teacher. The new Zoom connection information has been sent to all the
families. We are also working to get information for each student out to the
BELL coordinators in each state. If you or any families in your affiliate
have questions, feel free to reach out to our NFB BELL Academy team at
<mailto:bell at nfb.org> bell at nfb.org or at extension 2418.

*Advocacy and Policy Update:

Riding the wave of excitement from our national convention, we have made
significant progress on two of our key legislative priorities in recent
weeks. 

The Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R. 2086/S. 815) has gained eleven
new cosponsors in the House since the beginning of July. They are:

Rep. Bill Posey, Florida

Rep. Don Young, Alaska

Rep. Dean Phillips, Minnesota

Rep. John Katko, New York

Rep. Michael T. McCaul, Texas

Rep. Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin

Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, Pennsylvania

Rep. John R. Curtis, Utah

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, Washington

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey

Rep. Michael Guest, Mississippi

There are now 120 total cosponsors for the ATAA in the House of
Representatives. This support is phenomenal and gives us more leverage to
argue for the inclusion of this critical legislation in the COVID-19 relief
package currently being debated in Congress. 

*Another example of our successful advocacy is with Sami's Law (H.R. 4686).
We have been working very closely with the office of Representative Chris
Smith (New Jersey) to make certain that this bill will ensure the safety and
security of blind rideshare passengers. The bill will include the following
definition of "nonvisual":

(1) the terms ''non-visual'' and ''non-visually accessible'', with regards
to the system required under sections 2(a)(1)(D) and 3(1)(B) mean digital
content that-

(A) meets the success criteria of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG) 2.0, Level AA, and any successor to or revision of such guidelines
that has been incorporated into the Section 508 standards issued by the
United States Access Board, including, to the extent applicable, the Web
Accessibility Initiative - Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA);
or

(B) allows a blind or visually impaired passenger to access the same
information, and utilize the same system offered to other passengers as
required under Sections 2(a)(1)(D) and 3(1)(B) in a way that provides a
comparable level of privacy, independence and substantially equivalent ease
of use to the passenger.

This version of Sami's Law is expected to be put to a vote on the House
floor tomorrow afternoon.

*New Blog Post--Thirty Years after Covering the Signing of the ADA:

"Blend in. Stand out. Those were the two seemingly dichotomous goals driving
me on July 26, 1990. Always, as a blind person, I wanted to find some level
of obscurity, to be just one of the herd. And, always, as a writer, I wanted
my work to stand out, stand up, be stellar and noteworthy as topnotch
writing."
<https://www.nfb.org/blog/thirty-years-after-covering-signing-ada> Read more
about Deborah Kendrick and her story of covering the signing of the ADA.

*Walmart:

As a part of NFB's
<https://www.nfb.org/about-us/press-room/walmart-sued-blind-maryland-residen
ts-over-self-service-checkout-kiosks> lawsuit against Walmart, we need to
hear from members who live in states other than Maryland and who shop at
Walmart and would like for Walmart's self-checkout kiosks to be accessible.
Please contact Valerie Yingling at  <mailto:vyingling at nfb.org>
vyingling at nfb.org if this applies to you.

*Affiliate Contributions to NFB BELL: 

We have received additional affiliate contributions to NFB BELL. I am proud
to see our affiliates come together to support our nationwide programming.
Recognition and appreciation go out to the following affiliates: 

NFB of Alabama

NFB of Arizona

NFB of California

NFB of Connecticut

NFB of Florida

NFB of Georgia

NFB of Hawaii

NFB of Illinois

NFB of Kentucky

NFB of Louisiana

NFB of Minnesota

NFB of Missouri

NFB of New Jersey

NFB of Ohio

NFB of Pennsylvania

NFB of Texas

NFB of Utah

NFB of Virginia

If we have missed any affiliate, please reach out to Patti Chang at
<mailto:pchang at nfb.org> pchang at nfb.org. We want to update our records if we
have missed any contributions. This is how we build the Federation!

*Dates to Keep in Mind:

July 27-August 7: NFB BELLR In Home Edition

*	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.