[Ohio-Talk] NFB President’s Notebook - week of 06/29/2020

Tue Jun 30 23:39:36 UTC 2020

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,

Two weeks, just two weeks, until we kick off our most dynamic convention ever. It is hard to believe that we will not be gathering in person. It is even harder to believe how quickly we have reworked and built a new convention format for 2020. I have examined the registration numbers, and you are going to be blown away. The tremendous support and growth in our movement is because you have led the way in reaching out and building during this challenging and critical time.

Here is the link you have been anticipating: the agenda for the 2020 Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind can be found at  <https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/2020-national-convention-agenda> https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/2020-national-convention-agenda. This is the HTML version of the agenda and it does not yet include all of the Zoom meeting ID links. There will be many versions of the agenda to follow, but we wanted you to have the agenda text as early as possible.

I anticipate being with all of you at the Rookie Roundup on July 7. Please plan to be there.

If you are still working on verifying your convention registration list, I urge you to make it a priority as tomorrow is the deadline. If you require assistance, please let me know ASAP. 

On a non-convention-related matter, I want to call your attention to a couple of blog posts from this week. These are to close out Pride Month. These posts are part of our ongoing effort to think critically about the diversity of our movement and actions we can undertake to ensure our meetings and activities allow all of our blind members to participate fully. Please be sure to review “What Pride Means to Me <https://www.nfb.org/blog/what-pride-means-me> ” by Connor “Carley” Mullin, and my post today entitled “Love Is Love: Supporting Our LGBTQ+ Members and Celebrating Pride Month <https://www.nfb.org/blog/love-love-supporting-our-lgbtq-members-and-celebrating-pride-month> .”

Finally, seriously, if you have not verified the convention registration list for your affiliate, stop reading this and please turn your attention to that list right...now.

Convention

Host a Banquet Party during #NFB20:

Formal attire. Favorite dishes. Federation family. The annual banquet is the highlight of each convention and it’s a great opportunity for small local gatherings. Following local guidance, host a banquet party with members near you! During banquet, we are going to be dropping into parties with the chance to say hello to the whole convention. If you’ll be hosting a banquet party, please email  <mailto:rstevens at nfb.org> rstevens at nfb.org or call 410-659-9314, extension 2246, with your contact information by Monday, July 13. More information on drop-ins during banquet will be provided to the hosts prior to the start of banquet.

Legal Office Hours during Convention:

Disability rights attorneys will be available to discuss employment discrimination, access barriers, and other concerns with individuals on Tuesday, July 14, and Wednesday, July 15, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. eastern. Schedule your private, twenty-minute appointment by emailing  <mailto:vyingling at nfb.org> vyingling at nfb.org. 

News

Thanks to Affiliates:

Many of our affiliates have been contributing to our NFB BELL® In-Home Edition. Putting on quality, nationwide programming like this takes resources, and I am happy that our state affiliates stepped up to support our national organization with financial resources in this regard. Thanks go out to the following affiliates for your help with NFB BELL this year. 

NFB of Alabama 

NFB of Arizona 

NFB of California 

NFB of Connecticut 

NFB of Georgia 

NFB of Illinois 

NFB of Missouri 

NFB of New Jersey 

NFB of Ohio 

NFB of Pennsylvania 

NFB of Utah 

Please note that if any affiliates are missing from this list, contact Patti Chang at  <mailto:pchang at nfb.org> pchang at nfb.org and we will correct our records. 

In addition, many affiliates have made very generous general contributions meant to support all of our COVID-19 increased expenses and activities. Those contributions also make a huge difference.

Access Technology Affordability Act Update:

The past week has been a banner week for the Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R 2086/S. 815). We added eight cosponsors in the House for a total of 109 cosponsors. Special thanks to the following states:

California (Rep. Grace Napolitano)

Florida (Rep. Michael Waltz)

Indiana (Rep. Susan Brooks)

Missouri (Rep. Jason Smith)

North Dakota (Rep. Kelly Armstrong)

Oklahoma (Rep. Tom Cole)

Virginia (Rep. Denver Riggleman)

Washington (Rep. Dan Newhouse)

Please continue to urge your representative and senators to cosponsor this bill. Congress is likely to begin negotiations on another COVID-19 relief package when they return from the July 4th recess. The more cosponsors we have, the more likely Congress will include the provisions of the Access Technology Affordability Act in that legislation.

Reminders

Hotel Contracts – Canceling and Postponing Events:

A number of affiliates have been asking about hotel contracts as they relate to postponing or canceling events. If your affiliate needs to reschedule or cancel a convention or another event, we recommend calling the hotel to ask what their position is on this. Almost all hotels have been quite cooperative, especially if we are in a position to reschedule an event. If you receive pushback, you should look at your contract and see what your “impossibility” or “force majeure” clause says. Generally these clauses give you leverage to use in dealing with a hotel. Patti Chang has been helping some of our affiliates strategize on this topic. If a phone call and pointing to your contract do not resolve the issue, please reach out to her at  <mailto:pchang at nfb.org> pchang at nfb.org or extension 2422. This also brings home the need for you to be sure that in new contracts we have good language around impossibility. Please be sure you are reading through new contracts carefully and that these clauses apply to NFB as well as your state. Below is good language. You should expect push back on such language, but it is key that you get as much of it as possible, especially the disaster language and the curtailment of travel provisions. 

Force Majeure: The performance of the Agreement by either party is subject to acts of God, war, government regulation, disasters, stay at home/shelter in place orders, fires, disease, strikes, terrorism or threats of terrorism, civil disorders, curtailment of transportation facilities preventing or unreasonably delaying at least 25% of Event attendees and guests from participating at the Event, or other similar cause, including emergency or non-emergency conditions, beyond the control of the parties making it inadvisable, illegal, impossible, or commercially impractical to hold the Event, for the Hotel to provide the meeting and sleeping rooms or related facilities and/or services for the Event, or for either party to fully perform the material terms of the Agreement. The Agreement may be terminated without penalty and with performance fully excused for any one or more of these reasons by written notice from one party to the other. Should the Organization decide to proceed with the Event when a force majeure event exists, all attrition penalties under this Agreement shall be waived by the Hotel.

Dates to Keep in Mind:

*	June 22-July 3: NFB BELL® In-Home Edition
*	June 30: Deadline for  <mailto:nfbmd at earthlink.net> resolution submission 
*	June 30: Accessibility Boutique: Technology and Training Options for Seniors
*	July 12 (noon eastern): Deadline for enrolling as an eligible voter for the 2020 National Convention (must be an active member and already registered for the 2020 National Convention)
*	July 27-August 7: NFB BELL® In-Home Edition
*	July 7: #NFB20 Rookie Round-Up

*	July 14-18:  <https://www.nfb.org/convention> NFB National Convention, Everywhere

*	February 8, 2021: Washington Seminar Great Gathering-In

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 |  <mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org> 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. 