[Ohio-Talk] NFBO Updates and Announcements

Thu Jan 21 23:24:30 UTC 2021

Ohio Members and Friends,

Please read the following announcements.

It is critical that you stay up to date on all topics circulated from all
levels of the National Federation of the Blind. If you have questions or
need additional explanations of a subject matter, consult one of the leaders
in the Ohio Affiliate.

The Ohio Affiliate will hold its Board of Director's meeting on Monday
January 25, 2021 at 7:00 PM. It is strongly advised that all Board members
and Chapter, Division Presidents and Committees to be present. I am also
encouraging all elected officers and others to be on the call as well.
Please access the meeting using the Ohio Zoom platform. It will open to all
at 6:30 PM. 

As a reminder, Board members please let President Payne know whether you
plan to be in attendance.

JOIN THE NFB OHIO ZOOM Room:

https://zoom.us/j/4081850851

Meeting ID: 408 185 0851

One tap mobile +1-646-876-9923, 4081850851# US

Call: 669 900 6833 and enter code: 4081850851

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Critical Actions from the National Office:

RAINN: 

Pre-Survey Coming Soon:

As part of our safety and support initiatives, there will be mandatory
training starting in March for national, affiliate, chapter, and division
boards as well as staff and training center personnel. In order to prepare
for the training, we will be sharing a pre-survey in the coming weeks from
RAINN. It is important for RAINN to understand who we are, so your feedback
is important. Please prioritize completing the survey when it is available.
More details coming soon.

Washington Seminar Training Schedule:

With the official kickoff of the 2021 Washington Seminar just over the
horizon, we are working diligently to ensure that our members are prepared
to meet with their representatives in Congress and to advocate for the
legislative priorities of all blind Americans. As a part of that effort, we
will be hosting four training sessions over the next two weeks in addition
to our normally scheduled Legislative Seminar on the first Monday of
Washington Seminar. The training schedule is below:

Tuesday, January 19, 8:00 p.m. eastern - General Issue Review and Q&A

Thursday, January 21, 8:00 p.m. eastern - Final Issue Review and Mock
Meeting

Tuesday, January 26, 8:00 p.m. eastern - Washington Seminar Portal:
Appointments & Rankings Tool

Thursday, January 28, 8:00 p.m. eastern - Zoom Moderator Training

The link to join all of these meetings is https://zoom.us/j/7567531013.
Except for the portal training, which should be limited to affiliate members
in charge of entering the appointments and rankings, these trainings are
open to all. 

On the topic of Zoom, the national office is prepared to offer a limited
number of additional Zoom licenses to affiliates that request them. Please
keep in mind these licenses are to be used by the affiliates that have large
numbers of representatives in Congress and will have to schedule multiple
meetings for the same date and time. If your state has a small number of
representatives, we strongly encourage you to schedule meetings in a way
that will allow you to use only one Zoom license. 

2021 Washington Seminar Legislative Priorities - Fact Sheets:

The fact sheets for our 2021 legislative priorities
<https://www.nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/washington-seminar/washingto
n-seminar-agenda>  have been posted to the website. This year we have
decided to bring four issues to Capitol Hill: the Access Technology
Affordability Act, the Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act, the
Twenty-First Century Mobile Apps and Website Accessibility Act, and the
Americans with Disabilities Voting Rights Act. With these priorities, we
strive to remove obstacles to economic opportunity, home-use medical
devices, websites, and civil rights. 

Recommendations for Donated Services Program:

Much of our work in the National Federation of the Blind is done through
volunteers, and each year we appoint Federation leaders to serve as
volunteer field representatives. We are required by the Industry Audit Guide
for Voluntary Health and Welfare of the American Institute for Certified
Public Accounting to show the amount of volunteer service time that we use
to do our work in our annual report of accounts. These reports impact our
financial picture and are crucial to maintaining the best charitable ratings
possible. 

We are asking for your recommendations for appointees. All state presidents
and treasurers are already on the appointee list. Please send your other
recommendations for volunteers who will need to track their total hours
spent each month and fill in an online form monthly to outreach at nfb.org
<mailto:outreach at nfb.org> . Your recommendations should be individuals who
regularly volunteer their time in affiliates, chapters, and divisions, and
who you believe will accurately report time online. Please consider state
board members, committee chairs and members, chapter presidents, and the
like.  

Apply for 2021 Bolotin Awards:

The National Federation of the Blind is accepting nominations of individuals
or organizations who are a positive force in the lives of blind people and
help us transform dreams into reality. Each application must include a
letter of recommendation. Learn more and submit a nomination for the 2021
Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards
<https://www.nfb.org/programs-services/scholarships-and-awards/dr-jacob-bolo
tin-awards/application-information> .

Scholastic's Dragon Masters:

Dragon Masters is a book series from Scholastic written by Tracey West. The
series is about the adventures of a variety of eight-year-old boys and girls
who are teamed up with dragons. In book sixteen of the series, Tessa is the
Dragon Master to the Sound Dragon, Sono. Tessa is clever, brave, and blind.
Access BRF files of the book series at
https://www.actionfund.org/resources/dragon-masters.

Braille Readers Are Leaders:

The 2020-2021 Braille Readers Are Leaders contest reading period ended on
January 18, 2021. This means it is now time to complete and submit your
reading log. Download the form by visiting https://www.actionfund.org/bral,
and submit the log by emailing it as an attachment to
BrailleReadingContest at actionfund.org
<mailto:BrailleReadingContest at actionfund.org> . Remember, to have your
reading counted you must submit it by February 1. 

Thanks to Missouri Chapter:

Special thanks to our NFB of Missouri Kansas City Chapter for generously
contributing to our organization. Support from our chapters and affiliates
is essential to our efforts to get it done in 2021. We will all build the
National Federation of the Blind together. 

Dates to Keep in Mind:

(all times eastern)

*	January 18: Braille Readers Are Leaders
<https://actionfund.org/programs/braille-readers-are-leaders>  registration
(and page count) deadline.
*	January 28: Smart Cities Summit
<https://www.nfb.org/programs-services/center-excellence-nonvisual-access/tr
ainings/smart-cities-summit> , 12:00-8:00 p.m. 
*	February 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m. 
*	February 8: Washington Seminar
<https://www.nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/washington-seminar>  Great
Gathering-In
*	March 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m. 
*	March 24-26: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium
*	March 31: Scholarship application
<https://www.nfb.org/programs-services/scholarships-and-awards/scholarship-p
rogram/scholarship-program-application-checklist>  deadline
*	April 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m. 
*	April 15: Bolotin Awards <https://www.nfb.org/bolotin>  nominations
deadline
*	May 2: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m. 
*	June 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m. 
*	July 6-11: NFB National Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana

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.

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, Cleveland Chapter

Phone: 641.715.3900, Ext: 582705

WWW.NFBOhio.ORG <http://WWW.NFBOhio.ORG> 

Suzanne Turner, President

216.990.6199

PO Box 141077

Cleveland, Ohio 44114