[Ohio-Talk] Items for your attention

Wed May 5 00:13:26 UTC 2021

Greetings Ohio,

I find myself working very hard to become as organized as humanly possible
that may seem to be an easy task but in my small apartment, I feel like I am
collecting a tremendous number of   items sometimes. 

I also have been having some problems with my internet and computer, so this
has kept me from posting and being on time with items that require my
attention. You may see several emails from me and other leaders over the
next few weeks so keep watching for those important emails.

I want to thank the chapters which have invited legislators to meetings we
should be actively working on our various issues on that note my thanks also
go out to the team that has demonstrated an ability to make themselves
available. We should never take each other's time for granted and be
considered of one another.

I wanted to share also information that was included in the president's
notebook that is time sensitive so please read on.

Critical Actions:

National Convention:

We are heading into the final month for national convention registration and
we would love to have record crowds in attendance this July. Promote the
convention across your affiliate and remind members that they must be
current on their dues by May 31 to be eligible to vote in national elections
and on resolutions. Please reach out to your members that may not have
internet access or an email account. It's important that all members (and
potential members) have the opportunity for full participation regardless of
the technology at their disposal. 

Please Share Feedback by Completing the Climate Assessment Survey:

RAINN, the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization, is partnering
with the National Federation of the Blind to gather feedback from the blind
community, including NFB members and nonmembers, in an anonymous climate
assessment survey to help inform recommendations for further sexual
misconduct prevention and response programming. It may take approximately
thirty to forty-five minutes.
<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/rainn-nfb2021> Participate in the assessment
survey via SurveyMonkey or take the survey via phone by calling 229-632-7878
or toll free 833-632-7878. 

News:

A Letter to the NFB Community from the Special Committee:

As in the  <https://nfb.org/blog/open-letter-safety-and-support-progress>
April 15 open letter on safety and support progress, the NFB Board
established the Special Committee on January 6, 2021, to oversee and direct
an internal investigation of allegations of sexual misconduct. Please read
the letter to the NFB community from the Special Committee:
<https://nfb.org/programs-services/safety-support/letter-nfb-community-speci
al-committee>
https://nfb.org/programs-services/safety-support/letter-nfb-community-specia
l-committee 

Lyft Offering Free Rides to Federation Members:

Our rideshare partners at Lyft, through their LyftUp Vaccine Access program,
will be providing access to free and donated rides. The code is being made
available for use through June 30. It should be used to travel to and from
COVID-19 vaccination appointments. There will be a code for dose one and a
separate code for dose two. Members will need to contact affiliate
presidents to receive a code and must submit the name of the individual
requesting the code, their city and state, and a description of how the code
will be used. Please do not share or post on social media. 

Summer Program for High School Students: Deadline Approaching for NFB EQ:

National Federation of the Blind Engineering Quotient (NFB EQ) applications
are open. NFB EQ is going virtual July 5-30. High school students can join
us on a month-long adventure into engineering and problem-solving
activities. No specific level of engineering experience is required. Engage
in activities designed to strengthen knowledge and grow interests. The
deadline to apply is May 10. Learn more and apply now at
<http://www.nfb.org/eq> www.nfb.org/eq.

NFB BELLR Academy Deadlines: 

The deadline for our first NFB BELL Academy In-Home session is quickly
approaching. If you wish to participate in the session starting June 7, the
application deadline is Friday, May 7, 2021. This year options are available
for beginning Braille readers, intermediate Braille readers, and those who
know the whole code. Please visit nfb.org/bell for more information or to
apply. 

Calling All Veterans:

Vernon Humphries, the president of the National Association of Blind
Veterans, is looking for all veterans to include in the convention's
Celebration of Freedom. This year he is asking to receive a ten-second audio
recording of each of veterans introducing themselves and providing a short
glimpse of their service. He is requesting that you all spread the word and
to assist veterans who might have difficulty in creating an audio recording.
He would like to receive these at  <mailto:mr_president at nabv.org>
mr_president at nabv.org before June 6. 

Legislative Update:

We continue to build cosponsor support on the Access Technology
Affordability Act. We are up to seventy-four cosponsors in the House and
seventeen in the Senate. Please continue to call your representative and
senators and urge them to cosponsor H.R. 431 and S. 212.

Regarding voting, we are expecting Senators Merkley and Klobuchar to release
text for a proposed amendment to S. 1, the For the People Act, in the near
future. We expect this amendment to address many of our concerns with the
bill. Specifically, we are hoping it preserves the right of states to allow
for the electronic delivery, marking, and return of ballots for voters with
disabilities. In addition, we are hoping it mandates that ballot-marking
devices used with in-person voting be available to people with and without
disabilities, that there is more than one ballot-marking device per polling
location, and that voters are specifically and actively offered to use these
machines.

With regard to a national framework for testing autonomous vehicles,
Senators Thune and Peters are planning to offer an amendment to the Endless
Frontier Act sponsored by Senator Schumer. This amendment specifically
creates a new exemption for testing vehicles that "provide transportation
access for people with disabilities including non-visual access for
individuals who are blind or visually impaired." The final amendment text
will be released late this week or next. It is likely the Senate Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will vote on the amendment next
week.

With regard to both voting and autonomous vehicles, please keep on the
lookout for legislative alerts in the near future. Once the final amendment
text is released, both of these items are likely to move quickly.

Independence Market:

There are two products of the month: the standard click rule (AID01R,
$95.00) and the metric click rule (AID01M, $120.00). And there are several
sale and close-out items: Nine Men's Morris (AIG74N $10.00); stereo earbuds
with volume control (AIA47H, $5.00); NCB stoneware mug (with NFB in tactile
Braille) (LSMXX1N, $5.00); and a set of four playing card holders (AIG25P,
$4.00).

Dates to Keep in Mind:

(all times eastern)

*	May 7:  <https://nfb.org/programs-services/nfb-bell-academy> NFB
BELL Academy application deadline (for session one)
*	May 10:  <http://www.nfb.org/eq> NFB EQ application deadline
*	June 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m. 
*	July 6-10: NFB National Convention, anywhere and everywhere

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.