[Ohio-Talk] President's remarks for December.

Wed Dec 7 14:39:18 UTC 2022

	  When I first decided to write this Colum, I could not complete the
article without reflecting on   Ohio's 2018 State Convention  and our most
recent convention. The "Team Convention: One Team, One Goal"; is my belief
that likeminded people work best together. In the book, Building The Lives
We Want, Dr. Kenneth Jernigan spoke of how he learned critical lessons on
the value of working as part of a group. You see, when he was six years old
at the Tennessee State School for the Blind, he was bullied by the older
boys in the school. He was quite smart at that time. Even as a child, Dr
Jernigan was organizing the younger boys to take a stand and defend
themselves from unfairness. This is why I often repeat, that there is no "I
in team"! Together, we will build the lives we want, which is the title of
the book that talks about how Dr. Jernigan Problem solved as a youth.
Moreover, I love his stance from the book. He said, "even animals in the
jungle have sense enough to hunt in packs." Therefore, it will take us all
as one to achieved goals, inside and outside of the organization.

	In addition, one of the mutual meanings of this could be referred to
as "coming together" as a team to achieve a common goal, as well as when
individuals share a common direction interdependent on each other's skills,
capabilities, talents and resources. The members of the federation must also
give each other Constant encouragement and feedback. You will notice the
results when we are Standing by each other in difficult times as well as
when times are great.

	Consequently, many company's and nonprofits have determined that
Teamwork is crucial for success. Teamwork and communication go hand in hand
and are both central in achieving great results. Teamwork is a journey of
continuous improvement and every team member plays an important role in
achieving the success in the NFB and we are no different than Fortune 500
companies that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to develop
teams to achieve positive results. 

I know that people will try and compare the message from our state
convention to great leader's messages over the years and this is fine. While
it may not be that our message defines the Nfb it certainly is a realistic
way of looking at things. You should use this to evaluate how active and
committed you are to this organization. I believe it when we say "I pledge
to participate actively in the effort of the National Federation of the
Blind, to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to
support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its
constitution.

One could certainly see and feel this in the general session where we had
over thirty first-timers in assembly. When president, Mark Ricco Bono,
became our National president, he made it clear that he wanted to grow the
federation's membership and I am confident that we have done just that in
Ohio. While numbers do not tell the full story, they mean something. His
speech Authenticity, Diversity, and the Synergy of the Organized Blind was
truly one of the best and motivates me to keep the course. 

In the president's notebook one of the decisions that was made was to
finalize our legislative priorities for the 2023 Washington Seminar. Our
three issues this year will be:
1.	Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act
2.	Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act
3.	Eliminating the SSDI Earnings Cliff

You are likely familiar with the first two issues, but the third is
something new. We will be proposing a bill to Congress that will eliminate
the SSDI earnings cliff and instead institute a gradual phase-out of
benefits based on income. This will incentivize more blind and disabled
Americans to find more fulfilling, better-paying jobs without fear of
completely losing all of their SSDI benefits if they cross a specific
earnings threshold. Each of these three issues will be discussed in depth
during a Zoom issues training call on Tuesday, December 20 at 8:00 p.m.,
eastern.

News:
December Presidential Release Recording Available:
	The Presidential Release #522 recording for chapters
<https://nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media/presidential-releases>  is
available to share with chapter presidents to use during their December
chapter meetings. Transcripts and Spanish coming this week. The next
Presidential Release LIVE will be January 4, World Braille Day.

Lyft Up and Share: 
	On Giving Tuesday 2022 Lyft added us to its round-up program. Now
you can add the National Federation of the Blind as an option to receive
contributions every time you ride-a great option for all of our friends and
family. Please share the following blurb with members in emails and social
media to help encourage people to participate. You can copy and paste the
following:
	An exciting and easy giving option for everyone: the organized blind
movement has joined the Lyft Up program, so you can contribute every time
you ride with Lyft. The program will round up the cost of your ride to the
nearest dollar and donate the difference. In the Lyft app, simply go to the
menu, navigate to donate, and choose National Federation of the Blind. Share
this with all of your friends and family, because all of our small change
leads to making a big difference. Thank you for your support!

Accessibility Requirements for Self-Service Transaction Machines and
Self-Service Kiosks:
	The National Federation of the Blind recently submitted comments to
the US Access Board regarding its advanced notice of public rulemaking
(ANPRM) related to accessibility requirements for self-service transaction
machines and self-service kiosks. In our comments, we urge the Access Board
to incorporate Section 508 regulations and Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines into the rulemaking and further urge the Access Board to require
100 percent accessibility conformance in all locations. You can read our
comments, as well as the other content on the Policy Statements
<https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/policy-statements>  section of
our website. 

Scholarship Program Deadline Approaching in March:
	The National Federation of the Blind scholarship program helps blind
college students reach their educational and employment goals and so much
more. Building on its strong foundation, we have enhanced the awards
granted-making the experience even more inclusive, engaging, and meaningful
for the thirty finalists. Each scholarship winner will receive $8,000.
Students can now be encouraged to apply for the 2023 scholarship program
<https://scholarships.nfb.org/> . 

Indeed Pre-Employment Assessments:
	The National Federation of the Blind is investigating the
accessibility of Indeed's pre-employment assessments. If you have been
invited by an employer to complete a pre-employment assessment through
Indeed, or if you have wanted to or attempted to complete a pre-employment
assessment as a way of bolstering your resume on Indeed, please contact
Valerie Yingling, legal program coordinator, at legal at nfb.org
<mailto:legal at nfb.org> .

Braille Monitor December Issue Available and Its History:
	The latest issue of our flagship publication is now available. Read
about the experience of attending one's first convention, information on the
Social Security announcement, tech tips, stories from members, and more.
Access the December Braille Monitor now.
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm22/bm2211/bm2211tc.htm>  Also
available on our Voice of the Nation's Blind Blog is an article titled "A
Brief History of the Braille Monitor
<https://nfb.org/blog/brief-history-braille-monitor> ," by Gary Wunder.

Braille Readers Are Leaders Has Begun:
	December 5was the beginning of the 2022-2023 Braille Readers Are
Leaders Contest. Participants in the contest should track the minutes they
read Braille and log them at actionfund.beanstack.org. If someone wants to
participate in the contest and has not yet registered, it is not too late.
Individuals can sign up and participate in the contest until it ends on
January 23, 2023. Remember that this year we have contests for youth as well
as contests for adults of all Braille reading experience levels. If you have
any questions, please email braillereadingcontest at actionfund.org
<mailto:braillereadingcontest at actionfund.org> . 

Reminders:

Santa and Winter Celebration Letters:
	Don't forget! The time is now to request a Santa or Winter
Celebration letter from the National Federation of the Blind. There are only
two weeks left! We are providing both letters and the activities to go along
with them in English and Spanish. Wouldn't your child, grandchild, or
student love to receive a Braille letter in the mail during the winter
break? The letters and activities are also provided in print for sighted
family members and friends. Just think how fun it will be making lasting
memories with your blind child that you cherish for years to come. All you
need to do is visit
http://nfb.org/program-servics/early-childhood-initiatives/santa-letters and
complete the form. Hurry, requests will only be accepted through December
16, 2022.  

Member Data Corrections:
	If you have member information that needs correcting, you can send
it to Danielle McCann (dmccann at nfb.org <mailto:dmccann at nfb.org> ) by
December 31 for updating. This does not include adding new members; they
should be entered in the new member form. <https://nfb.org/new_member_form>
This process is for existing members whose information is either incorrect
in the portal or needs updating. 

	 Dates to Keep in Mind:
(all times eastern)
*	December 16: Deadline for Santa Letters and Winter Celebration
<https://nfb.org/programs-services/early-childhood-initiatives/santa-letters
> 
*	December 31: Deadline for assistance with updating member data
*	January 4, 2023: Braille Day <https://braille.day/>  
*	January 30, 2023: Great Gathering-In
*	March 23, 2023: Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium
*	July 1-6, 2023: National Convention; Houston, Texas

As your President, I would like to wish you all  happy Holiday's  and a
prosperous new year ! I am looking forward to the new year and all of our
wonderful and informative events; such as the Washington Seminar, The
Columbus Seminar, the Braille Enrichment Literacy and Learning Program
(BELL), 2023 National Convention and our 2023 State of Ohio Convention.
Outside of that, growing the membership, locally, throughout the state and
across the nation has become one of my greatest passion's. It is "One Team
with One Goal" that we can do this together. If you believe in the NFB
philosophy that states, "with love, hope and determination, the members of
the National Federation of the Blind transform dreams into reality". The
operative word is "members". It is plural and not singular in nature. So,
with that, from my family to yours, Merry Christmas! 

Richard Payne,  President
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
937/829/3368
Rchpay7 at gmail.com <mailto: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.