[Ohio-Talk] From the President Desk for July 2022

Fri Jul 22 15:47:20 UTC 2022

Happy Summer To All,

Please read this document through to its entirety. There is great
opportunities and vital information for your reading. Such as,

	1: SSA Kiosks:
	2: CENA Event:
	3: Self-Employment Opportunities with Synergies Work:
	4: Read Our Latest Post on Voice of the Nation's Blind Blog:
	5: Revised Constitution: 
 6: And more!

 It is hard to believe that the National Convention is over and that the
State of Ohio Board of Director's meeting is right around the corner, which
will be held September 17, 2022 at 10:00 A.M. EDT. All are invited to
attend. The good news is that we will be at the host hotel and if you would
like to stay overnight for the Ohio Board meeting, please reach out to the
hotel directly to reserve a room. All Ohio Board Members, should reach out
to the Ohio Affiliate President, Richard Payne  for your direct
instructions.

Incidentally, this is the same location where our 76th Convention will be
held at the: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 6200 Quarry Ln., Independence, Ohio
44131, (216) 447-1300. You now can reserve your room for $104 per night plus
tax, which includes breakfast. Please call the hotel and make those
arrangements for November 4, 5 and 6 of 2022.

Suzanne and the convention planning committee has started to work on a
number of details for the Convention and I have been working on speakers as
well on the agenda. If you have any suggestions or items to be considered,
please reach out to Suzanne with your thoughts. We are looking for
innovative and creative events.

The online registration will be up and available very soon. So, please do
your part to make those arrangements to be present. 

Because, we did not get to celebrate in person our 75th Convention in great
fashion, I am confident  that you will enjoy the greatest event in 2022 in
Independence. We will have several attractions, surprises and giveaways. You
also can be confident that the Ohio Affiliate will take serious caution and
protocols to keep all attendees safe as we continue to be affected by
COVID19. Please do not come to the Ohio Board meeting or the 2022 Convention
with a positive reading of the virus. Everyone is important to Ohio and we
want to send everyone home with a signature prize, that is not called
COVID19.     

Also, we will be asking Chapters and Divisions to send their updated
membership list. It is not too early to get your list updated.  This is very
important and required. As a reminder, if you have an interested person in
the NFB, refer them to our open house. Ann, if you have a new member, please
add them to the membership onboarding portal.  
1.	The new member form can be found at www.nfb.org/new_member_form
<http://www.nfb.org/new_member_form> 
2.	The Open House registration form can be found at 
https://nfb.org/form/open-house-gathering-call-regist

The Gavel Award information will be coming out soon Please keep a look out
for that vital information from Annette Lutz, Chair.

At the national convention, information for a Chapter in an Affiliate to
host the October Presidential Release Live was presented. Wouldn't it be
great to have a chapter from Ohio granted this spectacular opportunity? Here
is some text you can use to promote that within our chapters :
		"Host a Presidential Release LIVE in your chapter! By
chapter, affiliate, or even region, we are asking you to submit a brief
proposal to have the October Presidential Release LIVE in your area. They
will come to you! Please email membership at nfb.org
<mailto:membership at nfb.org>  your pitch on what the release setup would be
and any details that would help us determine that your chapter is the right
host for this opportunity. Why should we come to you? Be creative and share
stories on how it will help your chapter build the Federation. Ideally the
release would take place on September 30, October 1, or October 2, 2022.
Deadline to submit your proposal is Sunday, August 28, and we will announce
the accepted proposal on the September release.

National News:
	Revised Constitution: 
	The newly updated constitution, approved by the Convention, has been
posted at https://nfb.org/about-us/history-and-governance/constitution.

	Mark Your Calendar for August Presidential Release:
	The next Presidential Release
<https://nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media/presidential-releases>  of
the National Federation of the Blind is scheduled for August 2, 2022, at
8:00 p.m., eastern time. Zoom details coming soon. 

	#NFB22 Highlights Coming Soon:
	The 2022 NFB National Convention highlights, in various formats,
will be available by July 30. Access the Presidential Report, resolutions,
banquet speech, and YouTube archives:
*	Spirit, Togetherness, and Service: The Signature of the Blind
People's Movement <https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=26642&qid=> 
*	2022 Presidential Report
<https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=26643&qid=> 
*	2022 Resolutions <https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=26644&qid=> 
*	YouTube Playlist of General Sessions
<https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=26645&qid=> 
	Thanks again to our members, sponsors, exhibitors, and everyone who
made #NFB22 a success. 

	Read Our Latest Post on Voice of the Nation's Blind Blog:
	Longtime Federations, Todd Elzey, wrote about his employment
experiences and excitement for the promotion of self-employment
opportunities in the recent post, "Entrepreneurism: A Solution to
Unemployment and Underemployment of the Blind."
<https://nfb.org/blog/entrepreneurism-solution-unemployment-and-underemploym
ent-blind> 

	July Braille Monitor Available:
	The latest issue of our flagship publication is now available. Read
about the coverage on the "We're With U!" concert, discussion on chapter
chatter, stories from members, and more. Access the Braille Monitor now.
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm22/bm2207/bm2207tc.htm> 

	We Did It!:
	Thanks to all of you and a gift from Netflix, we reached our goal of
$50,000 in the Give $20 campaign. HumanWare will match that gift. Everyone
who contributed, spread the word, and otherwise made this possible can be
pleased by the results.

	Thank You to the #NFB22 Sponsors-More Virtual Opportunities
Available:
	We greatly appreciate the 2022 National Convention Sponsors
<https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/sponsors>  who support the
work of the Federation. Continue the #NFB22 learning experience with more
virtual seminars presented by our sponsors
<https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/2022-national-convention-v
irtual-experience> :
*	July 19, 2:00-4:30 p.m., eastern: Digital Accessibility at Target:
>From Shopping to Employment. Join the Digital Accessibility at Target
Meeting
<https://target.zoom.us/j/94951605699?pwd=cDVHRlIvTmZrNDZjV1ZhWERvTE5VZz09>
. Meeting ID: 949 5160 5699. Passcode: 341747
*	July 25, 3:00-4:00 p.m., eastern: Job Training Without Limits,
presented by Clusiv. Join the Job Training Without Limits, presented by
Clusiv
<https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85835889308?pwd=bGVlRzRCKysrRXUwZ1Jld1BoWW02QT09>
. 

	Independence Market:
	The Independence Market was unfortunately closed all last week. It
reopened today (July 18), and we are working to complete our backlog as soon
as possible. We appreciate your patience. 

	Self-Employment Opportunities with Synergies Work:
	The National Federation of the Blind has partnered with Synergies
Work, an Atlanta nonprofit that supports entrepreneurs with disabilities, to
empower blind and low-vision entrepreneurs across the country to launch new
businesses and grow existing enterprises through Synergies Work's Idea to
Incubation (i2i) Program. <https://synergieswork.org/i2i/>  No experience
required but space is limited. 

	CENA Event:
	Learn some of the basic-but-powerful techniques experts use every
day to build accessibility into their documents. Join the NFB's Center of
Excellence in Nonvisual Access on July 26, 2022, from 2:00-3:30 p.m.,
eastern, to learn how to make Word, PowerPoint, and PDF files accessible for
all. 
	Register today <https://nfb.org/form/accessibility-boutique-reg> 

	SSA Kiosks:
	The NFB continues to seek information about the accessibility of the
Social Security Administration's current visitor-intake-processing methods.
If you have visited an SSA field office since their reopening in April 2022,
plan to visit an office soon, or would be interested in being a tester for
the NFB, please contact Valerie Yingling at 410-659-9314, extension 2440, or
legal at nfb.org <mailto:legal at nfb.org> . We are specifically gathering
information on whether the field offices are using kiosk, web-based, or
human check-in processes, and whether these processes are accessible to
blind individuals. 

	Uber and Lyft Ride Denials:
	The NFB continues to gather information regarding ride denials not
only due to service animals, but also related to a traveler's use of a white
cane, as well as access barriers on the companies' apps. We know that Uber
and Lyft drivers continue to discriminate and request that you complete
NFB's survey
<https://nfb.org/programs-services/legal-program/rideshare-discrimination-su
rvey>  and share your experiences with us for our continued legal advocacy.
We are especially interested in hearing from individuals who use Uber and
who do not have their own account, using either a third-party service such
as GoGo Grandparent; paratransit, concierge, or medical appointment
dispatchers; or who use Uber via a friend, spouse, or other individual's
account. 

Dates to Keep in Mind:
(all times eastern)
*	August 2: Presidential Release
*	August 31: Deadline for affiliates to request Action Fund Braille
calendars
*	January 30, 2023: Great Gathering-In
*	March 23, 2023: Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium

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.

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.