[Ohio-Talk] A New/Renewed Venture

[Todd Elzey]

Good afternoon. As many of you may recall, I have been working for the
National Office of the Federation as a Digital Communications Specialist in
the Communications Office for about the past 8-9 months. I wanted to
announce this to my fellow NFB of Ohio Federation members before the news
leaks elsewhere. I have recently informed President Riccobono that I will
be leaving the position of Digital Communications Coordinator with the
Federation effective February 24, 2023.

When I gave my notice to President Riccobono I thanked him for the
opportunity to work at the National Office. It has been a great experience
and I have learned a number of new things I will take with me. I also
thanked Stephanie Cascone and all of the NFB communications staff for being
a great boss and fantastic colleagues.

Many of you may wonder why I am leaving such a secure position. When our
colleague Scott LaBarre passed away in December, I began to have a
realization that life can be very short and we only get one try at it. This
realization really sank in when I realized that I first met Scott in the
late 80s and that he was actually 4 years younger than I am.

 Prior to joining the NFB National Staff I was working as a Freelance
writer. I was certainly struggling to earn money, but I was doing something
that had always been a dream of mine and I believe I was doing some good by
getting information out that might not otherwise have seen the light of
day. I have always dreamed of being a writer/journalist, and was once told
by an academic counselor at Ohio State to give up on that dream because a
blind/low-vision individual could not be a journalist because of
transportation. I let that counselor dissuade me from the journalism/media
path and I always regretted that.

Given how short life can be - none of us ever know when our time will end.
So now I am going to follow the dream no matter where it leads. So
effective February 24, 2023 I will be returning to freelance writing and
reporting.

Making this switch will be a bit time consuming to reestablish as a
writer/journalist after my absence, particularly since I am now in a new
market in Columbus. But I know in the long-term the work will be worth it.
Hopefully, I can use my venue as a freelance writer and journalist to help
promote the priorities of the NFB and the NFB of Ohio.

Thanks, and please feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Todd Elzey