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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I am pleased to share with you the following letter
from Terry Eagle, President of the National Association of Blind Merchants of
Michigan to the Elected Operators' Committee. EOC leadership has been
going to some trouble lately to imply that our organization does not represent
the best interests of the Business Enterprise Program and its operators.
What's wrong with the ideas below? Your comments are welcome.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dear Elected Operators’ Committee Members<BR>I am
writing on behalf of our association membership. This communication is in
response<BR>to a planned meeting with Mr. Zimmer with select members of the EOC,
with absolutely<BR>no discussion on the matter by the entire body, which appears
strange at best to<BR>have a meeting that claims to be representative of the
elected body. Additionally,<BR>we are responding because of reference by
Mr. Essenberg, that the views of the organized<BR>blind of the NFB, and NFBMM
somehow do not reflect the views of blind licensees.<BR>We do not reasonably
understand how such a conclusion could be reached, absent any<BR>discussion or
consensus on the topic of the executive order by the entire EOC
representative<BR>body.<BR>Below you will be introduced to what we refer to as
the baker’s dozen of core values,<BR>principles, and best business and program
practices, which summarize our views for<BR>the administration of the Michigan
Business Enterprise Program.<BR>As a collective organization of blind business
persons, we envision a Business Enterprise<BR>Pro gram that provides meaningful
and financially rewarding business opportunities<BR>for the blind, including the
following:<BR>1. Program management that are qualified, and competent in
business planning and<BR>management, financial and other resource management
that is responsible, transparent,<BR>and accountable, knowledge and appreciation
of the skills and abilities associated<BR>with blindness, the ability to inspire
and build teamwork and personal achievement,<BR>and the ability to administer in
a fair, transparent, and accountable manner, with<BR>uniform application and
compliance with state and federal program laws, rules and<BR>regulations,
policies and procedures;<BR>2. Routinely and timely provide training
materials, policy and procedure manuals,<BR>memorandum and letters, documents
and records, plans and proposals, announcements,<BR>meeting agendas and minutes,
and other printed and electronic materials in a useable<BR>format for the blind,
including Braille and large print, according to identified<BR>individual
preference, in compliance with applicable laws, rules and
regulations,<BR>policies and procedures;<BR>3. Business locations that
offer a blind licensee a profitable business return and<BR>independent living
income, and contributing to society with many talents and skills,<BR>and
financially contributing to federal, state, and municipal treasuries,
through<BR>payments of self-employment, income, sales and employer taxes, rather
than being<BR>tax takers on public social welfare programs;<BR>4.
Innovative up-to-date facilities that reflect current trends in the
industry<BR>and are appealing and inviting to guests and potential
guests;<BR>5. Ongoing evaluation and development of new and existing
business locations, for<BR>the expansion of the program, and profitable business
opportunities and independent<BR>living income generation for the
blind;<BR>6. Equipment for business efficiency and profitability, that
reflect excellence<BR>in selection of appropriateness, functionality, and
adequate for the business type<BR>and plan, with routine and ongoing
maintenance, repair, and replacement, to achieve<BR>maximum profitability
through emerging business innovation, industry trends, and<BR>use of technology
in the business, that is accessible by blind licensees, employees,<BR>and
guests;<BR>7. Adequate level of inventory and profitable product mix and
selection;<BR>8. appropriate, adequate, and meaningful initial and ongoing
in-service training,<BR>including a program position dedicated for the sole
purpose of training of blind<BR>persons as potential licensees, and the ongoing
in-service training of licensees;<BR>9. The utilization of the Business
Enterprise Support Team (BEST), for newly placed<BR>licensees, and existing
licensees experiencing identifiable business or personal<BR>challenges and
training needs;<BR>10. Supportive promotional staff that are qualified in
business, and are appropriately,<BR>and adequately trained, including knowledge
of skills and abilities associated with<BR>blindness, to support and timely
respond to licensee and business location needs;<BR>11. Establishment and
operation of a transparent, easily accessible and verifiable,<BR>fair, and
uniformly applied system for performance evaluation, promotion and
seniority<BR>point award and record-keeping system, and program facility
placement promotion and<BR>transfer policies and procedures;<BR>12. A
fair, unbiased, ethical, timely and responsive due process
administrative<BR>review and hearing system to address, attempt to resolve, and
adjudicate complaints<BR>and grievances of licensees and potential blind
licensees, in the administration<BR>of the Business enterprise Program,
including providing records, documents, exhibits,<BR>transcripts, notices and
administrative law judge recommended and final agency decisions,<BR>and other
printed and electronic materials in a useable format for the blind,
including<BR>Braille and large print, according to identified individual
preference, in compliance<BR>with applicable laws, rules and regulations,
policies and procedures, to achieve<BR>meaningful accessibility and substantive
and procedural due process;<BR>13. Fairly and
uniformly applied program laws, rules and regulations, policies<BR>and
procedures, to all program licensees, trainees, potential licensees, and
program<BR>staff, without regard to affiliation, viewpoint, advocacy,
disability, religion,<BR>creed, national origin, age, race, gender, marital
status, or sexual orientation.<BR>Over the past five years, Failure to fairly
and uniformly operate the Business Enterprise<BR>Program under these core
values, principles, and best business and public service<BR>standards and
practices, without of favoritism and contempt for a person’s affiliation<BR>or a
person expressing his or her views, and speaking out against wrongdoing,
has<BR>lead to and created an environment resulting in distrust of the
Commission administration,<BR>program management, and Elected Operators’
Committee to act in the best interest<BR>of the Business enterprise Program,
potential and existing blind licensees, and blind<BR>persons in general,
including those blind individuals on a list of available, qualified,<BR>and
eager to work as temporary licensees, and disregarded in favor of sighted
persons<BR>being employed, using and loss of resources intended for blind
persons to be gainfully<BR>employed. A distrust by and between licensees,
staff, management , and members of<BR>the Elected Operators; Committee,
resulting in poor or non-existent communication,<BR>breakdown in cooperation and
lack of teamwork, and obvious apathy, non-involvement,<BR>and a management
created sense of fear of intimidation, retaliation, and threat of<BR>and actual
unfair removal of licenses from the blind only. This environment is
compounded<BR>by the use of untrained, unmonitored, unaccountable sighted
persons running program<BR>facilities, whom ran down the business and inventory,
and making away with inventory<BR>funds , set-aside funds, and other financial ,
legal, and treasury obligation funds,<BR>while blind licensees were ripped from
their facilities, businesses, and livelihood,<BR>while absolutely no compliance,
removal, or financial accountability and recovery<BR>action has been taken
against sighted licensees as of this date.<BR>The Commission administration and
Business Enterprise Program management do not stand<BR>alone with regard to the
creation and advancement of the current environment that<BR>surrounds the low
morale, apathy, and distrust within the program. The Elected
Operators’<BR>Committee bears equal responsibility for the environment that
exists. Here are a<BR>few examples of Elected Operators’ Committee actions
that have contributed to the<BR>current environment. The most recent and
ongoing is the inclusion of some EOC members<BR>in discussions, meeting, and
decisions, while other members are excluded on important<BR>issues and decisions
facing the program and operators future livelihood. This
situation<BR>includes the involvement of program management in the drafting and
“approval” of<BR>official EOC communications, and not informing all EOC members
of the intended action,<BR>and not permitting an opportunity for input by all
EOC members. Next, Mr. ESSenberg<BR>stated that, “Our body [the EOC] has
stayed relatively silent on the subject of the<BR>Governor's order, because we
were told when the initial order came out not to contact<BR>the Governor's
office regarding that topic.” First, it is abundantly true the EOC<BR>has
remained silent, had no discussions, or formulated and adopted a position
on<BR>the governor’s executive order, and any statement on the impact it will
bring upon<BR>the program and the livelihood of blind licensees, or any
recommendations for most<BR>positive steps, if any, in the implementation of the
intended action. Further, Mr.<BR>Essenberg wrote, “I am writing to you on
behalf of the Chair of the Elected Operators<BR>Committee James Chaney, and the
other ten members of the committee, including myself.”<BR>Since Mr. Essenberg’s
statement above is true, then how is it possible for a few<BR>to write on behalf
of the other ten members? Moreover, how is it possible to meet<BR>with Mr.
Zimmer on a topic, claiming to represent the consensus of the entire EOC,<BR>and
present a viewpoint and possible solutions, when, in reality, the entire
body<BR>has remained silent on the topic of the executive order?
Additionally, how can the<BR>best interest of blind licensees be openly
discussed and represented with the program<BR>manager and assistant manager in
attendance? Given these facts and questions, at<BR>best, only the personal
views and opinions of a select few EOC members and program<BR>management can be
represented. And are these not the same individuals scheduled<BR>to meet
with Mr. Zimmer that met with MR. Arwood over a year ago, and were
supposed<BR>to have additional meetings that never took place? and
during that one meeting<BR>being informed by Mr. Arwood, in clear unambiguous
language, what actions were required<BR>and expected for improvement of the
Business Enterprise Program. Was not the ball<BR>fumbled and lost by these
individuals regarding this serious matter? And now, these<BR>same select
program management and EOC leaders of blind licensees claim to represent<BR>the
best interests of the entire EOC and blind licensees, and expect the blind
to<BR>entrust their future careers and livelihood to the views, judgment, and
actions of<BR>these select individuals?<BR>Where have these representative
individuals been during the past sixty plus days?<BR>Are they elected advocates
for and of the best interests of blind licensees? That<BR>is what the
program enabling legislation and implementing regulations and
administrative<BR>rules envisioned and mandated by creation of the committee of
blind licensees, and<BR>guaranteeing “active participation” in decision-making
that affect blind licensees,<BR>in the administration of the
program. Nowhere is remaining silent mentioned,
encouraged,<BR>suggested or demanded in the creation and role of the committee
of blind licensees.<BR>This especially is true with regard to a topic with a
life-altering and potentially<BR>devastating impact upon the program and future
careers and livelihoods of blind licensees.<BR>Mr. Essenberg wrote, “. . . we
were told when the initial order came out not to contact<BR>the Governor's
office regarding that topic.“. DO you as the EOC leadership, care<BR>to
disclose who the “we” are in “we were told . . .” statement, and by whom
were<BR>“we told . . .”? This type of incomprehensible and nonsensical
explanation and advocacy<BR>inaction on this unprecedented serious topic further
erodes the confidence of blind<BR>licensees to trust the judgment and motives of
their elected representative body,<BR>and only reinforces the common belief
among blind licensees that their elected representatives<BR>act at the beckon
call of unidentified individuals, and doing whatever those
unidentified<BR>individuals say to do, in return for personal favoritism of a
select few, while ignoring<BR>the duty to advocate for the best interests of all
blind licensees. We believe such<BR>blind licensee distrust and apathy is
best and most recently demonstrated by the<BR>poor licensee attendance at the
annual workshop, and moreover, the poor participation<BR>in voting in the
election of EOC members. The truth is that blind licensees believe<BR>they
do not have a voice or representation in the active participation in their
futures<BR>and the administration of their program. Blind licensees believe
their program and<BR>futures have been hijacked, and the program is on a course
of crash and burn to incineration<BR>where nothing remains of the Business
enterprise Program.<BR>The National Association of Blind Merchants of Michigan,
and the National Federation<BR>of the Blind collectively do not share that
belief and assessment of the future of<BR>the Business Enterprise Program.
That is why over the past sixty plus days we have<BR>undertaken a passionate
campaign to meet and have an ongoing conversation with elected<BR>and
administration officials, to share with them our stories, desires and
dreams,<BR>ideas and suggestions, on the importance and continued future of the
Commission and<BR>Business Enterprise Program. We will continue this
campaign until the best interests<BR>of blind citizens and blind licensees are
served. We believe, at this point our<BR>collective, visible, in-person
contacts have had a substantial impact on the decision<BR>to rescind the
executive order to date. We are under no illusion that this matter<BR>has
disappeared, and we continue to be diligent in our efforts to bring about
the<BR>best result for the blind of<BR>Michigan<BR>. As the nation’s
oldest and largest organization of blind citizens and blind merchants,<BR>we are
highly recognized for our expertise in matters of blindness and the
administration<BR>of the Randolph-Sheppard vending facility program, and
vocational rehabilitation<BR>programs for the blind.<BR>Mr. Essenberg wrote
that, “Their [the NFB’s] viewpoints may not be representative<BR>of all of our
79 vendors.” . Admittedly, while we the organized blind do not
pretend<BR>to represent each and every blind licensee as members of the National
Association<BR>of Blind Merchants of Michigan, our views and expertise on
matters of concern to<BR>blind licensees do in fact represent the views and
positions of a vast majority of<BR>blind licensees, and include our views in the
above baker’s dozen of core values,<BR>principles, and best business and program
practices, With regard to the administration<BR>of the Michigan Business
Enterprise Program for the blind.<BR>Several members and supporters remember at
time in the past when the BEP in Michigan<BR>was guided and governed by core
values, principles, and best business and program<BR>practices very similar to,
and a reflection of the baker’s dozen above, and as a<BR>result Michigan ranked
in the top five Business Enterprise Programs in the nation,<BR>demonstrating
excellence in virtually all measurable program indicators. This
was<BR>achieved by always asking the following question in all matters of the
BEP and EOC:<BR>“How will this be beneficial for blind vendors and the
program?”. Today, sadly and<BR>unfortunately,<BR>Michigan<BR> ranks
near the bottom, and is the butt of many jokes throughout the country.
Is<BR>there any wonder or doubt about why the Business Enterprise Program
in<BR>Michigan<BR> is under a microscope, and the survival of the program
hangs in the balance?<BR>In Closing, we the organized blind of the National
Association of Blind merchants<BR>of<BR>Michigan<BR>, strongly urge you to not
repeat the previous performance that resulted from the<BR>2011 meeting with Mr.
Arwood. We urge you , before meeting with Mr. Zimmer, to reevaluate<BR>a
meeting with any number fewer than the entire EOC being present, and only EOC
members<BR>attend any meetings with MR. Zimmer. Also, since the EOC has
remained silent and<BR>inactive on the matter of Executive Order 2012-2, we
strongly suggest a full, open,<BR>and transparent discussion of the issues
involved, and the formulation of a consensus<BR>position, about the desired
future program. Finally, we offer our baker’s dozen<BR>outlined above, as
an effective framework for the desired future Business Enterprise<BR>Program
in<BR>Michigan.<BR>Respectfully,<BR>Terry D. Eagle, President<BR>National
Association of Blind Merchants of Michigan<BR></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>