[VendTalk] FW: The Blitz 2018 in Review

[David Andrews]

>
>Subject: [il-talk] FW: The Blitz 2018 in Review
>From: Edward Birmingham via IL-Talk <il-talk at nfbnet.org>
>Cc: Edward Birmingham <ebirm18 at wowway.com>
>
>   NABM President Nicky Gacos asked that I share 
> the latest Blitz with you. He would appreciate 
> it if you could share it with other blind 
> entrepreneurs and interested stakeholders. The 
> National Association of Blind Merchants A 
> Division of the National Federation of the 
> Blind The Blitz 18 in 18 The National 
> Association of Blind Merchants a Division of 
> the National Federation of the Blind, each 
> January publishes a special issue of The Blitz 
> highlighting some of the accomplishments and 
> bigger stories for the prior year. 2018 was an 
> exciting year. An entire chapter in the history 
> of Randolph-Sheppard could be devoted to 2018 
> and that is no exaggeration. But no one has 
> time to read an entire chapter. Plus if we get 
> any complaints about The Blitz it is that is 
> too long and an example of information 
> overload. So, we decided to take a little 
> different angle this year andoffer up 18 
> highlights for 2018. There are many successes 
> to celebrate so let’s get started. 1.  Rest 
> Area Commercialization ­ Perhaps, the largest 
> legislative threat too Randolph-Sheppard in 
> decades was the effort to allow states to 
> commercialize interstate rest areas. The 
> President included commercialization in his 
> infrastructure plan and the Chair of the House 
> Committee with jurisdiction endorsed the idea. 
> However, NABM joined with a coalition of other 
> groups who opposed rest area commercialization 
> to fight it. That coalition included the 
> National Association of Truck Stop Operators, 
> National Association of Convenience Stores, 
> National Automated Merchandising Association, 
> and others.   Our National Federation of the 
> Blind Office in Baltimore got involved in 
> support of the blind merchants. Consequently, 
> the legislative effort gained no traction and 
> now has been pushed to the back burner.   NABM 
> made it easy for blind entrepreneurs and other 
> stakeholders to communicate their opposition by 
> creating a website that allowed them to send 
> letters to their members of Congress.   NABM 
> met with the Assistant Secretary of the 
> Department of Transportation to discuss the 
> issue and later sponsored a roundtable 
> discussion with DOT. Although we enjoyed 
> success in 2018, we must remain vigilant in 
> 2019. The issue is not going because governors 
> are looking for new sources of 
> revenue.  2.  DoD Successes ­ We couuld devote 
> pages to Department of Defense issues. We 
> won’t analyze each arbitration decision or 
> court ruling. DoD issues can best be summarized 
> with the following: *    DoD Withdraws Proposed 
> Rules ­ In 2016, DoD published propposed rules 
> that would have drastically impacted the 
> Randolph-Sheppard priority for military dining 
> contracts. The rules would have limited the 
> priority to only a few contracts. The intent of 
> the rules was to implement the Joint Policy 
> Statement of 2006 which attempted to resolve 
> the conflict over when the priority applies. 
> NABM and the National Federation of the Blind 
> led the charge in opposition to these rules. We 
> created a website that allowed our stakeholders 
> to generate over 5,000 public comments in 
> opposition to the proposed regulations. We 
> advocated with the Department of Education. We 
> solicited help from members of Congress. We 
> advocated with DoD and OMB. Ultimately, the 
> Department of Education advised DoD that the 
> Joint Policy Statement no longer represented 
> the views of the Department. DoD was left with 
> little choice except to withdraw the rules. 
> Kudos to RSA and the Department of Education 
> for its willingness to denounce the Joint 
> Policy Statement; thus, bringing an end to 
> DoD’s attempt to torpedo the priority. 
> *     The Priority Applies to DFA Contracts 
> ­  In line with its stance that it no longer 
> supported the Joint Policy Statement, 
> Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos 
> responded to an inquiry from Congressman Pete 
> Sessions regarding the applicability of the 
> Randolph-Sheppard priority to military dining 
> contracts. Specifically, the Congressman wanted 
> to know if the priority applies to Dining 
> Facility Attendant (DFA) services. The 
> Secretary was unambiguous in her reply. Her 
> answer was yes. The letter was a shot in the 
> arm for the Randolph-Sheppard community which 
> had always maintained that this was the case. 
> It also gave states ammunition in arbitration 
> cases and court appeals where states had 
> challenged the military’s position that the 
> priority did not apply. A federal judge in 
> Texas who was hearing the State of Texas’ 
> appeal of a Fort Bliss arbitration panel 
> decision took note of he letter and ruled in 
> favor of the SLA. There were other arbitration 
> panels who issued rulings stating the priority 
> applies. 2018 was a huge year in terms of 
> victories on this issue. However, the battle 
> rages on. The military doesn’t take much 
> stock in the Secretary’s letter or the 
> court’s rulings. They continue to issue 
> solicitations without the Randolph-Sheppard 
> priority forcing states willing to fight the 
> fight to litigate. And you can bet there are 
> folks trying to make the case with members of 
> Congress that they need to change the law. This 
> means we have to be even more vigilant in 
> protecting our priority. We must do our part to 
> educate members on this very important issue. * 
> Games Being Played with Competitive Range ­“ 
> Even in those cases where the military concedes 
> that the Randolph-Sheppard priority applies, 
> they still attempt to circumvent the priority. 
> At Fort Dix, the Army said the priority only 
> applies if the SLA’s bid is in the 
> competitive range so they set no competitive 
> range. An arbitration panel ruled a competitive 
> range had to be set. At Fort Benning, the Army 
> ruled the SLA’s bid to be outside of the 
> competitive range but used some unorthodox 
> procedure to make that determination. The SLA 
> is challenging this. The prior year we saw the 
> same thing at Fort Lee and now Fort Jackson is 
> having issues related to the application of the 
> competitive range.   It seems to be the 
> Army’s new strategy. *       Vending on 
> Military Bases ­ In early  2018, an arbitration 
> panel in Florida ruled that the SLA has a 
> priority to establish vending facilities at 
> Tyndall Air Force Base. NABM provided expert 
> testimony in that case. The panel went further 
> and ruled that the SLA is also entitled to 
> income sharing from vending machines operated 
> by the post-exchange. This was a landmark 
> ruling and is in conflict with a federal court 
> ruling in Texas over 25 years ago. The SLA has 
> not gone to court to enforce the ruling. The 
> hurricane practically leveled the base which is 
> being rebuilt. The SLA hopes to address the 
> issues as new structures go up or old ones are 
> repaired. If unsuccessful, court will be the 
> next step. If a federal court were to rule that 
> SLA’s are entitled to income sharing, it 
> would be huge and would create dozens if not 
> hundreds of opportunities for blind 
> entrepreneurs nationwide. *      Marines Reject 
> SLA Bids for Multi-State Contracts ­ The 
> RRandolph-Sheppard community had high hopes 
> that 2018 would be the year that an SLA would 
> be awarded its first multi-state 
> contract.   California took the lead and 
> submitted a bid for the military dining at the 
> Marine bases in California and Arizona. South 
> Carolina submitted a bid on behalf of South 
> Carolina, Virginia, and North Carolina. Both 
> states selected FSIG as its teaming partner. 
> Unfortunately, both bids were rejected on 
> technical grounds that were very suspect. South 
> Carolina has filed for arbitration. 3.  BLAST 
> Was a Texas Size Success ­ Regardless of wwhat 
> your tool is for measuring a successful 
> conference, the 2018 BLAST in San Antonio would 
> qualify as a whopping success. Records were set 
> for attendance and the quality of the 
> programming was second to none. BLAST has 
> become the premiere training and networking 
> event in the Randolph-Sheppard community. It is 
> THE event to learn, network, and to be 
> inspired. We have been bombarded by questions 
> about when and where the 2019 BLAST will be. 
> Unfortunately, there will not be a full-scale 
> BLAST in 2019. The next one will be in 2020 and 
> we will be announcing the location soon. 
> Instead, we hope to announce a smaller 
> conference, a mini BLAST if you will, in the 
> coning weeks. Be on the lookout for both 
> announcements. 4.  Regional and State Training 
> ­ In 2018, NABM sponsored one regional 
> confference and contracted with one state to do 
> its annual training conference. In September, 
> we sponsored a two-day training conference in 
> Des Moines, Iowa for the states in the Midwest. 
> Approximately 50 SLA staff and blind 
> entrepreneurs from Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, 
> Oklahoma, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, and 
> Wisconsin attended. It was a great experience 
> that included an afternoon at the U-Select-It 
> manufacturing facility and headquarters. NABM 
> expects to do more of these regional type 
> trainings. In August, NABM contracted with the 
> State of Tennessee to do its annual Statewide 
> Managers Meeting. Again, the quality of the 
> training was outstanding. NABM would like to 
> have the opportunity to do similar training in 
> other states. If you think you’d like to see 
> a regional training in your area or your state 
> wants to enhance the quality of its annual 
> training conference, get in touch with Nicky 
> Gacos or Terry Smith.      5.  President Gacos 
> Launches Women’s Initiative ­ In 2018, NABM 
> President Nicky Gacos realizeed that women are 
> seriously underrepresented in 
> Randolph-Sheppard. He wanted to do something 
> about it so he launched what is now being 
> referred to as WiSE ­ Women’s Iniitiative 
> Supporting Entrepreneurship. The states were 
> surveyed and it was determined that only 24% of 
> current Randolph-Sheppard entrepreneurs are 
> women. Furthermore, it was discovered that 
> women are represented in even smaller 
> percentages in the larger income facilities 
> such as troop dining contracts. Melba Taylor, a 
> blind entrepreneur from Maryland, is heading up 
> the initiative. She conducted a workshop at 
> BLAST and the group came up with 
> recommendations on how to address the problems. 
> Those recommendations have been incorporated 
> into a white paper that will soon be released. 
> You will want to watch for that. 6.  NABM 
> Releases White Paper on GSA Issues ­ In recent 
> years,, the Randolph-Sheppard community has 
> become increasingly frustrated by what it views 
> as abuses of the law by the U.S. General 
> Services Administration. NABM has had 
> significant dialogue with GSA officials in 
> Washington, D.C. but the problems persist. In 
> an effort to get GSA’s attention and to give 
> the SLA’s some ammunition in their fights to 
> protect the rights of blind entrepreneurs on 
> federal properties, NABM released a white paper 
> that addresses a number of the problems. You 
> can view the white paper by going to 
> https://blindmerchants.org/gsa-compliance-issues 
> / 7.  Hadley Training Becoming the Cornerstone 
> of Entry Level Training - 34 blind individuals 
> enrolled in the NABM / Hadley Institute for the 
> Blind on-line entry-level training program in 
> 2018. This represents approximately 30% of all 
> newly trained Randolph-Sheppard entrepreneurs 
> in the country. That percentage will continue 
> to rise as more and more states look to cut 
> costs and increase referrals. The on-line 
> training accomplishes both. 8.  States Jumping 
> On Board with Subscription Service ­ The 
> nuumber of states subscribing to the National 
> Federation of the Blind Entrepreneurs 
> Initiative (NFBEI) increased to 37 in 2018. 
> They see value in the services that NFB and 
> NABM have to offer and see great benefits in 
> the training and technical assistance services 
> that are being made available. 9.  Emerging 
> Leaders Growing in Numbers - In May 2018, NABM 
> conducted its third Emerging Leaders Training. 
> This class was held in Washington, D.C. with 13 
> future leaders from 11 different states in 
> attendance. NABM recognizes the need for future 
> leaders in our community and is trying to 
> develop the leaders of tomorrow. 10. Critical 
> Issues Conference ­ NABM conducted a Critical 
> Isssues Conference in Washington, D.C. It was a 
> two-day event that afforded an opportunity to 
> discuss and address many of the challenges 
> being faced by Randolph-Sheppard today.   The 
> highlight of the 2018 Conference was the 
> roundtable discussions held with federal 
> entities.   Participants had an opportunity to 
> sit down with representatives from the 
> Department of Education, U.S. General Services 
> Administration, and Department of 
> Transportation to discuss critical issues 
> specific to those federal agencies. During the 
> conference, a work group identified the most 
> critical issues. To review those go to 
> https://blindmerchants.org/critical-issues-conference/ 
> 11. Blind Entrepreneurs Let Their Voices Be 
> Heard at D.C. Fly In - With the support of the 
> National Federation of the Blind’s national 
> office, NABM sponsored its most successful D.C. 
> Fly In ever with 125 individuals going to 
> Congress to educate members about the 
> Randolph-Sheppard Program and to urge their 
> support of the Program. They talked with their 
> members about 3 issues ­ rest area 
> commercialization, the Departtment of 
> Defense’s non-compliance with the Act, and 
> bureaucratic delays in RSA. 12. NAMA News: The 
> Partnership Grows ­ NABM President Nicky Gacos 
> was re-elected to  his second term on the NAMA 
> Board of Directors. His re-election is 
> reaffirmation of the importance of the role 
> Randolph-Sheppard plays in the convenience 
> industry as a whole. Nicky is helping raise 
> that visibility. As an example of how the 
> partnership has grown, a large contingent of 
> blind entrepreneurs attended NAMA’s Fly In 
> which was held in July. What was NAMA’s 
> number one issue to push to members of 
> Congress? It was rest area commercialization. 
> That never would have happened just 5 or 6 
> years ago. NABM and blind entrepreneurs were 
> also very visible at NAMA’s One Show in Las 
> Vegas. NABM helped sponsor a half-day of 
> training especially for Randolph-Sheppard 
> attendees. 13. RSA Prior Approval and Policy 
> Changes Pose Major Threats­ Although RSA is to 
> be applauded for its stronng stance in support 
> of Randolph-Sheppard against the Department of 
> Defense, NABM and the state agencies are very 
> concerned about two policy decisions. One 
> requires state agencies to seek prior approval 
> from RSA for all purchases that exceed $5,000. 
> Additionally, prior approval must be sought 
> before the SLA can hold a Committee of Blind 
> Vendors Meeting, conduct its annual training 
> conference, and when sending blind 
> entrepreneurs out-of-state to training 
> conferences such as BLAST. But there is also 
> growing concern about RSA’s position on not 
> allowing states to use federal dollars to 
> renovate space for a vending facility. It has 
> told states that such simple things as 
> painting, putting tile down, running 
> electricity or water, etc. are not allowable. 
> This is a dramatic change that threatens 
> opportunities for blind people to go to work. 
> NABM has communicated its concerns in writing 
> and has met with the Assistant Secretary in 
> person. We proposed a number of recommendations 
> to address the issues. 14. Healthy Vending 
> Issues Still on the Front Page ­ Blind 
> entrepreneurrs continue to face challenges as 
> health advocates, particularly the American 
> Heart Association, push for healthier foods in 
> vending machines. They are advocating an 
> unreasonable position in that in many instances 
> they want every item in a machine to meet 
> strict guidelines. In Louisiana, the American 
> Heart Association convinced the Governor to 
> issue an executive order requiring 100% healthy 
> items in all vending machines on state 
> property. It was an ill-advised strategy as it 
> affected all state properties including the 
> state universities. NABM got involved and 
> solicited help from NAMA. NABM President Nicky 
> Gacos facilitated a compromise. He traveled to 
> Baton Rouge to meet with the Governor’s 
> Office and other officials and eventually 
> brokered a deal whereby blind entrepreneurs 
> would ensure that 25% of all vended products 
> meet the NAMA Fit Pick guidelines. NABM 
> supports offering healthier options to 
> customers but it rejects the idea of mandates 
> believing instead that the market should 
> determine what products will be sold. 15. 
> Having SSDI Issues? ­ NABM continues  to offer 
> a service to its members who are experiencing 
> problems with the Social Security 
> Administration over their SSDI. The 
> organization contracts with a nationally 
> recognized Social Security expert who aided 
> several dozen blind entrepreneurs in 2018. He 
> also prepared information that all blind 
> entrepreneurs should know about SSDI and 
> unincurred business expenses. These are posted 
> on our website and can be viewed at 
> https://blindmerchants.org/ssdi-instructions-vendors-randolph-sheppard-program-2019/. 
> 16. On the Road Again ­ NABM made on-site 
> visits to 26 sttates presenting at annual blind 
> vendor meetings, providing training to Elected 
> Committees of Blind Vendors, conducting staff 
> training, and/or providing technical assistance 
> on Randolph-Sheppard compliance and best 
> practices; 17.  Accessibility is a Priority ­ 
> The National Federaation of the Blind is a 
> strong advocate on accessibility issues. NABM 
> President Nicky Gacos is carrying on that 
> tradition when it comes to the accessibility of 
> micromarkets. He is devoting much time and 
> resources to assisting companies who 
> manufacture micromarket kiosks in making them 
> accessible for blind users. This will remain a 
> priority until all micromarket kiosks are 
> accessible for blind users and blind business 
> owners. 18.  National Federation of the Blind 
> Convention News ­ NABM members joined 2,5500 
> other blind men and women in Orlando in July 
> for the NFB national convention. As always, the 
> merchants division held its annual business 
> meeting in conjunction with the convention. The 
> meeting included a strong training component. 
> Earlier in the year, NABM held its midyear 
> meeting at the Washington Seminar in D.C. Blind 
> entrepreneurs joined hundreds of other blind 
> individuals in educating members of Congress 
> about blindness issues.  Yes, 2018 was a very 
> busy year. 2019 is already shaping up to be 
> just as busy. NABM is prepared to work hard to 
> protect Randolph-Sheppard and create new 
> opportunities for blind entrepreneurs. Dates to 
> Remember April 10­12 ­ Na National Council of 
> State Agencies for the Blind Spring Conference 
> in Bethesda, Maryland April 24-26 ­ 
> National  Automatic Merchandising Association 
> One Show in Las Vegas May 20-21 ­ Critical 
> Issues Conference, Washington, DD.C. May 20-22 
> ­ Emerging Leaders Training ­ Washingtngton, 
> D.C. July 7-12 ­ National Federation of the 
> Blindd National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada 
> July 16-17 ­“ NAMA Fly In Check Us Out on 
> Facebook ­ Like the NNational Association of 
> Blind Merchants on Facebook and keep up with 
> the latest and greatest when it comes to 
> Randolph-Sheppard. You Can Still Help ­ Do you 
> like whaat the National Federation of the Blind 
> and NABM are doing to advocate for the program 
> on a national level and to assist individual 
> state programs and blind entrepreneurs? Do you 
> enjoy reading The Blitz and being kept informed 
> about what is going on in the Randolph-Sheppard 
> community? If so, we can use your financial 
> support. Over half of our support comes from 
> the NFBEI subscriptions, but we count on 
> donations to make up the rest. If you would 
> like to contribute to the cause, we would 
> welcome your donation. You can donate by 
> sending a check to: National Association of 
> Blind Merchants 7450 Chapman Highway, #319 
> Knoxville, TN 37920 Make the check payable to 
> NABM and write “NFBEI” in the memo portion 
> of the check. Your support is greatly 
> appreciated. You can also donate by going to 
> our website at www.blindmerchants.org where we 
> have added a new way you can contribute. We can 
> create a bank draft for you so you can sign up 
> for monthly giving. Contact Terry Smith if you 
> are interested in setting up bank draft 
> donations. If your state is one of the 11 that 
> doesn’t subscribe to the services of the 
> NFBEI, we’d welcome your involvement. Terry 
> Smith would be happy to discuss the services 
> with you. Share Your News with Everyone- Help 
> us keep everyone informed about what is 
> happening around the country. Let us hear from 
> you. Tell us what is going on in your state. 
> What is happening in one state affects what is 
> going on in another. NABM and the NFBEI offer 
> the best vehicle to keep everyone updated on 
> what is going on out there. GET THE BLITZ-READ 
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> YOUR LISTSERVS. WE WANT ALL BLIND 
> ENTREPRENEURS, BEP ADMINISTRATORS, and OTHER 
> STAKEHOLDERS TO KNOW WHAT NABM AND THE NFBEI 
> ARE DOING 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.