[Nfbofnc] Fw: [nfbwatlk] Fwd: [Blindtlk] Fwd: [Nfbv-announce] Retirement of Dr.Maurer

Mon Dec 2 13:39:10 UTC 2013

f y i
Albert Sanchez
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 01, 2013 3:21 PM
Subject: [nfbwatlk] Fwd: [Blindtlk] Fwd: [Nfbv-announce] Retirement of 
Dr.Maurer


>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com>
>> Date: December 1, 2013 at 13:44:17 EST
>> To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [Blindtlk] Fwd: [Nfbv-announce] Retirement of Dr. Maurer
>> Reply-To: Blind Talk Mailing List <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>>
>>
>>> From: "Fredric Schroeder" <fschroeder at sks.com>
>>> To: "NFBV Announce" <nfbv-announce at nfbnet.org>
>>> Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2013 11:12:29 -0500
>>> Subject: [Nfbv-announce] Retirement of Dr. Maurer
>>>
>>> Friends:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Over the weekend, I participated in a meeting of the board of directors 
>>> of
>>> the National Federation of the Blind. The meeting was held at our 
>>> national
>>> headquarters in Baltimore.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> As you know, Dr. Marc Maurer has been our national president since 1986. 
>>> He
>>> has served as president longer than any of our previous presidents and 
>>> has
>>> guided us through a period of unprecedented growth and change. It was 
>>> under
>>> Dr. Maurer's leadership that we established the Jernigan Institute and 
>>> all
>>> of the programs that have been so successful in demonstrating the truth 
>>> of
>>> our assertion that given proper opportunity and training, blind people 
>>> can
>>> live and work as others.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In particular we have developed many programs designed to provide blind
>>> children and youth with the skills and confidence they need to compete 
>>> fully
>>> in their education and to develop their life ambitions. We have 
>>> conducted
>>> the Youth Slam, Science Academy, and more recently the BELL programs.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In the area of technology under Dr. Maurer's leadership we developed the
>>> KNFB Reader Mobile allowing blind people to have immediate access to 
>>> print
>>> with nothing more than a cell phone and special software. And then there 
>>> was
>>> the Blind Driver Challenge. There is no question that lack of access to
>>> reliable transportation remains a major barrier for blind people. Yet, 
>>> the
>>> Blind Driver Challenge showed that we could develop the technology to 
>>> enable
>>> a blind person to drive a car, not simply sit passively in a car that 
>>> drives
>>> itself.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> These are the expressions of Dr. Maurer's leadership. Yet at the heart 
>>> of
>>> his leadership is his spirit and his belief in every blind person. He 
>>> has
>>> inspired and encouraged us, faced the most difficult challenges with
>>> resolution and strength, and he has kept us together, and never let us
>>> waiver in our belief in our own right to live normal, productive lives.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Saturday afternoon Dr. Maurer told the board that it is his intention 
>>> to
>>> not seek reelection to the presidency next summer at our national
>>> convention. He feels the time is right to transition to the next 
>>> president,
>>> the next individual who can lead us for a quarter century or more. Dr.
>>> Maurer is in good health and believes that it is important that he step 
>>> down
>>> from the presidency while he is able to assist with the transition. Dr.
>>> Maurer told the board that he, Dr. Maurer, plans to support Mr. Mark
>>> Riccobono as the next president of the National Federation of the Blind.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Mr. Riccobono presently serves as the Executive Director of the Jernigan
>>> Institute. He is an accomplished individual with the strength and wisdom 
>>> to
>>> assume the serious responsibility of leading our movement. He has 
>>> brought to
>>> his work the imagination and competency we demand from our president.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> We are truly fortunate that within the Federation we have individuals 
>>> who
>>> are able and willing to give all they have to furthering our move toward
>>> true equality. The demands of the NFB presidency are unimaginable. We
>>> require our leader to give all of his time, all of his imagination, and 
>>> all
>>> of his personal reserve of judgment to leading our organization. This is
>>> what Dr. Maurer has done for the past 27 and a half years, and it is 
>>> what
>>> Mark Riccobono will do for the time of his presidency.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The transition brings to an end one chapter in our history and what a
>>> glorious chapter it has been. We cannot face the loss of Dr. Maurer's
>>> leadership without a sense of sadness; but the transition to a new 
>>> president
>>> is not just the absence of what we had before. The transition heralds a 
>>> new
>>> chapter in our history and with it, new opportunities-the chance to take 
>>> all
>>> that has come before and build something bigger and more powerful than 
>>> we
>>> have ever known.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Please join me in thanking Dr. Maurer for his leadership, his friendship 
>>> and
>>> his faithful devotion to our cause; and please join me in wishing Mark
>>> Riccobono the very best as he seeks to take the foundation that is all 
>>> that
>>> has come before and build upon it the next great chapter in our history.
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Nfbv-announce mailing list
>>> Nfbv-announce at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbv-announce_nfbnet.org
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> blindtlk mailing list
>> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>> blindtlk:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindtlk_nfbnet.org/k7uij%40panix.com
> _______________________________________________
> nfbwatlk mailing list
> nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nfbwatlk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org/albertsanchez%40suddenlink.net