THE BRAILLE MONITOR
Vol. 46, No. 8 August/September, 2003
Barbara Pierce, editor
Published in inkprint, in Braille, and on cassette by
THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
MARC MAURER, PRESIDENT
National Office
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
NFBnet.org: http://www.nfbnet.org
Web site address: http://www.nfb.org
NFB-NEWSLINE® number: 1-888-882-1629
Letters to the President, address changes, subscription requests, and orders for
NFB literature
should be sent to the National Office. Articles for the Monitor and
letters to the editor may also
be sent to the National Office or may
be e-mailed to bpierce@nfb.org.
Monitor subscriptions cost the Federation about
twenty-five dollars per year. Members are invited,
and non-members are requested,
to cover the subscription cost. Donations should be made payable
to National
Federation of the Blind and sent to:
National Federation of the Blind
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION
SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES
ISSN 0006-8829
Vol. 46, No. 8 August/September, 2003
Contents
The
2003 Convention Roundup
by
Barbara Pierce
Presidential
Report 2003
by
Marc Maurer
The 2003 Scholarship Class of the National Federation of the Blind
The 2003 Awards
The
Rest of Reality
by
Marc Maurer
Promoting
Harmony in the Field of Work with the Blind: Federal
Policies That Enhance Opportunity
by
Joanne Wilson
Orientation
and Mobility, Competence
and Hypocrisy
by
Fredric K. Schroeder
Goals
for the Future: A
Report on 2003 Convention Resolutions
by
Sharon Maneki
National Federation of the Blind 2003 Resolutions
Convention Miniatures
Constitution
Copyright © 2003 National Federation of the Blind
[LEAD PHOTO/CAPTION: The banquet room at the 2003 convention]
The 2003 Convention Roundup
by Barbara Pierce
Ask people what they think of when they hear the word "Kentucky," and, when they get past horses, bluegrass, the Kentucky Derby, and bourbon, they often begin humming a few bars of "My Old Kentucky Home." That's what it felt like when we returned this year to the Galt House for the sixty-third convention of the National Federation of the Blind, June 28 through July 4. Our host affiliate was as warm and welcoming as last year, even if the weather, for the first part of the convention at least, was several degrees cooler than it was last year. The Belle of Louisville still plies her way up and down the Ohio River, paddle wheel and calliope driven by steam engines.
Often people assume that a convention that brings a couple of thousand blind people to town must be profoundly different from other conventions. The NFB convention is certainly a lengthy event, and the percentage of attendees who actually take part in general sessions and the organization's additional gatherings is undoubtedly much higher than the average for national meetings. But it's clear that in lots of ways we are a cross section of the convention-attending public as well as every other part of the public. For example, one conventioneer reported stepping onto an elevator in the small hours of Friday morning, following the banquet. He was a bit startled to discover a small sofa in the cage with him. When he reached the lobby, he commented to the desk clerk on duty about the rearrangement of the furniture. The clerk responded that the Future Farmers of America and a martial arts group who had both been recent hotel guests had moved the furniture into the elevators while they were guests, but he was a bit surprised that NFB visitors would come up with the same idea. He wasn't annoyed, just bemused.
In addition, someone in city government apparently concluded that a convention of blind people was likely to require something extraordinary in traffic signage. Partway through the week, signs suddenly appeared outside the hotel announcing, "Visually Handicapped Pedestrians." By the next day the signs had disappeared. Energetic Federationists had decided that they were not needed, and certainly no accidents occurred after they were removed. But city officials were apparently convinced that motorists would not notice blind pedestrians using long canes and guide dogs outside the hotel, so back they came with new signs, this time anchored in cement. The new signs could not be conveniently removed, so this time individual letters began disappearing. The convention ended before all the letters could depart, but the message delivered by conventioneers was clear.
At last year's convention President Maurer unveiled Whozit for the first time. This year Whozit was everywhere: on literature, on the banquet mugs, even on wonderful new Braille slates made of steel and aluminum. And Whozit items were for sale everywhere: neckties, shirts, tote bags, banners, bears, and jewelry. A whole array of Whozit pins, charms, and earrings was for sale at the NFB store in sterling or gold, with and without Whozit in all of his enameled colors.
In short, Federation conventioneers felt at home in Louisville and at the Galt House. Much was familiar, but as usual very much was new and stimulating. Each year it seems that the pre-convention days become more and more filled with activity. People used to come early to enjoy a few days of quiet before the rush of registration and the opening of the exhibit hall. This year more than a thousand people were on hand by the time pre-convention events began on Saturday, June 28.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: President Maurer sits cross-legged on the floor with blind children gathered around him.]
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Mylene Richardson of North Carolina shows off her balloon hat, her face painting, and her white cane.]
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Peter Myers of Kentucky working hard on his model of a planet]
Family activities this year filled Saturday completely. After National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) registration, President Maurer sat down with the children and talked with them about blindness and learning to get things done as a blind person. When the kids went off to the Braille carnival, the adults settled down to some straight talk about "Transition to Independence," as blind youngsters move from stage to stage on their way to adulthood. At noon participants were invited to attend casual lunch gatherings by state or region to do networking. These lunches were a great success and jump-started a lot of helpful contacts.
This year during the afternoon the adults did not move from workshop to workshop as they have in the past. They stayed together and listened to a riveting group of speakers talk about effective strategies for stimulating blind children at various stages of their development. The older kids and teens, on the other hand, had to choose among a number of interesting and useful workshops: Note Taking with an Electronic Notetaker; a babysitting clinic; I Want to Be a Writer; Fun with Braille; Impact!—Asteroids, Craters, and the Extinction of the Dinosaurs; and A Journey through Space. Noreen Grice and Bernhard Beck-Winchatz, the science education specialist and astronomer who developed the Braille book, Touch the Universe, published by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, came to Louisville to work with blind youngsters and their families on science and math.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Ricardo Garcia (New York) and Alicia Jones (Kentucky) meet a lizard during the NFB Camp visit to the Louisville Zoo.]
While families were busy and NFB Camp was open to provide fun and friends for kids when they were not enjoying the Braille carnival with their Braille Buddies, a huge array of other workshops kept things lively around the hotel. Nearly twenty technology gatherings of various sorts took place Saturday. In addition, the NFB-sponsored job seminar provided inspiration and tips for those looking for employment. Writers enjoyed an open session for short-story and poetry reading. Those organizing affiliate special events gathered to pool their experience and expertise, and folks committed to spreading the Braille Is Beautiful curriculum gathered to exchange ideas and strategies for getting this wonderful resource used more broadly. That evening an astronomy workshop, aimed originally at teens interested in astronomy, also attracted a number of blind adults interested in the subject. It is clear that the new relationship forged with NASA and professionals in astronomy resonates strongly with NFB members eager for exposure to science of all kinds.
A number of other divisions and committees conducted meetings during Saturday afternoon and evening. In addition to Karaoke Night Saturday evening sponsored by BLIND, Inc., we held the first ever Rookie Roundup for first-time convention attendees, to let folks know what would happen during the week and where to get help when they needed advice. These first-time conventioneers were also given special ribbons to wear on their badges in order to help them get acquainted. The Kentucky affiliate hosted Welcome to Kentucky with DJ Ed Driskell, playing hits from the fifties to the present. Something would have been wrong with anyone who did not feel welcome after that introduction to the Bluegrass State.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Federationists enjoy themselves on the dance floor.]
When Sunday morning dawned, everyone hit the floor running. The Sensory Safari was open all day to introduce interested conventioneers to realistic mounts of wild animals from around the world. Convention registration was its usual efficient, rapid experience for those who passed through the lines. Almost 2,000 people registered during the first day, and no one had to stand in line for long.
Of course the exhibit hall was waiting to lure people into spending time and money on what is new and most interesting in technology for blind people. This year thirty-seven Federation exhibitors staffed booths as did fifty-three organizations from beyond our ranks. Along with the usual aids, appliances, and literature, the NFB store carried some new items: a fine Braille watch with Whozit pictured on both the men's and women's versions and costing $75; new aluminum and steel slates sporting Whozit and costing $8 and $15 respectively; and the Whozit jewelry. The newest Kernel Book, The Car, the Sled, and the Butch Wax, was also for sale.
Sunday afternoon the Resolutions Committee considered twenty resolutions, eighteen of which went on to be debated on the convention floor Friday afternoon. The texts of the resolutions that were passed appear elsewhere in this issue.
The National Association of Blind Lawyers conducted another mock trial this year in the courtroom of the Honorable Charles S. Brown. This time it was the trial that might have taken place in the Judy Miller case in the 1970's. As it happened, the case was settled before it got to court, but that small detail did not stop the plaintiffs, the defendants, and their legal counsels from laying out the issue in outrageously comic terms.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: The Braille Readers Are Leaders reception was a fine opportunity for youngsters to deepen friendships. Here Lauren Thomson and Victoria Miceli (both of Iowa) are obviously having fun together.]
Sunday evening and Monday afternoon and evening some twenty-five divisions and committees conducted meetings, seminars, and workshops. Here are some highlights. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Braille Readers Are Leaders contest, the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille and the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children hosted a reception and the first annual Braille book flea market. The generous support of the United Parcel Service Foundation and a number of UPS volunteers made this event truly memorable. See Sandy Halverson's brief report in the Convention Miniatures for more details.
Division and affiliate Web masters gathered on Monday evening to pool their experience and brainstorm ideas. Gary Wunder coordinated this discussion and prepared a report, which appears in the Monitor Miniatures. Cajun Moon Rising was the title of this year's original play by Jerry Whittle. It was performed by students and friends of the Louisiana Center for the Blind, and the proceeds were donated to support children's programming at the Louisiana Center.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Noel Nightingale]
Promptly at 9:00 a.m. Monday morning, the annual public meeting of the NFB board of directors was gaveled to order with every member of the board present except Steve Benson, who was ill and facing surgery. President Maurer began by reviewing the six board-of-director seats up for election this year. Noel Nightingale, president of the NFB of Washington, then sought the floor. She said:
Good morning, Dr. Maurer, fellow board members, and fellow Federationists. Once again we are at a wonderful convention of our organization, and it is a pleasure to be here. My name is up again this year, and I am letting you know that, if my name is put into nomination, I will not accept that nomination. This organization means everything to me and has allowed me to achieve great things in my life, both professionally and personally.
I recall that, when I was pregnant with my daughter Leila, I was out on a boat with some friends on Lake Washington--some very good friends, who had known me a long time. One of them said to me that he didn't think it was right that I was pregnant because my daughter might be blind and it wasn't right that I would pass that along to somebody. Another friend called me on the phone one day when I was pregnant and was questioning whether I could be a mother, whether I could do simple things like change diapers. But at that point I had been a Federationist for some time, and I knew that their questioning was not right, that even if my daughter Leila or now my son Cosmo gets retinitis pigmentosa later, they will live full lives. So those friends did not deter me. I give the credit for my response to the Federation, to my brothers and sisters who have modeled the way for me and have shared their experiences.
I have also achieved a great deal professionally. I have a law degree, and I practiced environmental law for five and a half years. I then became a rehabilitation administrator at the Department for the Blind in Washington. I have now taken on a new position with the federal government. I am finding that, between the demands that will undoubtedly come in my new position and the demands of motherhood, I cannot devote the kind of time that I would want to devote to the organization, and therefore I do not feel it would be right to accept the nomination. Thank you.
President Maurer then made a number of announcements and drew the name of the winner of the 2003 Kernel Book writing contest. Michael Freeman of Washington State had his name chosen from a pool of 101. The 2004 contest began on June 1, 2003. All Kernel Book story submissions arriving at the National Center by May 31, 2004, will be entered in that contest. President Maurer then introduced Cathy Jackson, president of the host affiliate, and Kicki Nordström, president of the World Blind Union, to speak briefly.
He then called on the presidents of affiliates that have received bequests during the past year to be recognized and make announcements of their gifts to the national treasury. By long-standing policy, affiliates and chapters give half of the funds raised by professional fundraisers and half of the bequests they receive to the national organization. Making gifts this year were California, Colorado (Denver Chapter), Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, and Utah. This agenda item closed with a reminder from NFB Second Vice President Peggy Elliott that affiliates and chapters who receive bequests will make life easier for everyone if they see that Peggy gets a copy of the will as early in the process as possible.
Bruce Gardner, chairman of the Affiliate Action Committee, then reminded everyone to make sure that canes and dogs are not lying in the aisles, to be sure that wheelchairs and carts do not protrude--special marshals will be available to remove chairs from rows to make space for this equipment--to turn off phones and beepers during sessions, and to leave the ballroom before carrying on conversations.
Peggy Elliott, who chairs the Scholarship Committee, next introduced the thirty scholarship winners for 2003. A full report of this year's scholarship program appears elsewhere in this issue. With Steve Benson unavailable to make this year's presentation of the Blind Educator of the Year Award, Sheila Koenig, president of the National Organization of Blind Educators and a member of the selection committee, presented a plaque and check to Dr. Norman Gardner. The details of the presentation appear elsewhere in this issue.
The board meeting concluded with reports from several committees. Tom Stevens, chairman of the Associates Committee, announced the top recruiters for 2003. The top recruiter by number of associates was Dotty Neely of North Carolina with 200, followed by Art Schreiber of New Mexico with 191, Dr. J. Webster Smith of Ohio with 124, and Tom Stevens of Missouri with 101. We had 231 recruiters, so we have plenty of room for additional volunteers. Our top fundraiser in the associate program was President Marc Maurer with $2,212. Second place went to Dotty Neely with $2,040, and third place went to last year's top money recruiter, Patricia Maurer, with $1,943. With that report the board meeting adjourned, and delegates scattered to an agenda full of meetings and other activities through the remainder of the day.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Michael Cleveland and the Blue Hollow Band play bluegrass music at opening convention ceremonies.]
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Diane McGeorge, perennial distributer of door prizes, holds a bouquet of roses provided as door prizes by the NFB of Utah. Each rose was created from five $5 bills.]
The opening session of the convention began at 9:30 sharp Tuesday morning. Cathy Jackson set a festive tone by introducing Michael Cleveland and the Blue Hollow Band, a fine bluegrass band who played several up-beat songs about Kentucky. She then introduced four state legislators, each of whom briefly welcomed the convention to Louisville.
The remainder of the morning session was devoted to the roll call of states. Along with providing necessary information about official delegates and members of the Nominating Committee, affiliates took the opportunity to provide interesting pieces of information. Connecticut announced that, two weeks before, the legislature had passed a bill preserving the separate agency serving the blind. President Maurer pointed out that the only reason the bill had passed was the work of the NFB of Connecticut. Everyone else had given up on protecting the state agency, but the NFB got the job done. Colorado, Louisiana, and Minnesota announced that all of the staff and students from their rehabilitation centers were attending the convention. Over half of the students at the Iowa adult training center were present, and the staff and rehabilitation students at Blind Industries and Services of Maryland (BISM) were at the convention as well as the president of BISM and the chairman of the board of trustees. Sharon Maneki also announced that our own Kris Cox is now a member of the Ehrlich administration because she has been appointed to head the Governor's Office for Persons with Disabilities.
Massachusetts announced that Steven Rothstein, the new president of Perkins, would be present at the convention Thursday and at the banquet that evening. All of the leadership of the Nebraska Commission for the Blind were in the Nebraska delegation, which was also hosting a blind member of the Turkish legislature. The governor of New Mexico has just appointed Art Schreiber as chairman of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind. New York reported that in January the governor decided to fold the Commission for the Blind into a larger agency. The NFB of New York contacted every member of the legislature to protest. They said that they had never seen such a response, and the governor backed down, for the present at least. Puerto Rico reported that they now have a Braille literacy law, the Pennsylvania affiliate established both student and guide dog divisions during the past year, and Rhode Island formed a parents division. By the time the roll call was complete, seven states had announced that the heads of their state agencies serving blind people were present for part or all of the convention.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Gary Wunder displays the new NFB flag.]
Following the roll call, the officers took down the NFB flag that has been on our convention platform for many years and displayed for the first time the new NFB flag, which is a full-color Whozit on a field of white. Like the flags of countries, this flag does not include the name of the organization for which it stands. Our job will be to make it generally recognized across the United States and around the world.
Before the noon recess President Maurer played a sample of the new NFB public service announcements, which are available to chapters and affiliates in VHS format to show to TV stations. If required, beta format versions will be supplied to stations that need it. We should notify the national office when stations agree to air these PSAs.
As usual the afternoon session began with the presidential report, which appears in full elsewhere in this issue. It is always inspiring to review the highlights of the past year and listen to a summary of our activities.
"The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the Organized Blind Look to the Future" was the title of remarks delivered by A.V. Diaz, director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Flight Center. He described NASA research that may have implications for blind people in the future and urged the NFB to continue to spread the word that NASA is eager for blind people to train as scientists and work in the space program.
Raúl M. Grijalva, a member of Congress from the seventh congressional district of Arizona, then addressed the delegates on "Working with the Blind: A Voice in Congress." Mr. Grijalva expressed his support for all of the legislative efforts the NFB advocates in Congress, and he urged us to continue working together to ensure that tomorrow's blind citizens have a better life than we do today.
The next agenda item was "Information Accessible to the Blind: Programs of America Online" presented by Jules Polonetsky, AOL vice president of integrity assurance. He reported on recent advances in making America Online easily and widely useable by blind people. He assured the audience that AOL programmers really are beginning to understand what needs to be done, and AOL is committed to doing it.
Dr. Joanne Wilson, commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration, was the next speaker. Her title was "Promoting Harmony in the Field of Work with the Blind: Federal Policies That Enhance Opportunity." The full text of this address appears elsewhere in this issue.
Jim Omvig next came to the podium to conduct two pieces of business. The first was to have Professor Ron Ferguson of Louisiana Tech University introduce the twelve men and women who have completed the requirements for National Orientation and Mobility Certification (NOMC) from the National Blindness Professional Certification Board. Following that recognition, Mr. Omvig presented the 2003 Fredric K. Schroeder Award to Doug Boone. A complete report of this award presentation appears elsewhere in this issue.
Joe Blackstone, chief executive officer of Blackstone Consulting, Inc., was the final speaker of the afternoon. He was introduced by Kevan Worley, president of the National Association of Blind Merchants. His title was "Partnerships for Progress in the Randolph-Sheppard Program." Mr. Blackstone described what vendors should look for when seeking partnerships in order to acquire military locations and other large facilities.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Alice Lockwood accompanies Jeannie Romeo on the piano.]
That evening the Kentucky affiliate hosted the Bluegrass Ball, featuring Romeo and Lockwood, a country singing duo. Alice Lockwood is a member of the NFB of New York. The National Association of Blind Musicians sponsored its annual showcase of talent in which twenty performers took part, and the tenBroek Fund sponsored a very successful auction. This was only the tip of the iceberg of Tuesday evening activities, but at 9:00 a.m. the Wednesday session came to order.
Before beginning the 2003 election, President Maurer paid tribute to the United Parcel Service Foundation, which has supported many of our programs through the years and which this year has contributed $50,000 to enhance the Braille Readers Are Leaders program. More than a hundred UPS volunteers were present during the convention to assist conventioneers.
The hold-over board positions this year are held by Marc Maurer, president; Joyce Scanlan, first vice president; Peggy Elliott, second vice president; Gary Wunder, secretary; Charlie Brown, treasurer; and board members Pam Allen (Louisiana), Steve Benson (Illinois), Sam Gleese (Mississippi), Diane McGeorge (Colorado), Carla McQuillan (Oregon), and Carlos Serván (Nebraska). The sitting board members who were re-elected were Ron Brown (Indiana), Donald Capps (South Carolina), Priscilla Ferris (Massachusetts), Cathy Jackson (Kentucky), and Joe Ruffalo (New Jersey). To fill the seat most recently held by Noel Nightingale, the convention unanimously elected Anil Lewis, president of the NFB of Georgia. After a victory yell, Anil responded to his election by saying:
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Anil Lewis]
This is awesome! I want to let everyone know that your confidence and faith in me have not been misplaced. I will own up to it, but I will say, as I always have--as the president of the Atlanta chapter I was only successful and able to fulfill the mission of the Federation due to the loving, caring people who were around me and supported me. As the affiliate president of the state of Georgia, here again, I have only been able to be successful because I have had confident, loving, self-sacrificing individuals that have helped me. Now as a national board member I have an expectation of each one of you to be just as caring, committed, and supportive. If you will do that, I will make sure that I will be just as successful on the national level. I pledge to participate actively in the effort of the National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution. Thank you very much.
Following the election, Carl Augusto, president of the American Foundation for the Blind, made a report about what's new at the Foundation. He discussed a number of programs dealing with Braille, employment, and quality of life for blind people. The audience was enthusiastic about these items. Giving credit to Mr. Augusto for having gone on record as believing that the time had come for the National Accreditation Council to close its doors, James Gashel then asked why, when the AFB has endorsed the concept of working to resolve existing differences among agencies and consumer organizations in the blindness field, Mr. Augusto had recently signed a paper advocating that sleepshades not be required, dog guides be allowed in cane-centered programs, and Academy accreditation be the only recognized credential for blindness professionals. The NFB was not consulted before this document was circulated, and Mr. Gashel urged Mr. Augusto to remove his name from the document until discussions have been held. Mr. Augusto agreed to discussions on these matters but refused to withdraw his name from the document in the meantime.
The next speaker was Dr. Pearl Van Zandt, director of the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and president of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind. Her title was "National Trends in Rehabilitation for the Blind." She outlined recent advances in the field, pointed to several issues of deep concern and urged the field to work together to preserve and increase effective rehabilitation programs for blind Americans.
National Industries for the Blind President and CEO Jim Gibbons followed this presentation with an encouraging report on what is happening at NIB. He told the audience that NIB is prepared to work with the organized blind to develop language to amend Section 14 C of the Fair Labor Standards Act to say that blindness shall no longer be reason enough to pay a worker sub-minimum wages. Delegates cheered this announcement and were delighted to learn about new NIB initiatives to develop managerial leadership among blind people associated with NIB. It's clear that Mr. Gibbons is committed to improving the opportunities of blind people in the industrial programs associated with it.
"Protecting the Rights of Blind Workers" was the title of an address by Cari M. Dominguez, chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Ms. Dominguez was returning to our platform, having addressed us at the 1991 convention. She made clear her commitment to educate employers about the abilities of blind workers and ensure that blind people have a fair chance to get and succeed in jobs across the country. She invited affiliates to ask EEOC spokespeople to address state conventions during the coming year.
The next agenda item was our annual report from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS). Frank Kurt Cylke, NLS director, and John Bryant, head of the Production Control Section, made the presentation. Mr. Cylke has attended every NFB convention since 1975. He introduced John Bryant, who described a pilot project to provide audio magazine articles from three publications to a group of volunteers who will download them from the Web. The pilot should begin this fall.
Also this fall NLS book producers will begin providing digital books. For now these will be duplicated on cassette tape, but, when the conversion to the digital system takes place in 2008, these titles will also be available in the new format.
The final program item for the morning was "Voting Rights for the Blind: Implementation of the Help America Vote Act." Three speakers addressed the topic. The first was Doug Lewis, executive director of the Election Center in Houston, Texas. He urged delegates to get involved locally in the effort to make this program succeed. He pointed out that by January of 2006 at least one voting machine in every voting place is to be accessible to blind voters, but this will not eliminate assisted voting if that is what the voter wishes to do.
Following Mr. Lewis, Mike Freeman, legislative chairman and first vice president of the NFB of Washington, and Anil Lewis, president of the NFB of Georgia, described their affiliates' successful efforts to pass state legislation to ensure accessible voting. They urged delegates to work on state legislation and regulations, and Anil assured everyone that, based on his experience last November, independent voting is an extraordinary experience.
Wednesday afternoon and evening were filled with tours, seminars, workshops, meetings, openhouses, and Monte Carlo Night, sponsored each year by the National Association of Blind Students. One of the most exciting events was a meeting of the Job Exchange Committee, during which Federationists swapped information about jobs and networked with others and employers. The two meetings of this committee were very well attended and quite helpful.
The NOPBC workshops were also well attended. The drop-in-anytime workshop to help parents work on cane travel with their blind children is always popular. This year we added two sessions each of "Braille for the Partially Sighted: Methods & Techniques," presented by Dr. Stuart Wittenstein, and "It Takes More Than a Good IEP: Creative Ways to Improve Your Child's Educational Services."
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Kicki Nordström, laughing, holds an electronic notetaker while Kua Cheng Hock examines it.]
The next morning the Thursday convention session began promptly at nine o'clock. "The Federation in the World" was the title of a panel that included Kicki Nordström of Sweden, president of the World Blind Union; James Sanders, president and CEO of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and president of our region of the World Blind Union; Enrique Sans of Spain, secretary general of the World Blind Union, but representing the Organización Nacional de Ciegos de España (ONCE); and Kua Cheng Hock, president of the Independent Society of the Blind of Singapore.
The remainder of the morning was devoted to reports from technology producers. These were on Web-surfing by phone by Dr. Emdad Khan, founder, president, and CEO of InternetSpeech; digital books, by Dave Schleppenbach, CEO of gh, LLC; a cell phone organizer for the blind, by Eric Weldink, president and CEO of Alva B.V.; Microbook readers, by David Freedman, founder of MicroBook International, Inc., and Larry Maggart, president of Microbook, USA; and Pac Mate, a PDA for the blind, by Lee Hamilton, president and CEO of Freedom Scientific.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Dr. Robert Pasternack]
The afternoon session began with a presentation by Dr. Robert Pasternack, assistant secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, United States Department of Education. His title was "Educational and Rehabilitative Opportunities for Blind Children and Adults: New Legislation, New Initiatives." He began by articulating the Bush administration's position that hiring disabled people makes good business sense. He went on to say that efforts must be made to ensure that disabled people need not begin to receive Supplemental Security Income by making sure that they have the skills and education that will make them employable. Disabled people must also have transportation in order to work, and the Bush administration is determined to work on solving this problem. The Bush administration's New Freedom Initiative also urges continued commitment to developing good access technology for disabled people.
Assistant Secretary Pasternack concluded his prepared remarks by saying that, while we may disagree about how to make sure that federal policy protects the right of blind children to have access to their textbooks in a timely way, we do not disagree about their right to the educational materials. A number of people had questions for Dr. Pasternack, but he interrupted the first questioner to say that he had not intended to denigrate Braille but to urge universal design for learning that would enable blind students to learn alongside their sighted classmates, using the same methods. He reiterated that he never intended to be understood as saying that new technology replaces others but only that research is necessary.
President Maurer then commented that, having heard from two sources that Dr. Pasternack had publicly said Braille was becoming obsolete, he was glad to hear that Dr. Pasternack did not think so and hoped he would stop saying it. Dr. Pasternack then tried to interrupt President Maurer, who refused to be over-ridden and clearly pointed out that it would be polite to listen to an entire question or comment before beginning to answer.
This angered the assistant secretary, and not much more of substance took place during this item. The discussion closed with courtesy and resumed calm on both sides.
After the convention, however, Dr. Maurer felt compelled to write the following letter to the secretary of education:
July 25, 2003
The Honorable Roderick R. Paige, Secretary
United States Department of Education
Washington, D.C.
Dear Secretary Paige:
As president of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) I represent the largest organized constituency of blind people in America. Your presentation at our 2002 national convention was a high point of that event and acknowledged the importance of maintaining constructive relations between the NFB and the Department of Education. Therefore we invited Bob Pasternack to be the department's principal representative at the 2003 NFB convention, and he accepted.
Programs of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services are vital to blind children and their parents as well as to blind adults. Our members are directly affected by these programs and by Dr. Pasternack's leadership of them.
With this background I am writing to inform you that Dr. Pasternack's conduct at our convention did not show respect for our organization or for our members who interacted with him. For example, he made a particular show of arrogance at two points during his presentation, saying with peculiar emphasis that he, Bob Pasternack, "had the microphone." His having the microphone was not at issue, and no one was attempting to interrupt him. I was chairing the meeting, and I would not have allowed any discourtesy to occur. Therefore his comments were merely gratuitous, indicating an attempt to assert control over a meeting to which he had been invited as a guest speaker. The inappropriateness was not lost on the audience.
But this was not all. The most extreme attempt to dominate the meeting occurred when Dr. Pasternack interrupted a speaker from the audience and me. He would not yield the floor until I used the gavel to insist on order. The speaker from the audience was concerned about remarks made by Dr. Pasternack at Auburn University, in which he appeared to de-emphasize the usefulness of Braille. The speaker was restrained and respectful, but Dr. Pasternack was not. His rudeness in seizing the floor gave added emphasis to the speaker's point and overshadowed Dr. Pasternack's defense. This is one of the reasons why he has acquired a reputation for being anti-blind and anti-Braille. Nothing in his conduct helped to change this impression among the more than 2,000 people in the audience who observed his behavior.
This is just one example of an overall demeanor indicating an attitude of arrogance and haughtiness toward our particular constituency group. While we may not always agree with public officials, we never express our disagreements by showing disrespect. Clearly the same cannot be said of Dr. Pasternack.
This is truly unfortunate, since, with the appointment by President Bush of Joanne Wilson as Commissioner of Rehabilitation, serving under Dr. Pasternack, there is every reason for members of the NFB to respond with genuine warmth to leaders of the Bush administration.
Speaking of Commissioner Wilson, Dr. Pasternack only acknowledged her presence at the meeting after first recognizing a member of her staff. Some members of the audience wondered if it is significant that the staff member is sighted and Joanne Wilson is blind. Also, in a further appearance of belittling the blind, Dr. Pasternack recognized Commissioner Wilson with the sarcastic comment, "I'm still waiting for that dinner invitation." Aside from being unprofessional, this was an apparent and inappropriate display of internal rivalry, which has no place before a public audience.
Secretary Paige, with the appointment of Bob Pasternack and Joanne Wilson to leadership positions in the Department of Education, members of the NFB had every reason to respond with warmth and support to initiatives of the Bush administration. However, with the performance of Dr. Pasternack over the past year and the particular manner of his appearance at our recent national convention, that feeling of strong support is being eroded. If matters are permitted to continue as they are, the largest organized constituency of blind people in the United States will begin to feel suspicion and mistrust. Bear in mind that Dr. Pasternack's display of arrogance occurred before an audience of more than 2,000 people, who come from every state in the nation and who have friends and fellow voters in their communities back home. Speaking as both an employer and a person who leads a political constituency, I would not permit anyone under my direction to behave as Dr. Pasternack did and continue to hold a leadership position. Given the importance of Dr. Pasternack's appointment as the Bush administration's principal public leader of disability programs, please consider the seriousness of what I am saying.
Very truly yours,
Marc Maurer, President
National Federation of the Blind
The next agenda item was titled "Certification of Rehabilitation Professionals in Blindness." Jim Omvig, president of the National Blindness Professional Certification Board, was the first speaker. He reviewed the painfully discriminatory history of the certification bodies in the field of travel training and the advent of the National Blindness Professional Certification Board.
Following Jim, Sharon Micrut, president of the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Educational Professionals, described the recent changes that the Academy has approved in its certification. After her remarks she commented that she personally encouraged people to gather the facts and then choose the certification they most trusted.
Dr. Fred Schroeder then addressed the convention. His remarks are reprinted in full elsewhere in this issue.
Three Federationists then told the convention about their lives and work. "Techniques in Science for the Blind and Innovative Research in Chemistry" was the title of a presentation by Cary Supalo, a graduate student in chemistry at Pennsylvania State University. Connie Connolly, a member of the board of directors of the Louisiana Center for the Blind, next spoke on "Seven Decades Plus and the Spirit Is Still High." Finally Judy Rasmussen, executive director of Services for the Visually Impaired in Silver Spring, Maryland, described "To Russia with Cane: The Blind Missionary." All three presentations were enthusiastic, inspiring, and amusing.
"Blindness: Problem or Paradox" was the title of an exciting presentation by Ron Gardner, director of the Louisiana Tech University Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness. After debunking the notion that blindness is a problem in and of itself, Ron described the two masters programs, one to train teachers of the blind and the other to train orientation and mobility instructors, now offered by Louisiana Tech University.
The final agenda item of the afternoon was "High Standards for Books: A Narrator's Story," presented by Roy Avers, one of the finest of the American Printing House for the Blind's book and periodical narrators. He spoke entertainingly and informatively about his work and the high NLS standards of the program.
When the gavel to recess fell, the ballroom emptied immediately, and delegates rushed to their rooms to prepare for the banquet. The ballroom doors opened again at seven, and Fred Schroeder did his usual masterly job as the evening's MC. During the meal he gave away door prizes, orchestrated division drawings, encouraged the singing of NFB songs, and at the close of the meal introduced President Maurer to deliver the 2003 banquet address titled "The Rest of Reality." The full text of this address appears elsewhere in this issue.
Dr. Raymond Kurzweil then came to the podium to recall his long relationship with the NFB, evoke our shared memory of Kenneth Jernigan, and look into the future.
Scholarship awards were next presented. A full report of that presentation and the entire 2003 scholarship program appears elsewhere in this issue.
At Fred Schroeder's invitation Ramona Walhof then came forward to make the 2003 presentation of the Jacobus tenBroek Award to Betty and Bruce Woodward of Connecticut. A report of this ceremony appears elsewhere in this issue.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Jack Busher]
Attending the banquet was the chairman of the policy advisory board for the National Federation of the Blind Research and Training Institute, Jack Busher. Mr. Busher spoke briefly about the marvelous opportunity we have with the Institute to bring about new levels of freedon for blind people, and he commented on how fitting it was that we were gathered on the eve of our nation's Independence Day.
The evening ended with high spirits and renewed dedication to all that the Federation stands for. The banquet worked its usual magic, providing inspiration, fun, laughter, and friendship--everything in short but adequate air conditioning.
By Friday morning the ballroom was cool again and ready for our annual business meeting. In addition to the financial report, the Washington report, and the honor roll call of states and divisions, Sharon Maneki, who chairs the Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Selection Committee, presented this year's award to Dr. Sheila Amato. The report appears elsewhere in this issue.
Two of Dr. Amato's students in her high school Braille class attended the entire convention, helping wherever they could and taking full advantage of the event. They were indeed immensely helpful in many activities and gave every indication of having enjoyed themselves thoroughly.
The afternoon session was devoted to debate and voting on this year's resolutions. That report also appears elsewhere in this issue.
The gavel fell, adjourning the 2003 convention at 5:00 p.m., and delegates scattered to every corner of the United States and thirteen other countries. As always, individual blind adults had discovered promise for the future where they had known only discouragement. A number of families with blind children had found hope for the first time. And we who are old hands at weathering the excitement of a convention discovered that our batteries had again been recharged. Indeed we do have miles to go and many promises to keep before we gather for the 2004 convention. We are already engaged in the work that needs to be done and making the plans that will bring new hope to this and the generations who follow us, for we know full well that the blind of the nation are counting on us.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Marc Maurer delivers the Presidential Report.]
Presidential Report 2003
National Federation of the Blind
July 1, 2003
by Marc Maurer
During the past year the National Federation of the Blind has increased in strength, in size, and in the diversity of its activities. We have also gained recognition for the vital importance of our programs. However, our fundamental character is the same as it has always been since the time of our beginning in 1940--we are the blind of the United States from every sector of society.
Our combined experience gives purpose and focus to the programs we establish and the activities we pursue. Blind students, blind teachers, blind children and the parents of blind children, blind factory workers, blind professionals, newly blinded people, blind people with training in the specialized techniques used by the blind and those without it, blind people who have not yet found employment and those who have retired, those blind people who have been members for fifty years, and those who are new to the ranks--we are the blind who believe that a positive future can be built through a spirit of adventure, the willingness to work, and the shared commitment that we can achieve independence if we will support one another in creating greater opportunity for us all.
On October 29, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the Help America Vote Act into law. The provisions of this law demonstrate the dedicated work of the National Federation of the Blind. Voting systems installed in the states with the support of federal dollars must be usable independently by blind people by 2006. Our director of governmental affairs, Jim Gashel, and I were invited to join with others at the signing ceremony with the president. President Bush indicated that all Americans should have the right to cast an independent secret ballot and should exercise that right. Without the dedicated work of the National Federation of the Blind, the provisions of law that guarantee this right to the blind would not exist.
In 2001, as Federation members know, we sponsored the National Federation of the Blind Everest Expedition. In May of that year the first and only blind person ever to stand on the top of Mt. Everest, Erik Weihenmayer, reached its summit. This feat of endurance and determination was recognized by President Bush in July of 2001. Members of the Everest Expedition Climbing Team, my wife Patricia, and I were invited to the Oval Office to meet with the president. I recorded impressions of the visit in our twenty-second Kernel Book, entitled Summit. A picture of me and the president taken in the Oval Office appears on the cover of the book.
At the signing ceremony for the Help America Vote Act, I shook the president's hand and gave him a copy of Summit, saying as I did so, "Here, Mr. President, is a picture of you."
On December 11, 2002, the president sent me a letter which says:
Dear Dr. Maurer:
Thank you for the copy of your book I received during your visit to the signing of Help America Vote Act of 2002. I appreciate your kind gesture and thoughtfulness.
Laura joins me in sending our best wishes. May God bless you and may God continue to bless America.
Sincerely,
George W. Bush
One result of our sponsorship of the Everest Expedition is that the Federation is mentioned prominently in the film produced by Erik Weihenmayer to document the expedition. This film, entitled Farther Than the Eye Can See, depicts the development of Weihenmayer as a blind climber and speaks of the unquenchable spirit of the National Federation of the Blind. The documentary was presented on the Outdoor Life Network in May of 2003.
Each year the Volunteers for Medical Engineering, a group of scientists from technology companies who seek to use their talents to enhance opportunities for the disabled, presents the Dole Award to an individual who has contributed to the advancement of people with disabilities. On August 21, 2002, on the baseball field at Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles, before a crowd of more than 30,000 people, Volunteers for Medical Engineering presented the 2002 Dole Award to the president of the National Federation of the Blind. A broadcast picture of the awards ceremony appeared on the electronic scoreboard at the stadium, and the name of the National Federation of the Blind was flashed across the board several times during the game.
On September 12, 2002, the Daily Record, one of the newspapers in Baltimore, presented its Innovator of the Year Award to the National Federation of the Blind in recognition of vision, creativity, and innovative spirit. We in the Federation are creating opportunities for the blind that have not previously existed, and the Daily Record recognized our work.
On October 24, 2002, the deputy secretary of the Department of Commerce, Samuel W. Bodman, came to the National Center for the Blind to unveil a new device for presenting tactile images to the blind, developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology with the encouragement and cooperation of the National Federation of the Blind. Tactile image printers for the blind ordinarily cost a great deal, sometimes as much as $40,000. The machine developed by the Department of Commerce, which can likely be produced for under $2,000, uses an array of pins that are raised and locked into place. Although this device is currently in the prototype stage, the Department of Commerce is encouraging companies to produce it.
Shortly before Thanksgiving a press conference occurred at the National Center for the Blind to announce the release of a new dual-medium book, Touch the Universe, which contains raised images and photographs of celestial objects gathered through the Hubble telescope, along with Braille and print descriptions of them. This new book, published by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is directed toward blind children. Blind children have traditionally been discouraged from participation in science. Nevertheless, we are as interested in this form of knowledge as anybody else, and we applaud officials at NASA who supported the publication of this space science book.
One of the people attending the press conference at the National Center for the Blind was the director of the Goddard Space Flight Center, Mr. A.V. Diaz. In the months following the release of Touch the Universe, several people from the National Federation of the Blind have toured the Goddard Space Flight Center and discussed with officials there joint programs to teach blind children and to encourage blind scientists. Mr. Diaz will be appearing later during this convention for a presentation about the nature of science. Some of us who are blind are passionate about science, and we are looking forward to working with scientists and officials at the Goddard Space Flight Center. We are planning to develop a science camp for the blind as one of the elements of our newly developing Research and Training Institute for the Blind. The projected time for the first activities in the science camp is the summer of 2004.
In 1975 the National Federation of the Blind responded to a request by Dr. Raymond Kurzweil that we assist with the development of a reading machine. We secured several hundred thousand dollars to fund this effort. The Kurzweil Reading Machine brought into being a kind of access technology for the blind which has dramatically expanded the capacity for blind people to read the written word.
This year we have embarked on a new joint project with Dr. Kurzweil to build a Kurzweil/National Federation of the Blind Reader that will be small enough to carry--a handheld reading machine. The reading machine of the 1970's was four feet tall and quite heavy. We expect to be able to build the Kurzweil/National Federation of the Blind Reader in a container small enough eventually to fit in a coat pocket. The reading machine of the 1970's sold for $50,000. We believe it will be possible to distribute the Kurzweil/National Federation of the Blind Reader for under $4,000. Development work has already been underway for several months, and the first experimental machines are being constructed. The prototype should be completed within two years, and manufacturing and distribution will take some time after that. This is an ambitious and expensive project, but the potential benefits are commensurate with the risks.
In 1999 we talked about building the National Federation of the Blind Research and Training Institute, a five-story building on the property at the National Center for the Blind in Baltimore. Expanding our horizons is essential if we are to change the future for the blind. One way to do this is to incorporate the experiences of blind people in the planning of innovative research and training programs for the blind. The National Federation of the Blind is the largest organization of blind people in the United States, and collectively we have more in-depth knowledge of blindness than anybody else. This depth of knowledge will give our research and training programs a robust character.
In 1999 the cost of construction for our new building seemed extraordinary--eighteen million dollars. By 2002 circumstances forced me to raise this estimate to nineteen and a half million. As we come to this convention, we have gifts and pledges that total $19,388,629.35. This leaves less than $112,000 to reach our capital campaign construction goal. We must finish this capital campaign, and we must do it at this convention. I have no doubt that we will.
On October 23, 2003, we will be hosting the grand opening for the National Federation of the Blind Research and Training Institute. The honorary chairman for the event is the governor of the state of Maryland, the Honorable Robert L. Ehrlich. Governor Ehrlich joined us for a luncheon meeting of the planning board for the grand opening on April 15, 2003. Governor Ehrlich pledged his continued support of the valuable work of the National Federation of the Blind, and he urged others who were present to make their contributions to the capital campaign. The grand opening for our Research and Training Institute will be an event to remember, and I invite all of you to come.
The building is not yet complete, but I have assurances that it will be finished in time for the grand opening. At that time we begin developing the programs to alter the future for the blind that were contemplated when we began the campaign. The Honor Roll Call of Donors, a complete listing of the individuals and other entities that have made gifts and pledges for the construction of the institute, will be on display. In the neighborhood of 18,000 donors will be enrolled--every person who made a gift. We will be able to place the names of those who have given $5,000 or more on a Wall of Honor. This institute, which is costing us almost twenty million dollars, could not have been constructed without the individual support of the thousands who gave what they could. It will stand as a monument to our belief in ourselves and each other. It will also serve as the nerve center for newly created programs and technology to bring productivity and self-sufficiency to the blind. And it belongs to us, the members of the National Federation of the Blind.
NFB-NEWSLINE®, our service to provide newspapers by touch-tone telephone to blind Americans, expanded dramatically during the past year. Currently ninety-four newspapers are available on NFB-NEWSLINE. Between March 1, 2002, and the end of February 2003, blind individuals read more information from the newspaper than during any previous year, with the total number of reading sessions amounting to 704,740. An appropriation of almost one million dollars has been made to cover long-distance charges in the NFB-NEWSLINE service. We continue to explore enhancements for NFB-NEWSLINE. We hope to be able to offer this service by computer or through handheld portable devices within the near future.
The America's Jobline® service, in which approximately a million job postings are available by touch-tone telephone, is also being improved. It is now possible for a job seeker to fill out a résumé and submit an application to an employer using nothing more than a touch-tone telephone. We built this service because the unemployment rate for blind people is extraordinarily high, and finding a job is of the utmost importance. However, after it had been created, the benefit of Jobline for the sighted became apparent. By helping the blind, we have assisted the sighted as well.
In 1990 the National Federation of the Blind established the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind, in which we collect, develop, and maintain access technology. At that time we said that we would obtain at least one of every device manufactured anywhere in the world that makes information accessible to the blind, along with the peripherals, programs, and accessories necessary to operate them.
During the past year we have gathered for the International Braille and Technology Center six Pentium IV computers; four scanners; a device called the Freedom Box, which is an automated hardware Web browser for the blind; two different reading machines, VERA and ScannaR; a talking keyboard teaching program called Talking Typing Tutor Pro; a Braille TTY telephone for communicating with the deaf-blind; three separate low-vision software packages, Magic, Super Nova, and Zoom Text; a music scanning software program called SharpEye; three different digital book readers, Victor Reader Pro, Deluxe Plextalk PTR-1, and Victor Reader Software; two separate tactile teaching devices, SAL (Speech Assisted Learning) and Talking Tactile Tablet; a science software program entitled Scientific Notebook; one Macintosh iMac computer with OutSpoken screen access software; two Web accessibility evaluation software applications, RAMP and InFocus; the Populex accessible voting machine; two new refreshable Braille displays, Satellite Braille Display and Braille Star 80; three different Braille embossers, Tiger Cub, Tiger Pro, and Tiger Max; four handheld speech-output notetakers called Pac Mates; a number of three-dimensional models from several rapid prototyping systems; and more than two dozen software and hardware upgrades to existing products. We are also gathering other devices such as talking color identifiers, talking cash registers, and talking thermostats.
This past year we established the NFB Nonvisual Accessibility Web Certification program. The Internet is an increasingly important source of information for the general public, and equal access to this information for the blind is imperative. Consequently the National Federation of the Blind checks Web sites to determine whether blind people can use them. If they are accessible in nonvisual ways, the Federation is prepared to certify this to the owner of the Web site and to publish the certification.
Last fall the Maryland Department of General Services became the first recipient of the National Federation of the Blind accessibility certification. Organizations receiving certification or in the process of applying for it are Hewlett Packard, Wells Fargo, the Social Security Administration, and GE.
For several years the National Federation of the Blind has attempted to ensure that blind children have the schoolbooks they need at the same time that sighted students get theirs. To accomplish this, we developed, in conjunction with others, the Instructional Materials Accessibility Act (IMAA). Recently the House of Representatives passed legislation to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Included in this legislation are key provisions of the Instructional Materials Accessibility Act. Just before this convention the Senate bill to reauthorize IDEA was introduced, which also includes provisions from the Instructional Materials Accessibility Act. Therefore we are confident that blind children will soon receive the books they need at the same time that their sighted classmates get them. It would not have happened without the work of the National Federation of the Blind.
Although we have had many legislative successes this year, we also face challenges. NISH, formerly National Industries for the Severely Handicapped, wants to prevent capable blind people from managing military troop dining facilities because NISH wants them for itself. NISH tells the world that, when it receives a contract for a military mess hall, it hires many disabled people, whereas, according to NISH, when a blind vendor receives a contract to operate a military mess hall, only one blind person gets a job. Consequently, to increase employment for the disabled, says NISH, go with NISH.
This kind of argument is typical of the sleight-of-hand deception, the insidious legerdemain, often employed by NISH administrators. If blind vendors operate military dining facilities in accordance with the priority granted by the Randolph-Sheppard Act, they can and do hire other disabled people and promote them. If NISH operates such facilities, it may hire the same disabled people (ordinarily in jobs paying the minimum wage or less), but NISH will not hire a blind vendor to direct the operation, and it will take 4 percent off the top to pay the administrators of NISH, who get very good salaries indeed. Profit or loss, NISH gets 4 percent, and the blind get nothing. If blind vendors operate military facilities, NISH cannot take its 4 percent off the top.
When NISH challenged the Randolph-Sheppard Act priority in court, we fought back, and NISH lost. Now NISH is trying to use the power of Congress to stop blind people from having the right to earn money at military dining facilities. We have fought to preserve the opportunities under the Randolph-Sheppard Act for blind vendors in the past, and we will continue to do so. The Randolph-Sheppard program has given many of us a chance to work, a chance to be productive, a chance to be independent; and it must be strengthened and preserved.
Efforts are currently being made to weaken the Rehabilitation Act and to diminish the significance of the rehabilitation program. Since the 1970's the commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration has been a presidential appointee. Some individuals want to make the commissioner's office a directorate appointed, not by the president, but by the secretary of education. This change would help to separate the constituency affected by rehabilitation programs from the appointment process. It would also diminish or eliminate the oversight role of the Senate. Furthermore, this plan would bury rehabilitation under layers of bureaucracy, where it would be out of sight and out of mind. We vehemently oppose these provisions and will fight to prevent their enactment.
When the National Federation of the Blind requested that the Federal Communications Commission issue a ruling that blind people have a right to have a verbal presentation of text that appears on television screens, the FCC refused to grant our petition, telling us instead that it would require television producers to make certain descriptions of entertainment programming audible. We challenged the ruling of the FCC in court, and we were successful. The court's opinion states clearly that the FCC can make a rule requiring spoken versions of text that appears on television. The court did not order the FCC to make the rule, but it did declare that such a ruling is within the power of the agency.
E*TRADE, an online bank, has the second largest ATM fleet in the country, with over 15,000 machines, but none of them are accessible to the blind. When we asked E*TRADE to make them accessible, it balked. Shortly before this convention the Massachusetts Attorney General and the National Federation of the Blind entered into a partial settlement agreement under which E*TRADE will make a portion of its fleet--a few thousand ATMs--accessible within the next thirty months. In the process of coming to this agreement, we informed E*TRADE that we would be filing a complaint against them to make the rest of their machines accessible. The company argues that, although it operates the fleet of machines, it should be required to make only those it actually owns accessible. While we were in the process of signing the settlement agreement and before we had the opportunity to file our complaint, E*TRADE sued us in Virginia in an effort to avoid the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. E*TRADE may think that it has outfoxed the Federation, but not all of the brains came into the lawsuit when E*TRADE showed up. We have decided that accessibility is a standard that must be adopted by business, including the banking business, and we will not quit until it is.
Anita Heath is a blind grandmother living in Greensboro, North Carolina. Even though she has a degree in early childhood education and even though she works in a preschool, the local Department of Social Services refused to allow Anita Heath to have custody of her own granddaughter. The reason for the denial of custody is that Anita Heath is blind. The Department of Social Services put the girl into foster care. We helped with the case in court. On February 21, 2003, over the opposition of officials at the Department of Social Services, the judge found in favor of Anita Heath and her granddaughter. The family has been reunited with the help of the National Federation of the Blind.
Last year I reported to you that the state of Arkansas had purchased a new statewide computer system from SAP to be used by all state employees. The system was not accessible to the blind. Working with our Arkansas affiliate, we sued the state of Arkansas, demanding that the system be made accessible or be removed. The state of Arkansas responded by suing SAP. An official in Arkansas called our lawyer to say that, if we did not drop the lawsuit, members of the legislature would be asked to remove the requirement of accessibility from the Arkansas statute. Of course we did not bow to the threat, and we will not change our course. A court hearing will occur in the next few days, and we will be there to insist that the blind have a right to participate.
In the meantime SAP went to Pennsylvania to sell a statewide system to the government there. The system is not accessible to the blind. Apparently we arrived in the Pennsylvania courts in the nick of time. The SAP system has not yet been implemented, and Pennsylvania officials are presently telling us it will not be implemented--at least not immediately. If it is, we will be there to challenge the act.
Darlene Barker, a blind woman, worked for Amerix Corporation, a debt counseling firm in Columbia, Maryland. According to evaluations of her performance, she was an outstanding employee, and Amerix raised her pay. Within a few days after receiving the commendatory work evaluation and the raise, Amerix informed Darlene Barker that it had installed a new computer program which was not accessible to the blind, and she was fired. In the lawsuit that followed, Amerix demanded that any settlement be confidential, so I am not at liberty to tell you how much Darlene Barker got. However, Darlene Barker's bankroll has been replenished, she has made a substantial contribution to the National Federation of the Blind, Amerix Corporation has learned that discrimination against the blind is prohibited by law, and Darlene Barker is with us at this convention.
James Dillon is a blind man who was working at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington state as an auditor. When he lost his sight, he asked for the accommodation of a reader. The air force responded by asserting that an auditor must be able to see personally items in an audit, and it refused the accommodation. Scott LaBarre represented James Dillon in the lawsuit, and a settlement has now been reached. James Dillon knows the value of the National Federation of the Blind; he has received a settlement payment of $315,000.
Paul Hammel, a blind man living in Wisconsin, commenced employment with Eau Galle Cheese in January of 2000. Although he worked for the company for several weeks without any problems, managers began to worry that his blindness might, in some unspecified way, pose safety problems. They fired him. When we took the matter to court, Eau Galle Cheese asked the judge to rule as a matter of law that they have a right to dismiss Paul Hammel if they believe in their hearts that his presence on the job will pose a safety risk. The judge has rejected this argument, and we are now preparing to take the case to trial.
In Indiana the agency for the blind assigned five licensed blind vendors to the Indianapolis post office. Apparently counselors at the agency thought it would be easier to pack blind vendors into the post office than to seek other vending locations. Agency officials were not too worried that the income resulting from splitting vending revenues would be unconscionably small. Sometimes the amount collected by the vendors was so tiny that a minimum wage job would have paid them better. We assisted the vendors with a complaint, and the agency has changed its direction. Splitting of vending income is ceasing at the post office, and the vendors will be gaining additional revenue.
There have also been a number of Social Security cases. Jack Turner is a blind vendor from Delaware who is eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance. However, the Social Security Administration asserted that he had received an overpayment of $72,018 because, they said, he was not self-employed but an employee of the Agency for the Blind. Because there are special rules governing computation of Social Security benefit amounts for self-employed individuals, we were confident that Social Security had made a mistake, and the National Federation of the Blind offered Jack Turner assistance. After a hearing before an administrative law judge, which occurred last November, Jack Turner received the decision. He is not required to return $72,018; his monthly Social Security benefit will go up--not down; and he will be receiving a check to cover back benefits amounting to more than $55,000.
With the advent of nondiscrimination legislation and with the public information campaign mounted by the National Federation of the Blind about the capabilities of blind people, blindness is rarely used overtly as the reason for refusing a job or engaging in other discrimination. However, in Arkansas the superintendent of schools for Pulaski County has written a letter to Latreese Evans, a blind teacher, which says in part:
Dear Ms. Evans:
In compliance with the terms of the Arkansas Teacher FairDismissal Act, I am notifying you that I will recommend to the Board of Directors that your teaching contract with the Little Rock School District not be renewed for the 2003-04 school year for the following reason:
1) Your blindness renders you unable to perform the essential functions of your job as a classroom teacher. Specifically, you are unable to monitor student behavior and engage them in instruction. Visual supervision of students is essential in managing both the behavioral environment of the classroom and the learning environment. Students need continuous and immediate feedback and the visual monitoring of students is essential to ensure the safety and well being of all students.
Sincerely,
T. Kenneth James, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Although this man may lack the ability to punctuate a letter properly or to avoid certain other elementary mistakes in composition, he certainly does have the capacity to express himself with candor. However, no amount of candor can correct the error of ignorance. Blind people are successfully teaching all over the United States today. Blind people have been teaching successfully in the United States for a century. These blind teachers are managing the classroom, keeping discipline, imparting knowledge to their students, and helping to build an atmosphere in which scholarship is fostered. Blindness does not stop them, but the bias and ignorance of a superintendent of schools could if we let it. However, Latreese Evans is a member of the National Federation of the Blind, and we are helping her to challenge the ignorance displayed by the head of the school system. Sometimes we teach each other; sometimes we teach students; and sometimes the lessons we have to give are for the superintendent of the public schools.
A record number of visitors have come to the National Center for the Blind this year, more than 3,100 of them, from the United States and from fourteen other countries including Canada, Columbia, England, Ethiopia, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Liberia, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Spain, and Venezuela. These visitors have come for training in technology, for consultation regarding programs of joint effort, and for participation in the many programs of the National Federation of the Blind.
More than two million items were distributed this year from the Materials Center of the National Federation of the Blind to people on each of the inhabited continents of the globe.
Working through our affiliates, we have faced challenges in a number of state legislatures, and we have gained a number of successes. Independent programs for the blind have been retained despite opposition in the state of Nebraska, and a proposal to cut the budget of the agency for the blind was defeated.
In South Carolina editors in the newspaper and certain state legislators attempted to eliminate the Commission for the Blind. The National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina published an editorial challenging statements from certain legislators. The outcome in South Carolina is that the Commission for the Blind remains intact. The blind met the opposition to programming for the blind, and we prevailed.
Challenges to separate identifiable programs for the blind continue to be raised, and sometimes these programs are subsumed in larger agencies. However, concerted efforts by the blind in partnership with administrators of independent programs can be successful if we find a way to generate the cooperation and harmony which so many have told us they advocate.
We continue to publish the most well-known magazine in the field of work with the blind, the Braille Monitor, the most widely distributed general information publication about blindness in the United States. Almost 350,000 issues of our magazine dealing with blindness and diabetes, Voice of the Diabetic, are published each quarter. Future Reflections, our magazine for parents and educators of blind children, is now being sent to more than 10,000 people each quarter. Our Kernel Book Series, those small volumes containing firsthand accounts from individual blind people, continue to be published. The volume being released at this convention, The Car, the Sled, and the Butch Wax, is number twenty-four in the series. More than five and a half million of the Kernel Books have been placed in circulation.
Since the 1980's the National Federation of the Blind has been a member of the World Blind Union and has actively participated in the organization. Dr. Kenneth Jernigan served as president of the North America/Caribbean Region for ten years, and I held the office in the late 1990's.
The National Federation of the Blind delegates to the World Blind Union are Mrs. Mary Ellen Jernigan and I. Through the world organization we learn about programs for the blind in other lands, and we find opportunities for joint action. In addition to the efforts of the delegates, other Federation members have represented us. Barbara Pierce is the Federation member who serves on the WBU Committee on Media, Advocacy, Policy, and Information, which met in Rome last January. Peggy Elliott addressed an international congress on disability which took place in Milan, Italy.
The work we do in the National Federation of the Blind receives recognition in many ways. Joanne Wilson serves as the commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration. She has been a leader of the National Federation of the Blind and has created innovative programs serving people with disabilities. In May of 2003 she was granted a second honorary doctorate--this one from Louisiana Tech University. Then there is Betsy Zaborowski, who in May of 2003 received the Circle of Excellence Award in recognition of her contributions to the state of Maryland. Only twenty-one women, who are leaders from the business, government, and nonprofit sectors in Maryland, received such awards.
As I have traveled throughout the country in the last year, I have encountered the unquenchable spirit and the unfailing wellspring of hope within our movement. We as blind people are sometimes misunderstood, sometimes confronted with discrimination, sometimes belittled, sometimes ignored. But despite all of the problems we face, we are also encountering greater success, greater recognition, and greater acceptance within society than ever before in our history. What has been the driving force to bring about such change? You know the answer as well as I. It is our work within the organized blind movement; it is the effort of the National Federation of the Blind.
We in the Federation have a joint commitment and a shared bond of love and trust. We must believe in ourselves and in each other. We must believe in our capacity to build an organization which will help us contribute to our own society. We must be prepared to make the sacrifices that are demanded in the process of gaining real independence. And we must never doubt that the ultimate responsibility for the future of the blind belongs to us.
In the struggles that are ahead of us, challenges will come that must be met. Some will be obvious, but others (the more dangerous ones) will be subtle and hidden. Sometimes we will be asked to accept partial participation as a reasonable compromise in the name of gaining greater acceptance, with the argument that half a loaf is better than none. But we must reject halfway measures and partial participation--we want nothing less than the real thing. Half a loaf may be better than none, but what we're after is the whole loaf and nothing less.
As we accelerate our growth in these first years of the twenty-first century, we must gather our resources, stimulate our imaginations, muster our courage, and reaffirm our dedication to full first-class participation with no compromise. I pledge to do my part, to give of my time, my resources, my energy, and my commitment. I will go wherever I must, and I will do whatever is required to lead our movement, and I will not hesitate or waver or equivocate.
You, in turn, must do your part. You must be prepared to work with and to support me and the other members of the Federation to build the future that can and will be ours. The commitment is demanding; it requires energy, dedication, and cost. Even so, I go to meet the future with enthusiastic optimism because I know the hearts of the members of the Federation, and I know the commitment we have made together. I know to the depths of my being that we will never quit until we have reached our objective. With this knowledge I gain strength derived from the members of our movement. Over the long run no force on earth can alter our course or slow our progress. This is what we are in the National Federation of the Blind; this is my pledge to you; and this is my report for 2003.
*****
Life Insurance
Life insurance constitutes a very special gift to the National Federation of the Blind. A relatively easy and direct form of planned giving is a new life insurance policy. You can make the NFB the beneficiary and owner of a life insurance policy and receive a tax deduction on the premium you pay.
For example, at age fifty you purchase a $10,000 whole life insurance policy on yourself and designate the NFB as beneficiary and owner of the policy. The premium cost to you is fully tax-deductible each year. You may even decide to pay for the entire policy over a specific period of time, perhaps ten years. This increases your tax deduction each year over the ten-year period and fully pays up your policy.
You may, however, already have a life insurance policy in existence and wish to contribute it to the NFB. By changing the beneficiary and owner to the National Federation of the Blind, you can receive tax savings, depending on the cash value of the policy. Your attorney, insurance agent, or the National Federation of the Blind will be able to assist you if you decide to include the NFB in your planned-giving program through life insurance. For more information contact the National Federation of the Blind, Special Gifts, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998, phone (410) 659-9314, fax (410) 685-5653.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: ]The Scholarship Class of 2003: (left to right) back row: Jennifer Justice, Michael Mello, Tonia Boyd, Peter Apgar, Holly Idler, Meleah Jensen, Adam Rushforth, Eugene Hermanson, Germán Benitez, and Mika Bowers; middle row: Arielle Silverman, Randi Strope, Tim Paulding, John Clower, Louise Walch, Maria Smith, David Paullin, Josh Gibson, Kimie Beverly, and Katrilla Martin; front row: Jason Perry, Jessie Kirchner, Jim Solem, Caroline Rounds, Joy Thomas, Nefertiti Matos, Shelley Richards, Zunaira Wasif, Harriet Go, and Janice Jeang.
The 2003 Scholarship Class of the National Federation of the Blind
From the Editor: With every passing year we recognize the increasing value of the NFB Scholarship Program to our national organization. Members of previous scholarship classes--eighty-eight past winners--stream back to take part in convention activities and assume responsibility, doing anything that they could see needed to be done. Everyone looks forward to meeting the new scholarship class and to hearing what its members are doing and planning to do with their lives.
On banquet evening, while we are still sky-high after listening to President Maurer's address, Peggy Elliott comes to the podium, presents the year's winners, giving an academic and personal sketch of each, and announces which scholarship the person has been awarded. This year each winner crossed the platform and shook hands with Dr. Maurer and Dr. Raymond Kurzweil, whose foundation presented each with an additional $1,000 scholarship and the latest version of the Kurzweil-1000 reading software.
The final scholarship awarded in this year's scholarship extravaganza, which took place at the banquet on July 3, was the Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship of $12,000, which was presented to Caroline Rounds, who then spoke briefly to the audience. Her remarks appear later in this article.
But earlier in the week, at the meeting of the NFB board of directors, each 2003 scholarship winner came to the microphone and spoke directly to the Federation. Following is what they said about themselves. Each speaker was introduced by Peggy Elliott, saying first the student's name and then both the home and school states. This is what was said:
Germán Benitez, New Mexico, New Mexico: Good morning. I'm Germán Benitez. I attend the University of New Mexico. I just finished my first year of graduate studies. I am going to major in math and science. Thank you.
Kimie Beverly, Nevada, Nevada: Hello. I'm a student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where I am studying psychology. I am working on my degree right now. I hope to transfer to UCLA to go to a medical school so that I can get my doctorate and become a psychiatrist. Thank you.
Peter Apgar, Vermont, Vermont: Good morning, everyone. I am currently attending the University of Vermont for engineering management, dealing with mechanical engineering as my concentration. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for making me feel like such a member of the family and making me feel at home. If any of you are ever in Vermont, come up and join me.
Mika Bowers, Maryland, Maryland: Good morning. I currently attend Towson University, working on a masters in art and experimental psychology. I will begin my second year this fall. I plan to graduate in May of 2004 and in the fall attend a Ph.D. program in either behavioral science or neuropsychology. I'm also the president of the student division of Maryland. Thank you.
Tonia Boyd, Kentucky, Kentucky: Good morning, Federationists. Welcome to Kentucky. I am currently working as a rehab instructor with the Kentucky Department for the Blind, and I will be returning to school this fall to finish my master's in counseling psychology at the University of Louisville. Then I plan to get my master's in rehab counseling and possibly a Ph.D. Regardless of what the future holds, I know with the Federation's guidance and generosity that I can fly higher than an eagle with you as the wind beneath my wings.
John Clower, Texas, Texas: Good morning, everyone. I want to thank you all for being here. This fall I will be a freshman at the University of North Texas in Denton. Once some of my required courses are out of the way, I plan to transfer to Oklahoma University in Norman and receive my master's degree in meteorology in a mere six years. My goal is to work for the storm prediction center in Oklahoma or the National Weather Service affiliate in Fort Worth, Texas. If one doesn't already exist, I will consider it a great honor to become the first TV weather man who is blind in Texas.
Josh Gibson, Oklahoma, Oklahoma: Let me just say it's a pleasure to be here. I am honored to be a part of this. I am a junior at Oklahoma City University, seeking a degree in business and political science. I'd like to get my Ph.D. in either foreign affairs or domestic policy, then help our cause and help our country in national politics. Thank you.
Harriet Go, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania: Good morning, fellow Federationists. I am a student at Temple University in Philadelphia majoring in elementary education. I am a member of one of the local chapters in Philadelphia, the Keystone Chapter. I am also the vice president of the Pennsylvania Association of Blind Students. My goal is to be a teacher, and I am very honored to be here this week. Thank you.
Gene Hermanson, Montana, Montana: Good morning. It's good to be here. I will be a junior at the University of Montana. I'm majoring in finance and political science. I will likely be attending law school after that. I hope to have a career making good policy for our great nation. It's my first convention, so it has been a great week so far, and I look forward to the rest of it. This summer I am working on Capitol Hill with Senator Max Baucus of Montana, and that has been a great experience as well.
Holly Idler, Florida, Florida: Hi. I just graduated from Daytona Beach Community College with high honors in May. I am planning to attend Florida State University. I start in August. I am going to get my bachelor's degree in visual disabilities. My goal is to get my master's degree from Louisiana Tech and teach blind students. I am the vice president of the student division in Florida.
Janice Jeang, Texas, Texas: Hello, everybody. I just graduated from high school, and I will be attending Texas A & M University this fall, majoring in psychology. When I became blind two years ago, I was very uncertain of myself, and, being the first blind student in my high school, my teachers told me that I should go see a counselor, so I walked in and she saw me and she looked like, "Oh, hon, I feel so sorry about your condition, your situation. I think you should probably go see a specialist." Well, thanks to the National Federation of the Blind and people from the Texas Association of Blind Students, for which I am honored to sit as a board member (the secretary this year), I was able to walk back in and show that counselor and tell her, "Not only am I going to be that person that you described, I am going to be the best shrink you've ever seen." Thank you.
Meleah Jensen, Louisiana, Louisiana: Good morning. This fall I will be a senior at Louisiana State University, where I am majoring in elementary education with minors in history and sociology. Once I complete my bachelor's I plan to pursue a master's in either early childhood education or elementary counseling. I currently serve as the first vice president of the Louisiana Association of Blind Students and the president of the Baton Rouge chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Louisiana.
Jennifer Justice, Illinois, Illinois: Good morning. First of all I would like to thank the Federation for giving me this honor and this opportunity. Six years ago I moved from rural Alabama to Chicago to attend the Art Institute of Chicago. While I was there, I was selected to participate in the advanced studios division of the school, and I graduated with a bachelor's in fine arts in painting. This fall I will be attending the University of Illinois in Chicago to receive a master's of fine art in studio art. I plan to teach on the college level. I want to become a full professor of painting. I also want to be a professional writer and artist. This is my first convention, and I really want to thank you for the warm welcome. It's been a great time. I am looking forward to many more conventions in the future.
Jessie Kirchner, Connecticut, Virginia: Good morning. I will be a freshman this fall at the College of William and Mary, where I hope to study English and philosophy. Afterwards I would like to attend law school, become an ethics lawyer, and investigate a position as a judge or magistrate later on. This is my second national convention, and I deeply appreciate the opportunities I've had over the past year as a Federation member to increase my independence and self-assurance and to meet mentors whom I have been inspired to emulate. My goal is to benefit others as people in this organization have benefited me and to help the blind community become more involved in that area. I am deeply grateful for your generosity, and it is a pleasure to be here. Thank you.
Katrilla Martin, Virginia, Virginia: Good morning, everyone. I am a senior at Mary Washington College, and in the fall of 2004 I will graduate with both an undergrad and a master's degree. I have excellent ideas about education reformation, and I plan to share them with the world as I seek the position of the secretary of education of the United States of America. I'm almost out of time, but I'd like to leave you with a thought. Thomas Edison once said, and I quote, "Many miss opportunity because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." I'd like to assure you that the scholarship class of 2003 is ready and willing to work hard, to carry this movement far into the future. Thank you. God bless each of you. I'm out of time, and I love the Virginia affiliate.
Nefertiti Matos, New York, New York: As of August 20 I will be attending the College of Mt. St. Vincent as a freshman. My major will be criminal justice and English. After those four years I will be attending law school. After that I don't know--a lawyer. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. It is my first convention, and I wasn't a member before, but believe me, I am a member now. It's phenomenal. Thank you.
Michael Mello, Idaho, Idaho: Good morning, everyone. This is my fourth convention, and I am honored to be a scholarship winner this year. I have learned that diligence pays off in these matters. I applied several times. I will be a senior at the University of Idaho in the fall, studying psychology, and I hope to then achieve a master's degree sometime after graduation. I plan to work in the information technology industry doing consulting. I serve as the Idaho Association of Blind Students president.
Timothy Paulding, Michigan, Michigan: I'm a junior at the University of Michigan, and I study psychology. I hope to be a child psychologist. My success at the University of Michigan and my admittance to this university was only fueled by a defeat that I had in my life. I was defeated by false ideas of what blindness was. I have some vision, so I was able to grow up thinking that I wasn't blind, and I had to realize a few things and take some action for myself before I could become successful in life. I think these things had to occur before I could be invited to this convention and be able to understand what all of you had to say. I hope to bring back what I learn here to Michigan. I'm honored to be here.
David Paullin, California, Washington: Hello and good morning, fellow Federationists. This coming fall I will be a freshman at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. I am currently studying political science and history. This past spring I finished my first semester. Before that I went to one of the finest NFB training centers in the nation, the Colorado Center for the Blind. I graduated in December of 2002, and now I'm a member of the Spokane chapter in Washington and a first position board member. I joined in February. I'm looking forward to meeting more of you Washingtonians. I'm an Eagle Scout, and one unique thing about me is that I enjoy writing poetry and stories. So, if you share that interest, I'd like to share that with you. I'm from El Dorado Hills, California. If you don't know where that is, it's about twenty-five miles northeast of Sacramento. Thank you very much. This is such a great honor.
Jason Perry, Ohio, Ohio: Good morning fellow Federationists. I can't tell you what an impact attending this first day of activities and the short time I've been here has had on me. This isn't my first convention, however. I was part of the Federation family in '96, '97, '98, '01, and again a scholarship winner this year. I can't begin to tell you the impact that the Federation and the Federation philosophy has had on my life. I am truly living proof that the Federation philosophy is the way to go. As I have attended Ohio State and studied law, I've come to realize that law is the fabric that holds our society together. As I am working on my advanced degree in special education administration, I've come to realize that education is the means by which we shape and mold that fabric. I hope to some day work at the NFBRTI or as a special education administrator so that I can help people with the Federation vision and shape and mold that fabric. Thank you very much.
Shelley Richards, New Jersey, New Jersey: Hello, everybody. I just graduated from high school about a week and a half ago. In the fall I will be attending Rider University, where I was just accepted into the honors program. I am going to major in political science and Spanish. I hope to go on to law school and eventually get into politics. This is my first convention, and it's wonderful to see people who feel the same way about blindness that I have always felt my entire life. I've grown up in a household where my parents would not let me use blindness as an excuse for anything, and I was never allowed to get away with not doing my fair share of the work with my four siblings. It's wonderful to be here, and I am looking forward to a great rest of the week.
Caroline Rounds, California, California: Hello, Federation friends. Currently I am the second vice president for our state affiliate and the president of the High Desert chapter. I hold a California teaching credential and taught regular ed for five years. I now have the honor of teaching a classroom full of very capable and great blind children. After school I rush off to Cal State, Los Angeles, which is about 100 miles away. I am currently obtaining at the second year master's level my credential in VI [visual impairment]. I forgot, I think, how conventions (this is my fourth one) tend to refine, define, and direct you until last night. I wasn't sure what I was going to do after getting my credential, and now I think I know. I want to go into researching better methods for teaching blind children and putting them into practice. I hope to do that at Louisiana Tech. Thank you.
Peggy Elliott: This year's tenBroek Fellow. Those of you who have been here in previous years know that scholarship winners of past years are eligible to reapply. This gentleman won a scholarship once before. For the second time, welcome:
Adam Rushforth, Nevada, Utah: I am from Las Vegas, Nevada, and am a senior at Brigham Young University, where I study and am pursuing a degree in business finance and a minor in Spanish. I have been a member of the board of the Nevada affiliate of the NFB and am currently the treasurer of the Utah Association of Blind Students. I served a two-year, full-time, completely voluntary-basis mission for my church in North Carolina, speaking Spanish. Aside from that, I was called to be president of an organization in my church where I was given the stewardship over two hundred people. I am here today because I know that a blind person is not a defective sighted person.
Arielle Silverman, Arizona, Arizona: Good morning, everyone. In the fall I am going to be attending Arizona State University with a major in biology and possibly adding psychology later on. Right now I am exploring different career possibilities. Some options that I'm thinking of include going to medical school, doing biomedical research, or pursuing a degree in biophysics. That seems like a lot of choices, but right now I am just scoping out the field and seeing what I'd like to do. However, no matter what career I choose, I am definitely going to become more active in the National Federation of the Blind. I am hoping to start a student division in my state, where we currently don't have one. I'm also aspiring one day to be sitting on one of our NFB committees. Thank you.
Maria Smith, Alabama, Alabama: Good morning, everyone. I will be a freshman at Auburn University this fall, and I am planning to major in computer science, probably concentrating on assistive technology. Every year that I come to convention I find something new and wonderful to love about the Federation, so thank you for all the opportunities that you have given me, and I will definitely be around more often.
Jim Solem, Idaho, Idaho: Buenos días, brothers and sisters. Is this an awesome family reunion, or what! If you can't get excited about being here, you got to be half dead. It has been very difficult for me this past couple of days--I feel like I have to put ten-pound weights in my shoes just to kind of hold me down on the ground. I'm a student at the University of Idaho, a Ph.D. student with emphasis on education. I'm working towards a project in technology. What I want to be able to do with this is for blind students and students in the special ed field and students that have a difficult time in learning just to be able to put together programs in the field of math and sciences to enhance the learning in math and sciences. The reason why I am here today is that I made a phone call approximately a year ago to a lady that I am standing next to, who encouraged me on the phone and told me that I can do it; it's up to me. Thank you and God bless you.
Randi Strope, Nebraska, Nebraska: Thank you, Mrs. Elliott. For the first eighteen years of my life I completely denied my blindness, and in 2001 I attended a college prep workshop in Nebraska, heard a speech by a well-known Federationist, and in a matter of hours my whole view on blindness changed. This summer I am working with the NFB Corps, and the one thing I've learned from this experience is never to stop sharing the Federation's philosophy. I found the Federation when I was least expecting it, and this organization has given me more than I can ever give back to it, but I will do my best to try to strengthen and build this fine Federation. Thank you so much for this fine opportunity.
Joy Thomas, Illinois, Illinois: Hello. I am going to be a second-year graduate student at Aurora University in the field of education. Upon graduation I plan to teach middle school in the areas of Spanish language arts or social science in the public schools. I also plan to pursue my Ph.D. in educational policy. This is only my third day here, and already the NFB has helped me to realize that for my students I don't want to be just their nice teacher who can't see, but I want to be a guide to help them learn that their accomplishments are not based on what one lacks, but on one's determination and the use of one's gifts. Thank you very much.
Louise Nicholson Walch, Utah, Utah: Good morning. It's a pleasure and a privilege to be here. I am Louise Walch, and I am from New Castle, Australia, but I come here from Utah. I am a second-semester junior at Brigham Young University studying linguistics and teaching English to students for whom English is their second language. Additionally I am currently making plans to attend the Louisiana Center for the Blind and to pursue a master's at Louisiana Tech University. I am currently and have been for the last year and a half the secretary of the Utah Association of Blind Students. Just recently I was elected treasurer of the Utah Valley chapter. I am also a PAC Plan member. I just want to let you know that the reason I do these things is because I am committed to this organization. This is my first convention, but this last time, since I met with the NFB, has been one of the most rewarding times of my life, not because of this week, but because of how it changed my life. I know it has changed the lives of many. I believe in this cause, and I want to let you know that it really is a privilege to be here. I am willing to work. I recognize the efforts of those who have gone before me, and I plan to continue and to keep this Federation spirit alive.
Zunaira Wasif, Florida, Rhode Island: Hi, everyone. I am just completing my first year at Brown University, and I am going to major in pre-med and cognitive neuroscience. The other day I was sitting in the audience, and I heard a wonderful speech by the director of Louisiana Tech University, and I'm thinking that maybe, if I want to do cognitive neuroscience, I could do some of it over there and help with research and get involved and give back to the Federation. I am really excited about doing that. You have a great day. I hope everything goes well, and I am very excited about this.