Monitor Miniatures

Monitor Miniatures

The Braille Monitor

January 2003

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Monitor Miniatures

News

from the Federation Family

Bob

Hartt

Honored:

Bob

Hartt is treasurer of the Northern Potomac Chapter of the NFB of Virginia. The

following is an entry in the Congressional Record:

Tribute

to Brookings Fellow Robert M. Hartt

November

22, 2002, page E2122

by

Hon. Danny K. Davis of Illinois

in

the House of Representatives

Mr.

Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute and gratitude to Mr.Robert M. Hartt. Recently

Mr. Hartt has ended a six‑month fellowship with the Brookings Institution

and will be returning to his position at the Committee for Purchase from People

Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled. While working in my office, Mr. Hartt brought

an aspect to disabilities issues that shed a new light on legislation and office

policies. Mr. Hartt passionately used his personal experiences as a man with

a vision impairment to ensure improvements be set forth in computer software,

educational textbooks, and healthcare for all individuals with disabilities.

His advocacy and strength instilled a renewed hope that one day our nation will

have equality for all people. Again, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Mr.

Hartt for his exceptional hard work for the residents of Illinois's Seventh

Congressional District and America's disability community.

Elected:

On

Saturday, November 16, 2002, the East Hillsborough Chapter of the National Federation

of the Blind of Florida held its annual appreciation banquet and awards ceremony.

After the banquet the chapter held its annual elections. We are pleased to announce

the following results: Marion Gwizdala, president; Richard Brown, vice president;

Patricia Crumbley, secretary; Merry Schoch, treasurer; and Dory Bartell, Janice

Butler, and Sophia Brenner, board members.

New Babies:

Noel

Nightingale and Jim Peterson with new son Cosmo

The

newest member of the Palmer family, Lauren

November 21, 2002, was

a big day in the Federation family. In Seattle, Washington, Cosmo James Peterson,

son of NFB of Washington President Noel Nightingale and her husband, Jim Peterson,

was born weighing seven pounds, three ounces and measuring twenty-and-a-half

inches.

In

Utah on the same day, National Organization of Parents of Blind Children Board

Member Marla Palmer and her husband Mike became the parents of Lauren, who weighed

in at seven pounds, six ounces and twenty-and-a-half inches. Congratulations

to both families.

Elected:

The

NFB of Oregon's Rose City Chapter conducted elections on November 16, 2002.

The new officers are president, Carolyn Brock; vice president, Laine Gardinier;

secretary, Jerry Hathaway; and treasurer, Joyce Green.

Elected:

The

NFB of Wisconsin conducted an election at its fall convention. The results were

as follows: Mark Riccobono, president; Dan Wenzel, first vice president; William

Meeker, second vice president; Linda Mentink, secretary; Larry Sebranek, treasurer;

and Nezvat Adil, Elizabeth Buhrke, Tony Olivero, and Kathleen Sebranek, board

members.

In

Brief

Notices

and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor readers.

We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only

for space and clarity.

NFB

banner with full-color Whozit

NFB

Banners for Sale:

The

Greater Summit County chapter of the NFB of Ohio is still selling eight-foot

heavy vinyl banners. Chapters and affiliates who bought the original version

of this banner will be glad to know that we have made a full-color Whozit decal

which can be firmly affixed to cover the old NFB logo and convert your banner

into a stunning new advertisement for the National Federation of the Blind.

The cost of this 22-by-20-inch vinyl decal is $20. It comes with exact instructions

for applying it to your banner.

If

you have put off buying a banner but now wish to have one for your chapter or

affiliate, the cost of the Whozit banner is $45. Add $7 for shipping and handling

if you are ordering the full banner. The handling cost for the decal alone is

$5. Make checks payable to NFB of Ohio, and send orders to NFB of Ohio, 237

Oak Street, Oberlin, Ohio 44074-1517. Be sure to tell us where you wish to have

your banner or decal sent.

Hermansky‑Pudlak

Syndrome (HPS) Network Recruiting for New Research Protocol:

Hermansky‑Pudlak

syndrome (HPS) is a serious genetic disorder affecting people from many nationalities.

It is very prevalent in families from northwestern Puerto Rico and their descendants.

HPS involves albinism, a tendency to bleed and bruise, and in some cases a life‑threatening

lung disease.

Doctors

at the National Institutes of Health are writing a protocol for a treatment

for the pulmonary fibrosis of HPS. Patients will be treated by some of the nation's

leading experts at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. There is no

cost for the medicine, hospitalization, or doctors' fees.

Eligible candidates will

have a forced vital capacity on pulmonary function tests of below 85 percent.

If you or someone you know has breathing problems related to Hermansky-Pudlak

syndrome or if you suspect you may have this form of albinism, please contact

the HPS Network. Patients are always albino but are often unaware that they

have the syndrome. If you are albino and have a bleeding tendency or have been

diagnosed with Crohn's disease or asthma, please contact the HPS Network for

more information about Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome and how you can be tested.

Call (800) 789-9477 or (516) 922-4022 for more information.

No

Professional-Level Blind Employees Left at JBI:

With

great sadness and regret we report the forced resignation of Cantor Mindy Fleigelman

from the staff of the Jewish Braille Institute of America (JBI), effective November

26, 2002. Cantor Fleigelman's resignation was tendered on October 26, 2002,

prior to the publication of the article about JBI which appeared in the November

issue of the Braille Monitor. Cantor Fleigelman was the director of the

recording studio at JBI and was responsible for the production and duplication

of its Talking Books on Tape. She appeared most recently before the 2002 NFB

convention in Louisville, Kentucky, at the meeting of the board of directors

to give a progress report on JBI.

Upcoming

O&M Conference Reminder:

Jim

Omvig reminds Braille Monitor readers that the National Blindness Professional

Certification Board will conduct a national orientation and mobility conference

in connection with the Washington Seminar. The conference will be held on Sunday

afternoon, February 2, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Information about the conference

will be available when you arrive at the Capitol Holiday Inn.

Braille

Transcription Service Available:

We

offer customized Braille transcription service that meets the individual needs

of the customer. Print can be transcribed into Braille at modest prices for

all kinds of documents. This may include bulletins, agendas, menus, theater

programs, employment materials, legal documents, letters, lists, invitations,

labels, and much more.

Documents can be received

on disc in MS Word format and by e-mail attachments. For more information about

this service give Kerry Smith a call at (314) 644-7733, or e-mail <[email protected]>.

Monitor

Mart

The

notices in this section have been edited for clarity, but we can pass along

only the information we were given. We are not responsible for the accuracy

of the statements made or the quality of the products for sale.

For

Sale:

CCTV,

Aladdin Ultra Pro 75 by Telesensory for sale. Less than one year old. Asking

$995. If interested, contact Hyman Easton, 320 E. Shore Road, Great Neck, New

York 11023, (516) 487-7882.

NFB

PLEDGE

I pledge to participate

actively in the efforts 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.

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