MARK RICCOBONO: The 2024 Washington Seminar of the National Federation of the Blind is now in order!
The constitution of the United States of America establishes a Federal democratic Republic. This is the foundation of our federal government. It is democratic because the people govern themselves. It is a republic because the government's power is derived from its people. As our nation developed and strengthened its values under this constitution, a deeply rooted bias came to drive policy and practice in our nation. This was not born from our nation but rather inherited through centuries of low expectations. This bias is rooted in the idea that the inability to see with your eyes means without question the inability to compete on terms of equality and contribute value to society.
For the blind, by the people meant being done for the people. Until we organized and unified our voice in 1940 and declared...
[ Cheering ]
... declared we were taking back our right to equality, opportunity and security and full participation in our society.
To quote Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, the brilliant scholar of the constitution of the United States, and the founding president of the National Federation of the Blind, "We claim as our birthright, as our constitutional guarantee, and as an indivestable aspect of our nature the fundamental human right of self expression, the right to speak for ourselves individually and collectively, inseparably connected with this right is the right of common association, the principle of self organization means self guidance and self control."
So say that the blind can should and do lead the blind is only to say that they are their own counselors, that they stand on their own feet in the control of their own lives, in the responsibility for their own progress in the organized and consistent pursuit of objectives of their own choosing. In these alone lies the hope of the blind for economic independence, social integration, and emotional security.
And as we begin the 84th year of our movement, we gather together to demonstrate that right of common association, that right to speak for ourselves individually and collectively. We aim not to merely emphasize the problems but to elevate the solutions.
[Cheers and applause]
We come not to listen to the naysayers but to celebrate those enlightened allies on the Hill who welcome our authentic wisdom and who invite our contributions. We seek to discover more of those enlightened allies this week. And to those we meet who tell us our time has not yet come and our contributions must be delayed, we say that we are the people. This nation is ours as well, and we will no longer have our equality denied!
[Cheers and applause]
Our record of contributions and meaningful solutions as the organized blind movement can no longer be ignored. In fact, we believe it should be elevated and celebrated in a cultural institution that uses our stories to mobilize future generations to continue our advancement as blind people. That is the future Museum of the Blind Peoples Movement.
[ Cheering ]
But today we come to Washington, D.C. on the eve of an important milestone. Tomorrow we will mark the 20th anniversary of hour opening of the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute.
[Cheers and applause]
And in that moment 20 years ago, we committed in a bold way not simply to share the ideas but to turn them into reality. We imagined the role the blind could play in society. We built it for ourselves. And in the process, we tested how far we might go. And if you want to talk about hope for our nation, consider that after 20 years we have not found the limits for blind people!
[Cheers and applause]
But imagine how different the world would be had we not taken those bold steps 20 years ago, or for that matter in any of the 20 year periods going back to our founding in 1940. Without collective action by the blind, here is just a sampling of the things we would not have today. Dynamic tools for capturing, converting, and relaying printed words and visual images into accessible nonvisual forms. A generation of programs, tools and resources for raising expectations for the blind in science, technology, engineering and math. Fully accessible systems that provide equality in casting private ballots independently in elections.
[Cheers and applause]
Accelerated exploration of built in accessibility systems for everything from smartphones to self driving cars. A worldwide treaty led by the blind themselves that dramatically expanded the availability of accessible materials.
[Cheers and applause]
University training, professional development, and peer reviewed research led by the blind themselves and centering the real problems of blindness.
[Applause]
And most importantly, the now deeply rooted expectation that we know who we are and we will never go back!
[Cheers and applause]
We only pause for a brief moment to celebrate our success. Because we recognize our progress is not yet finished. We believe our nation must do even better. We have come to do our part by sharing our authentic wisdom with the elected representatives of the people.
Whether it is in equal access to the digital society, independent management of our own healthcare, or elimination of the financial disincentive that impedes our economic advancement, the blind have come with solutions. And while these are not the only solutions that we offer, they are our most pressing concerns this week.
We invite every elected representative in this nation to recognize the wisdom found in our blind community. And to utilize that power as inspiration to build and strengthen this great nation.
The National Federation of the Blind advances the lives of its members and all blind people in the United States. We know that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. And every day we raise the expectations of blind people because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. Our collective power, determination, and diversity advance the aspirations of all blind people. Our movement also provides hope that our nation can continue to improve on the aspirations codified in the United States Constitution.
This is why we come from every corner of the country. This is why we accept our responsibilities as equal citizens in this nation. This is why we have and will continue to invest so much to demonstrate the possibilities. This is the significance of the Washington Seminar!
[Cheers and applause]
[ Music playing ]
¶ Live the life you want ¶
¶ Nobody can stop you ¶
¶ Shoot for the sun ¶
¶ And break on through ¶
¶ So you're blind, you'll be fine ¶
¶ We got good news ¶
¶ You can live the life you want ¶
¶ Yes, we know the truth ¶
¶ Grab a cane, get trained ¶
¶ Got to get moving ¶
¶ Make a change in a wage ¶
¶ That's what we're doing ¶
¶ Come with me, yeah ¶
¶ Live the life you want ¶
¶ Nobody can stop you ¶
¶ Shoot for the sun ¶
¶ And break on through ¶
¶ So you're blind, you'll be fine ¶
¶ We got good news ¶
¶ You can live the life you want ¶
¶ Yes, we know the truth ¶
¶ You and me, NFB ¶
¶ Let's dream together ¶
¶ NFB, you and me ¶
¶ Lives on forever ¶
¶ You will see, yeah ¶
¶ Live the life you want ¶
¶ Nobody can stop you ¶
¶ Shoot for the sun ¶
¶ And break on through ¶
¶ So you're blind, you'll be fine ¶
¶ We got good news ¶
¶ You can live the life you want ¶
¶ Yes, we know the truth ¶
¶ You can live the life you want ¶
¶ Yes, we know the truth ¶
¶ You know the truth! ¶
MARK RICCOBONO: All right, how many are here at their first ever Washington Seminar?
[ Cheering ]
That's pretty impressive. How many are here at their 50th Washington Seminar?
[chuckles]
Great, great!
Well, I know we have two overflowing rooms of people in person and I'm sure we have lots of members tuning in on Zoom to be here for this Great Gathering In. Again, what a pleasure to be back in person and...
[Applause]
Yeah, absolutely!
And letting the elected representatives know how important it is that they have our expertise there are a number of dignitaries that I wanted to acknowledge with us, first and foremost. The officers of the National Federation of the Blind, first vice president Pam Allen.
[ Cheering ]
Our second vice president from Indiana, Ron Brown.
[ Cheering ]
From the great state of Utah, our secretary, Everette Bacon.
[Cheers and applause]
And our treasurer from Texas, Norma Crosby.
[Cheers and applause]
There are many other members of the national board here, so give them a round of applause as well.
[Cheers and applause]
Not just elected officials who are important to what we do. I do want to acknowledge that we have with us in the audience the executive director of the United States Access Board, Sachin Pavithran.
[Cheers and applause]
I'm sure there are others that I didn't get to notice in the group, and we may get a chance to introduce them. We do have a lot to do, and by longstanding tradition, we are going to adjourn at 7:00. So please stick with me and pay attention, because there are a lot of things to cover.
The first thing we want to cover is to talk about how we promote the work that we're doing here this week and how we do that appropriately, and here to do that is our director of communications and marketing, she's become a key leader communications and marketing, she's become a key leader on our staff and contributes so much to what we do. Here's Stephanie Cascone!
STEPHANIE CASCONE: Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you, President Riccobono. I've just got to fix myself here. I'm a little shorter maybe not the shortest person in the room, but, you know close enough. So I'm just fixing the mic here. Thank you, President Riccobono. I'm so honored to be with everyone tonight. We are always in communications striving to find new ways and tools to put our message out there. So before I get into some of the communications you all will be doing this week, I wanted to share a little bit of an update on some AI work we have been doing. So who here remembers President Riccobono's personal AI from convention?
[Applause]
We have continued to be working with building and stacking the memories of President Riccobono's AI, so I wanted to share a little bit. We're not ready to quite release it all the way, but I did ask it today what the most interesting experience that you have had at Washington, D.C. is, and here is what President Riccobono's personal AI said.
ERIC: The most interesting experience I had in Washington, D.C. was during the NFB youth slam in 2009. I had the opportunity to be part of a rally of blind students at the Lincoln Memorial and a March to the capital visitor center. Additionally, thanks to the Federation, Melissa and I had the unique opportunity to take our children to the White House for the Easter egg roll. It was not only a fun time but a special way to represent Blind Americans.
STEPHANIE CASCONE: There we go! All right!
[Applause]
I have to say I think the voice is getting much better.
Well, I will say too I think they might have forgotten a little something there. Did not mention something about Washington, D.C. What are we here for today?
So we are continuing to still build and stack those memories, and so the experience is there. We are looking forward to the community helping to build this personal AI experience, however, I do want to emphasize the goal isn't to take away interaction with President Riccobono, the real Mark Riccobono, of course. We do want to continue to engage, and you can reach him at any time, and if everyone sent an email right now, I'm not sure he would get to everybody as quickly as we would want to. So hopefully this tool will be something that we will be able to use in the future and we're excited to talk more about it this year.
So thank you, President Riccobono and President Riccobono's Personal AI.
[chuckles]
So in addition to interesting experiences here in Washington, D.C., you all will be having some interesting experiences for sure. And so there is a couple ways that we want you to engage. Of course, you are going to be talking with people directly, your representatives. But we in communications want to hear those experiences. And so many of you are on social media, and so the official hashtag for our event this week is #NFBInDC.
So there is a couple things we do want you to consider when posting on social media. We want you to share your experiences, the feelings that you have being here in D.C., maybe it's the first time you have been here, and in those sorts of things that you are talking about, your stories of the legislative priority that is you are share with your representatives, those sorts of things, we do want you to be careful not necessarily post or don't post what a congressperson has agreed to. So that you know, we don't want to share any of that, but we want to hear your experiences while you are here. Including those who may not be here in D.C. with us, if you have stories related to our legislative priorities, this is a great time to post them on social media with #NFBInDC. And maybe you're not on social media, and that's okay. If you have stories, share them to [email protected] . Or leave a message at 410-659-9314 Extension 2444. And we do want the highlight those in the communications nationally, social media, publications, maybe your local media. So just note that we would connect with you if that was the case.
So with that, last but not least here for me, we put videos together, if you know anything about me, I'm definitely going to ask you to be in a video at some point, including right now. So we like to get some real excitement here, and many of our videos we do an ending of thank you, collage thank yous that you may have noticed throughout some of our videos. On a count of three, I do want you all to say "thank you" as excitedly as you can. So everyone ready?
All right, one, two, three...
audience: Thank you!
STEPHANIE CASCONE: That was really good. I don't think we even have to do it twice this year.
Thank you. Thank you all! Have so much fun this week. I know you're excited and passion not and we're really excited to be here with you as well. Thank you and have a great one! President Riccobono. The Real President Riccobono, please.
MARK RICCOBONO: All right, thank you, Stephanie, and thank you to our affiliate presidents who are helping us train our AI presence. I got a text from Melissa who said, I was shocked it didn't tell that embarrassing story about the time on Capitol Hill.
So it doesn't know all of the juicy stories yet, but maybe I'll stack that memory later. (chuckling)
And just so you know, many presidents have already asked it where the 2025 convention is.
Where the 2025 convention is. It doesn't know.
Or it won't tell, that's true.
Look, events like this happen because of many, many people. And now for a long time, I guess 19 years, I think she told me, she has been helping out with the Washington Seminar and many different aspects of it, so I thought it would be appropriate this year to ask our colleague, Lisa Bonderson to tell us about the logistics.
LISA: Greetings to everyone and welcome to this annual Washington Seminar. I want to start out real quick with a brief word of thanks to those behind the hotel scene here who helped make this event happen Washington director Senator hall, sandy Halverson and Chris Colcock and Brook Sextan and Judy Sanders. Room 275 office hours for the rest of the week. Tuesday 8:00 to 4:00. Wednesday 8:00 to 5:45 p.m. Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Emergency canes and cane tips can be purchased in 275. Lost and found should be turned in to room 275. If you find yourselves in need of additional packets, if you have lost or misplaced them, you can stop by 275 and talk to Chris.
If you are unable to use the portal as appointment follow up, please be sure to get your meeting results into 275 by calling our dropping by. The capitol bistro hours tonight, open until 10:00 p.m., opens daily for breakfast at 6:30, open for lunch Tuesday 11:00 to 2:00 p.m. 21 Amendment will be open through the 31st from 3:00 p.m. to 11 p.m. and 1st through 3rd from 4:00 to 10:00.
The Washington Seminar will commence as soon as I wrap up here and the expenses to run the event grow with each passing year. Your generous donations will go a long way in helping to defray the expenses and we thank you in advance for your consideration. Those new to the event, a collection bowl will be passed down each row and ask that you have your donation in hand and ready to drop into the bowl so we can expedite the process and focus on the material to follow. Upon request, we have come up with a QR code and we will be passing out those as well. This will link you directly to the NFB donation page. Thanks again. I hope you have a great week and some positive meetings with your appointments on the Hill. Thank you.
Thank you to Lisa and our logistics team. It's great to have everybody here. I went by 275 earlier today and extended my congratulations to the Chiefs fans that were there.
[ Cheering ]
[ boos ]
MARK RICCOBONO: I didn't mean to get political. I'm sorry. I know it's still raw for some of us.
AUDIENCE: Go team!
MARK RICCOBONO: Okay. So I do include I do encourage you to drop some quiet currency into the bucket. To not disrupt, but know many of us don't have cash, so we do have QR codes and it would be great, as Lisa points out, our expenses do go up. There is a lot that happens behind the scenes to make this happen. And those dollars are quite critical.
Now, while you're rooting around in your wallet for the largest bills you can find...
[chuckles]
... I'll let you know there are a lot of benefits, because of the Federation Family here. And our District of Columbia affiliate continues to be a great host to us.
[ Cheering ]
A so President Shawn Callaway wants me to inform you that by longstanding tradition now, tomorrow morning in the lobby, starting at 7:00 a.m., there will be Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
[ Cheering ]
And it won't cost you anything.
Assuming you put money in the bucket.
[ Laughter ]
So please come by and thank you to our D.C. affiliate for the hospitality. We appreciate it.
[Applause]
Now, I briefly, if I could have your attention, I know everybody is rooting around in their wallet, appreciate that. I briefly mentioned the Museum of the Blind Peoples Movement. We have committed to sharing stories of blind people in new and dynamic ways and how we have worked together to raise expectations in society. This is a bold project that we have taken on. And it's going to require all of us to participate in the ways that we can.
We continue to get a lot of excitement about the idea of the Museum of the Blind Peoples Movement from many partners. I got a call last Monday from a partner of ours, and we're not allowed to say who yet, but they said they were contributing 200,000 dollars to our effort.
[Cheers and applause]
You will see more about that soon and many in this audience have already made your personal commitments to pledge dollars to our Museum campaign. I am proud to announce that 100% of our National Board is pledged to the campaign. Many others of you out there, if you want to learn more about that, please visit NFB.org /museum. We do welcome your pledges, but that's not really what I want to convey today. If we are going to continue to build the momentum for this project, we specifically need each of you to put real thought into who you know, what corporations you have contacts with, what corporations, friends, rich people your relatives have connections with, and even if you think for some reason they may or may not be interested, consider don't make that decision. If there is someone that you believe has potential to make a gift to this campaign, that you have connections to, either individuals, organizations, corporations, please share that information with us, and especially let us know if you would be willing to help make an approach to them. But first and foremost, we need the prospects that you have. And so if you have someone, a company or an individual in your sphere that you could have influence with, that you think would be a potential donor to our campaign, we need you to let us know. We're looking for prospects that we can ask to make gifts to the campaign of 10,000 dollars or more. Now some people say, well, what about smaller gift. That time is going to come, don't worry, there's plenty of room, but right now we're trying to build the momentum by getting gifts of 10,000 or above. By the way, there is no upper limit. But all of us know people, and all of us know people that will be interested in giving to our stories, collecting our stories, and that would be interested in supporting your passion for helping to educate the public about blindness.
We're asking that you communicate the contacts and ideas about contacts that you have to Rachel Held, who is a member of our national office staff. This might be her first Washington Seminar. I know she's in the audience.
[Applause]
Oh, she's passing the bucket, so don't give her prospects now, because she's busy. But you can send them to [email protected] or, of course, you can reach her at our national office. You know the number... 410-659-9314 and you probably know that Rachel's extension is 2423.
So please share your prospects with us. Now, we have a number of other program announcements, and it's fitting that we'll start with talking about our research and training programs, which we now call our Blindness Initiatives, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of our establishing the Jernigan Institute, hear is the executive director for blindness initiatives, Anil Lewis!
ANIL: Thank you. All right, I'm almost as tall as Stephanie.
[ Laughter ]
It's like the perfect storm of stuff going on. My battery on my watch died, my battery on my notetaker died, and just before I got up here, you know, I'm the infamous low battery, but luckily I had just enough time to transcribe my notes on this 3X5 Braille card. Go ahead, Braille!
[ Cheering ]
So, it is indeed my honor to be with my Federation Family at the Washington Seminar. I was going to do this differently, but as I was Brailling this card, this is what came to me. You know I like to have fun with this, so bear with me.
So over this past 20 years as we...
[ no audio ]
... so we know the importance of Braille, I definitely know now. And this is why we support our Braille enrichment literacy through learning academy
[ Cheering ]
We recognize the importance of nonvisual access training in order to help blind students achieve the careers they want. So we focus a lot on our STEM courses and now we're taking the STEM courses to our federation family through our STEM2U program.
We strive to learn. And we yearn to teach. Through a recent grant, from the Lavelle Foundation, really innovative one, key ways of getting educational programming that provides quality education for students is through that IEP process. How many know about the IEP? How many feel you're great advocates in the IEP situation? So we developed the IEP Advocacy Academy, because we know that if we teach ourselves how to be great advocates in that space, there's no limits to what we can create for these blind students. We strive to learn. And we yearn to teach.
We're going to reactive, since we're now in person again, one of the tools we used to educate young upcoming blind leaders, we're going to start our summer internship program. So those of you who are interested, you' see more about this coming out soon, but get your resumes ready and get ready to do the work.
We've done a lot around employment over the past 20 years. We've had our career mentoring program that started with the whole jobs for the blind, job opportunities for the blind. We had our Career Mentoring Program, we've done career fairs. There was one today, really good stories, really good outcomes. And now we're going to build Career Quest. That means we're going to have students and transition age youth coming to our convention, which will not only just enhance , sorry, not only enhance the convention experience but enhanced the experience carved out for that age group to make sure that they recognize that the Federation is truly for them. We strive to learn...
[Applause]
... and we yearn to teach.
We recognize that technology is evolving so rapidly now we can't keep up with that technology. Our senior staff is wonderful, but there's no way we can do it. So what we have to do is build on the energy and expertise in this room. So we're developing the Accessibility Self Advocacy Toolkit, that will be coming out soon, and each and every one of you will be able to play a robust role in making sure that each and every website, each and every app, any technological experience is accessible to blind people.
[Cheers and applause]
So we strive to learn and we yearn to teach.
But what I have described is what we have been doing for ourselves. And we are not a selfish bunch. We have lived experience that we recognize can help the world and way that we can do that is we have got to educate those professionals that provide the services that we depend on to be equal.
[Cheers and applause]
And they may not be ready for what we're trying to teach them, but we still yearn to teach.
We're going to start by recognizing tonight we have members of our Teachers of Tomorrow Program. These are individuals that recognize the Federation has lived experience and expertise that is going to make them wonderful teachers for our blind students in the future.
We strive to learn and we yearn to teach.
[chuckles]
People ask, well, in the realm of getting blind people jobs, all these employers out there thinking, what are the blind jobs? I love... well, I'm old, so back in the day we used to publish it every day in the paper call "The Want Ads." Today the blind jobs are listed on Monster, Indeed, LinkedIn, all those jobs have blind jobs and we strive to show Where the Blind Work. We launched our program where we bring individuals with interesting careers so we can tell employers it's not just about workshops, baby, it's about work, and we get it done.
[Cheers and applause]
We strive to learn and we yearn to teach.
Many of us talk about transition age, but many didn't go blind until we were adults. I lost my sight at 25. My IEP process was tone. I didn't need an IEP. But I did depend heavily on counselors that would help guide me through the process to make sure that I could get the skills training I needed to be equal.
If we're honest, the quality of services within the VR program is suffering. And I'll be honest with you, part of that is our fault, right? Because we used to be able to get qualified blind people in these positions that knew what they were doing. But now the Federation look what we've done created great opportunities for blind people to live the lives they want and many of them don't want to be VR professionals. But we still have a responsibility to live our lives in a way that yields our lived experience and expertise to those VR counsel. So we're going to be creating, with the VR professionals we have in our family, a robust way of teaching VR counselors. So that's coming up. Whether they are ready or not, we yearn to teach.
In addition we want to continue to foster that and bring those professionals into our family. So we created dynamic programming at our national convention for VR professionals that know us in our search of discovery family, but we're now going to leverage up as we 'done in the past our Dare to be Remarkable symposium and make sure that we invite all VR professionals, all educational professionals, into a forum where we can teach them. Because we strive to learn, but we yearn to teach.
And I love this space, Washington Seminar, this is a true corporation of advocacy. No one does it like the Federation. But, again, we can't be selfish, so we are still fostering one of the largest nationwide disability advocacy learning opportunities that exists. And that is our Jacobus tenBroek disability laws symposium, because we strive to learn and we yearn to teach.
I will end with this. I am honored to be part of an innovative program that is creating the leaders of this organization. You know we focus on leadership development. President Riccobono says that as times change, our tools need to change. As the world becomes more challenging, we involve strategies to meet that challenge. We have initiated, and the first cohort is here at the Washington Seminar this week. The Kenneth Jernigan Leadership and Service Program.
[Cheers and applause]
And soon they will be teaching all of us. Because we strive to learn and we yearn to teach. Let's go do things on Capitol Hill!
[Cheers and applause]
MARK RICCOBONO: Okay, Anil always has a new phrase, you know?
AUDIENCE: Southern Baptist.
MARK RICCOBONO: I have to teach my AI your phrases so I can remember them. I wondering it knows slam that?
[ Laughter ]
We should build a list of quotes from the last 20 years, you know?
So, other... so a lot of great programs there that I do call your attention to, and I do want to acknowledge... I don't know if she's here participating in person, but this law symposium was mentioned, and Lou Ann Blake, who has coordinated our law symposium, well, since we started it, is I guess you would say retiring from the staff of the Federation effective Wednesday.
Don't feel too bad for her, she's moving to Hawaii. But let me take this opportunity to congratulate Lou Ann Blake on her, I think it's 18 years of service to the staff at the Federation.
[Applause]
Now, one of the programs to acknowledge excellence in both learning and teaching and building in the blindness field is the Jacob Bolotin Awards. Our chairman is here from Utah. Here is Everette Bacon.
EVERETTE: Thank you, Mr. President. The Dr. Jacob Bolotin award for over ten years has been the vehicle that the National Federation of the Blind has been using to promote and highlight achievements and innovation for blind individuals and organizations representing of and for the blind. It is the one award, the one only award that recognizes massive achievements and innovations for blind individuals and organizations. And this is your opportunity to highlight someone who an organization that you think deserves or is deserving of this award. Writers, directors, actors...
[ no audio ]
Dr. Jacob Bolotin award. This an taunt for you to think of somebody or someone or some organization that is doing something great to change what it means to be blind. Because that's what we do, isn't it?
So how do you do this? Well, the Dr. Jacob Bolotin award, you can apply at NFB.org /Bolotin.
There is an application you can fill out and we require one letter of recommendation. So it's just simple, an application, one letter of recommendation. I don't need 25 letters of recommendation, just one. But we would love an application and a letter of recommendation, and we'll go from there. I'm excited to chair this committee. We have a great committee that reviews this. The application deadline is April 15th. And winners will be notified in May.
Winners will receive cash awards as well as an invitation to our national convention where the awards will be announced. So please, you know, come up with those ideas. Tell us about somebody or some organization that is doing some great things. And let's go continue to build the National Federation of the Blind!
[Applause]
MARK RICCOBONO: Often at the Washington Seminar we have announcements about our legal program. I don't have any. That doesn't mean we're not doing a ton of work. I do want to acknowledge our general counsel, Eve Hill, who is here.
[ Cheering ]
We're doing a ton of work, but we don't have any announcements because we're full right now of work. But there is a lot of work going on in our legal program. You undoubtedly already heard either live or recorded the presidential release and know that we had a huge victory in pushing back on 14C this month.
Really? That's it? That's all you can do?
[ Cheering ]
MARK RICCOBONO: Huge victory. Many people have worked on that over the well, over the last 80 years, but on this specific Ohio workshop case, I do want to acknowledge, because he is also here, that a key player in this work over the last decade has been our immediate past president, Mark Mauer.
[Applause]
So if you do have concerns that you are looking to let us know about, [email protected].
Nothing specific at this point we're looking for but you never know. One of the areas that we get a lieutenant of questions from Federation members is about navigating the Byzantine rules of the Social Security Administration which often does not understand that the rules for blind people are specific and different than other disability rules, depending on what we're talking about. And so our advocacy team, who you are going to hear from in a little while, spends time doing its best to answer questions from members about this area, and especially helping members get out of some of the traps that the Social Security Administration sets intentionally or not for blind people. And this work has been built up over many, many, many years because of the expertise of federation leaders who have come before. Jessie Shirek manages this work for the Federation, you have concerns about SSI benefits and difficulties you are dealing with, you should start by contacting Jesse at our national office. We've given you the phone number. His extension is 2348. Or you can email Jesse at [email protected].
Now, I do want to acknowledge that we will do our best to help members with the situations we can. Sometimes those situations are a little more complicated. And so we have a whole process for accelerating those. And I want to take this opportunity to mention that one of the real cornerstones in that effort is Mr. Jim Gashell.
[Applause]
MARK RICCOBONO: Thank you. Who is here, yes. He is here. And he... I believe, if I'm right, now we have passed the 50 year mark from when he first became an employee of the Federation. He's not now, he's retired, but I bring this up to say he's still shrugging in the background to get things done for blind people. Thank you, Mr. Gashell.
[Applause]
Is Andrew here? I don't know if Andrew is here. But we also have been onboarding some new folks to help us with this. One person is Andrew Sindler, who is an attorney and helping with some of this work. So that's all to say we continue to find innovative ways to support members with these issues. And it's just one of the reasons to be a member of the National Federation of the Blind. So if you are out there listening and you're not a member, please join us.
Now, the Washington Seminar is a big focus, right? But there are actually other things going on at the same time. Earlier today we filed a petition with the Department of Transportation on behalf of the NFB and three of its members to push back on the issues that the that we believe the Department of Transportation has created in terms of making blind people with guide dogs fill out paperwork before they get on an airplane.
[ Cheering ]
The current regulations, which we have worked diligently to try to get the Department of Transportation to do something about create a burden for blind people. We have been using blind people have been using guide dogs for a century, and yet the airlines of today can't seem to understand what the dogs are there to do.
And so the airlines have made it very difficult to the point where I'm not going to spend time going through all of the stories, but we have collected, thanks to the work of our national division of guide dog users, have collected many horrific stories of blind people who have been denied getting on airplanes and sometimes the reason is that the airline personnel who have these forms they want to want you to fill out before you can get on the plane with your guide dog, they won't even help you fill out the forms.
And so we have waited long enough for the Department of Transportation to do something and I want to thank our leadership in our guide dog users division for their diligence in gathering data...
[Applause]
... and we have filed this petition specifically with the Department of Transportation on behalf of the entire class of blind people who use guide dogs, and we will now follow that through the process, and we can't get relief that way, in making sure that the Department of Transportation upholds what Congress intended for the right of the blind to travel freely and independently, we might find some more interesting and dynamic ways to get the message across.
[ Cheering ]
I'm disappointed. This is usually the strategic time that a dog barks, you know?
[ Laughter ]
Okay. Let's see... I think what I'm going to do... we have some other announcements we're going to get to, but, of course, we came here to participate in the advocacy work on the Hill. And so I want to bring up to lead us through that effort a gentleman who is also celebrating 20 years, I believe if I'm right, 20 years ago was his first opportunity to attend the Washington Seminar. And it was not too long after that that he became a staff member of the National Federation of the Blind. He does many things well, but one thing in particular is that he makes sure that the Federation and the power of people in our stories are recognized in every corner of Congress and the federal government where it needs to be. And he does that with the heart and knowledge that he is empowered to do that because of all of you. So here for the 20th anniversary celebration is our executive director for advocacy and policy... John Pare!
JOHN: Thank you, President Riccobono. Members of Congress often remark about our passion, our tenacity, and our never give up attitude. They frequently say that we are some of the most passionate, most tenacious and possess the most never give up attitude of any of the advocates that they have on Capitol Hill.
[Applause]
That's because our issues affect our lives. We are working to improve educational opportunities, employment opportunities, healthcare accessibility, transportation. These are all things that will affect our lives and blind people that come after us. And we will work as hard as necessary to make these things accessible!
[Cheers and applause]
President Riccobono mentioned, this is my 20th Washington Seminar, and I think my path to my first Washington Seminar also helps to illustrate some of these points. In 2001 was losing my eyesight. I was working, but was struggling to use the technology, the websites and the software applications I needed to use to do my job. I didn't know any blind people and I had low expectations for myself. So when my company called me and said, you need to go out on disability, I didn't object. I went out on SSDI. I moved to Tampa, Florida, and didn't do much of anything. Pretty soon I went to a chapter meeting and I met the members of the National Federation of the Blind. Only many of them were working. They knew how to use the tools that I didn't know how to use, and they had high expectations for blind people, including me. And I realized I want to be more like you guys. So I threw myself into the National Federation of the Blind. And it wasn't long until I got to go to my first Washington Seminar in 2004. And when I came there and I saw the passion and the tenacity and the never give up attitude of the National Federation of the Blind, I knew that I was home.
[Applause]
And I haven't left since.
[chuckles]
All right, two more issues I want to run through that help illustrate these points. First, in 2003 we passed Resolution 2003 05 regarding dangers posed by silent, hybrid and electric vehicles. We went to car companies and told them about the issue, but they refused to even talk to us. So we went to the trade groups that represent car companies. But they also refused to talk to us. So we went to the Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, but they said they needed more data. We asked, what do you mean more data? They said, well, you know, pedestrian accidents. And we said, we don't want to be your data.
[Applause]
So we went to Congress and got a bill introduced, the pedestrian safety enhancement act was introduced by congressman Towns on April 9th, 2008. And we advocated hard. And persistent. And we got it passed. And President Obama signed...
[Cheers and applause]
... this bill, the pedestrian safety enhancement act into law on January 4th, 2011.
Then there was a major regulatory delay. But did we give up? No! And was another major regulatory delay. But did we give up?
AUDIENCE: NO!
JOHN: And a third major regulatory delay? Did we give up? no!
We doubled down and went to the United Nations and said we should have this in other countries and got them to agree and got them to agree to get cars safer in 50 other countries.
[Applause]
And as a result of this advocacy, as of March 1st, 2021, every hybrid and electric vehicle manufactured for sale in the United States must make a safe level of sound. We did this.
[Applause]
In the summer of 2008, we started working on the idea that we should improve cross border exchange of Braille and audio content across country borders. There was a meeting in Washington, D.C. with members of other advocacy groups, including the World Blind Union, and we started working on this idea. It wasn't long until we started going Scott Lavarre, especially, to Geneva to meet with the World Intellectual Property Organization and we were making progress and the worldwide union, working to the, making progress, and pretty soon a group known as the Intellectual Property Organization came out against the bill. Now, this is a problem because the Intellectual Property Organization is comprised of pretty much every technology company, every telecommunications company, every oil and gas company, every pharmaceutical company, every manufacturing company, every company that has intellectual property that they are trying to protect. But we saw them as formidable, but we did not give us!
It was us versus the industrial United States. But we advocated and we advocated, and it wasn't long until the they agreed to have a diplomatic treaty or conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, and the conference occurred and the treaty was adopted on June 2nd June 27th, 2013. We did that!
[Applause]
But we had to deep advocating, because United States treaties are not self executing. So the first step was to get the state department to send the ratification package to the Senate. That wasn't easy. We kept pushing and pushing and it happened on September 30th, 2016, the ratification package went to the Senate. Then the Senate kind of didn't do anything. So we kept pushing and we kept pushing. And finally on February 10th, 2016, the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act sorry, wrong date there. That was on the October 9th, 2018, the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act was enacted by the Senate. And that's the same day that the Senate ratified the treaty.
[Applause]
There was still one more step. We had to get the president to sign the treaty. Which we did. We advocated. That didn't take too long. We were fast this time. And exactly almost five years ago from yesterday, on January 28th, 2018, President Trump signed the Marrakesh Treaty and it is now stored in a vault in Geneva, Switzerland.
[Applause]
Now, we're going to apply that same passion, that same tenacity, that same never give up attitude to the three bills that we're going to talk to Congress about this week. That is the websites and software applications Accessibility Act, the Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act, and the Blind Americans Return to Work Act. We're going to work hard, we're going to advocate, we're going to be passion that, we're going to be tenacious, and we're never going to give up until those bills are passed!
[Cheers and applause]
but before we talk about that, I think President Riccobono here has some Breaking News.
MARK RICCOBONO: Breaking news! Breaking news! (chuckling)
It's always great to interrupt John Paré and his stories with a good story. Right? We're really honored to have with us at this Great Gathering In a unique friend from the United States Congress. He represents California's Third Congressional District. He first took office in 2015. And I don't know, I think that whatever book he used to be sworn in on in Congress was still warm from his handprint when he came to speak to the National Federation of the Blind at our very first Congressional Reception in 2015.
So in one sense you could say he's been with us or we've been with him from the beginning of his term in Congress. He is the current chair of the United States House Democratic Caucus. And he has many other strong achievements that I could go through and work that he has done to be a champion for Americans in many different ways. But maybe the most important thing you should know about him is that his grandfather was a blind vendor in the Randolph Shepherd Program.
[Applause]
And so you can say he's gotten to know us, but he got to know us a long time ago in a real sense. And you also will be impressed to know that it's not just that his grandfather was in the program. The congressman's first job at the age of 12 was helping out at his grandfather's location.
[Applause]
So I don't know what he's going to say, but we can be sure that it comes from a real true honest place of real experience with the authentic wisdom that comes from people who are living life to the fullest as blind people every day. I do want to also acknowledge that the congressman's grandfather had a location at the courthouse and we have with us in our California delegation here at this meeting tonight Max Duarte, who also had that same location a number of years later.
[Cheers and applause]
So it's my great pleasure in what we'll call a long history and chain of friendship in one way or another with this gentleman to introduce for some remarks a congressman from the third congressional district. Please welcome Pete Aguilar! Thank you so much. That was very kind of you. Thank you. Thank you.
[Cheers and applause]
PETE: Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Mark. I greatly appreciate it. That was very generous of you. So thank you. And special thanks for taking note of mentioning Max. Max obviously had to work at that facility after I left. So I don't know what kind of position that I left it in, but if it was dirty or things weren't clean, I'm certain my grandfather would say it was my fault.
[ Laughter ]
Thank you for having me tonight. I'm so grateful to the Federation for the continual work that you do to help Blind Americans. This is an issue that, as Mark said, that is just deeply personal to me. My grandfather had retinitis pigmentosis, and he developed the disease when my father was a teenager. He gradually lost his vision after he served in the Korean War and after he came back home and was working. But thanks to the Randolph Shepherd Act years later, he was able to own and operate the cafeteria in San Bernardino County Courthouse, where I worked, as Mark said, as my first job. And my grandfather gave a lot to his country and his community, and I'm so glad that that program was there for him when he needed it. His story is a testament that we can include disabled Americans in our workforce, we thrive collectively when we do that.
Today...
[Applause]
Today there are thousands of individuals who could benefit from programs like the Randolph Shepherd Act. There are dedicated hard working folks who want to become entrepreneurs and business owners who just need that window of opportunity that this program provides. And I know that there is challenges, and we want to work Congress wants to work with you to resolve those in the future, and to make sure that this is a program that lasts in the decades to come as well.
I'm so heartened to see so many of you here advocating on behalf of this community and the rest of the blind community back home and across this country. By making our workplaces more accessible, we can tap into a wealth of diverse talent and perspectives that drives innovation and productivity. And it's a win win for the individuals and our community.
Because disability inclusion is not just about providing opportunities. But's about fostering an environment where everyone, irrespective of ability, can fully participate and contribute. Year after year I pushed the Department of Education to expand funding and support for the Randolph Shepherd Act, and I will continue to do that.
[Applause]
I will continue to advocate on your behalf so we have a successful and engaged and valued community. That includes fighting for accessible technology, reasonable accommodations, and inclusive policies. Together I know that we can break down the barriers that hinder full participation of Blind Americans in our workforce. And, believe me, was taking note when John was going through the legislative program, and when the California group visits me, I will be prepared.
[Applause]
Some of you who have been meeting with us over years know that I have I have been blessed with some amazing staff that helped me out. Israel is here with me today, a gentleman named Evan Dorner staffed me on these issues. I think Evan Dorner and Israel probably know more about the Randolph Shepherd Act than about 420 members of Congress.
[Applause]
But they know this issue is deeply personal to me, and they have adopted this, and they want to help make this program work as well. So count on us as a friend, as an ally, and more importantly, as an advocate, to ensure that Blind Americans have opportunity through this program and others to contribute back home and to make sure that we do everything we can to lift up programs like this. I look forward to working hand in hand with the Federation and others to create that inclusive and accessible America that we know we can deliver. Thank you so much for giving me the time.
[Cheers and applause]
MARK RICCOBONO: Now, who says that the Randolph Shepherd doesn't build America. Members of Congress included, right? Thank you, Congressman, for being here and being a friend of the Federation. We look forward to our continued relationship.
[Applause]
And before John Paré gets back on the mic, if Schuyler Dane Campbell is in the room or in the overflow room, please come to the main room here to the head table and talk with, by the way, one of the many people working behind the scenes, our chief of staff, Beth Braun.
Please come see Beth Braun. She has something I think you will want to have back.
John.
JOHN: All right, that was a great little break, and congressman Aguilar is the number three Democrat in the House of Representatives. So having him as a friend is going to make a big difference.
[Applause]
Tim, not to put too much pressure on you, folks know he's the president of California, but we are expecting big things about tomorrow's meeting.
[chuckles]
All right, let's get to the first of the three issues. Here to talk about the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act is Jeff Gaylock.
JEFF: Thank you, John. Thrilled to be here working with you on this legislation this week. Now, the bill I'm about to mention is critical for various reasons. The reason that stands out the most to me about this bill is how it connects or how it will connect with future trends in our nation.
The Internet is becoming more and more essential and less becoming a luxury. How we operate on a day to day basis involves the Internet.
It is a force of innovation. Whether it is communicating with your doctor, checking your finances, helping your child with their homework, booking travel, or navigating the workforce, the Internet has become the primary method to fulfill these tasks. Far too often Blind Americans will confronted with inaccessible websites that hinder their ability to achieve independence. Independence, that is the keyword.
This week, while you are meeting with your elected officials, they may ask questions trying to understand the snuff cans of this bill.
I know, because I used to be a congressional staffer. Most of these offices will host 10 to 15 meetings from various groups a day while in session.
All of these groups advocating will express the importance of their legislation. This means we are competing for the members' time, the time they spend listening to our stories, the bill's details, and the level of urgency.
Which is why we treat this bill as a low priority and not a necessity, then they will do the same. We need to speak about the independence this bill will provide, because not all information that we conduct on the Internet needs to be shared publicly or compromise our privacy. Medical records, financial statements, credit card information, social security numbers, entering and viewing this information can and should be done privately and having accessible websites will make that a reality.
[Applause]
Booking transportation or navigating a website portal to find housing require accessible websites so in your meeting this week, express the importance of website accessibility, so members of Congress and their staff understand the urgency to support this legislation. H.R. 5813 and S. 2984, the website and software application Accessibility Act. Introduced by Senator Tammy Duckworth from Illinois in the Senate, and in the House by Representative John Sarbanes from Maryland.
This legislation received bipartisan support with repeat sessions from Texas co sponsoring this bill.
You have probably, while reviewing this bill, wondered, does this bill alter the Americans with Disabilities Act? No, I does not. It complements the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This bill provides a statutory definition for accessibility. Having a clear definition for accessibility will provide the business community with clarity to understand what is necessary to create an accessible website.
If a definition of accessibility is not enough, this bill also establishes Technical Assistance Center guiding and supplying information to businesses to create accessible sites and apps. Accountability, this bill also holds third party vendors accountable for their work. That means if a small business hires a company to build a website, that company hired is also responsible for ensuring the accessibility of the site or app.
All of these provisions have helped with its current support. Tony Coelho, the father of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999 published an article on the website and software application Accessibility Act. They said, and I quote... "It's about time that business embraced digital accessibility as a key brand imperative and took ownership of the role that web and software design play in employee and customer experience. People with disabilities should be able to universally access technology even as new innovation occur." We couldn't agree more. And that is why we are advocating for this legislation this week.
[Applause]
In the year 2024 accessible websites and apps can and should be established, and we know with this bill that will become a reality.
While you are in your meetings, remember to express the importance of this bill by explaining the necessity of accessing the Internet and how it impacts your livelihood and quality of life.
Thank you, and next up to talk to you about the Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act is Dr. Justin Young.
[Applause]
JUSTIN: We are making great progress on the Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act in the 118th Congress. March 1st, 2023, Representative January Shirkowski from Illinois along with 32 initial cosponsors introduced H.R. 1328, which has received bipartisan support. We currently have 53 cosponsors and some notable names include: Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania, and Debbie Dingle from Michigan, who currently serve as the co chairs of the Bipartisan Congressional Disability Caucus. Because of our strong determination on January 18th, 2024, the Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act S3621 was introduced in the United States Senate.
[Cheers and applause]
By Senators Maggie Hassan from New Hampshire, and Mike Ron from Indiana.
The bill will amend the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act adding new nonvisual accessible standards related to Class 2 and 3 medical devices with digital interfaces. Additionally, the bill will require the Food and Drug Administration, commonly known as the FDA, to create a three year rulemaking process. After this rulemaking process, the manufacturers must make all new products nonvisually accessible.
Now, what if someone were to say, this sounds like a heavy lift for smaller medical device manufacturers to accomplish. We would disagree. Because the law would apply only to new devices. These devices must have a digital interface, and the manufacturers may apply for an exception related to fundamental alterations or undue hardships. Some examples of medical devices that would be covered may include continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps, CPAP machines, in home dialysis and chemo treatment and many more. By adopting these new nonvisual access standards, it would ensure we are able to operate these medical devices independently, safely, effectively, and accessibly. Having nonvisual access medical devices is important because not only do we use them, but blind parents also need to know how to use these devices. Ensure their children are okay. There may also be case of blind people acting as potential caregivers for their aging parents. But without accessible medical devices, that currently is not possible.
So there are a number of reasons, or a in your opinion of situations why it is important to have access to these kinds of products. During your meetings, the more personal stories you can tell, the better. Because it makes our representatives, senators, and their staff understand that these are real life problems that blind Americans are facing. One example of a personal story would be Veronica, a blind diabetic from California.
She uses an insulin pump controlled by a touch screen. She has to either guess she has selected the correct option or have assistance from her husband. Veronica, I am sure would like to, and frankly deserves the right to independently and accessibly use the insulin pump. Ensuring the correct amount of insulin is administered.
After the enactment of the Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act, Veronica and all Blind Americans will be able to purchase new accessible devices. Through our collective action this week on Capitol Hill, we will make our voices heard, illustrating the point of how critical it is to have equal access to manage the health needs of our families, of our friends, and of ourselves.
We wish to live the lives we want, and this bill certainly will help accomplish that goal. Thank you, and now I would like to turn it over to Jesse Shirek to talk about the Blind Americans Return to Work Act.
[Applause]
JESSE: Thank you, Justin. Good evening, members. I want to conduct an informal survey. How many of you have a friend or you personally have received social security disability benefits? Aye! Sounds like almost everybody in this room.
For those of us who became blind who have relied on Social Security disability and depended on that Social Security disability monthly check, when we found ourselves out of work, we were grateful that the monthly benefit was there to help us keep shelter over our head when we gained blindness skills and reentered the workforce, we soon realized the rules that were intended to free us and help us return to work are holding us back from our future progress. While we simultaneously strain our muscles to cling to the edge of the earnings cliff, we hold back from living our dreams. In our future ability to support ourselves and our family will be limited.
This is an issue that affects every corner of our life. And yet most of us do not... we do not talk about avoiding the earnings cliff. We do not talk about this particular strain. We try to understand the rules, the governed Social Security disability, even though they are confusing. For example, we're told that we can have a trial period of work, but these nine months that we are granted to try to working do not fit into our future progress. You can use any one of your trial months of work and earn 1,110 dollars a month. Which is not anywhere near the edge of the earnings cliff.
Alternatively you can earn thousands of dollars in one month and still only use one of your trial months.
Regardless, if you have used your nine trial months and your grace months and if you go over substantial gainful activity, which is $2,590 a month, we're swept off the earnings cliff. Our income will plummet. That's right. Your monthly benefit check will be gone. Just like pressing the stop button on a music player. And you are left lay at the bottom of the earnings cliff.
Just because you earned one dollars more than SGA. You totally give up your monthly benefits by the rules as they are now. So what do you do? You avoid the earnings cliff at all cost. You do everything you can to stay away from the edge. If you do not have a job, you think, what is point of looking for a job? If I'm just going to lose my benefits? And if you have a job, you may think, why should I try harder if I'm just going to lose my benefits? And wipe away one third of my income, when my monthly benefit checks stop? Should we not become more productive at work, work harder and allow our skills and contributions to grow?
Instead you're left thinking about what will I do if I'm offered a raise? Or a promotion? How do turn down this raise? What will my boss say?
Maybe I should leave my job. Just to avoid the earnings cliff. This is the same story that unfortunately many of us know. But what does it look like to avoid the earnings cliff? This is a story I personally know all too well.
At one time I too received Social Security disability benefits. For six years I avoided the earnings cliff. I had a small business. I created accessible websites for small businesses and nonprofits. I gained future work by writing proposals. And I would keep my income down in a few ways. I would undercharge what I thought my skills were worth. I would calculate how much work I had lined up in the future and carefully manage the amount of work coming in.
So I would submit or choose not to submit proposals based upon how much work I needed. If not enough income was earned that month, how would I pay my mortgage? If too much work was coming in, I could find myself swept over the earnings cliff. And if I went over the earnings cliff by just one dollar a month, I would lose all of my disability benefits. This kept me from growing my consulting business. I would turn down work if I had too many projects. I was not promoting my services because it was in my best interest to hold back and the strategy was successful at holding me back from the earnings cliff. But it also held me back from exploring our land of opportunity. It is vitally important that we understand and we share the issues that face our community. We can easily cite the statistics that one in five blind people have denied a promotion or a raise, as cited by the National Industries for the Blind in 2018. It's an abstract concept. It's a valuable statistic, because it shows just how common this is. But a member of Congress, or a congressional staff member, are not faced with our reality. We he them understand our experience. As I see it, currently we have two choices. Take a leap over the earnings cliff and hope we do not find ourselves at the bottom smashed to bits. Or we share with our members of Congress our personal and shared experiences of the earnings cliff.
And now they will understand the heavyweight that we are carrying and they'll be prepared to talk about the solution. We won't the ten year two for one pilot program to show how we can transition from the earnings cliff to life. We're not reliant on our SSDI benefits. By reducing our benefit by one dollar of every two dollars that we earn, after we arrive at the earnings cliff. So we want to create work incentives that incentivize work. That help us to earn more and contribute more. We have a strong bipartisan solution. That will not create more problems because it will borrow the successful solution from SSI. This will create cohesion, a uniform solution that is easy to understand. So tomorrow, when you are out on the Hill, share your story and inspire a champion and supporters. Who can transform this collective dream of the Blind Americans Return to Work Act into reality? Thank you!
[Cheers and applause]
Next up is Kyle Walls.
KYLE: All right, thank you, Jesse. For those of you who are in the affiliate presidents and legislative directors meeting this morning, you heard John tell you about his four Ps for a perfect meeting. Be polite. Be professional. Be persuasive and be persistent.
Well, after working with the man for eight years and having helped plan this Washington Seminar for five years, the idea of having a mnemonic that is easy to remember about logistics has rubbed off on me. Except I have five Ps. Because that's what I can count on one hand. My Ps are: Proper planning prevents poor performance.
[Applause] and as you probably have presumed, it takes a prodigious amount of planning and preparation in order to perform at the premier level that people have come to expect from a program for my program produced by a party as prestigious and profoundly life altering as the predominant transformative membership and advocacy organization of Blind Americans, National Federation of the Blind.
[Cheers and applause]
And while our production may not be perfect, considering some of the problems and pitfalls that we have encountered along this path, I propose we put together a particularly pleasant presentation for our proud participants this evening.
[ Laughter ]
But please pardon my persistent Prattling and permit me to proceed with our previously proclaimed topic: Logistics. I didn't think that through. I probably should have chosen an L word.
The first topic I want to discuss is room 275. This is where you pick up two very important items for this week. Your Hill appointment packets and individual member of Congress information sheets. For Washington Seminar veterans, you know what both of these are. But for the rookies, the Hill appointment packets are what you hand out to each member of Congress or their staff. When you open each packet on the right side are fact sheets for each of our three legislative priority, and the left side is a brochure for NFB NEWSLINE, a sheet that briefly details some of our additional legislative concerns and a flyer for our scholarship program. There are enough packets for you to hand out one to every member of Congress. So even if you don't have a scheduled meeting with a particular office, please stop by that office and let them know that you'll be dropping off a packet.
The individual member of Congress information sheets contain everything that sorry everything about each member of Congress for your state that you will need to know. Each sheet has the name of the member in their district and notes section that detail which of the legislative priorities a member has sponsored or co sponsored. A committee section that lists whether the member sits on a relevant committee to one of our legislative priorities, and each sheet will also include the name of the three legislative priorities for you to have handy. Each affiliate will receive two sets of the member information sheets. Two in Braille and two in print.
If you didn't pick up your items today from Room 275, that's perfectly fine. As Lisa mentioned earlier, 275 is open tomorrow 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Wednesday 8:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. and Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 11 a.m. While on topic of room 275 I want to thank Buna and Lisa and Sandy and Jeff and all the rest of the volunteers.
[Applause]
So now that you picked up your packets and your member information sheets, it's time to get ready for your meeting.
One of the most important things you can do in that regard is enter the date, time and location of your meeting into the Washington Seminar portal along with the name and contact information of who is leading the meeting on the Federation side and the name of the staff contact in the member of Congress' office. If you have not already entered this information into the portal, totally fine. I'm getting emails all night long about people entering it in. So go ahead and enter them in whenever you can.
But we're not quite done with the portal just yet. Now comes the most important part. Once you have had your meeting, it's time to enter the rating into the portal. These ratings create a database for us in government affairs to use that lets us know how all 535 members of Congress feel about our legislative priorities. The ratings for each issue are: Yes, no, undecided or not discussed. Let me explain those a little bit.
Answer yes if you have a firm yes on the issue from the member of Congress or their staff. Answer no if you got a firm no on the issue from the member or their staff. Answer undecided if their response was not definitive one way or the other, and answer not discussed if you got to talking about everything else and didn't get to that particular issue.
Additionally, there is also a space below each rating in the portal for comments. Please use this space as it can frequently provide some extra context to the answers you give. We would especially like you to use this space to write name of the staffers that you spoke with in the office.
If you are unable to use the portal for any reason, there are two other ways you can report your meeting and rating information. The first is by sending an email to [email protected].
The second is by calling room 275 directly at 443-870-5311 during the hours mentioned a few moments ago. Now that we have talked about your meetings, let's discuss tomorrow night's congressional reception.
[ Cheering ]
This year's reception will be in the Cannon Caucus room located in the Cannon House office building. An interesting historical note about the Cannon Caucus room in 1943 it was the room where 350 women were sworn in as some of the first members of the women's army corporation.
[Applause]
That deserves some applause. Tomorrow evening's reception will run from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and we will have light refreshments in the form of hors d'oeuvres, slider station, many desserts, water, coffee, tea and soft drinks. The room will be set up with seating around the perimeter, large round tables with additional seating and standing cocktail tables. We're expecting approximately 10 members of Congress to come speak. So please join us for what is sure to be a fun and informative evening.
Finally, the last item to discuss tonight is our legislative debrief, which will take place right here in this room on Wednesday evening. So two nights from tonight, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., and this will be the forum for you to let us know what kinds of difficult questions or feedback you are receiving from members of Congress or their staff.
So that is all I have. And I will send it back to John.
[Applause]
MARK RICCOBONO: I would like to acknowledge Kyle for being bold enough to give that presentation only two years after COVID, and to do so without spitting all over the place.
[ Laughter ]
I was standing, I was sitting here next to him, you know... What a great advocacy team we have, right?
[Cheers and applause]
And they really amplify all work that all of you do, but they do a great job. I also want to acknowledge Lindsey Walsh who is here at her first Washington Seminar.
[Applause]
Okay, I made a promise, so I'm going to keep moving. I'm going to introduce real quickly for a few remarks, because membership, of course, is the core of what we do, and this lady has served as an affiliate president, served on our national board, she continues to contribute to the organization in many ways, and the great state of Illinois, here is the co chair of our membership committee, Denise Avant!
[Applause]
DENISE: Thank you so much, Mr. President. And I will be brief, because I know that I am standing between you and your food. I bring you greetings from the membership committee, which is co chaired by myself and Tareek Williams of Arizona. We also are supported by the wonderful Danielle McCann, who is our support coordinator.
So we know that we all have a role to play in helping blind people and their families find the National Federation of the Blind and learn the truth about blindness. In the past year we have spent countless hours trying to develop new ways and new tools to help you. So first of all, let me just briefly talk about the form for new members. When new members come into your chapter or your affiliate or your division, it is up to you, not the new member, to fill out the form. You do not, they do not become a member until they pay the dues and also are onboarded. That is when you fill out the form, and it comes to our national office and they receive many benefits, including wonderful letters from our president, our first vice president and CEO, and many of our other members. As a new member, they will a profile will be created for them that they can go on and activate, and if you are a current member as well as a new member of the National Federation of the Blind, you now have the ability for the first time to go into your own member profile and change your address, your phone number, your email address, whatever it is you need to change.
Also, if you are a membership coordinator in your affiliate or division, you now have the ability to use the membership management module to look and check on the status of all of your members. You can certainly pull a list of your members, and this is certainly important during election time, so that you can see who in your affiliate is entitled to vote.
For any reason, if you cannot get into the new membership management model, you should contact the very wonderful Beth Braun and her email address is [email protected].
We continue to offer the chapter president's calls. The first set will be on March 14th and March 17th. We do these on a Thursday night, and also a Sunday. So if you can't make one, you can make the other. We know people are very busy. More importantly, we have something for people who are considering the National Federation of the Blind but have questions about who we are and what we believe. It's called "The Introduction to the Organized Blindness Movement," and we have these calls on a Wednesday night. The first call takes place on February 7th. And by the way, these calls, along with the chapter presidents calls are quarterly calls. The person who is wondering about the Federation can go on our website, look under our membership tab and there you will find a form to sign up for the "Introduction to the Organized Blindness Movement." We are try to make it easy for people to come join us. We also want to remind you that if you are a chapter president, please be on the chapter presidents mailing listserv. That is where you will find out all things membership, you will be able to trade ideas about how you can build your chapter and the National Federation of the Blind. Thank you, Mr. President.
[Applause]
MARK RICCOBONO: All right, everybody, hang in with me. We've got just a couple more things left, including a special announcement you will not want to miss, an opportunity for you to help generate some important Federation content. But first I want to spend a moment inviting an opportunity for us to talk about the PAC plan. Now, first let me acknowledge that Ryan Strunk of Minnesota has been serving as our co chairman or chairman for a number of years, and he's been doing a great job. He is quite busy doing important work with Blind Incorporated in Minnesota. And so in talking with Ryan, I have appointed for this year, because Ryan's attention rightfully so is focused on our training programs.
A new chair, excuse me, for the PAC program, and this young lady doing a great job in helping to raise expectations for the Federation in so many places, and so here I would like to introduce the 2024 chairperson of the PAC Plan Committee from the great state of Illinois, here is Marilyn Green.
[ Music playing ]
¶ Today we need your contributions
right away ¶
¶ Funding our movement
it must be done ¶
¶ So all our battles can be won.
MARILYN: Hello, my name is Marilyn Green and I'm excited to be with you today to talk about the PAC plan. So, if you have forgotten since the last time you heard, PAC stands for Pre Authorized Contributions. I want to go back a little bit to say thank you for the guidance of Ryan Strunk in transitions to this new role for myself, and we all remember Scott Lavarre, so I felt remiss in not mentioning those two people as I take on this new role. Let's talk about PAC and raising money for the National Federation of the Blind. So what is PAC, you ask? PAC is Pre Authorized Contribution. It's the way we fund our movement. PAC goes to raising money for a lot of the programs that you know and love, like our STEM2U, our BELL program, our free white cane and free slate and stylus program, as well as an array of other programs that we have here in the National Federation of the Blind.
So are you excited yet? Are you ready to learn about the PAC plan and how you can get involved?
[ Cheering ]
So you can donate as little as five dollars a month. It's really easy. We can get your credit card, your debit card or your bank account information. You can call 877-632-2722 or you can go to our website at NFB.org /PAC. When you go to the website, you just click if you are starting a new contribution, or if you are upping your contribution, and if you are making that phone call, please don't leave any financial information. Just leave your contact information and tell us to call you back so that we can get the information. 5 dollars a month is all it takes to get on this great plan that helps you improve the lives of blind people each and every day throughout our country.
Are you saying, don't have five dollars right now, I really want to get involved, but I don't have it, and I get it. I completely get it.
So you know what you can do? You can talk to your friends, your family members, your coworkers, parents out there, talk to your kids' teachers about the PAC plan, and tell them that they can get on the PAC plan for as little as $5 a month. It's a great way of talking to people about funding our movement. It's a great way of getting people involved to learn more about the programs that we offer within the National Federation of the Blind.
Or, hey, if you don't have family or friend and you only know people in the Federation, that's cool too. Talk to your chapter. Talk to your affiliate about getting on the PAC plan. I'm sure that they have a bank account. They can call in and give the bank account information. And, again, your affiliate or your chapter can get involved in the PAC plan for as little as 5 dollars a month. We want you to give. Please give as little or as much as you can. So are you excited about the PAC plan now? Are you ready to run and grab your phone and call 877- 632-2772. Or maybe you're going to pull out your smartphone or go grab your laptop and go to www.NFB.org /PAC. We are so excited to talk to you about the PAC plan. And have a great day!
MARK RICCOBONO: Thank you, Marilyn. Marilyn could not be here at the Washington Seminar, but she was with our affiliate president this weekend at a retreat at the national office. And affiliate presidents don't go away because I have a special announcement for you, especially if you put your name into the affiliate president drawing, but we're going to get to that in a second and also going to talk about our students, but here is a quick announcement from our performing arts division. You will not want to miss all this.
Calling all creatives! Would you like to hone your song writing and lyric crafting skills? Do you want to contribute to new music for
the National Federation of the Blind? Then please consider entering the 2024 Federation song contest.
Submit your material by March 15th, 2024. Both music and lyrics are welcome. Top contestants will be invited to a songwriting retreat in Baltimore this summer. All information can be found on our website, NFB PAD.org.
MARK RICCOBONO: All right, thank you to our performing arts division for generating some more songs for us. I know there are a lot of talented folks out there that want to contribute. I want to introduce for a quick announcement our director of outreach, Patti Chang!
PATTI: Illinois is definitely in the House. Maryland and Denise and I are all from Illinois. I want to talk to y'all about an opportunity to think ahead in terms of funning our movement. We have been talking a lot today about our advocacy and our legislative initiatives and our legal programming. And quite frankly, all of that costs money. So for those of you who are in a position to do so, we are asking you to consider join our Dream Maker Circle. What is the Dream Maker Circle? first of all let me say that many people in the room are already members. First and foremost, our president and first lady are members of the Dream Maker Circle. If you want to join that group, you need to think about your legacy giving. What we're talking about is how you gift to the Federation after your passing.
People often jump to the assumption this has to be by a will or trust, and it doesn't, although it could be. There are lots of simpler ways to join the Dream Maker Circle. If you have a retirement plan, you can name us as a beneficiary, a partial beneficiary. You can name the National Federation of the Blind to get some portion, a specific amount. If you have life insurance, the same thing applies.
I think the easiest way, though, and the way that I see many young people doing this, is to go to your bank and fill out what is called the payable on death form and you simply turn part or all of your checking, savings or investment account into what is called the payable on death account. And what happens is after you pass, whatever you designate for us, it could be 5% or 100 dollars, whatever you say, that will go to the National Federation of the Blind. People often ask me, what about the affiliates? If you do the same thing to the National Federation of the Blind of... insert your state or whatever state you want to support, you will also be a member of the Dream Maker Circle.
So this is really tailored to fit what is best for you, and we're not going to fund our movement in the future unless we come forward and do much of this work. So I'm urging you to think about it for yourself. But I think more importantly, urging you to talk to others about the Dream Maker Circle. One of the easiest ways for us to get unrestricted funds yeah, everybody wants to do something for a specific scholarship. This is my favorite topic. But unrestricted funds come from legacy giving. So if you have questions or if you are ready to do this, if you want to join the Dream Maker Circle, we'll induct you tomorrow, give me a call or email. I'm at extension 2422. We know the number 410-659-9314. If I was there in person I would say, say it with me. Or email at [email protected]. I'm not asking you to do anything or consider anything we haven't already done. Francisco and Patti Chang are members of the Dream Maker Circle and proud to be. Let me take five more seconds and tell people about the QR codes that you could get as the buckets passed, some of you might have missed it or might be thinking, I should have taken one to my mom or my friend. There are extra QR codes that you can take in 275. So that's what I have, Mr. President. Thank you.
MARK RICCOBONO: All right.
[Applause]
Thank you, Patti and Dream Maker Circle participants for those who are streaming this and listening online you can go to NFB.org /donate if you missed the donation bucket. Now, a big part of the energy here at the Washington Seminar for many decades now is our students. Where are the students?
[ Cheering ]
I'm sure they're live in the overflow room as well. We need folks to support our students, so I want to give our student division about three minutes to make an announcement that you can help with.
[ Music playing ]
SPEAKER: This is Lauren Altmen. That's right we are back in person this year. I'm going to pass you to more NABSers to tell you what you can find.
SPEAKER: Hello, hope you all are having an amazing Washington seminar thus far. This year during our National Association of Blind Students auction, we have decided to have a hybrid format. You're able to attend in person, please come out and support us. But if you know someone who is around the globe or someone who might be in D.C. but is unable to make it in person, send them the Zoom link on the Washington seminar agenda and have them jump in on the action and bid on some auction baskets.
This year we decided to spice it up a little bit by having three auctioneers. They are Jessica Beechum, Polly Ford and Shawn Callaway. These are people that will be competing in who can raise the most monetary amount of money for the National Association of Blind Students auction. So come out and support our Federation family in their race tonight.
SPEAKER: Want a cozy night in? Well, our Cafe and Chill and Netflix and Chill baskets might be the perfect sets to snuggle up during these winter months. Wanna get ready for the season of love? Well, our Valentine's Day basket might be just what you need to spice up that special day. Looking to update your tech game? Well, our Apple essential Parent Pack Second Generation AirPods Pro, Apple Watch SE or Alexa and Air Fire Duo might be just what you need. Look after your health and yourself with our Fitness Fanatics Collection, Aromatherapy Plus Candle Lovers Collection or Sunday Self Care set.
Or maybe you just like dessert. Well, our Baking Bonanza Basket or Baker's Delight Trio could be the perfect treat to brighten up your week. If you want to get a chance to call one of these snazzy baskets your own, stop by the congressional ballroom at 8:30 p.m. Eastern or hop on Zoom to place bids before these items are going...going...gone. Thank you for supporting the students. And happy bidding!
SPEAKER: Thank you!
MARK RICCOBONO: Please support our students. They are the future and doing a lot of great work to carry forward the organization. Two things I didn't get in announcement, I can't believe only one, but the Georgia caucus will happen tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. Check your email for the location says Anil Lewis.
Finally, Shawn Callaway, our president in D.C. put together a raffle for our affiliate presidents who were together this weekend, our affiliate presidents do a lot of work behind the scenes and often didn't get recognized, and the D.C. affiliate wanted to recognize them. So there was a raffle for Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and he's asked me to announce congratulations to Tara Chavez of New Mexico.
[Applause]
And Carla McQuillan of Oregon, you will be receiving a box of Krispy Kreme doughnut. All of you who want to be friends with them, now is your opportunity.
We will stand adjourned. Let's go build the Federation on Capitol Hill!