This file is being provided in a rough-draft format. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings.
MARK RICCOBONO: Greetings, fellow Federationists. Today is Monday, November 11, 2024, and this is presidential release live number 47, live from the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, and part of our Dare to be Remarkable Conference
(Applause.)
So, we have a nice audience here from our conference participants, so we've got a packed agenda this evening. So I'm glad that all of you could tune in from across the country. We are just days away from the Federation's 84th anniversary. That will be Saturday, November 16th.
(Applause.)
That will be our 84th anniversary. So many great moments in our history, and so many yet to come. So I hope all of you take the opportunity to reflect on the great work that we have done, how far we've come, and to dream a little bit about what we want to do in our 85th year and beyond.
Now, we are getting together on today, veterans day, so let me take a moment to show my deep appreciation for our veterans, blinded veterans, our members who are veterans, and all those out there who have family members who have served in the military. Thank you for your service. We really appreciate it.
(Applause.)
Because today's Veterans Day, I wanted to give a few moments, appropriately, to the president of our National Association of Blinded Veterans, so here is Vernon Humphrey.
VERNON: Thank you, President Riccobono, for inviting me to speak on this auspicious day. This is Veterans Day. And I am proudly a veteran and the president of the National Association of Blind Veterans, a division of the NFB.
Behind me in a picture is the six service flags. Although I think the Army's best, because that was what I was, other people have their own opinions! And so we have the Coast Guard flag, the Space Force flag, the Air Force flag, an American flag, the Navy flag, the Marine Corps flag, and the Army flag in my background. I'm representing everybody that has had the honor and pleasure to serve the American people.
Veterans Day is a special day. It honors all veterans. And it's something that we couldn't be without you. Although we're the ones that signed our name to the check and we go do it, the people at home are the ones that we're doing it for. And I couldn't have done my 20-year career without a spouse that understood that.
And I went places, did things, and she stayed home and paid the bills, took care of the kids when they had the flu and the mumps and everything else, and I didn't have to do that, I just had to focus on doing my job. And having a great family allows military people to focus on doing their job. Just as we are a family at the NFB. We all support one another. And we couldn't do it without you.
So we are honored to serve the American people. We are honored to be veterans or be called veterans. And it's something that is near and dear to our heart. So if you want to pick on one of the forces, then we'll all fight back. But we can pick on each other!
So, on this day, Veterans Day, November the 11th, we come together to reach back and say to all of our veterans, thank you for your service. We say to all the future veterans, thank you for your service. Because we couldn't be the country we are and the society we are unless we had the freedom.
And the only reason we have the freedom is because of the military services and the people that join those services. To support you. We give up a lot doing it. I missed a lot of birthdays and anniversaries and Christmases, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. It is the biggest honor I've ever had is being a veteran. And I would thank you very much for supporting us in giving me a little bit of time today to say thank you, from all veterans.
And to say to all the veterans, I appreciate your service. We are a small division, but we reach out. So if you would like to join, contact us at nabv.org and sign up to be a member. You don't have to be a veteran. You just have to like veterans.
Thank you very much, President Riccobono
MARK RICCOBONO: Thank you very much, Verne, and happy Veterans Day. Verne could not be here with us live today because he is representing our blinded veterans at an event at Arlington Cemetery, so we were glad we could bring him in virtually via video there.
Okay, we do have a lot to cover this evening, and later, we're going to spend a little bit of time talking about rehabilitation training and blind center certification and getting more blind people into the rehabilitation professional.
So stay tuned for that.
But before that, we have a few things to share with you, and the first is another thank you. Thank you to all of you who helped out with our Federation Bay Bridge run, which was yesterday, or contributed money
(Applause.)
We had about 42 people who participated on the Bay Bridge or virtually. We had a great presence at the celebration village for the Bay Bridge run. We raised over $10,000, and that number is still climbing. And remember that, of course, every dollar gets doubled thanks to HumanWare and our anonymous donor.
So great job, Federationists. And this is a great model we've been testing out. We put it together very quickly. Remember we first talked about it in the September release, just two months ago. So really great effort, and that's going to give us some good ideas for things we can do in the future.
Now, the United States, our country has gone through a very historic, and I would say very emotional election season this year. The Federation has persisted through more than a dozen administrations of United States presidents. Our advocacy work has not been sidelined by any change in administration in this country since 1940. And it's a good opportunity to remind ourselves that our collective work as a diverse group of blind people, unified in our shared beliefs and concerns, continue.
Our agenda won't be sidelined by any change in administration. There is a lot of work for us to do. And so I want to encourage us to continue to stay focused on that work and what we need to do. So let's talk about a few of the things that I need Federationists to do, that WE need Federationists to do.
The first is, I hope you voted. If you voted, let's hear from you.
(Applause.)
Yeah, that's good. So if you voted, and I hope you did vote, we need you to do some follow-up work. We want to hear from you about your voting experience as a blind person, whether it was positive or difficult, we want to hear about it.
There are two versions of our blind voters survey that are now available online. The surveys, there's one if you voted in person and a different one if you voted via mail-in ballot or absentee.
Both these surveys are available in Spanish and English, and the surveys are available on our voting resources page -- that's nfb.org/vote, so very easy to remember. Please go fill out the survey about your voting experience. It will literally only take you 5 minutes to do, and it will help us have some good data for our advocacy work going forward.
Now, if you aren't as comfortable filling out an online survey or you find it difficult, well, that's okay! Because we also are offering our survey via the telephone. You can call using your touch-tone phone and complete the survey that way. You can dial this number: 229-632-7878. Or you can call toll-free: 833-632-7878. You can fill out the survey. Keep in mind, this is an automated survey, so you will have to go all the way through the survey for it to be complete and submitted. However, you will be able to pause the survey for up to 5 minutes, and you can pause it as often as you need to. But don't let the survey and the time it's going to take you be a barrier.
Please go fill out the survey online or via phone. We need this data. It's really important for our advocacy work and to show policy makers what works and what doesn't and what needs to be improved.
Now, if you have blind friends, relatives, acquaintances that you know voted, please share this information with them. You don't have to be an NFB member to fill this out. We want every blind voter in this country to fill out the information about their experience.
Now, related to the November 5th elections, let me take a moment to congratulate Latifah Simon. This is the newly elected representative to California's 12 Congressional District. Congresswoman-elect Simon is legally blind!
(Cheering and applause).
And I believe the first woman, blind woman, to serve in the House of Representatives for the United States . So this is a really great moment for representation. Never had the opportunity to meet the Congresswoman-elect, but I'm hoping that she'll show up at one of our events soon, and it's a great marker of the work that blind people are doing in all parts of this nation to make a difference in changing the image of blindness.
Well, how do we do that in a policy realm? Well, another thing I need you to do is get ready for the 2025 Washington Seminar, which will start on Monday, February 3rd, and run through Thursday, February 6th. That's coming up fast.
We're, again, at the Holiday Inn, Washington Capitol. And you can now make your reservations at the hotel. The Great Gathering-In will be at the customary time, 5:00, on Monday, February 3rd. Hotel room rates are $194 per night plus tax and fees. You can reserve a room by calling the hotel directly at 877-834-3613, and providing our group code, which is NF5. You can also book a room using our dedicated booking link, which is located on our Washington Seminar page. I'm sure we'll also put it in the chat here on Zoom.
To get all the information about Washington Seminar, go to nfb.org/washington-seminar.
Now, an important new aspect of the Washington Seminar for 2025 is that we are asking those planning to attend to fill out a registration form. Now, don't worry, there's no fee associated with it. This is a data collection mechanism for us. It's a simple form. I know -- I filled it out the other day, because I'm planning to be there!
So we need you to fill out the registration form, which you will also find on the Washington Seminar page. Keep in mind, our goal with this registration form is to better communicate with those who are planning to attend the seminar and be part of the delegation for their affiliate.
When you complete the form, that information will be available to us at the national office. This is not a substitute for coordinating with your affiliate, with your affiliate president, about your interest in participating with your state delegation during the Washington Seminar.
This is simply a tool we're trying to facilitate some more communication from our national office about the Washington Seminar logistics and the issues and other things that might come up during the course of the Washington Seminar.
So, fill out the voter survey and plan to be with us at the 2025 Washington Seminar. It will be here before we know it, although I'm not rushing the end of the year. Still have a lot to do. We have been busy in October! You already know that we had an awesome ride share rally, but there's been a lot of other stuff going on. I just wanted to highlight that the Federation sent a letter to the Librarian of Congress about their new policy that requires parental consent for minors to have access to the NLS services.
And we also wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Education, to the Secretary, regarding the news that the Department of Education is planning to dismantle their digital accessibility unit within the Office of Civil Rights.
Both of these letters and a couple other ones that we've worked on can be found at nfb.org/advocacy. That's a great place to look for all of our policy statements and major letters that we write to individuals in the government and elsewhere.
Now, in this anniversary week for the Federation, we have some new stuff to talk about. You know when you're having an anniversary, you've got to have something new! So I'm really happy to announce a new podcast that we will be launching this week in honor of our anniversary for the Federation and things that we want to do going forward.
So, I thought the best way to talk about it would be to play the trailer for the new podcast.
(Music playing.)
JONATHAN: I'm Jonathan Mosen, inviting you to join Access On, the National Federation of the Blind's technology podcast. Through the efforts of blind people across the United States, the NFB makes positive tech change happen.
Now, thanks to our extensive networks in the technology sector, the resources of our braille and technology center, and listeners like you, Access On makes the news and breaks the news about the role technology can play in living the life we want. Tech expert or trying to make sense of it all, Access On is for you.
Computers, AI, accessible appliances, navigation tools, braille devices, and more, Access On is your view for credible reviews and interviews. It's interactive, so there are multiple ways to get in touch and have your say. Follow Access On now in any podcast app, device like Victory Stream, and spread the word.
It won't be long before Access On is on. Brought to you by the National Federation of the Blind.
(Music ends).
(Applause.)
Yeah baby!
MARK RICCOBONO: So I encourage you to find Access On in your favorite podcast application. You should be able to search for Access On, National Federation of the Blind, and find it, and I would encourage you to find it. The trailer's there. But there will be a new episode in about two days or so.
And I can tell you it's going to be great. I've already previewed episode 1, and I want to give a big thank you to Jonathan Mosen, who is our executive director for Accessibility Excellence here at the National Federation of the Blind for helping to launch this new venture as we go into our 85th year.
So really great stuff, and please, don't just be a listener, right? Take the opportunity to share your ideas, your wisdom, your knowledge, your tech tips. You know, technology is all around us, and it really does take the shared wisdom of the blind community to overcome these hurdles sometimes and to know the tips and tricks that people use, not just the "hey, click this", you know?
So I know that I get ideas almost every day from a blind person who says "well, why aren't you doing it this way?" So I think Access On is really going to help us with that, and I encourage to you engage with that new forum of the National Federation of the Blind.
Now, last month, we had White Cane Awareness Day, and we distribute and sell a lot of canes in the National Federation of the Blind. And we're really guided by what blind people want in the long white cane.
And a long white cane that many of our members are using, very excited about, are the D canes. Anybody use a D cane?
(Cheering and applause).
So, I'm happy to announce on this release that starting -- well, we're closed today -- so starting tomorrow! -- you will be able to buy D canes at the Independence Market!
(Applause.)
And in fact, I am told that at the moment, the only place that individuals can buy D canes is from the National Federation of the Blind! So you will be able to get sizes from 51 inches to 71 inches, odd sizes only, and canes will be $25 apiece for all sizes, all sizes.
(Cheering).
Some people are lining up at the door already!
(Laughter.)
We will be ramping up our inventory, so we do right now have a limited inventory, so those of you who call tomorrow may get them.
(Laughter.)
But be patient. We have plans to get more inventory in, so we would encourage you to get your orders in if you're interested in the D canes, and if you haven't tried them, you might want to try them out. You can email the Independence Market, or you can call 410-659-9314 extension 2216 to place your order.
You can email [email protected]. A lot of great stuff in the Independence Market, especially for the holiday season.
Speaking of the holidays, one thing we've been doing now I think going on 20 years is we have a relationship with the folks at the North Pole, and we've been helping Santa Claus provide braille letters. In the last couple years, we've also expanded that program to provide winter letters for those that might not follow Santa Claus as closely.
We want to encourage all blind children to participate in braille and the fun of the winter season. And so we offer this to families with children under the age of 10. You can bring braille and some fun activities to children this time of year for free. The letters all come in braille, and there is an accessible copy for those parents that might use print, and there are also some additional fun tactile activities that are always included.
You can make a request to receive one of these letters starting today and going through December 16, 2024. You can learn more on the NFB website. I encourage you to participate in the Santa letter, winter letter program, and help to promote braille. And of course, since we're talking about braille, I should note that our braille Readers are Leaders contest, in collaboration with the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults will be starting soon. I encourage you, if you're interested in our contest, to learn more at the website as well
Now, I do have a few other things to talk about, but I wanted to get to some folks that we've invited to be part of this release live this evening, and we're honored to have most of them here in person. And so I wanted to give each of them a few minutes.
The first of them is Amy Porter Field from Arizona. She serves as president of our Rehabilitation Division in our National Federation of the Blind. And if we get her a mic there: I've asked Amy to be here on the release to talk a little bit about our National Division and encouraging blind people to be part of the rehabilitation field.
Amy, welcome
AMY: Thank you, President Riccobono!
(Applause.)
Good evening, Federation family. We are the National Association of Blind Rehabilitation Professionals, a proud division of the National Federation of the Blind. And together, we work together to share the love and the magic of rehabilitation.
And I use the word "magic" because I think there is no other field that you can get involved in where you can help people discover and raise their expectations and implant hope and help them realize their dreams.
Talk about the most extreme makeover! It's the best opportunity for folks who have lost their vision or who have always been blind to come and really create the life that they really have always dreamed of having, or maybe haven't even dreamed of yet, that we can help them discover, and help them build that plan that turns into an amazing career.
And so, you know, there are so many careers out there that blind people are doing. But it's just an amazing opportunity to be a part of the change that we make in our world for blind people, to come and help plant that seed and grow that seed in others.
So the National Association of Blind Rehabilitation Professionals does many things to support each other. We do several different training opportunities, and you will see come coming through the rehabilitation listserv starting in January. So if you haven't joined that listserv to get those announcements, go to nfbnet.org to sign up.
We offer opportunities in and out of the rehabilitation field, helping folks find the career fields for them. We work really hard to keep the dream of what it means to be a consumer-driven organization in the rehabilitation field. And that means we believe in blind people. We believe in ourselves. We believe in all the people who come into the program. And we believe in the future of blind people. So please consider joining us. We need your talent. We need your belief in blind people. We need your magic. So thank you.
(Applause.)
MARK RICCOBONO: And Amy, how do people contact you?
AMY: Thank you!
(Laughter.)
You can contact me at... oh! (Thinking.)
(Laughter.)
MARK RICCOBONO: Hard question here.
AMY: (Cracking up) It is a hard question! You can contact me at [email protected]. Okay, thank you! Trick questions! These trick questions come and get me every time.
(Laughter.)
MARK RICCOBONO: Been a long day, right?
Thank you, Amy, appreciate that. Amy will still be here if we get any hard rehabilitation questions later.
AMY: Like my phone number?
(Laughter.)
MARK RICCOBONO: Yeah, we're not gonna go there.
(Laughter.)
So we also are privileged to have with us this evening someone who is a long-time leader in the National Federation of the Blind, and a number of years ago, the Federation helped to initiate a nondiscriminatory accreditation process for professionals that later was entrusted to the National Blindness Professional Certification Board.
And he serves now as president of that entity, and Federationists probably, some of you have heard about the National Blindness Professional Certification Board. You're probably wondering which order the acronym goes in. You gotta think about it a little bit.
(Laughter.)
You probably wonder what does the NBPCB do? We've asked President Adelmo Vigil to explain to us.
(Applause.)
ADELMO: Thank you. The National Blindness Professional Certification Board -- it took me a while to learn those letters, but I learned it.
(Laughter.)
We work to find individuals who are seeking employment or to develop the skills to teach and work under the Structured Discovery method. When we talk about the Structured Discovery method, that means that we believe in blind people and their abilities and capabilities.
As we look at our certifications, you have opportunities to be able to be certified as an individual, as a national blindness professional certification, you can be a national orientation and mobility certified individual who teaches cane travel.
You can also be certified as a rehab teacher of the blind. And you can have the access technology certification, also, which is something that we're continuing to work on. And then the UEB braille, which is the Unified English Braille, and those are all five-year certifications, except for the access technology. That is a three-year, because technology changes so rapid that we decided we would keep it for three years.
Those are the things that we work with for individuals.
Now, we also certify centers that practice our structured discovery method and principles. When we look at those centers, those centers are individuals or centers who can demonstrate that they are a structured discovery training program. We have six centers that are certified at this time. The Colorado Center for the Blind is one of them. We have the Hawaii Center, Ho’opono Center for Services for the Blind. We have the Louisiana LCB -- Louisiana Center for the Blind.
We also have some agencies, also, like the Nebraska Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. And the New Mexico Orientation Center in Almogordo. And oh, one more! I just got kicked.
(Laughter.)
We also have Saavi's Tucson Center who just got their recertification here.
(Cheering and applause.)
For three years. These centers are able to provide internships and apprenticeships for individuals who are interested in getting one of the certifications that I mentioned earlier. So if you're interested in any of these, you can get more information and read, and have more information by going to our nbpcb.org website.
And there you will find numbers or emails and all the information you need to be able to participate and be part of this national accreditation board that we have. Thank you.
MARK RICCOBONO: Thanks, Adelmo.
(Applause.)
Might have to talk about the access technology certification on our new podcast, you know?
(Murmurs of agreement).
Really great to be with you here. And as a final segment here, a lot of especially new Federation members wonder, we hear about NFB affiliated training centers, and what does that mean, and why is that important? And since Pam is already here, I thought we'd also invite in, Adelmo mentioned the Colorado Center for the Blind.
So she was not able to be in the room with us, but Julie Deden, glad to have you here with us on this presidential release live. So Julie, then Pam, will talk about our NFB training centers. Julie, are you out there?
JULIE: Yes, I am!
(Applause.)
Thank you, everyone! Even though I'm not there in the room, I am with all of you in spirit for this whole conference. And I know so far the Dare to be Remarkable Conference is going great, and that it will continue to. So it's really an honor for both Pam and I to get to be here tonight to talk a little bit about, what in the world, what is an NFB training center?
And so I'm going to start it off, and Pam and I might go back and forth a little bit, too, as we often like to do, right, Pam?
PAM ALLEN: That's right!
JULIE: We do. So around 40 years ago, it was really determined that we needed to make a difference, we needed to revolutionize training for all blind people. And what it takes for an NFB training center to really be of great success is that the directors are leaders in the National Federation of the Blind. And we started off so wonderfully with Joann Wilson, Diane McGeorge, and Joy Scanlon. And I want to say that they were, and always will be, mentors for both Pam and I and others, too.
Because we learned from them, and part of what we all do is giving back to each other. And I want to thank everybody, because I recently have finished up 25 years of being -- I haven't finished, don't worry, I haven't finished.
(Laughter.)
But I have been the director for 25 years at the Colorado Center for the Blind. And I just wanted to mention that Pam will be the director for 25 years at the Louisiana Center for the Blind in a couple years as well.
So I feel that love is a key for our NFB training centers and the things that we do.
So we are private nonprofit organizations, but we are a program of the National Federation of the Blind and part of the National Federation of the Blind with everything we do. We hire staff that are excellent role models, whether they be blind staff or sighted staff. Many of our staff members that we hire at our NFB training centers are graduates of our centers, because we believe so strongly that our students need to learn from role models, that they need to learn from people that have full belief in blind people.
All of our staff members have training, and obviously if they have been students at our centers, they have had 9 months or more of training The sighted staff that we hire also have training, utilizing learning shades, and they also gain full belief in blind people. And we feel that that's just such a key component to our centers' success, is making sure that our staff members have that full belief in blind people.
One of our cornerstones that we have at our centers is our seminar, or what we call in Colorado "philosophy class". And that's where we talk all about being blind and talk about how to handle a wide array of situations, from what to do when someone grabs you and pulls you across the street, to how to work with your family over the holiday time, for example, when our students go home for Thanksgiving and their families still want to serve them. How do they handle that? So those are examples of things we would cover.
We do require our students use canes at all times. We feel very strongly that when you have your cane in your hand and begin feeling comfortable with a cane, it's all part of gaining that belief in yourself as a blind person.
And so we do require our students to use their canes all the time so that they will feel proud about being blind. We also require our students to utilize learning shades, or you could call them a blindfold if you've never heard of the term "learning shades", and it's all about knowing that you can do anything as a totally blind person, and again, it's all about gaining belief in yourself as a blind person, and knowing that you can handle anything.
We also have our students fully participate in all aspects of our program. But one of the key things that we want is we want everybody to learn about giving back and mentoring others. So our students at our NFB training centers end up mentoring new students as they come in. And they -- it's so much fun, because they may not have all -- we will compare a student when they start.
They might not even -- they won't know their way around the center. And then possibly three months later, they're teaching a new student how to get around the center and how to get to and from the center.
So I'm going to end my part of this by talking about our brand values.
A few years ago, we had such an opportunity to work with Mitchum Minded, and we have some brand values and our mission statement, and Pam will read some other information at the end of this. But our brand values really exemplify who we are: Dream without limits. Be bold. Be part of something bigger. Work with love. Respect everyone. And honor every voice and experience.
And I just wanted to say, President Riccobono, it's an honor to be able to be talking tonight on the release, and it's an honor and a privilege always to be part of our NFB training center family.
MARK RICCOBONO: Thanks, Julie.
(Applause.)
And official congratulations on 25 years.
JULIE: Oh, thank you.
PAM ALLEN: Thank you so much, Julie, and again, congratulations. It is such a pleasure to work with you, and I'm so grateful for all that we've shared and learned , and I look forward to lots of exciting things ahead.
JULIE: Yes!
PAM ALLEN: As Julie mentioned, in our NFB training centers, all of the points, obviously, are critical. The cornerstones of what we do and the we are successful and have been for nearly 40 years. And it's at this conference this week, and at different events that I go to, I know we are also proud and grateful for all of our NFB training center graduates who are really change makers now in the field of rehabilitation and blindness, and in so many other fields.
Because they have received the skills, the skills of blindness. Because they understand our philosophy, that blindness is just a characteristic, and the amount of vision does not determine someone's value. Because we are grounded in the National Federation of the Blind, from our very foundation through today, the lived experiences of blind people are what determines our work.
It continues to guide us as our world is evolving. Our philosophy and our Federation members and our experiences from all around the country continue to guide the work that we do at our training centers.
We know that skills are important. Obviously braille and cane travel and technology, industrial arts, and living skills, and job readiness and college readiness. Being exposed and interacting with positive blind role models. Having those high expectations, conquering fears and replacing those with self-confidence.
And when our students graduate from our programs, that's just the beginning. We always -- you know, we often say at graduations that this is just the beginning of the next chapter. Because our students have the National Federation of the Blind. They have mentors throughout the country and world, people who will continue to be there for them.
Chapters around the country, ways to give back, and ways to continue to develop both their blindness skills and philosophy and their leadership skills.
And we all know how important it is to have strong blindness skills. And equally important, if not more, is that positive philosophy about blindness. Because if you don't have that philosophy, the skills you have won't matter, because you will not be able to feel comfortable and confident using those skills.
So we are so incredibly grateful for the members of our organization who continue to serve as mentors and also who help advocate for students to attend our NFB training centers, who work with rehab agencies to educate, who share presentations about the learning opportunities that are out there.
We appreciate each of you, and all that you do to continue to strengthen the work that we do. Our NFB training centers also understand the importance of professional development, and Adelmo talked about our National Blindness Professional Certification Board, and Amy talked about the great ways to stay connected through our National Association of Blindness Education Professionals, and I want to talk about our Louisiana Tech University Institute on Blindness.
So we are so thrilled that our program at Louisiana Tech is also grounded in the National Federation of the Blind and our philosophy. And President Riccobono, thank you so much for your continued leadership and your support of the work that we do. Your availability to our students, your example, and your role modeling. We truly appreciate the support that you give to our staff and to our students and our graduates.
I want to close with our belief message at our NFB training centers. I think it really summarizes the work that we're doing together. And our NFB training centers are training centers and communities of blind people proudly affiliated with the National Federation of the Blind. We believe blind people can do anything. Every day we encourage and challenge each student, and they come to understand their potential as they build the skills and confidence to live the life they want.
Because when you believe in yourself and experience a thriving community of positive blind people, nothing can hold you back from pursuing your dreams. Thank you.
(Applause.)
MARK RICCOBONO: Okay.
(Applause.)
Thank you to Pam and Julie. Sorry we don't have more time to talk about centers, but just wanted to note, if you want to learn more about either of these centers, for Colorado, cocenter.org, and for the Louisiana Center, louisianacenter.org. Learn more about the training available, and maybe we'll get some questions for Pam and Julie, I don't know.
But Pam, I think we should move to questions before we finish out the release.
PAM ALLEN: Okay, excellent, thank you, and thank you to everybody who has submitted questions. We really appreciate it. This is always a fun part of our presidential release live.
So President Riccobono, we had a question. We mentioned that we were here at the Dare to be Remarkable Conference, and we had a question about why are we hosting this conference.
MARK RICCOBONO: Why NOT?
(Laughter.)
You know, it's really important that we recognize if -- it's not enough to simply complain about the quality of rehabilitation, what rehabilitation agencies should be doing. We have so much to offer as blind people by getting right in the middle of things, and really putting our effort where our mouth is! If we're going to complain about the quality of rehabilitation training, the tools and techniques that are used, the vision-centric elements, we have to do something different.
And our Dare to be Remarkable Conference is a key part of that. We're building a professional community that truly does believe in blind people. And this goes back a long ways to the early days of the Federation, when blind people were just nudging each other into, you know, don't you think we could do this? Or I was thinking about the announcement about the D canes earlier.
You know, Dr. TenBroek, who was a pretty tall guy, used a pretty short cane that was solid wood. He didn't let it hold him back, but that would be a miserable experience today! I would never settle for that!
(Laughter.)
But that's because blind people got together and started testing different substances, what worked, and different types of canes, eventually got to more flexible canes that we have today.
So the Dare to be Remarkable Conference and the professionals that have attended, it's all about creating this community of practice that's centered on blind wisdom, and the thing that we know is true is we do not have enough people in the rehabilitation training field who believe in blind people the way that blind people do.
And that's why we're having the conference. Great question.
PAM ALLEN: Excellent. So, this question, we have a lot of excitement about our new podcast!
(Laughter.)
So how are topics decided, and can people make suggestions?
MARK RICCOBONO: Can people make suggestions? 100%! So the topics will -- well, we haven't even put out an episode yet, so how do you know?
(Laughter.)
So part of it is, as you heard on the trailer, using the connections that we have in the technology industry -- in fact, you're going to hear some things on episode 1 later this week that I don't think have really been highlighted in this way anywhere in the blindness field yet -- so part of it is that we're on the cutting edge.
And when we can use our relationships to bring technology companies or new approaches directly to the blind audience, we want to do that.
But of course, we want the members of the Federation to drive this. One of the things you'll hear on the podcast -- not to scoop it -- is you'll hear a little segment called Tech Tips. And I will say, I suggested this, because I was talking with one of our members who said, you know, it's so much to keep up with. And I just want to know, where can I get little tips on doing X, Y, and Z?
So you'll get some tech tips. Maybe you HAVE some tech tips you want to give! Definitely engage in the conversation, and that doesn't mean we can cover every idea in every episode, right? But again, we're trying to build a community. And not just for the tech early adopters, but for the blind people who are just at home trying to figure out how to get the stupid, uh, smart television to work!
(Laughter.)
Or, you know, how to get the flat panel on your gas stove to work. So this is the goal, is to have this. And the idea with the podcast, hopefully it becomes a forum for pushing accessibility amongst the companies. Because you know, the Federation, we do not shy away from the hard-hitting topics and calling people out for not doing the right thing.
PAM ALLEN: Excellent. And concerning Washington Seminar, which will be here soon, how are issues decided and how do we make those determinations?
MARK RICCOBONO: That's a great question. Before I get there, I should have said, related to engagement with the new podcast, you can send an email to [email protected] with your feedback. So there you go, you can get the feedback now.
So, Washington Seminar. We are talking about topics for the 2025 Washington Seminar now. Our first goal is to look at what the landscape's going to be in the next Congress, and where the opportunities will be based on what the priorities are, the bills that we know are likely to come up, who is going to be in the leadership, that sort of thing.
Our national board will have a meeting here in a couple weeks, and that's where we hope to have enough data together to strategize with the board and decide on our topics.
Now, you know, the three, sometimes four topics that we highlight in our Washington Seminar effort on the Hill, those aren't the only topics we cover in federal legislation. I mean, some years -- this year's a good example -- I think we have at least like a dozen various bills and different things we're tracking.
So part of it is what strategically is going to make sense in the moment based on what's happening. And we're still doing that analysis after the elections. Obviously we're still waiting to hear about how some things are shaking out. And then we'll look at where the opportunities are and where we can leverage some of our key legislative priorities.
PAM ALLEN: Excellent. And then we were talking about structured discovery and opportunities. So we have a question about how our members can support or influence agencies in their state that maybe are not yet practicing structured discovery or don't really know about what that model is.
MARK RICCOBONO: So that's a great question. I would first suggest to our affiliates to -- we have to be well informed. Right? I sometimes hear even our own NFB members saying, "well, I never got to go to the Louisiana Center. I don't know what structured discovery really is."
So we have to be well informed on this subject ourselves. So you've heard from some great experts here this evening who you could invite to present at an affiliate convention or at a chapter meeting or at an affiliate board leadership meeting to really learn the ins and outs of, what does it mean? What does structured discovery mean? What makes it different?
And by educating ourselves, then we can start to build a plan for how are we going to educate and advocate with the agencies in our own state? You know, the problem is, when we don't understand it well, the traditional professionals say "oh, yeah, well, we do that."
"Yeah, we pretty much do the same thing!"
(Laughter.)
But when you really understand what structured discovery is, and how it comes into play in training and where the differences are, then you understand how to counteract that.
So I think that would be my first piece of advice, is we should be very knowledgeable about what it means. And, you know, for some of us that haven't had that training, the best way to do it is to talk about it.
And I guess I would say it. I'm sure Pam and Julie, if she's still on, that you all would invite affiliates to send people to visit NFB training centers. If you haven't had the opportunity to visit a center, have some of the leader s of the affiliate go to one of our training centers and see what happens on a day to day basis, to really get the understanding of where it's different.
PAM ALLEN: Excellent. We would most definitely invite that.
JULIE: Yes, we would.
PAM ALLEN: Always enjoy welcoming our members and sharing with everyone. Thank you so much, President Riccobono, and thanks everyone for your wonderful questions. If we didn't have a chance tonight to answer your question, our awesome communications team will be following up.
I want to thank everyone for being with us tonight, and please save the dates for our live presidential releases. Our next presidential release live will be on January 7, 2025, at 7:00 pm Eastern, and our Washington Seminar Great Gathering-In will be on Monday, February 3rd.
We will not have a presidential release live in December. Please tune in to the chapter presidential release recordings at your December chapter meetings. You can contact President Riccobono at 410-659-9314, or via email at office of the president at nfb.org.
Thank you so much, and President Riccobono, I'll pass it back to you.
MARK RICCOBONO: All right, Pam. Again, great to be with you here. We do have some Federation family notes to close this release, and then we're going to do some fun spontaneous things in the moment.
But first, I do have to share with you some sad news from California, the San Joaquin chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of California reports that it is deeply saddened to share the news that Ora Hill passed away on Friday, September 13.
Ora was a former secretary and board member and supporter of all things NFB in the local chapter.
From South Carolina, we received the news that Ernest Gallman, a long-time Federationist, passed away on October 8th at age 73. He was a faithful member for decades until his health prevented him from coming to meetings.
From Vermont, we received the news of the passing of Franklin Shiner, who passed away peacefully on Tuesday, October 15th, at age 79. Franklin served as our affiliate president for many years. He was instrumental in, I think, pretty much single-handedly bringing NEWSLINE to Vermont and many advocacy efforts in the state of Vermont.
From Pennsylvania, we received the news that just this morning, Charles -- he went by Chuck -- Morganstern passed away at age 91. Chuck joined the Federation in 1964, and he is reported as having been in attendance at Dr. Jernigan's very first leadership seminar, 1973.
He served in many capacities in the affiliate, and he and his wife, Esther, were anticipating their 25th wedding anniversary. So I encourage to you keep these individuals in your thoughts and prayers.
I also want to share that, from Utah, Everette Bacon reports that our long-time member and former president of the affiliate's Parents Division, Julie Ledford, lost her battle with cancer on October 16th of this year. Julie is survived by her husband Kevin Ledford and four wonderful young men, three of whom are blind.
From Iowa, we learned of the passing of Jeff Young on October 18th. Let's see. Jeff was the husband of our Des Moines chapter president, Becky Young. From Maryland, we learned of the passing of Annette Gordon, who passed away on Thursday, October 17th, after a long illness. Annette had been a long-time member of the Baltimore County chapter and had many things she was passionate about, including promoting our Diabetes Action Network.
And I just wanted to call out one more time -- I did so on the recorded release recently, but I did want to again note for those who have missed it that we, in Maryland, also mourned the passing of long-time leader John Cheadle John Cheadle a couple of weeks ago. So I would encourage you to keep all of these individuals in your thoughts and prayers.
Now, I do have one joyous piece of news for this release, and this comes from Amy Porter Field of Arizona.
(Cheering).
Who reports that Chris Crawley and his wife had their baby on November 3rd, so just last week!
(Cheering and applause).
And this is baby Anisha Crawley, who came in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces, measuring 20 and a quarter inches long. So congratulations to the Crawley family, and I'd like to welcome Anisha as the newest member of the National Federation of the Blind!
(Cheering and applause).
Now, I do have some customary endings here, but I want to say it's been a busy time, busy month, and, you know, today is a special day. Because our usual AV person Will is on vacation, congratulations Will.
(Laughter.)
So working our AV equipment is Stephanie Cascone, director of marketing and communications, and today is her birthday.
So don't you think we should sing happy birthday!
Let's do it
(Singing).
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday, dear Stephanie.
Happy birthday to you!
(Crowd applauding).
MARK RICCOBONO: And many more!
(Laughter.)
I just want to call out that she's got a birthday coming up on Wednesday -- by the way, also Chris Danielsen, who's in the audience here --
(Cheering).
But had the opportunity over the weekend to celebrate the 80th birthday of Barbara Pierce. A little surprise birthday party, that was fun. So happy birthday to Barbara and to all of those who celebrate November birthdays.
With that, I do have some customary endings.
I have one here that says why did the turkey cross the road?
CROWD: Why?
MARK RICCOBONO: Because he wanted people to think he was a chicken.
What did the turkey say to the farmer?
"How come there's nothing on my calendar after November?"
(Laughter and groans).
In honor of our brand-new podcast, what did the turkey say to the computer?
Google Google!
(Laughter.)
Let's go build the National Federation of the Blind.
MELISSA RICCOBONO: The preceding message was bought to you by National Federation of the Blind president Mark Riccobono, 410-659-9314, office of the president at nfb.org. Follow President Riccobono on Mastodon. Just search for [email protected].
Let's go build the National Federation of the Blind.