The Braille Monitor, April 1998

THE BRAILLE MONITOR

Vol. 41, No.4                                                 April, 1998

Barbara Pierce, Editor

Published in inkprint, in Braille, and on cassette by

THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

MARC MAURER, PRESIDENT



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[LEAD PHOTO DESCRIPTION: Pictured here is a very large and stately southern-style home made of stucco with a clay tile roof. CAPTION: The Superintendent's residence at the New Mexico School for the Visually Handicapped is located on the institution's beautiful campus. By July 1 the third superintendent in three years will be taking up residence in this lovely home.] [PHOTO/CAPTION: Jim Salas, President of the NMSVH Board of Regents.] [PHOTO/CAPTION: Dr. Nell Carney, recently named superintendent of the New Mexico School for the Visually Handicapped] New Mexico School Update ********** From the Editor: Much of the October, 1996, issue of the Braille Monitor was devoted to an examination of allegations made by many students and former students against the New Mexico School for the Visually Handicapped concerning alleged attacks of various kinds over the past quarter century. Those complaints eventually resulted in the filing of civil suits against a number of staff and former staff members of the school. Then on the eve of the first trial, scheduled to begin on Monday, January 26, 1998, a settlement agreement was reached. The details of the agreement have not yet been disclosed and by state law will not be disclosed for several more months. But this important development is only the most spectacular step in the school's return to a healthy outlook and full attention to its mission to educate and train the state's blind students. A number of changes have taken place at the school since this story first broke. In the early summer of 1996 Jeriel Watkins, who had been the superintendent at the New Mexico School since 1973, retired. Many hoped that his departure from the scene would blunt the outcry from former students and some current students and their parents. The school's board of regents at the time (three women and two men, only one of whom was blind) appointed a committee to conduct the search for a new superintendent. The group came up with several finalists, and the board chose J. Kirk Walter, an administrator at the Maryland School for the Blind with responsibility for public relations. Walter was given a one-year contract, which had been standard procedure during the Watkins years. At the December meeting Walter was given a six-month contract extension. Then on January 1, 1997, the terms of two of the women board members expired, and during the first week of January the governor announced his appointment of two replacement members. These were James Salas, a long-time leader in the NFB of New Mexico, and Dr. David Small, the father of a blind child. The board's January meeting took place on the 24th, and Salas and Small were not confirmed by the Senate until the 30th, but they sat in on the January meeting even though they could not vote. At that meeting the board rescinded its six-month extension of Walter's appointment and substituted a two-year one instead. Salas and Small did not actually join the board until its February, 1997, meeting, but as its first order of business the board then elected Jim Salas president; Joe Salazar, the other blind member of the board, vice president; and Dr. Small secretary/treasurer. All this was a profound change in business as usual for the governing board of the school. Gone was the garden-club element that had dominated the board for years. Blind people and parents of blind children were suddenly in positions of real power. Not surprisingly, changes began to occur. The first to feel the effects was Diane Baker, NMSVH director of student services. She had been in charge of academic, residential, and recreational programs for years, and several of the people who spoke to the Braille Monitor told us they believed that she had been a significant part of the cover-up during her tenure. Walter recommended that her contract be extended, but the board did not take that recommendation, so at the close of the '96-97 academic year, Baker left. Dianna Jennings, according to Salas a quiet, dedicated professional with years of teaching experience at the school, was appointed by Walter as vice principal in August of '97 to take up some of the slack. In November, with board concurrence, Walter appointed Jennings to take Baker's place as director of student services. In the meantime the board was also grappling with the question of Walter's contract. By the summer of 1997 there was considerable board dissatisfaction with Walter even though he was now at the beginning of a two-year contract. Salas says that he had hoped to reach consensus on the board action, but he could not get it. At the August meeting four board members voted to relieve Walter of his duties at the end of the '97-98 academic year. The fifth member, Dr. Small, wanted him gone immediately. Salas says that with Baker gone, Jennings not yet fully in place, and the school year already two weeks old, he could not support the notion of leaving the school with both chief administrative positions unfilled. So the vote to accept Walter's resignation in June of 1998 was approved by a vote of four to one. Many incorrectly assumed that this reflected the presence of one Walter supporter on the board, but that was not the case. According to Salas, Walter will receive reasonable moving expenses but no remuneration for the second year of his contract. Salas says that he has had a cordial working relationship with Walter during the year they have worked together, but he was determined to conduct the search for his successor very differently from the search that brought Walter to New Mexico. The board contracted with a consulting firm, Huge and Wise of Denver, to do a good bit of the preliminary work of the search, and Salas has only the highest praise for the job Jim Huge did. A number of focus-group meetings were conducted throughout the state, and staff, parents, and consumers were urged to attend these meetings or to submit comments by mail, e-mail, fax, and voice-mail for the board's use. In this way a profile of the kind of leader the school was looking for emerged. Huge brought a stack of files and resumes to a board meeting in early February from which the regents chose the four finalists, whom they then brought to the school for interviews on February 17 and 18. On February 19 they chose Dr. Nell Carney, former Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration and a one-time student of Dr. Jernigan's at the Tennessee School for the Blind. According to Salas, most people are delighted with the choice, and Carney seems to be looking forward to the challenge facing her. At this writing, in late February, the final details have not been settled, but Carney will be on board before the beginning of the '98-99 academic year. It seems as if the long agony of the New Mexico School for the Visually Handicapped may actually be over. Blind people and parents of blind children at last have a significant voice in the governance of the institution. A blind superintendent with credentials in education and years of administrative experience has been appointed. Other fine appointments have been made, and several staff members associated in the public mind with the allegations of abuse are gone. On February 10 Jerry Watkins, the man believed by many to have borne most of the responsibility for the school's troubles, died suddenly. (See the Monitor Miniatures section of this issue for the details.) And of course the civil law suits that threatened to cast a heartbreaking shadow over the school and its alumni for years to come have now been settled. The New Mexico School for the Visually Handicapped now seems ready to write a new page in its history. In many ways this school has more advantages than other residential schools: a wonderful campus, amazing autonomy, financial independence, a dedicated and talented staff, and a large geographic base from which to draw students who would not otherwise have a chance at good blindness training in their rural school districts. Can the board of regents, Nell Carney, the school staff and students, and the blind community in New Mexico pull off the resurrection? Certainly everyone hopes so. Here is the article written by reporter Rene Romo in the January 27, 1998, edition of the Albuquerque Journal: ********** Ex-Students Settle Suit School for Blind Abuses Alleged ********** The state's primary school for the blind has settled a divisive civil suit in which fifteen former students alleged administrators ignored physical and sexual abuse over three decades. Faced with the start of a trial Monday in Albuquerque for one plaintiff, the Board of Regents of the Alamogordo-based New Mexico School for the Visually Handicapped voted Friday to settle, the plaintiffs' attorney said. Terms of the settlement, which have not been filed, will not be disclosed for six months in keeping with state law. However, parties on both sides of the suit said the settlement would avoid huge legal costs in what was expected to be protracted litigation and help the school and the plaintiffs move on from the scandal. "I needed closure, and I needed to get on with my life," said Jennifer Switzer-Hensley, a thirty-eight-year-old counselor who said she was gang-raped at knifepoint by four fellow students in the campus gym in 1976. Switzer-Hensley, the first of the former students to go public with criticism of the school in early 1996, said she told former superintendent Jeriel Watkins about the rape, and he advised her to keep quiet about it. Other plaintiffs alleged in their lawsuit that they were physically or sexually abused by, among others, a dorm parent, a former school principal, a coach, and other students between 1973 and 1996. The lawsuit had named the school's Board of Regents, former superintendent Watkins, and thirteen former or current staff members as defendants. Switzer-Hensley also said she was glad to avoid a protracted trial that would have dredged up old wounds. "It would have gotten worse before it got better," Switzer- Hensley said. James Salas, president of the school's board, said the settlement will allow the school to concentrate on educating the campus's sixty blind boarding students and perhaps lift a cloud that has been hanging over the school's staff. "I'm glad it's done so we can go on to educating blind kids," said Salas, who is also blind. "That's what our mission is." The settlement was reached in eleventh-hour discussions after a negotiating session in Albuquerque on Thursday ended without an agreement. School Superintendent J. Kirk Walter said he proposed a new offer after the meeting, and both parties agreed. The school regents approved the agreement in executive session in a meeting Friday in Deming, Walter said. Both sides were set to go to trial in Albuquerque on Monday before Judge Eugenio Mathis in the case of a twelve-year-old boy who was allegedly choked by a dorm parent in the winter of 1994- 95 and subsequently sexually assaulted by a fellow student. The boy said he was afraid to report the incident to his dorm parent because of the alleged choking. That case was separated from the other plaintiffs', said plaintiffs' attorney Bruce Pasternack of Albuquerque, to establish a "benchmark value" in the case. Pasternack said he believed the lawsuit led the school to adopt protective measures that were sought by the plaintiffs. Those improvements, Pasternack said, included better monitoring of students in school dormitories and increasing staff training on recognizing child abuse and neglect. "So the only thing that remained at issue was the damages to our clients," Pasternack said. Clovis resident Tim Martin, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, said his main concern was "changing the mentality of the people who work at the school," improving hiring practices, and improving student safety. "Because, who knows, I could have grandchildren who one day would have to go there, and if they had to, I'd want it to be a good place," Martin said. Martin alleged that in 1973, when he was fourteen, he was sexually abused by two male students, and the incident was not reported by a housemother who witnessed the abuse. The school, Martin said, "wasn't all bad. I got a good education there for the most part. I mean, the good outweighed the bad, but the bad never should have happened." The allegations of abuse and administrative neglect caused sharp divisions between the school and advocates for the blind since reports began surfacing in late 1995. An investigation by the state Attorney General's Office remains open, said spokeswoman Kay Roybal. ********** ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: Tommy Craig, President of the NFB of Texas] 1998 Convention Tours by Tommy Craig ********** From the Editor: We are now under three months and counting until the 1998 convention of the National Federation of the Blind at the Hyatt Regency DFW. The dates are July 4 to 11. If you have not yet made your room reservations, you should do so immediately. National convention room rates will never be better. This year they are singles, $41; doubles and twins, $43; triples, $45; and quads, $47. Call the Hyatt Regency DFW directly to make your reservation. The number is (972) 453-1234. Do not call the Hyatt national toll-free number to make your reservation because it will not be honored. Consult the Convention Bulletin in the December, 1997, Braille Monitor for all the details. Here is news about convention tours for 1998 as arranged by NFB of Texas President Tommy Craig: ********** Texas is a big place, so there's a lot to do in the Lone Star state. The NFB of Texas wants you to get a small taste, at least, of the many fun and interesting things that we have to offer. During the Convention of the National Federation of the Blind we have scheduled a number of tours for your enjoyment. A list of these and their prices follows. Be sure to make your choices quickly and send your complete order and check for the full amount to the address listed before June 19. Here is the list of tours: ********** Wednesday, July 8 ********** Six Flags Over Texas, $38 per person (children under three free) ********** This tour consists of round-trip transportation from the hotel to the Six Flags Over Texas Amusement Park, which is one of the finest in the entire country. You can ride exciting roller- coasters or enjoy live entertainment at dozens of shows. The tour will leave the hotel at 1:00 p.m. and return at 10:00 p.m. ********** Kennedy/Dallas West End Tour $30 per person ********** This consists of a brief tour of downtown Dallas, a tour of the Kennedy Memorial and the Sixth-Floor Museum, and an evening in the historic Dallas West-End Warehouse District. It contains many striking architectural features including brick-paved streets. It is full of wonderful restaurants and a number of music and comedy clubs. This tour will leave the hotel at 2:30 p.m. and return at 10:00 p.m. ********** The Studio at Las Colinas, $20 per person ********** This tour consists of round-trip transportation to the Las Colinas Studio, a real working television and movie sound stage. You will see the sound stages where movies such as JFK, Silkwood, and Robocop were made. This tour will also include a trip to the National Communications Museum with thousands of memorabilia items from radio and television. The Communications Museum has numerous hands-on exhibits. This tour will leave the hotel at 1:30 p.m. and return about 5:00 p.m. ********** Billy Bob's Texas, $25 per person ********** This visit to the biggest honky-tonk in the world, located in Fort Worth's Stockyard District, departs the hotel at 6:30 p.m. and returns at midnight. Billy Bob's has been refurbished since our last visit to Texas, and it still boasts more bars than you can count in an evening. Chances are that this will be the most popular convention tour again this year. ********** Friday Evening, July 10 ********** Trail Dust Steak House and Mesquite Rodeo, $40 per person ********** This tour is the perfect way to wind down after a busy convention. It includes round-trip transportation to the Trail Dust Steak House, where you can enjoy Texas cooking at its finest. After dinner you will be transported to the Mesquite rodeo, where you can enjoy some real cowboy action. This tour will leave the hotel at 5:15 p.m. and return at 11:30 p.m. ********** Saturday morning, July 11 ********** Breakfast and Riding at the Circle R Ranch, $40 ********** The Circle R Ranch is near the airport, so plan an afternoon departure for home and you can enjoy breakfast and horseback riding before you leave. The bus will depart from the hotel at 8:00 a.m. and return by noon. You won't ride long enough or far enough to get saddle-sore, but you will take home a real taste of Texas. ********** If you would like to take part in any of these tours, you should contact Ms. Jackie Gottlieb, Eagle Tours, 1634 Irving Boulevard, Irving, Texas 75060, Phone (972) 721-0545. The deadline for reserving tours is June 19, 1998. Tour orders must include clear indication of which tour tickets are being purchased, the number of tickets needed, and full payment for all tickets. Checks should be made payable to Eagle Tours. We look forward to seeing you all in Dallas. Come early and stay late so you can enjoy lots of great Texas fun and hospitality. ********** ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: President Maurer holds up the $50,000 check just presented by Mel Smith, Human Relations Manager, Baltimore District, United Parcel Service] [PHOTO/CAPTION: James Gashel] The 1998 Washington Seminar by Barbara Pierce ********** As usual, this year's Washington Seminar started with a bang several days ahead of the opening briefing with workshops and committee meetings at both the Holiday Inn, Capitol, our headquarters for the week, and the National Center for the Blind in Baltimore. The Research and Development Committee met in Baltimore while the Merchants Division and the National Association of Blind Students conducted daylong seminars on Saturday, January 31, in Washington. Both seminars were well attended, and both culminated in banquets Saturday evening. President Maurer addressed the vendors, and Dr. Fredric K. Schroeder, Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration, spoke to the students. On Sunday morning well over a hundred Federationists boarded busses and vans for the drive to Baltimore and a tour of the National Center for the Blind. Meantime the National Association of Blind Lawyers met during the morning at the hotel, and scores of Federationists gathered during the afternoon for an inspiring workshop on all forms of fund raising. This was an extremely interesting and useful program, and the consensus seemed to be that it should become an annual event. The Mercury Room staff under the leadership of Sandy Halverson opened for business Sunday afternoon making note of appointment times and handing out materials for distribution on the Hill the next day. As always, Sandy and her crew were a model of efficiency, patience, and good humor. All weekend print and cassette copies of the fact sheets for the week circulated throughout the hotel, and one could hear snatches of conversation everywhere indicating that people were studying the sheets and preparing for their presentations. Word began to trickle out that this year a solution had been found to the overcrowding of the 5 p.m. briefing on Sunday. Rather than asking people who couldn't find chairs to stand or lean against the walls for two hours, an overflow room was set up with piped-in sound from the main meeting. This made everyone much more comfortable even if close to a hundred late-comers missed out on the firsthand excitement of the meeting. By 4:45 there were very few seats left in the Columbia room, Dave Evans's trumpet was sounding charge, and a number of chapters were selling sustenance for the inner man or woman in the form of candy of all sorts. The National Organization of Parents of Blind Children even prepared packed lunches to sell to those interested in a more balanced approach to fending off starvation. President Maurer chaired the briefing and brought members up to date on a number of important matters. He announced that forty-eight affiliates were present at this year's seminar and that there were about 500 people present for the opening session. He then introduced representatives from the United Parcel Service Foundation, who presented the NFB with a check for $50,000 to be used to nurture Braille literacy among blind children. The briefing concluded with Jim Gashel, Director of Governmental Affairs, discussing the legislative issues for this year and answering questions. (See the article reprinting the fact sheets elsewhere in this issue.) By now Federationists are old hands at dealing with the complexities of Capitol Hill and Congressional office appointments. Newcomers naturally gravitate to experienced colleagues for pointers and advice, and everyone gets down to business on Monday with a commendable lack of furor. Late Monday afternoon the word went out that people were needed to report to a hearing room in the Capitol Tuesday afternoon to demonstrate support for the National Library Service, whose budget was being reviewed. Without breaking stride the necessary troops slipped away from lunch or Congressional meetings where they weren't needed to pack the hearing room and the halls outside it. The message that the NLS program is important to blind people was clearly heard and noted. Tuesday evening Senator Christopher Dodd, whose sister Carolyn is an active Connecticut Federationist, came to the briefing to talk about the importance of the Rehabilitation Act amendments to be marked up on Wednesday morning. His speech was filled with energy and commitment, and the response he received was equally enthusiastic. By Wednesday morning many of us had completed our Congressional appointments and were heading home. But the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources had scheduled a meeting to mark up the bill Senator DeWine had introduced the week before as S. 1579. Naturally Federationists wanted to be present to underline the importance of this legislation to blind Americans. So again, everyone who was not busy elsewhere went to show the members of the Senate committee what we thought about their work and this exciting piece of legislation. By late that day the Mercury Room had been packed up and the files and computers loaded onto vans for the return trip to Baltimore. Another Washington Seminar had come to a close. But the legislative work of the Federation for 1998 was just beginning. ********** ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: Peggy Elliott] The Road to 2020 by Peggy Elliott ********** From the Editor: Peggy Elliott, Second Vice President of the National Federation of the Blind and President of the NFB of Iowa, is a long-time leader of the Federation. Among other assignments she has chaired the Scholarship Committee for fifteen years. She gave the keynote address at the 1998 Mid-Winter Conference conducted by the National Association of Blind Students in Washington, D.C. Her presentation was conversational and interactive, so the following text is an approximation of the speech in some places. But it is faithful to her ideas; this is what she said on Saturday morning, January 31, 1998: ********** I have a prediction to make: after we finish with all the millennialism and the year 2000 is under our belts, people will then begin to concentrate on the year 2020. You heard it here first. This morning I'm going to jump the gun a bit and talk to you about 2020 before anybody else does. The discussion may seem a little disjointed because there are several strands, but in the end I'll braid them together to get us from here to there. The first strand is the blind community. Each of you has heard this phrase; many of you have used it; some of you actually think you are part of it or don't want to be. The blind community is a widely recognized concept, but what is it? From my point of view it is essentially the National Federation of the Blind. What comes to mind when we think of the NFB today? Let's name them. There's the Washington Seminar, the student division, NFB training centers, the National Convention, Job Opportunities for the Blind, the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children, NEWSLINE(R), America's Jobline(R), the International Braille and Technology Center, the National Center for the Blind, the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille, the Voice of the Diabetic, Kernel Books, Walking Alone and Marching Together, the Braille Monitor. The list we have just assembled is interesting. With the exception of the National Convention and the Braille Monitor, virtually everything we named on that list began after 1980. The National Federation of the Blind was founded in 1940, but almost all the things that define the organization for us today were established after 1980. That is an important thing to think about, but we will leave it on the table for the moment and turn to something else. I want to look back to when I joined the National Federation of the Blind, which I must say was prior to 1980. I remember what a wonderful feeling it was to meet other people who could articulate and were living the things I wanted to. I wasn't doing them yet, but I wanted to. I remember the rush it was to discover the place I belonged. I also remember the second thing that happened to me. I lived in Iowa, which many of you know was the cradle of the modern Federation. People like Mr. Maurer, Mr. Gashel, Mrs. Walhof, and Mr. Omvig were chapter leaders at that time in Iowa. And, of course, Dr. Jernigan was the director of the Iowa Commission for the Blind. After I found my feet, I looked around and discovered that everything was being done. With people like these around in chapter and state leadership, it seemed to me that everything was already being done. I wanted to be part of the Federation, but I didn't know what my role could be; I didn't know what I could do. I began not showing up for things. I lived about twenty miles east of the nearest chapter when I was in college. As you can imagine, feeling the way I did, I didn't make a great effort to get to chapter meetings. In fact, I didn't go at all. I didn't drive; I would have had to take a bus; it was a hassle I didn't need. Another member of that chapter lived about thirty miles south, and he started calling me every month and telling me that he would be glad to swing by and pick me up. What was I supposed to say when this guy was hiring a driver and offering to come out of his way to pick me up before going to the meeting? Was I going to say that I was too busy when he was willing to make a tremendous effort to get me there? No, I grudgingly said that I would go. When I got to the chapter meeting, the average age of the chapter members was about sixty. That was about three times my age at the time, and there were people there in their seventies and eighties. I remember thinking that this was not the Federation that I had thought was so wonderful. It wasn't the organization that I had joined; it wasn't doing the exciting things that Mr. Gashel and Mr. Omvig were doing. I got a call every month and went and chatted with people, but I clearly felt that I had nothing but blindness in common with those people. I remember one meeting in particular. The Federation was conducting a letter-writing campaign--I have no idea what it was about, probably Social Security, as a matter of fact. The friend who picked me up suggested that we take typewriters and paper and stamps and envelopes and help people write letters. I thought, "I'm a good writer and I can type. I can do this." I had a great time at that meeting helping people write letters or writing them for them. And I remember thinking what a wonderful thing it was that the chapter had me to help it do those letters. I have to say now with a little perspective that I wouldn't have been there at all without that fellow who came and got me. And I wouldn't have thought to bring typewriters or planned ahead enough to get stamps. And on my own I wouldn't have had the patience to sit down with people and explain the issue and help them. I wouldn't have done any of it. I wasn't a gift to that chapter. At best I was doing what this guy was teaching me to do: to help chapter members do what they could do to contribute. In other words, he was simply helping me to do what he was helping the other members to do. Eventually--and this was a great gift to me--I figured out that I was not a great gift to any chapter meeting to which I showed up. I needed to sit down and learn how to help. This guy was gently teaching me to do that. At about the same time I remember learning to call people I didn't know and talk to them about things I had no idea whether they would care about. I was very resistant to inviting people to come to events they might not want to. I also remember after making these calls going to the meetings and meeting some of the people I had called. Some of them didn't come, but some of them did. I discovered that they were delightful, interesting, good people. I learned from all this. It may be boring to go to another meeting, to make a bunch of calls, to get into a car and travel half-way across the state. But there were people in my life who kept getting me there, who kept encouraging me, who kept asking me to do things again and again. I finally learned, thank God, that every time I went to a meeting or made a call a little more Federation work got done. But also, I began to find that each time I took part in these activities I was building the blind community inside myself. With a little piece here and a little piece there I began to discover things in common with people I had never met before. It wasn't just blindness I had in common with them; it was an aspiration to change the world. I also had something in common with the people who didn't aspire to change the world. I began to ask myself how I could help them to view things differently, come to feel about them the way I did. I first began to build the blind community within myself and then to help to build it among other blind people. What I am talking about is not very mysterious. Churches do it all the time. Towns with a sense of community do it. It's what any close-knit group does. They talk and spend time together; they give their time and effort to find the common ground. But it starts inside each person. I urge each one of you to think about where you are in helping to build the blind community. I have done my best--some days better than others--to build it. What have you done today? Have you gone to a chapter meeting with an average age of sixty? What have you done to get someone else there? What has each of us done to build our community? It isn't a static thing like a building that sits there completed when you have finished it. You have to build it every day, and you have to begin with yourself. I was lucky when I came into the Federation. It was a long time ago, and there were a lot more of them than there were of me. In Iowa there were a lot of mentors. There were people piling on me--complaining, "Why aren't you doing this?"; "Why haven't we seen you?"; "Get going on this project." In so many ways these people were telling me that they wanted to be my mentors. The National Federation of the Blind is different today from the way it was when I first joined. As young people today, there are a lot more of you than there are of us. That is wonderful, but you know what that leads to? Individual blind people are joining the movement without necessarily having the same kind of mentoring that I had. Each of you has a piece of the blind community inside you. You need to identify it and build it inside yourself and reach out and help build it beyond yourself in all kinds of ways. But I suggest that you need to identify your own mentors. Pick somebody in your state, somebody you like or admire, someone you can learn from; and start demanding their attention. If we are left to our own devices, we will talk to this one and talk to that one, but we won't give the consistent support you deserve. You must pick your own mentors and demand that you get mentored. That will work a lot better than hoping that someone will notice you. It will help us experienced Federationists focus our efforts on the people who can learn from us. That's part of community-building too. So what is the National Federation of the Blind going to be like in 2020? There are two possibilities. One is that it will look just like it does today. The other is that there will be new ideas and new ways of doing things that we haven't thought of yet. During the first forty years of the Federation no one had yet thought of most of the things that we now think of as the very core of the NFB. In my opinion, if in 2020 the Federation looks exactly like it does today, we will have failed because we won't have come up with new ways of trying to achieve the goals we all believe in. And guess what: the people who are going to have to think up those new ideas--it's not me; it's you, the next generation of the National Federation of the Blind. I know how and where most of the ideas that have become our core programs in recent years came from. I know the people who thought of them, and I could tell you how the ideas evolved. In every case the creator was someone who had taken the time to do the boring stuff, to make the calls, to go to the meetings, to find things in common with all sorts of people. Each of these ideas came from a person who was deeply a part of the blind community. It took the first forty or so years to build the community out of which those ideas came. I don't think it will take that long to develop the next set of ideas because I hope that many of us will continue to build that sense of community-- to do the boring stuff, to build that framework. No one can walk into the Federation and say, "We need to do this, this, and this." For it isn't only what we need to do, but how it is best to do it, and the two go together. You won't know either what or how unless you take the time to do the boring stuff and discover that it isn't boring at all. One more element is involved with getting us successfully to 2020. In assessing new ideas and finding the projects for the future, we must be very careful to use the National Federation of the Blind's framework of thought. As an individual I must take the responsibility and time to learn the skills I need to function efficiently as a blind person. I must learn Braille and practice. I need to learn to use the white cane and practice that, too. It isn't magic. It's like learning to swim; you can't read a book and know how to swim. You have to get into the water and do it. Mastering the skills of blindness is no different. It isn't enough to know conceptually that you need those skills and how to use the tools. You have to take the responsibility to practice until they are second nature. It's the same thing as building community; it doesn't happen unless you put in the work. So the first thing is learning the skills, and the second is building the self-confidence to believe that the skills work and that you as a person really are equal. It's easy to say and hard to do. There is nothing for it but to go out and do it until you believe it deep down in your soul. You must also learn how to communicate this understanding of yourself and your abilities to the people around you in a way that they don't know they are learning and you most certainly know you are teaching. This entails dealing with professors, employers, family members--all the people around you. You must learn to set the terms of the relationship and the balance of responsibility. There are sighted and blind ways of doing things. If you as a blind person try to do things in the sighted way, you aren't going to get them done or done effectively. But if you do things as a blind person and are comfortable with that and make others comfortable with it, then you're going to be fine. The responsibility, though, is yours. All this is standard, National Federation of the Blind boiler-plate language. But here is the point: anywhere you go today you will hear that the Americans with Disabilities Act will take care of all that for you. In the old days, before the ADA, people would just tell us, "Well, you can't do that." It was pretty clear. Now you hear, "Of course you can do it, and we'll take care of providing all the reasonable accommodations we think you need. We'll reformat the world for you because of the Americans with Disabilities Act." It is the same message my generation received; it's nicer words but the same outcome. Those who wave the ADA around don't believe in you as a blind person. They believe that the world around you must be fixed in order for you to manage because otherwise you couldn't do anything worth doing. It's time that we in the National Federation of the Blind stripped away the myth that the Americans with Disabilities Act is going to fix us. If you haven't fixed yourself using those three principles (mastering skills, learning to have self-confidence, and dealing effectively with the world around you), then the ADA can only give you a job you didn't earn or give you a place you can't occupy. You have to do it for yourself. If you believe that the ADA will do it for you, you will have some kind of life, but it won't be the free and independent one I would wish for you. Those are the three strands: building the blind community, developing the new ideas that will define the Federation, and recognizing the ADA as the biggest current lie. So what will the organization be like in 2020? There are people in this room today who will be my age in 2020; you'll have kids in college. You are the ones who will decide what kind of blind community we will have. I know what I want. What do you want? Is the Americans with Disabilities Act going to rule, or are we going to rule? What kind of Federation are we going to have in 2020? Will it look like what we have today, or will we have developed new ways of accomplishing our goals? I challenge each one of you to find those new ways. When I get here in 2020--and I intend to be here- -you can tell me the answer. ********** ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: The crowd at the opening briefing of the 1998 NFB Washington Seminar] 1998 Washington Seminar Fact Sheets ********** From the Editor: Participants in the 1998 Washington Seminar went to Capitol Hill ready to discuss two issues with Members of Congress. The first was reestablishing the linkage between the stipends received by blind Social Security Disability Insurance recipients and those of retirees under the age of seventy. The second was reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Following are the legislative agenda and the two fact sheets that Federationists took to the Hill: ********** LEGISLATIVE AGENDA 1998 ********** FROM: Members of the National Federation of the Blind TO: Members of the 105th Congress RE: Legislative Priorities of Blind Americans ********** Public policies and laws affecting blind people have a profound impact throughout our entire society. Most people know someone who is blind. It may be a friend, a family member, or a co-worker on the job. In fact, as many as fifty thousand Americans become blind each year, and the blind population in the U.S. is estimated to exceed 700,000. By themselves these numbers may not seem large, but the social and economic consequences of blindness directly touch the lives of millions and, at least indirectly, have some impact on everyone. Public policies and laws that result from misconceptions or lack of information about blindness are often more limiting than the loss of eyesight itself. This is why we have formed the National Federation of the Blind. The Federation's leaders and the vast majority of the members are blind, but anyone is welcome to join in the effort we are making to win understanding and equality in society. Our priorities for the second session of the 105th Congress reflect an urgent need for action in two specific areas of vital importance to the blind this year. (1) Congress should restore work incentive equity by re- enacting the identical earnings exemption threshold for blind and senior citizen beneficiaries under title II of the Social Security Act. This proposal seeks to reduce (or eliminate altogether) the work disincentive of the Social Security earnings limit as it now affects blind beneficiaries. In spite of a 1977 law to maintain the same earnings exemption threshold for blind people and age sixty-five retirees, a decision was made to exclude the blind when the threshold was raised for seniors in 1996. This means that a lower blind persons' earnings limit of $12,600 is now in effect as compared to $14,500 for seniors. By 2002, when the seniors' exemption becomes $30,000, the blind persons' lower limit will be less than half that amount unless the law is changed. People of working age who are blind must not be forgotten now that the earnings exemption for retirees has been raised. Just as with hundreds of thousands of seniors, the positive response of blind people to higher earnings exemptions will bring additional revenues into the Social Security trust funds. The chance to work, earn, and pay taxes is a constructive and valid goal for senior citizens and blind Americans alike. For more details and an explanation of the need for this legislation, see the fact sheet entitled "Winning the Chance to Earn and Pay Taxes: How the Blind Person's Earnings Limit in the Social Security Act Must Be Changed." (2) Congress should expedite consideration and final passage of pending legislation to reauthorize the vocational rehabilitation program. Last reauthorized in 1992, this program is currently operating under an automatic one-year renewal provision, effective through September 30, 1998. Meanwhile a three-year extension bill has been passed by the House of Representatives, and a seven-year extension measure is now under active review in the Senate. Legislation to combine vocational rehabilitation with several other adult education, training, and employment services was considered but rejected during the 104th Congress. As a result the issue of consolidation appears to be settled, although the legislation to continue the program still awaits final action.

This program, which provides grants to states for assisting persons with disabilities, has been conducted with leadership and significant funding from the federal government for seventy-eight years. For the person who is blind, the difficulty in finding suitable employment is only one of many consequences. The most profound initial problem, in fact, is the need for specific help to deal with adjustment to blindness. Failure to provide services which respond to the blind person's fears, lack of confidence, and lack of relevant skills will almost certainly result in lifelong dependence. There is no program other than vocational rehabilitation which has the responsibility of helping to meet these needs. For more details and an explanation of the need for reauthorization see the fact sheet entitled "Reauthorizing Vocational Rehabilitation and Related Programs: A Call for Action." People who are blind are asking for your help to enact the legislation described in the priority items of this agenda. By acting on these priorities in partnership with the National Federation of the Blind, each Member of Congress can help build better lives for the blind both today and in the years ahead. For further information contact James Gashel, Director of Governmental Affairs, National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, (410) 659-9314. ********** Fact Sheet ********** Winning the Chance to Earn and Pay Taxes: How the Blind Person's Earnings Limit in the Social Security Act Must Be Changed ********** PENDING BILLS: H.R. 612; S. 375 ********** PURPOSE: To restore the linkage between the earnings exemption threshold for blind persons and the exemption allowed for retirees at age sixty-five under title II of the Social Security Act ********** BACKGROUND: As the result of a 1996 law to raise the debt limit, senior citizens age sixty-five to seventy are encouraged to continue working while retaining entitlement to Social Security benefits. This is being done by annual changes in the exempt earnings threshold, which is $14,500 in 1998 and will increase to $30,000 by the year 2002. In making the case for this change, advocates in Congress explained that senior citizens in greater numbers would now have the opportunity to work, earn, and pay taxes. In spite of a law passed in 1977 to establish the earnings exemption threshold for blind people at the identical exempt amount used for seniors, a decision was made to exclude the blind from the higher exemptions. This means that a lower earnings limit for the blind is now in effect. This lower limit for 1998 is $12,600. By 2002, when the exemption for seniors becomes $30,000, the lower limit for the blind is expected to be $14,400. Earnings of this amount for a blind person who is age sixty- four will cause the complete loss of Social Security benefits until the individual becomes a retiree at age sixty-five. At that point the same individual is allowed to earn more than twice the amount allowed for the blind. This is the inequity that now exists. ********** EXISTING LAW: Section 216(i) of the Social Security Act defines "blindness" in precise medical terms. Therefore blindness--as with age--can be determined with reasonable certainty. In this respect blindness is unlike any other disability subject to evaluation under the Social Security Act. All other disabilities are determined on the basis of an individual's "inability to engage in substantial gainful activity," which is a complex and fairly subjective determination in many cases. Although blindness is precisely defined, monthly benefits are not paid to all persons who are blind but only to those whose earnings (if any) are below the annually adjusted limit. Personal wealth not resulting from current work activity does not count as earnings and has no effect on eligibility. Only work is penalized. It was the recognition of this fact that led to the greater exemption of earnings now allowed for seniors, and the situation for blind people is precisely the same. ********** ACTION REQUESTED: Congress should restore work incentive equity by re-enacting the identical earnings exemption threshold for blind and senior citizen beneficiaries under title II of the Social Security Act. Legislation to achieve this objective has been offered in bills submitted in both the House and the Senate. The House bill is H.R. 612, sponsored by Representative Barbara Kennelly. The companion bill in the Senate is S. 375, sponsored by Senators McCain and Dodd. Although neither bill was considered beyond introduction in the last session of Congress, an impressive list of cosponsors indicates that substantial bipartisan support exists in both the House and the Senate. The National Federation of the Blind strongly supports this legislation. By creating a lower earnings limit for the blind, the action in the 104th Congress has resulted in a harsh work disincentive policy which is widely regarded as an inequity created in the rush to pass the 1996 debt ceiling bill. ********** NEED TO REMOVE WORK DISINCENTIVES: Mandating the adjustments in the earnings limit for blind people in the manner now allowed for age sixty-five retirees will provide more than 100,000 blind beneficiaries with a powerful work incentive. Most blind people could then not lose financially by working. Moreover, the mandated earnings limit changes would be cost-beneficial, since among those of working age most blind people are already beneficiaries. At present their earnings must not exceed a strict limit of $1,050 per month. When earnings exceed this exempt amount, the entire sum paid to a primary beneficiary and dependents is abruptly withdrawn after a trial work period. When a blind person finds work, there is absolutely no assurance that earnings will replace the amount of lost disability benefits after taxes and work expenses are paid. Usually they do not. Therefore few beneficiaries can actually afford to attempt substantial work. Those who do will often sacrifice income and will certainly sacrifice the security they have from the automatic receipt of a monthly check. This group of beneficiaries--people of working age who are blind--must not be forgotten now that the earnings exemption has been raised for seniors. Just as with hundreds of thousands of seniors, the positive response of blind people to the higher earnings exemptions will bring additional revenues into the Social Security trust funds. The chance to work, earn, and pay taxes is a constructive and valid goal for senior citizens and blind Americans alike. ********** Fact Sheet ********** Reauthorizing Vocational Rehabilitation and Related Programs: ********** A Call for Action ********** BACKGROUND: Under title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, states receive federal funds to provide comprehensive vocational rehabilitation services to eligible persons with disabilities, including persons who are blind. The program pays part or all of the cost for individually planned services leading to employment. The amount appropriated for fiscal year 1998 is approximately $2.25 billion. ********** ACTION REQUESTED: Congress should expedite consideration and final passage of pending legislation to reauthorize the vocational rehabilitation program. Last reauthorized in 1992, the vocational rehabilitation program is currently operating under an automatic one-year renewal provision, effective through September 30, 1998. Meanwhile a bill to extend the program for three years has been passed by the House of Representatives. A Senate bill on reauthorization proposing a seven-year extension is also under consideration after extensive negotiations to develop the bill last fall. This program has been conducted under shared federal and state responsibilities for seventy-eight years. Legislation to combine vocational rehabilitation with several adult education, training, and employment service programs was considered but rejected during the 104th Congress. As a result provisions passed by the House as part of the latest consolidation bill call for maintaining vocational rehabilitation as a completely distinct service, which is also proposed in the Senate bill. Therefore the separate status of vocational rehabilitation has been settled, although the legislation to continue the program still awaits final action. ********** REAUTHORIZATION APPROACH: At a technical level the pending bills call for extensive revisions in title I of the Rehabilitation Act. However, the overall direction, structure, and funding arrangements now in effect would be maintained under either the Senate or the House bill. In general it is also fair to say that both bills contain several new provisions which are designed to lead to a more consumer-responsive approach to service delivery. As one example of this, both bills include independent preparation of training and employment programs as the right of each consumer. Under existing law these programs must be prepared by rehabilitation counselors. The programs must include the plans for service, specification of training required, and identification of the resources necessary to achieve the individual's chosen goal. Also both bills contain expanded sections on consumer choice, building on language first included in amendments made during the last reauthorization of rehabilitation programs in 1992. In fact the provisions now being considered for final passage should result in moving the vocational rehabilitation program toward a more consumer-focused orientation. Under the Senate bill, for instance, any blind or disabled person who has already met the qualifying standards to receive cash assistance from the Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income programs would automatically be found eligible for training and employment services from vocational rehabilitation. If this provision is accepted by the House and included in the final bill, blind people in particular will witness the removal of bureaucratic barriers to eligibility decisions and prompt service. For the person who is blind, the difficulty in finding suitable employment is only one of many consequences. The most profound initial problem, in fact, is the need for specific help to deal with adjustment to blindness. Failure to provide services which respond to the blind person's fears, lack of confidence, and lack of relevant skills will almost certainly result in lifelong dependence. There is no program other than vocational rehabilitation which has the responsibility of helping to meet these needs. This conclusion represents the shared experience of blind persons and speaks to the need for maintaining a system of specialized, blindness-related services with federal support and leadership. Therefore the pending measures to reauthorize the vocational rehabilitation program must move forward to final consideration and passage before the present session of Congress adjourns. ********** ********** Have you considered leaving a gift to the National Federation of the Blind in your will? By preparing a will now, you can assure that those administering your estate will avoid unnecessary delays, legal complications, and substantial tax costs. A will is a common device used to leave a substantial gift to charity. A gift in your will to the NFB can be of any size and will be used to help blind people. Here are some useful hints in preparing your will: * Make a list of everything you want to leave (your estate). * Decide how and to whom you want to leave these assets. * Consult an attorney (one you know or one we can help you find). * Make certain you thoroughly understand your will before you sign it. ********** For more information contact the National Federation of the Blind, Special Gifts, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998, (410) 659-9314, fax (410) 685-5653. ********** ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: Ed Beck] Ed Beck Recognized ********** From the Editor: Ed Beck is a long-time leader of the National Federation of the Blind of Rhode Island. The following article first appeared in the August 6, 1997, edition of the Providence Journal-Bulletin. As usual Ed Beck took an active part in this year's Washington Seminar. This is what a reporter, Richard Salit, had to say about Ed Beck and his work last summer: ********** At Eighty-three Edmund Beck Remains a Vigorous Advocate for the Blind ********** One day twenty-seven years ago a stack of wine cases toppled onto Edmund Beck, throwing him to the floor of his Rolfe Square liquor store and knocking him unconscious. After coming to, Beck noticed the vision blurring in his one good eye. He had lost sight in the other as a teen when a baseball bat hit him in the head. Doctors couldn't save that eye, and now, at fifty-six and facing total blindness, he again heard doctors say they could do nothing for him. "Then the curtains went down completely and I couldn't see anything," Beck recalls. The darkness enveloped Beck in a deep depression. The life he had known was over. It took him a year to accept that there was, literally, no looking back. That's when his new life began. Forced to give up Eddie's Liquors, he turned his energies to lobbying, traveling across the country to fight for the needs of the handicapped and the elderly. As the former head of the Rhode Island Liquor Store Association, Beck was no stranger to state politics. He knew his way around the State House and rubbed elbows with some of the most powerful leaders in the General Assembly. He had relished politics, and it was time to return with a new mission: helping the handicapped and the elderly. "It would kill me if I had to stay home," he says. Today Beck is eighty-three and still as enthusiastic as a political intern. He lobbied for federal legislation that was passed last fall to speed the reproduction of books and magazines into audio or Braille versions for the blind. "He is a delightful fellow and, in his gentle and soft- spoken fashion, is an able advocate for the blindness community," says Senator John Chafee, who worked with Beck on the legislation and who has known him for years. "Ed is a wonderful example of an individual who has done more than overcome a disability," Chafee says. "Through his work he has helped others to see beyond the disability to the enormous ability we all possess." On a scorching summer day Beck sits at a cafeteria table in the state administration building, a short walk from the State House, where it's common for the politicians to walk up and shake his hand. A pair of dark aviator glasses shrouds his eyes, and a collapsible cane rests on the table in front of him. Next to the cane is a small metal plate with holes that he uses with a stylus to take notes in Braille. Sitting across from him is Virgilio Devecchis, seventy- three, who lobbies with Beck on behalf of the American Association of Retired Persons. Devecchis is also one of Beck's closest friends. For years he has driven Beck to the State House and read documents to him. "We both learn at the same time," Devecchis says. Beck doesn't like to dwell on his blindness. He'd rather talk about legislation or reel off names of people he has met in his years in politics--from the likes of Senators Kennedy, Chafee, and Reed on down to political aides from Providence to Washington. He seems to remember them all. Despite his reluctance to talk about himself, he is too much of a gentleman not to face a visitor, as if he could see, and answer a few questions about how he lost his eyesight. "What I really want to express is it's not the end of the world," he says. When he had one good eye, Beck was able to drive a car, operate a business, and devote time to his family. Suddenly, at fifty-six, he had to give up much of that life. Beck took to spending a lot of time at his home on Shirley Boulevard with his wife Mildred, with whom he has one daughter. "The first year it was terrible," he says. "I moped and moped and didn't do anything." But then, mustering what he calls a positive attitude, he decided to forge a new life. He learned how to read Braille, taking advantage of home tutoring once a week, and for exercise began walking down his street, lined with handsome 1920's Colonials he could no longer see. From those beginnings Beck would go on to serve on the Governor's Advisory Council for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the Governor's Committee on the Handicapped. He also served as a legislative representative for both the AARP and the National Federation of the Blind. He traveled a great deal a few years back but these days spends most of his time lobbying in Providence, with a trip once a year to Washington. ********** ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: Allen Radford] Allen Radford: Red Cross Instructor by Lusi Radford ********** From the Editor: The following article is taken from JOB Recorded Bulletin 180, produced by the Job Opportunities for the Blind Program, which is jointly conducted by the United States Department of Labor and the National Federation of the Blind. Those interested in learning more about becoming Red Cross volunteers should call Miss Rovig, Director of the JOB Program. She can be reached between 12:30 and 5:00 p.m. Eastern time at (800) 638-7518. Here is the story: ********** During the week of April 13, 1997, channel 17, the NBC affiliate in Goldsboro, North Carolina, aired a series of short stories on outstanding volunteers. My husband Allen Radford was chosen out of more than 1,600 volunteers to represent the Triangle Chapter of the Red Cross on the program. On April 17 he was presented with his third Exceptional Volunteer Award at a luncheon honoring Red Cross volunteers in the Raleigh area. Allen Radford, age forty-two, grew up on a tobacco farm near Kinley, North Carolina. Although he was legally blind at birth, he had usable vision. He enjoyed working with his father-- especially driving the tractor. Allen began his education in public school, then transferred in second grade to the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh. After graduation he earned an associate degree in horticulture from Central Piedmont Community College and later a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Barton College. In 1988 Allen was a senior at Barton College, getting ready to graduate. One Sunday afternoon a neighbor knocked on his door and asked him for help. Her husband had just attempted to commit suicide. When Allen went next door, he found the victim unconscious on the floor. Allen began talking to him--asking him if he was okay. Then he rolled the neighbor onto his back. The man got sick, so Allen turned his head to the side. When the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) team arrived,they said that Allen had done all the right things. Allen turned off the lights, locked the apartment door, went home, and cried. From his psychology courses Allen had learned all the characteristics of a person considering suicide. However, no course had told him what to do when working with a suicide victim. Allen decided to learn what to do so that, if he were ever faced with such an emergency again, he would know how to help. That spring Allen enrolled in a community first aid and safety class conducted by the local Red Cross. He got the book a week before the class began and read it using his closed-circuit TV. The class instructors were impressed with his knowledge of the material and how thoroughly he mastered the skills. They encouraged him to become an instructor. When the news spread that a blind man was going to become an instructor, some Red Cross personnel did not believe that it should be allowed. Allen's instructors put their Red Cross credentials on the line. They said that, if he was not allowed to become an instructor, they would no longer teach. Allen took the courses, earned his certification, and was given his credentials as a Red Cross instructor. Allen became totally blind in 1991. Today Allen teaches community first aid and safety classes for the Red Cross. He also works first aid stations. Allen relies on his hearing as well as his sense of touch when teaching skills or when actually working with an injured victim. He enjoys helping people. Another reason Allen volunteers with the Red Cross is that it is a way for him to give back to his community in appreciation for the things that have been done for him. In 1979 Allen was hit by a car. His left leg was broken, and he was in a cast for two years. He was unable to take care of his most basic needs by himself. In 1991 Allen almost died from an allergic reaction to codeine following neurosurgery. The surgery, which was an attempt to restore some of Allen's vision, failed. Currently Allen is working on becoming an instructor trainer. Although Allen is a good Braille reader, he is a highly auditory learner. There is a great deal of material to read, for which he depends upon our scanner. This course is an exciting opportunity for him. He will be teaching the people who want to become instructors for the Red Cross. One of his instructor friends says that Allen is already an instructor's instructor. Allen and I were married on August 3, 1996. When I married him, I also married the Red Cross. I have taken Allen's community first aid and safety course. I was amazed at how he has internalized the material. He does little or no preparation before class but is well prepared and thorough when teaching. It has been fun working first aid stations with him and getting to know other Red Cross volunteers. Last summer my husband and I were getting haircuts at the local hair salon when a woman in the chair next to me fainted and dropped onto the floor. I yelled for Allen, and he took charge. No one else knew what to do. (It turned out that she was having a problem with her blood pressure medicine.) Along with volunteering for the Red Cross, Allen works hard at a number of other activities. He and I are members of the Triangle Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of North Carolina. We generally help out with whatever comes up. We're both very involved as volunteers in our church. Allen serves on the Hospitality Committee,which puts on two big events each year, plus receptions and other smaller events, and he helps with the children's ministry. To support his family, he works full-time as a teacher assistant in the home economics department at Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh, and he runs his own bakery and catering service out of our home. Allen says his Braille skills are of great use to him in his bakery business. He thermoforms all of his recipes before using them so that he doesn't need to worry about getting batter-covered fingers on the dots. He writes down and carries shopping lists to the store in his Braille n' Speak. He uses Braille to keep track of his orders, and he labels the finished products in Braille and print for delivery to the right customers. Sweets are his specialty. Allen makes lots of cakes, mints, cookies, and cheese wafers. The majority of his business comes from individuals buying refreshments for local parties. As usual, he was very busy between Thanksgiving and New Year's. We don't presently have children, but we are in the process of adopting a young girl from Russia who is blind. As soon as officials make final arrangements, we are going over to Siberia to meet her. The Russian agency sent two officials to meet with us and some other parents who are adopting Russian orphans. After meeting us, they were very warm and friendly to Allen and me. We are both guide dog users, but they advised us to leave the dogs home because of problems in Siberia with packs of wild dogs and because the severe weather might lead to frostbite on their paws. That sounded like good advice, so our dogs will have a little vacation when we fly over there. To get back to the Red Cross a moment, as you can guess from the facts in this story, Allen would be glad to share his techniques with any other blind person who would like to learn first aid or become a Red Cross instructor. He encourages everyone, blind or sighted, to learn to handle first-aid emergencies. ********** ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: A small part of the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind.] Baltimore Sun Highlights NFB Technology ********** From the Editor: On February 26, 1998, the Baltimore Sun published a story describing a number of programs offered by the National Federation of the Blind and discussing technology issues facing blind people today. Here it is: ********** Harnessing Technology for Everyone Blind Demand Equal Access in Information Age by Ernest F. Imhoff, Sun Staff Writer ********** New technology is both a boon and a curse for blind people. It has allowed them to hear six daily newspapers, listen to Internet texts converted to voice, and take pages of notes in a portable Braille computer. But another facet of technology is ominous: the lack of nonvisual access to information and procedures. Blind people can't use devices increasingly available to sighted people who touch menus on a flat computer screen. The problem has begun to apply to many automated teller machines, airport and hotel information kiosks, and new generations of microwave ovens, washers, and certain televisions and videocassette recorders. "It'll get worse before it gets better," said Betsy A. Zaborowski. She is director of special programs for the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). The Baltimore-based nonprofit organization describes itself as the country's leading advocate and the world's foremost technology center for the blind. "There are different kinds of challenges," she said. "More and more information on the Internet is graphics. Unlike text, they can't be translated to speech or Braille." For the blind, who want to be independent, it's an old story: one step forward and one step back, Zaborowski said. Many of the newer household goods off-limits to the blind were usable when they had knobs, buttons, and switches that could be felt. "These devices are not designed for rocket scientists but for people of average intelligence. I can't use them because I'm blind," said Richard A. Ring, director of NFB's International Braille and Technology Center. Manufacturers ignore the blind, he said. About one million legally blind people live in the United States--people who have less than 10 percent normal vision. Staffers such as Zaborowski and her husband, James Gashel, Director of Governmental Affairs, fight in the political arena for nonvisual access for the blind. "For the second year in a row," she said, "we support bills in the General Assembly requiring any technology the state buys to be suitable for nonvisual access. "We need that, like the physically disabled need ramps." At the technology center, in a building the size of a city block at 1800 Johnson Street in South Baltimore, Ring and Curtis Chong, Director of Technology, oversee the development of innovations. An example is software that offers accessible menus and synthetic speech created by computers. The technology has made possible two new programs: NEWSLINE(R): About 600 blind people in the Baltimore area can hear for free, through synthesized speech on the phone, any news or editorial portion of that day's Sun, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and Chicago Tribune. The program, at thirty-six NEWSLINE(R) centers in seventeen states and Canada, expands to Montgomery County in March and later to the Eastern Shore. Jobline: Job seekers--both blind and sighted--in Maryland will become the first in a nationwide program. Within about a month they will search for work by using a touch-tone keypad and phone to comb through a regularly updated help-wanted data base in the state or the nation. It is for people in rural areas, shut-ins, and others as well as the blind. A major NFB goal is to revive the use, declining since the 1960's, of Braille, the system of raised dots representing letters. Four-day seminars on the importance of Braille for parents of blind children will be held here in May and October. Only 9 percent of America's blind can read Braille, Zaborowski said. "The blind were told years ago `Don't be so blind: use large type, tape recorders, voice synthesizers.'" Ring's center is a large room with two million dollars' worth of what he calls the world's largest collection of advanced technology for the blind. It is part laboratory, part classroom, part destination. "I'm loving every minute of this, there's so much here," said a blind visitor, Stacey Revis, twenty-nine, of Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. Her fingers roamed over the Braille embossers and reading machines as though she were an antique dealer examining Meissen porcelain. At home Revis has electronics that produce synthetic speech or Braille, but she came to learn more. She begins a job this week as a computer specialist at JFK Hospital in Edison, New Jersey. Patricia Maurer and her husband, NFB President Marc Maurer, who are both blind, chatted with the visitors. "They love to come here," she said. The NFB also hears from hundreds of blind people--including parents of blind children--who telephone to seek an objective and comprehensive view about the latest gizmos, Chong said. "There's no other place in the world where the blind can find all the latest equipment and software with no bias toward one vendor or another," he said. "We bought everything here. We accept nothing for free from vendors. We make no money. We explain and show the differences. If we're asked, we can make a recommendation." He was surrounded by scores of computers and dozens of specialized devices such as Braille embossers (printed words or computer text to Braille), reading machines (printed words to speech), portable note-takers (typing Braille notes to Braille storage or speech). At the high end was a $77,000 Braille embosser converting at high speed printed words to pages imprinted on both sides with Braille. ********** Accompanying this article was the following sidebar: ********** The National Federation of the Blind at 1800 Johnson Street has national programs: ********** Jobline: For a phone demonstration, call (410) 539-0818. Job Opportunities for the Blind (JOB): an assistance program. Parents of Blind Children: a support network. Student scholarships of more than $100,000. Resource Library: Free recorded, printed literature. Kernel Books: Helpful paperbacks in large type. Information: (410) 659-9314. ********** ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: Bruce and Becca Gardner] Bruce A. Gardner Attorney, Church Leader, and Community Activist by James Omvig ********** From the Editor: Jim Omvig is a long-time Federation leader. Now that he has retired to Arizona, he is an active member of that affiliate's leadership. He recently wrote the following profile of NFB of Arizona President Bruce Gardner, who was elected to the NFB Board of Directors at last summer's convention. This is what he says about our newest Board Member: ********** Bruce A. Gardner of Mesa, Arizona, was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind at its 1997 Convention in New Orleans. Bruce is a long-time Federationist, and he is also known and respected for many of his other activities and accomplishments. Bruce was born in Morenci, Arizona, in 1955. As a child he gradually lost his sight and was diagnosed at the age of eight with juvenile bilateral macular degeneration. Two of his seven brothers are also blind. Bruce attended public school for both his elementary and secondary education. Of course neither his family nor the educators around him had learned about blindness from the National Federation of the Blind. Therefore, like other partially blind children of that era, Bruce was never helped to adjust to his blindness and was not taught the skills which are essential to successful blind people. Looking back, Bruce says that he had no role models to emulate except, of course, for the hapless Mr. Magoo. This lack of proper training as a child is one of Bruce's biggest regrets. Instead of learning to use Braille and the other proven alternative techniques, he relied upon magnifying glasses and his mother's reading to help him complete high school. In spite of his poor training and limited view of his abilities, Bruce was determined to get an education to ensure some kind of success in adulthood. Therefore, following his high school graduation, he enrolled in Brigham Young University, where he majored in interpersonal communications. The years 1976, '77, and '78 struck like a bolt of lightning and turned out to be pivotal in Bruce Gardner's development and in his life. First, in the summer of 1976 he was introduced to the National Federation of the Blind by his brother Dr. Norman Gardner, and his life was changed forever. Bruce was just completing a two-year Mormon Mission when Norman first gave him some Federation materials to read. Norman said, "Bruce, have I ever got something for you!" In the summer of 1977 Bruce took advantage of the opportunity to become a summer student at the Idaho Commission for the Blind's Orientation and Adjustment Center. He also attended his first National Federation of the Blind Convention that summer in New Orleans, and he was invited to attend a National Leadership Seminar that Christmas. In April of 1978 Bruce met Becca, his future wife (see the article, "Making Other Arrangements," in the March, 1997, Braille Monitor). Also he served an NFB internship with Jim Gashel in Washington, D.C., in the summer of 1978, and he married Becca in November. This Bruce Gardner was a far cry from the insecure and frightened young man whose only role model had been Mr. Magoo. Bruce settled into family and school life and earned his B.A. degree magna cum laude from Brigham Young in 1979. By the time of graduation he had already decided to go to law school, and he had been accepted at Brigham Young. He graduated from Brigham Young law school cum laude in 1982. Bruce had the usual run-ins with discrimination against the blind. When he decided to go to law school, he tried to take the Law School Aptitude Test--the national test for prospective law school students. He was refused. Therefore Brigham Young accepted him based on his outstanding undergraduate record. In 1981 he had his second run-in with discrimination. Like other law school students, Bruce spent his summers clerking. In the summer between his second and third years, he clerked in a firm of approximately thirty lawyers, where he reported to one of the managing partners. It is common for law firms to make employment offers to second-year law clerks. No job offer was made to Bruce, however, even though everyone found his work outstanding. The managing partner later apologized for the short-sightedness of his partners--they simply refused to hire a blind attorney. But some good things happened, too. In the law school's moot court competition, Bruce received the Dean's Cup, given to the outstanding oralist. The Cup was presented to Bruce personally by U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist. Upon graduation the search for that elusive first job also proved to be difficult. Typically top law school students choose a number of firms with whom they would like to interview on campus. The firms then review the students' resumes and follow up by interviewing those students in whom they are interested. Despite the fact that Bruce was one of the top students in his class, he got only about half as many invitations to interview as his classmates. Fortunately for Bruce, he received job offers from some of the largest and most prestigious law firms in Salt Lake City and Phoenix. He says he is grateful that, thanks to the work of the Federation, his experience was different from that of Dr. Newel Perry, who never found a job in mathematics, the profession for which he was trained and qualified, and from that of NFB founder Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, who had to begin his working career with temporary, part-time employment. Bruce began his career with the firm of Streich, Lang, Weeks, and Cardon, P.A., in Phoenix, where he worked for three years handling real estate transactions and litigation cases. Then in 1985 he accepted a position as an in-house attorney with the Arizona Public Service Company (Arizona's largest electric utility company), where he works today. He has now risen to the position of senior attorney. In this capacity he oversees all of the numerous tort and commercial litigation cases involving the company, and he handles all of its legal real estate matters. Bruce Gardner's life is a visible demonstration of the soundness of the philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind. In addition to his legal work, Bruce is a committed family man. He and Becca are the proud parents of six children, three of whom are teen-agers. Bruce and his family enjoy raising horses, goats, pigs, ducks, and geese on what some would call his gentleman's farm. He has always enjoyed scouting activities and was an Eagle Scout himself. He has held various positions with the Boy Scouts and today serves as a scout troop committee member. Bruce participates in many scouting events with his three sons--mountain climbing and backpacking. He has even hiked the Grand Canyon from rim to rim. He and his oldest son recently took scuba diving lessons and became certified open-water divers. Besides all of this, Bruce and several of his children play and sing country and western music together, sounding like professionals. Bruce is also active in his church. He has held various volunteer positions with the church and since early 1997 has served as Bishop of the Lehi First Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In his capacity as Bishop he serves as the spiritual leader and day-to-day lay administrator for his church. Then there is community activity. Bruce believes that being an active member of his community is also an important part of Federationism. He has served as president of the Lehi Community Improvement Association since 1995. He is a member of the Lehi Citizens on Patrol, a neighborhood crime prevention task force, which patrols the Lehi community, and he serves as Republican precinct committeeman in the district where his home is located. Another large part of Bruce's mission in life is to share NFB philosophy with others. He has done this informally by speaking with friends and acquaintances and as a mentor for other blind people. He has also held many appointed and elected positions in the NFB--as a member of the National Scholarship Committee and as director of the Legislative Committee for the NFB of Arizona. He served for ten years as First Vice President of the NFB of Arizona and was elected President in 1995. In addition Bruce has held several positions from which he has been able to have influence in other ways. He is a past member of the board of directors of the National Association of Blind Lawyers, was appointed by the Governor of Arizona to serve on the Board of Directors of the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, and has been appointed by two Arizona Governors to serve on the Arizona Governor's Council on Blindness and Visual Impairment. The National Federation of the Blind is fortunate to have found Bruce. He is also fortunate to have found the Federation, since the Federation taught him the truth about blindness and helped him to overcome his low expectations and low self-esteem. Today Bruce agrees with Henry Ford, who said, "If you think you can or you can't, you're right." Bruce Gardner has taken the training and followed the opportunities that life has brought his way. He has found alternative ways of doing anything he would have done with eyesight and is, therefore, successful doing whatever he decides to do. He makes an outstanding addition to the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind. ********** ********** 1998 Convention Attractions ********** From the Editor: Every year's National Convention is an absolutely unique event. The agenda items, the exhibits, the new friends and business acquaintances: all these give each convention its own character and significance. Some activities lend a luster to the convention in part because they do take place every year and provide helpful fixed points in the whirl of events. In this category are the meetings of the Resolutions Committee and the Board of Directors, the annual banquet, and the many seminars and workshops of the various divisions and committees. Here is a partial list of activities being planned by a number of Federation groups during the 1998 Convention, July 4 through 11. Presidents of divisions, committee chairpeople, and event presenters have provided the information. The pre- convention agenda will list the locations of all events taking place before convention registration on Sunday, July 5. The convention agenda will contain listings of all events taking place after that time. ********** Blind Industrial Workers of America by Primo Foianini ********** The Blind Industrial Workers of America will conduct a split cash drawing at this year's convention. The group will gather on Monday afternoon, July 6, for its annual meeting. ********** Blind Professional Journalists by Elizabeth Campbell ********** If you are interested in journalism, you don't want to miss the Blind Professional Journalists meeting planned during our convention at the Hyatt Regency DFW. We will meet Monday afternoon, July 6. Please see the convention agenda for the time and location of our meeting. We had a wonderful turnout in New Orleans during the 1997 National Federation of the Blind convention, and I look forward to another good session in Dallas. Come meet professionals who are working in the field and bring your questions. That is what journalism is all about. For more information contact Elizabeth Campbell, (817) 738-0350 evenings after 6 p.m., CDT. You may also send e-mail to [email protected] ********** [PHOTO DESCRIPTION: Seven horses carrying riders are visible in this picture. CAPTION: The children visited a dude ranch at the Dallas Convention in 1993. The youngsters this year will undoubtedly have just as good a time.] Child Care Information by Carla McQuillan ********** NFB Camp in the Wild, Wild West: It's more than just child's play. Throughout our National Convention NFB Camp provides activities and programs for children under twelve. Although it is generally referred to as Child Care, the participants in NFB Camp will tell you otherwise. It is a tremendous opportunity to instill Federation philosophy in the camp counselors, the parents, and the children--blind and sighted alike. Advanced registration is required to ensure that the number of camp counselors is sufficient for the safety and happiness of the children. Both blind and sighted children will enjoy the action- packed schedule that awaits them in Dallas this summer. Call or write today to register. ********** NFB Camp is under the direction of Carla McQuillan, the owner and operator of Children's Choice Montessori School and Child Care Center in Springfield, Oregon. With eighteen years of teaching experience in early childhood education, Mrs. McQuillan received the NFB's Blind Educator of the Year award at our 1996 convention in Anaheim. Carla is also the mother of two children and the President of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon. The team supervisor and activities director are employees of Children's Choice Montessori School. Both have extensive experience planning and expediting programs for children. In addition, we will recruit private and public school teachers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to serve as counselors. All of these individuals have CPR and First Aid certification, criminal record checks, and the education and experience to handle large groups of children with ease. There will be daily performances by blind musician/singer/songwriter Daniel Lamond. Other featured activities will include presentations by various blind professionals to spark the children's interest; stories read in Braille by blind adults; and a guest appearance by Peggy Elliott, who will share tales of her blind cat Sheriff. Throughout the week we will be taking the children on walking tours of the airport, hotel, and local shops. NFB Camp will be open one half hour before the beginning of sessions and one half hour after sessions adjourn. Children must be picked up during lunch breaks. The schedule follows: Saturday, July 4, during the seminar for Parents of Blind Children Sunday, July 5, no NFB camp Monday, July 6, during afternoon committee meetings (Kids' Trip Day) Tuesday, July 7, during general sessions Wednesday, July 8, during morning general sessions (no camp during afternoon tours) Thursday, July 9, during general sessions and banquet Friday, July 10, during general sessions We will serve dinner during the banquet. A late fee of $10 per child will be rigorously enforced if children are not picked up from camp on time. Please fill out the pre-registration form below or provide all the requested information in a letter and mail it today. ********** NFB Camp Pre-Registration Form ********** Child(ren) Name(s) _______________________________________________________Age ______ ********** _______________________________________________________Age ______

_______________________________________________________Age ______ ********** Parent/Guardian _________________________________________________________________ ********** Home Address _________________________________________________________________ ********** _________________________________________________________________ ********** Home Phone ( ___ )_______________ Work Phone ( ____ ) ___________ ********** Amount Enclosed Rates: First Child (full week) $60 ______ ********** Additional Siblings (full week) $30 each ______ # ********** Daily rate per child $15 each per day ______ # children ______ # days Banquet $10 per child ______ # ********** Total Enclosed ______ ********** Make checks payable to NOPBC. Send this form with payment to: Carla McQuillan National Federation of the Blind of Oregon 5005 Main Street Springfield, Oregon 97478 (541) 726-6924 1998 National Convention Activities ********** Kids' Trip to Wagon Wheel Ranch Ages: five to twelve Cost: $20 per child (includes lunch) Check-in: 10:30 a.m. in the NOPBC meeting room ********** In keeping with our Wild, Wild West theme, we have scheduled a trip to one of the many dude ranches in the Dallas area. On Monday, July 6, children between the ages of five and twelve are invited to visit the Wagon Wheel Ranch for a true Texas-style adventure. We will gather at 10:30 in the NOPBC business meeting room. The busses will take us to Wagon Wheel, where we will enjoy a cookout with hot dogs, drinks, chips, and a relish tray. After lunch we'll spend some time at the petting zoo and finish the day with a hay ride for the younger children and horseback riding for the older ones. The children will return at 4:30 and may be picked up in the NFB Camp rooms. As always, there will be a host of blind adults to serve as role models for the children on the trip. Registration and payment must be received no later than June 10, 1998. Send the form below or a letter including all necessary information with your payment to: Carla McQuillan National Federation of the Blind of Oregon 5005 Main Street Springfield, Oregon 97478

********** Registration for 1998 Kids' Trip ********** Child(ren) Name(s) __________________________________________________ Age __________ ********** Parent/Guardian _________________________________________________ ********** Phone # _______________ ********** Address _________________________________________________________ ********** Amount Enclosed $__________ ********** Is your child blind? [ ] yes [ ] no (If more than one child is being registered, indicate which child is blind.) ********** ********** Does your child have special needs? (List the special needs, and indicate which child if registering more than one.) ********** Campers' curriculum and other information regarding activities for children and youth during Convention will be available at the information table when you arrive at the Hyatt Regency DFW in July. ********** The Committee on Associates by Tom Stevens ********** The Committee on Associates will meet as scheduled in the agenda, most likely Monday evening, July 6. We'll talk about final results for 1998 and discuss what can make this program grow. So saddle up Ole Dobbin and head for Dallas. Remember to get your ribbons quickly so that you can wear them during the entire convention. They look a lot better on your shirt than they do in an envelope. The Committee on Associates, with co-chairpersons Karen Mayry, Frank Lee, and Tom Stevens, stands ready even now to answer your questions. For first contact, call chairman Tom at (573) 445-6091. We use the Committee meeting to hear inspirational talks, to recognize every successful Associate recruiter--from one up--and to share techniques. It is a highly encouraging time; and one meets people with the same conviction: That this is the most under-used program in the Federation. For confirmation of that, just come to our meeting, get to know some of our fine folks, and help us gear up for the 1999 contest year. ********** [PHOTO CAPTION: Deaf-blind people and volunteers work with the Tellatouch during an NFB convention.] Deaf-Blind Division by Joe Naulty ********** The Deaf-Blind Division will conduct three evening seminars during the 1998 National Convention. The first will take place Saturday, July 4, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Welcome and opening remarks will be delivered by Joseph B. Naulty, Deaf-Blind Division President. The guest speaker will be Harry Anderson, President of the American Association of Deaf-Blind, from St. Augustine, Florida. His topic is "The World of Deaf-Blind." Monday, July 6 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. will be annual reports from committee chairpersons and Board Members. The guest speaker will be Martha Bagley, the National Representative for Senior Deaf-Blind of the Helen Keller National Center in Dallas. She will discuss the topic, "Deaf-Blind Issues Affecting the Senior Population." Wednesday, July 8, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. will be the Deaf- Blind Division annual business meeting, which includes membership reports, business issues, fund-raising reports, goal-setting for 1998-1999, and the bi-annual election of officers and Board Members. The guest speaker for this seminar is still to be announced. ********** Diabetes Action Network by Ed Bryant ********** At the 1998 annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind in Dallas, Texas, our Diabetes Action Network will conduct two seminars. We are still making arrangements at this time. The first will be on Sunday, July 5, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. There our speaker will be an exercise physiologist who will discuss diabetes and exercise. On Monday, July 6, we will have our second seminar, starting at 6:30 p.m. Our keynote speaker will be a physician who will discuss kidney transplantation. Both seminars are free and open to the public. The location for the Sunday seminar will be posted in the pre-convention agenda, available in the hotel lobby. The location for our Monday seminar and business meeting will be listed in the regular agenda, available at registration. Come join us! It will be fun and enlightening. ********** Announcing the National Association of Blind Entrepreneurs by Connie Leblond ********** At the 1997 convention in New Orleans interested Federationists attended an organizing meeting. The Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind has now officially approved this new division. The officers are Connie Leblond, President; Ted Young, First Vice President; Sharon Gold, Second Vice President; Peter Donahue, Secretary; Paul McIntire, Treasurer; and Board Members Marie Cobb, Lynda West, Jeremiah Beasley, and Jim Skelton. This division will provide information to blind individuals on starting a business, expanding existing businesses, and networking between blind entrepreneurs that will open doors to opportunities. Membership in the division is $5 annually. We are now accepting membership dues, which will also put you on a listserv being created by Ted Young. Please send your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address with membership dues to Mrs. Connie Leblond, 15 May Street, Portland, Maine 04102. You may also e-mail her at [email protected] Please be certain to include as much information about your business as you are willing to share. Whether you currently operate a business or are doing research that will result in your operating a business, we want to hear from you. This new NFB division will assist entrepreneurs in changing what it means to be blind. See you all in Texas, where we will hold our first meeting. ********** Human Services Division by Doug Elliott ********** Blind human services professionals from a wide variety of vocational and academic positions will gather in Dallas in conjunction with the convention of the National Federation of the Blind to discuss their work and their lives as blind professionals. Our meeting will take place on Monday afternoon, July 6, 1998. Registration will open at 1:00 p.m., and this year's exciting program will commence at 1:30 p.m. We will also be discussing our listservs and their potential for serving us in our professions between conventions. You all come to share experience, wisdom, and fun at this year's Human Services Division meeting in Dallas. ********** An Introduction to Windows 95 A Seminar by Richard Ring ********** Windows 95 has replaced MS/DOS as the operating system of choice in the workplace and at home. For the sighted this has been a welcomed change for the most part--no more complex command lines to remember. Instead all the sighted user need do is point and click the mouse, and programs run, files are moved, and the World Wide Web magically opens. But what about those of us who are blind? Can a blind person become a productive and efficient user of Windows 95? The answer is "yes!" If you want to understand how to accomplish this, An Introduction to Windows 95 is a seminar you should attend. It will take place on Saturday, July 4, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the National Federation of the Blind Convention in Dallas. This seminar will be hosted by members of the staff of the Technology Department at the National Center for the Blind. What makes this seminar unique is its approach to teaching Windows 95. Often when sighted people attempt to teach the blind Windows 95, they find it difficult to get away from a point-and-click mentality. They seem to be more interested in the physical or visual layout of the screen than how to access the items and objects on the screen. We will show you how to navigate in Windows 95 using the keyboard. We will show you how to create shortcuts to your favorite programs, how to work with popular Windows applications, what it is like to surf the Web in Windows, and more. Sometimes it is necessary to use the mouse pointer to access certain functions within a Windows application. Screen-reading systems for the blind provide a way for a blind person to manipulate the mouse pointer from the keyboard. In this way even programs that are not keyboard-friendly can be used. We'll even show you how sounds generated by Windows 95 can serve as valuable cues as well as providing a bit of entertainment. Many blind people have expressed grave concerns about how well they can learn to work in Windows 95. What holds true when it comes to blindness itself remains true when it comes to Windows 95: given the proper training and opportunity, a blind person can not only learn to use Windows but enjoy doing so! Though we cannot promise you that when you leave this seminar you will be a Windows expert, we can assure you that you will come away knowing that Windows need not be an obstacle to success. Join us and discover, as we already have, that blind people do Windows! ********** Job Opportunities for the Blind 1998 National Job Seminar by Lorraine Rovig ********** Can ordinary blind Americans get hired for ordinary normal jobs? How? Once hired, how do they perform them? Listeners have called JOB's annual seminar "riveting" and "exhilarating." Blind Americans searching for work and other interested persons are invited to the 1998 National JOB seminar sponsored by the National Federation of the Blind and the U.S. Department of Labor. This free national employment seminar will take place Saturday afternoon, on the 4th of July, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., in the Hyatt Regency DFW. In this year's lively three hours, Lee Kerr of Arizona will talk about his customer service job for Sears and about training other blind people to join the staff. Susan Schaffer (MS-CCC), a totally blind certified speech language pathologist, will talk about the techniques she used to get through college and to succeed in her chosen field. We will hear an update from Rami Rabby on his job as a United States Foreign Service officer. He is now posted to our embassy in Lima, Peru. Do you have a generic liberal arts degree? Veronica Smith is working as a paralegal at a state agency. She'll describe what she does and how she was trained on the job. Do you hate the thought of working indoors in an office or a factory? Last year the panel of speakers from Nebraska's state agency for the blind told us about assisting a blind client to become a trucker. This year Chad Bell himself will tell his story. (No, sorry, he won't arrive at the Hyatt in his eighteen-wheeler.) These fascinating and educational real-life tales, along with many more, will fill the three-hour job seminar. Remember, at the end of the seminar the mike is open for any employment-related announcements. JOB invites employers in the crowd to give notice of job openings, blind job seekers to give an oral mini-resume, and agencies with programs for blind job seekers to entice students by describing their offerings. What employment is possible for a blind American? What would you like to do? Whether you are looking for work or wish to change jobs, this seminar is for you. On Independence Day come listen in person. Ask our speakers directly those questions that you have always wanted to ask. Tapes of JOB seminars from previous years are free from JOB/NFB, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, telephone: (800) 638-7518, 12:30 to 5:00 p.m. EDT). Or ask for the JOB Sample Pack to receive a copy of The JOB Recorded Bulletin and the JOB Application Form. All JOB services are free. **********

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Lorraine Rovig, Director of the JOB Program, looks on as Federationists exchange ideas at a networking breakfast.] JOB Networking Breakfasts by Lorraine Rovig ********** Are you a blind person looking for work or an employed blind person who wishes to share what you know or a professional in the blindness field looking for new ideas? Every morning of convention, in the main restaurant of the Hyatt Regency DFW, JOB invites you to network about employment. Seating takes place from 6:45 to 7:00 a.m. and breakfast is BYOB (Buy Your Own Breakfast). Please don't interrupt the conversations by being late. The conversation facilitators listed for each breakfast are experts in that topic. ********** SATURDAY, JULY 4 THE SATURDAY FIRST-TIMERS BREAKFAST Never been to a full NFB National Convention before? We'll help you learn how to take full advantage of our networking and meetings. Wayne and Carmen Davis, Florida; Joseph and Judy Ruffalo, New Jersey; Jerry & Madeline Moreno, New Jersey. ********** Not a breakfast: THE 1998 NATIONAL JOB SEMINAR, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Independence Day. Join JOB at our annual seminar designed specifically for the blind job seeker. Free! ********** SUNDAY, JULY 5 THE SUNDAY FIRST-TIMERS BREAKFAST (A second chance for first timers) Bob Ray, Iowa; Jerry and Madeline Moreno, New Jersey. ********** SUNDAY'S GENERIC BREAKFAST FOR JOB SEEKERS What problems do you have in your job search? Brain- storming is our specialty at the daily generic breakfast. Loraine and David Stayer, New York. ********** JOB'S FOURTH NETWORKING BREAKFAST FOR TRAVEL INSTRUCTORS Blind teachers share NFB teaching techniques for using long canes. Louisiana Center for the Blind instructors. ********** EMERGENCY DISPATCHERS NETWORKING BREAKFAST Brad Greenspan, New York. ********** Not a breakfast: NEW JOB IN A NEW PLACE (a JOB Walking Workshop) Russell Anderson and Ron Burzese, travel instructors, BLIND, Inc. (Details TBA at 1998 National JOB Seminar) ********** MONDAY, JULY 6 MONDAY'S GENERIC BREAKFAST FOR JOB SEEKERS Wayne and Carmen Davis, Florida. ********** THE ANNUAL BREAKFAST FOR BLIND SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS Private breakfast room--Ask John Miller, BS&E President, how to make your reservation. <[email protected] ********** JOB's FIFTH ANNUAL BREAKFAST FOR BLIND PERSONS IN MEDICAL FIELDS David Stayer (MSW), JOB consultant--Medical Fields. ********** JOB'S SIXTH ANNUAL BREAKFAST FOR BRAILLE PROOFREADERS AND TRANSCRIBERS Mary Donahue, Texas. ********** JOB's NINTH ANNUAL NETWORKING BREAKFAST FOR BLIND LAWYERS Povinelli and Kay (D.C. law firm) and the NABL. ********** I DO WINDOWS--A JOB NETWORKING BREAKFAST Steve Shelton, Oklahoma; Michael and Fatos Floyd, Nebraska; Richard Fox, DeWitt and Associates, New Jersey. ********** TUESDAY, JULY 7 TUESDAY'S GENERIC BREAKFAST FOR JOB SEEKERS Mrs. tenBroek, California; Bob Ray, Iowa; Susie Stanzel, Kansas. ********** THE SEVENTH ANNUAL BLIND ARTISTS BREAKFAST Art for money! Thomas Barretta, Connecticut. ********** A NETWORKING BREAKFAST FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE REPS Colorado Center for the Blind, Service Representative Training (SRT) program. ********** I DO WINDOWS (again)--A JOB NETWORKING BREAKFAST Steve Shelton, Oklahoma; Michael and Fatos Floyd, Nebraska; Richard Fox, DeWitt and Associates, New Jersey. ********** WEDNESDAY, JULY 8 WEDNESDAY'S GENERIC BREAKFAST FOR JOB SEEKERS Peggy and Curtis Chong, Maryland. ********** WRITING FOR MONEY: A JOB Networking Breakfast Deborah Kent Stein, Illinois; Elizabeth Campbell, Texas; Bryan Bashin, California. ********** THE JOB COORDINATORS' SECOND ANNUAL BRAINSTORMING BREAKFAST ********** Special for JOB Field Service Network Volunteers--Miss Rovig. ********** "I DON'T WANT A DESK JOB," A JOB NETWORKING BREAKFAST (New--for rangers, farmers, gardeners, sports/athletics workers, animal caretakers, window washers, etc.) Eric Woods, Shop Teacher, Colorado Center for the Blind, Colorado; Chad Bell, Nebraska. ********** THURSDAY, JULY 9 JOB'S LAST-CHANCE GENERIC BREAKFAST FOR JOB SEEKERS Whom do you need to find? What do you need to know to help you get a job? Ask before convention ends. Miss Rovig, JOB. ********** JOB'S NETWORKING BREAKFAST FOR COMPUTER-ACCESS TEACHERS Are you teaching computer access to blind children or adults? Do you want to? Colorado Center for the Blind and Louisiana Center for the Blind teachers. ********** JOB'S THIRD ANNUAL NETWORKING BREAKFAST FOR ENTREPRENEURS Connie Leblond, Maine; Bob Ray, Iowa. ********** FRIDAY, JULY 10 JOB's BREAKFAST FOR EMPLOYMENT PROFESSIONALS By JOB invitation only. A sharing of the best ideas of the past year. Lorraine Rovig, Director, JOB. ********** Louisiana Center for the Blind Players Production ********** The Sky is Blue and Black is the title of this year's original play, written by Jerry Whittle and performed by the Louisiana Center for the Blind Players. Performances will be Monday evening, July 6. ********** The Merchants Division by Charles Allen ********** Having conducted a daylong workshop during the recent Washington Seminar, the Merchants Division plans no seminar during the National Convention, only the usual division meeting. However, we will sell flowers for the banquet, tickets for a $1,000 drawing, and snack packs, and we will give away soft drinks. We will announce the raffle winner at the banquet. ********** Mock Trial by Scott LaBarre ********** For the first time the National Association of Blind Lawyers will sponsor a mock trial at the 1998 Convention. This trial will re-enact an old Federation case. Federation lawyers will be pitted against each other arguing the merits of the two positions. At present we believe we will revisit the 1986 Jacobson case, which explored the right of blind people to sit in emergency exit rows. This case was tried to a jury and won by the Federation. See your favorite Federation lawyers strut their legal stuff. There will be a nominal charge for the trial. All funds will benefit the National Association of Blind Lawyers. The trial will take place on Sunday afternoon, July 5, at 4:30 p.m. somewhere in the convention hotel. Consult the convention agenda for the exact place.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Lauren Ross of California sings at the 1996 Showcase of Talent.] ********** Music Division by Linda Mentink ********** The Music Division will again conduct its Showcase of Talent at this year's convention. It will take place on Tuesday evening, July 7. If you would like to participate in the Showcase, here are the guidelines: 1) Sign up no later than noon, Tuesday. 2) Perform only one number, taking no more than four minutes to perform. 3) If you are using a taped accompaniment, be sure that the tape is cued up properly. Do not sing along with a vocal artist; you will be stopped immediately. 4) If you need live accompaniment, make your arrangements before the Showcase begins. Children who plan to participate will be invited to perform first. The Showcase will be limited to two hours, about twenty- four performers. Come help us enjoy music. The Music Division's annual meeting is expected to include an update on music Braille from a representative of the National Library Service. Remember that 1998 is an election year. The current officers are President, Linda Mentink (Wisconsin); First Vice President, Mary Brunoli (Connecticut); Second Vice President, Denise Bravell (California); Secretary, Linda Milliner (California); and Treasurer, Ben Snow (Connecticut). Division dues are $5 and may be paid any time before the meeting. Ben Snow's address is 358 Orange Street, Apartment 409, New Haven, Connecticut 06511. ********** National Association of the Blind in Communities of Faith by Robert Parrish ********** The National Association of the Blind in Communities of Faith (NABICF) is a new division this year even though we have been meeting at convention for several years. We will conduct a seminar this summer at the Hyatt Regency DFW, on Monday, July 6. The theme is "Being Lights in the World of Religion." This seminar promises to be the best we have yet had and will include such speakers as Ehab Yamini, who is a leader in the Islamic tradition, and Leroy Delafosse, who is the executive director of Lutheran Braille Workers, Inc. Priscilla Ferris, a member of the NFB Board of Directors, and Agnes Allen, an active Roman Catholic lay leader,will share with us what they have done in their home communities as members of this division. As a result of their exciting work, others will have opportunities to serve as division leaders in their state affiliates. In addition to all of this, I will make a report of what we have done as a division during the past year. I believe you will see that as a new division our progress has been steady and sure. We are truly on the cutting edge in our religious communities and have great potential for making significant progress. What more could one want from this division? All right, how about a raffle? During the course of the 1998 convention our division will be selling raffle tickets for $2 apiece to raise money for its upkeep and endeavors. The lucky person whose ticket is drawn at the annual banquet will win $300. Everyone is invited to participate in our seminar and raffle-ticket sale. NABICF hopes to help make the 1998 convention of the National Federation of the Blind the most rewarding and exciting convention ever. ********** National Association of Blind Educators by Bonnie Peterson ********** The National Association of Blind Educators (NABE) is the largest organization of blind educational professionals in the country. We will hold our annual meeting on Monday, July 6, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. as part of the convention of the National Federation of the Blind. Join us as established classroom teachers, college professors, and educational consultants discuss many exciting topics. Dr. Floyd Matson, Professor of Communication at the University of Hawaii and author of Walking Alone and Marching Together: A History of the Organized Blind Movement in the United States 1940-1990, will discuss how his life was significantly influenced by a blind educator, Jacobus tenBroek, the founder and first President of the National Federation of the Blind, a college professor, and a prolific writer. We will also hear from Dr. Fredric K. Schroeder, Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration and Past President of NABE. Everyone in the field of education, students planning to enter the profession, and anyone interested in improving personal skills and sharing techniques and ideas related to education are welcome. We recognize that we are all both students and teachers of life and the Federation. ********** National Association of Blind Lawyers by Scott LaBarre ********** As the hot days of summer draw even closer, activity in the National Association of Blind Lawyers also begins to heat up. First, I would like to invite all of you to join us in Dallas to take part in the largest meeting of blind lawyers and legal professionals held anywhere in the country. The National Association of Blind Lawyers will meet Monday, July 6, 1998, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency DFW, as part of the fifty-eighth annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind. We will discuss many exciting topics on that afternoon. Speaking from their expertise, lawyers will give an update on the current status of laws affecting the blind. We will hear reports on various advocacy matters in which the Federation has been involved throughout the last year. We expect that officials from the American Bar Association and Texas Bar Association will address the group. Experienced practitioners will offer strategies on how best to conduct various types of cases. We expect to hear from a blind judge who was recently appointed to the Federal Bench. This and much more will take place at our annual meeting in Dallas. ********** Reception ********** As NABL President I am also pleased to announce that we will be hosting a reception after the NABL meeting for blind lawyers, law students, and legal professionals. This reception will give us the opportunity to get to know each other and share ideas. Blind law students will be able to learn how their predecessors did it. Practicing professionals will learn new tips from their colleagues. With our regular meeting, the mock trial, and the reception, the National Association of Blind Lawyers plans to be busy in Dallas. Make your plans now and join us in big D. ********** National Association of Blind Secretaries and Transcribers by Lisa Hall ********** The National Association of Blind Secretaries and Transcribers will meet on Saturday, July 4, at the Hyatt Regency DFW. Registration will begin at 6:30 p.m., and the meeting will begin at 7:00. It should be an interesting meeting with lots of information for blind secretaries and transcribers who are not yet on the Internet. I am sure that there will be other topics to discuss such as customer-service-representative training, Braille transcription, etc. The officers of the National Association of Blind Secretaries and Transcribers are: Lisa Hall, President; Janet Triplett, Vice President; Mary Donahue, Secretary; and Carol Clark, Treasurer. Those interested in joining the division may send their names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and dues of $3 to Lisa Hall, National Association of Blind Secretaries and Transcribers, 9110 Broadway, Apartment J103, San Antonio,Texas 78217. If you have questions or ideas, call (210) 829-4571 or send e-mail to [email protected] We are also planning to establish a listserv for e-mail discussion for this division. Perhaps other ideas will come forward at our meeting as well. If you are a secretary or transcriber or are thinking about these professions, plan to join us. ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: Melody Lindsey (left), Pam Dubel (right), and Roland Allen (seated) enjoy Monte Carlo night.] National Association of Blind Students by Ana Ugarte ********** Sunday night, July 5, the National Association of Blind Students will conduct its annual meeting and seminar. Consult the convention agenda for the exact time and place. Wednesday evening, July 8, our annual Monte Carlo night goes western as a saloon night. Come and join us for a night of western entertainment, drawings, and games. If you are a student, thinking about becoming one, or just looking for a good time with interesting people, join the members of NABS at our activities during the convention. ********** National Association of Guide Dog Users by Priscilla Ferris ********** The National Association of Guide Dog Users will conduct a seminar for all guide dog users and other interested persons on Saturday, July 4, at our National Convention in Dallas. Registration will begin at 12:45 p.m. The registration fee is $15. If you wish to register ahead of time and avoid the long, long line, you may send your dues, name and address, and phone number to our Treasurer, Priscilla Ferris, 140 Wood Street, Somerset, Massachusetts 02726. Checks should be made payable to NAGDU. The seminar will begin at 1:30 with welcoming remarks by our President, Dr. Paul Gabias. We are planning a full agenda. ********** National Association to Promote the Use of Braille Time to Sing "Ode to the Code" by Betty Niceley ********** The National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB) has something wonderful in store for you. Since you don't want to miss it, get busy finalizing those plans to be in Dallas at the most exciting event to take place this summer--the NFB National Convention. Of course I am not prejudiced when I tell you that one of the convention's very finest events will take place on Monday evening, July 6, when Napubbers gather for a lively meeting to celebrate Braille and then participate in an evening filled with surprises you will always remember. A number of ideas are being combined this year to make NAPUB night quite special. Come prepared to share information at the meeting and join the fun afterwards as we enjoy ourselves Texas- style. See you there. ********** National Federation of the Blind in Computer Science Java, the Graphical User Interface, and More by Curtis Chong ********** If you want to learn about efforts to make Java accessible, if you want to know what Java is, or if you are simply interested in Windows and the graphical user interface (GUI), come to the 1998 meeting of the National Federation of the Blind in Computer Science. All of these issues, and others dealing with computer technology and its use by the blind, will be discussed at the meeting. Java is a way of distributing intelligent applications over networks such as the Internet. These applications can run on many different computers (referred to as platforms in the trade). The ability to write a single program capable of running on different computers is called platform independence. It has been a long- sought-after commodity. The appeal of Java is that, for the first time, true platform independence may have been achieved. It is very likely that Java applications will become the standard means for people both at work and at home to interact with the computer. Within the next year or so Java probably will be the next accessibility hurdle for the blind. Fortunately, companies such as Sun Microsystems and IBM are working on the problem. We expect to hear from both companies at our meeting. There is talk of a Java-based screen reader. Some of us have even heard about WordPerfect written in Java. There has been a lot of discussion about Microsoft. Many of the programs we use come from that company. Because we have some real concerns about the company's efforts to make its software truly useful to the blind, we are trying to get someone from senior management to speak at our meeting. It is too early to tell if our efforts will succeed, but whatever happens, we will hear from someone at Microsoft. Part of the meeting will be devoted to presentations from vendors of screen-access technology for the blind. The purpose of these presentations is to help us understand the problems and successes encountered by the various companies who make the software we need in order to know what is happening on the computer screen. The work of these companies is often more challenging when major players such as Microsoft make significant changes to operating system and application software. In an ideal world these changes should not require us to change our screen- access software. Alas, the world of software and system upgrades is far from ideal. The meeting itself will take place on Monday, July 6, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. somewhere in the Hyatt Regency DFW. Check your convention agenda for room location information. Membership in the NFB in Computer Science costs $5 a year. For information about the meeting and also to renew your membership in the organization, contact Curtis Chong, President, National Federation of the Blind in Computer Science, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, Phone (410) 659-9314, e-mail [email protected] ********** NFB NET Training Seminar by David Andrews ********** No matter where you turn today, you constantly hear about the Internet. This is as true for blind people and our publications as it is for our sighted colleagues, friends, and relatives. Seeing the importance of this trend, NFB NET, the official bulletin board service of the National Federation of the Blind, has made its resources available on the Internet since October of 1996. It has been possible to Telnet to NFB NET since that time, and we now have over 1,600 users from around the world. This means that, if you have access to the Internet using a shell account or a PPP connection, you can reach NFB NET free from anywhere in the world. If you don't know what any of this means or if you just want to learn more about NFB NET and the different ways to access the service, come to the annual NFB NET training seminar at the 1998 convention of the National Federation of the Blind in Dallas, Texas. The seminar will be a part of the pre-convention activities and will be held on Saturday, July 4, from 9:00 a.m. until noon. Please check the pre-convention agenda when you arrive in Dallas to find the location and to double-check the time. We will cover the Telnet process, both from Windows 95 and from DOS. We will demonstrate using a shell account, a DOS client like Nettamer, and one or more Windows 95-based Telnet clients. You will learn how to Telnet to NFB NET; log onto the service; register; read messages and download files, including the Braille Monitor; and more. Please join us on Saturday, July 4, in Dallas for the annual NFB NET Training Seminar. See you in Dallas. ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: Joe Cutter and Hailee Linhart of Washington demonstrate proper use of the white cane for parents and blind children attending the 1996 cane walk.] National Organization of Parents of Blind Children by Barbara Cheadle ********** The theme of the 1998 annual national seminar for parents of blind children is: "A Chance to Belong." Registration begins at 8:00 a.m., Saturday, July 4. The registration fee is $5 per person. The general seminar session will run from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Among the morning presentations will be a discussion of how to promote self-advocacy among children, a panel of children talking about the ten courtesy rules for blind kids, and a special presentation by Dr. Adrienne Asch honoring her father, who was instrumental in helping her get "A Chance to Belong." We are hoping to offer a box lunch at a reasonable price so that those who would like more time to attend concurrent workshops in the afternoon may do so. The workshops will run from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. At 4:30 we invite all seminar participants (and others at the convention) to come back together to enjoy a Cane Parade by the children in NFB Camp. All kids--sighted and blind--among other activities that day will decorate canes and conduct a Cane Parade for parents while their camp counselors give a presentation about what they did that day to learn about how blind people do things so that they too have a chance to belong. The concurrent workshop topics include the following: "Giving Blind Kids a Chance to Belong in Sports, Recreation, Music, and the Arts"; "Keeping Up With the World: Helping Blind Kids Speed Up and Keep Up"; "Teaching Braille to the Partially Sighted Student: Rationale and Methodology"; "Technology from a Kid's Point of View" (a panel of blind children and youth discussing and demonstrating the technology they use in school); "Beginning Braille for Parents"; network meetings for parents of deaf-blind children and for parents of blind, multiply handicapped children; and a viewing of a new NOPBC video about the IEP process. Instead of a field trip on Saturday, NFB Camp will operate a special session for children ages four or five through twelve on the theme, "A Chance to Belong." (Child care will be provided for younger children and babies.) Children will learn how blind people can use alternative techniques--such as Braille and cane travel--so that they can belong just like everyone else. The children will also have fun and learn through music, crafts, games, stories, and discussions. The regular NFB Camp fees apply for this day. For teens there will be a special baby-sitting course conducted by Carla McQuillan emphasizing behavior management (disciplining children). We also hope to have a segment on sign language and specific techniques for working with children with different disabilities. This class will not be a repeat of last year's, so teens who attended the baby-sitting course last year are encouraged to attend this one as well. The fee will be $10, including lunch. Participants must be between the ages of twelve and eighteen to take the course. Time: registration--10:00 a.m., class: 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. From 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. the teens will have a chance to practice their new skills by assisting in NFB Camp's cane decorating and Cane Parade. Saturday evening as usual the NOPBC will offer a Family Hospitality Night from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Although we don't have a menu yet, the food and drinks provided last year were such a hit that we guarantee food and drinks again this year. Also Saturday evening will be our annual Teen Convention Orientation and Scavenger Hunt from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. Youth will be able to meet other teens and learn the layout of the hotel through a scavenger hunt, which will include fun prizes and food. Mildred Rivera of Maryland is chairing this activity. Sunday, July 5, we will once again sponsor two one-hour sessions of a Cane Walk. From 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. kids and parents can get a hands-on cane lesson from volunteers in the NFB. Most of the volunteers are blind, experienced cane users, and many work as professional cane travel instructors. Teachers are invited to come and participate too. Joe Cutter and Arlene Hill will once again coordinate this activity. Monday, July 6: The big event for kids this day is a field trip to a dude ranch (see Carla McQuillan's section on child care for details). While the kids are off playing, parents can enjoy an afternoon of networking with other parents at the annual meeting of the NOBPC from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 7: The highly popular IEP Workshop will once again be conducted from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. This year we encourage every state affiliate to send a representative to this workshop to learn about the new IDEA amendments and how they should be implemented through the IEP process. Wednesday, July 8: During the free afternoon parents and teachers are encouraged to drop into a movement and cane travel discussion and question-and-answer session conducted between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. by Joe Cutter. The format is casual, and participants may drop in any time and leave when they like. Also on Wednesday afternoon we are putting together a hands-on workshop on creating tactile materials. More details will be available later. ********** National Organization of the Senior Blind by Christine Hall ********** The annual meeting of the National Organization of the Senior Blind will be held on Monday, July 6, 1998, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Members and interested parties, please note the time of the meeting has been changed because we are now a division and no longer a committee. We are planning an interesting and exciting meeting, and at the time of this writing in late January, we plan to have an ophthalmologist from the Dallas area speak to us on aging and vision loss and changes occurring in the provision of health care services. Please plan to arrive on time so dues of $5 can be collected and names and addresses can be obtained for the membership list. We look forward to seeing you in Dallas. ********** Piano Tuners Division Reorganizes by Don Mitchell ********** The Piano Tuners Division of the National Federation of the Blind will re-organize at the National Convention this summer in Dallas/Fort Worth. Don Mitchell of the Clark County Chapter in Washington state has been asked to help re-organize this division. At our meeting we will consider the purpose of this division, develop bylaws, elect officers, and set goals for the division. Piano tuning is and has been an excellent career choice for both blind and sighted men and women. I hope this division can assist blind piano tuners in finding equality and success in their chosen field and can share this exciting career opportunity with other blind men and women. Look for the time and place in your convention program. Don Mitchell, the director of instruction and vice president of the Emil Fries School of Piano Tuning and Technology, previously known as the Emil Fries Piano Hospital and Training Center, hopes to greet both tuners and other interested blind persons at this organizational meeting. ********** Social Security Seminar by James Gashel ********** An outreach seminar (Social Security and Supplemental Security Income: What Applicants, Advocates, and Recipients Should Know) will take place on Wednesday afternoon, July 8. The purpose of this seminar, which will be conducted jointly by the National Federation of the Blind and the Social Security Administration, is to provide information on Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for the blind. Seminar presenters will be Jim Gashel, Director of Governmental Affairs for the National Federation of the Blind, and a representative to be announced from the Social Security Administration. ********** Writers' Division by Tom Stevens ********** Writing is the surest way to give something a degree of permanence. The spoken word vanishes in a few seconds, and usually what remains is an idea or a concept. However, when we write, we offer our views, our knowledge to others. The effectiveness of writing can be seen in the millions of pages which are published each year. One facet of the Writers' Division is to make useful information available to people who would like to write. In Dallas we plan a workshop for Saturday, July 4, the day preceding registration and resolutions. The program is not yet complete but will begin with registration at 1:15 p.m., and the workshop will conclude by approximately 4:00 p.m. There will be a question-and-answer session, and books authored by presenters may be available. The cost of the workshop will be $10. We will also conduct the division's annual meeting. In addition to several presentations on various topics, this fast- growing meeting will let you meet some of the division's officers and some of the best of the writers in the National Federation of the Blind. So gear up. Head your cayuse for Dallas and bring along a couple of writing instruments so you can take home some of our information. Division membership for first-timers is $5 and $10 for renewals. Members receive our quarterly magazine, Slate and Style, on tape, in large print, or in Braille. Questions may be directed to Tom Stevens at (573) 445-6091. ********** ********** Arthur Cushen Dies by Timothy Hendel ********** From the Editor: Tim Hendel is a member of the Huntsville chapter of the NFB of Alabama. Since he was a student at the New York State School for the Blind in Batavia, he has been interested in travel, languages, and short-wave radio. That is how he first became acquainted with Arthur Cushen and his story. This is what he says: ********** A large group of sighted people would tell you that the only blind person they know is Arthur Cushen. These people share the hobby of tuning around on their short-wave radios to pick up unusual stations. Hard-to-get stations are often referred to as "DX," and people who have this hobby are called "DX-ers." Arthur Cushen was called "the world's only professional DX-er." On September 20, 1997, he died in Invercargill, New Zealand. Arthur Thomas Cushen was born on January 24, 1920, in Invercargill. This community is at the extreme southern tip of the South Island of New Zealand. It is about as far as you can get from most European and North American cities. As a young boy Arthur is said to have suffered from poor eyesight. I do not know if he would have been classified as visually impaired in modern parlance. It is true that while in school Arthur did not receive any special educational training. During the 1930's his sight became much worse. He lost all vision in the early 1950's. Somewhere along the way Arthur learned Braille. On Christmas morning, 1932, Arthur got up at 3:00 a.m. with his father and the rest of his family. They tuned their battery- powered radio to the BBC on short-wave to hear the Christmas address of King George VI, from far-away England. A couple of years later as a teen-ager Arthur picked up Suva, Fiji Islands, on his radio. By that time he was bitten by the bug and saved his money to buy better radios. He probably climbed around in his yard, putting up better antennas. Many of us have tuned around on our radios to see what we could pick up, but from his earliest explorations Arthur kept careful and detailed records of what he heard. All of this might have remained little more than a pastime for a young man in a very isolated community, if it had not been for World War II. During that war most men of military age in New Zealand, as well as in other English-speaking countries, were called away to fight the Germans and Japanese. It was the nature of that war that many of these fighters were taken prisoner. In the early 1940's, Germans, Japanese, and Allies were all beginning to learn about international radio and trying to use it for their own propaganda ends. The Japanese were fond of sending out nightly broadcasts in English, touting their victories. These broadcasts went out from what was then called Radio Tokyo, but also from Manila, Singapore, and Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia). To give their broadcasts more realism, they often read out the names and addresses of prisoners of war whom they were holding. Perhaps the Japanese felt that these details would increase the believability of their programs. They surely never knew that they were providing great comfort to the families of those prisoners. Sitting almost at the bottom of the world, listening to his radio, was Arthur Cushen. He had been rejected for military service due to his vision. Arthur, together with his wife Ralda, copied down the names and addresses of the soldiers and civilians as they were broadcast from Tokyo, Singapore, and Batavia. (Arthur says that those were the strongest stations and had the greatest number of prisoners, but that he also monitored Shanghai, Chungking, and many other smaller stations.) Then Arthur would try to track down the families and tell them that he had heard news of a relative on the radio. True, the man might be a prisoner, but at least families got word that their loved one was alive. To understand how Arthur did his work during World War II, we should bear in mind that there was no Internet, no cassette recorder, no word processor. I cannot even find any mention of his having had a typewriter. He dictated his messages to his wife and other helpers, who would often go to the local telegraph office and send telegrams or write letters to the families. Even long-distance telephoning seems to have been limited, perhaps because Arthur could not afford it. After the war letters of thanks poured into Arthur's home. In 1970 Queen Elizabeth awarded Arthur the MBE (Member of the British Empire) for his service during the war. During the Vietnam War Arthur monitored the Voice of Vietnam (Radio Hanoi) and contacted many U.S. families whose loved ones had spoken over that station. By this time the actual voices of the prisoners were broadcast, and tape recorders were common, so Arthur was often able to provide recordings to the families. In 1953 Queen Elizabeth made a trip to New Zealand. She made it known that she wanted to spend at least one night alone in her hotel room. She also requested a radio and asked that someone provide her with a list of frequencies on which she could hear the BBC. Arthur Cushen was called upon to do this and has kept the special souvenir card on which he listed the frequencies for Her Majesty. Another scoop came to Arthur on November 23 (New Zealand time) 1963. After President Kennedy was shot, Arthur monitored many U.S. AM broadcast band stations and relayed the news he heard to the local New Zealand stations. In that era before satellite coverage, they would not have had so much news if it had not been for Arthur. In February, 1942, Arthur was contacted by the BBC in London, who had heard of his radio work. They wanted someone in New Zealand to check on reception of their programs and send them a cable each week, telling them how the station was doing. After the war Voice of America, Radio Canada, Radio Netherlands, Radio Sweden, and many other stations made similar arrangements with Arthur. Between 1952 and 1954 Arthur had several eye operations. He hoped that they would restore his sight. Instead, he lost most of the vision which he had. At that time he felt that he could not continue the work he was doing and needed to find another source of income. He asked the stations for which he had already been doing monitoring if he could be taken on their payroll as a regular staff member. This is how it came to pass that Arthur Cushen became the world's only professional DX-er. In addition to his work for the large broadcast stations, Arthur wrote many articles talking about radio. Some of these were published in radio hobby magazines, others in newspapers in New Zealand. Arthur wanted as many people as possible to discover the magic of tuning their radios to far-away stations. He also wanted people to know that they could do this with whatever radio they had on hand, instead of going out and spending lots of hard- earned cash for a special receiver. Victor Goonetilleke of Sri Lanka said, during a tribute to Arthur by Radio Netherlands, "Arthur always put in stuff that was easy to pick up, as well as the rare, hard-to-find stuff. He was a great encouragement to those of us who were starting out, especially us who lived in Asia. No one else was talking about stations that we could hear." Glenn Hauser of the well-known short-wave program "World of Radio," said, "Arthur is the only person who was active in the hobby when I started in 1957 and is still heard." I was a boy at the New York State School for the Blind when I first heard Arthur giving reports over Radio Netherlands, talking about stations he had heard. It is hard to describe the thrill I felt when, as a teen-ager living in what I thought to be boring Upstate New York, I heard Arthur talking about picking up Fiji, Tonga, or New Guinea. It certainly whetted my appetite for travel, languages, and radio--interests which I still have. In the early 1970's I lived in Hawaii, and I had the thrill of exchanging tapes with Arthur. He wanted to know how well Radio New Zealand was received in Honolulu. I was able to fulfill his request. In 1986 I met Arthur at a short-wave convention in Montreal. It was wonderful to see everybody, blind and sighted, clustered around Arthur as he told stories of World War II and radio in the exotic islands of the Pacific. Arthur wrote two books. The World in My Ears is a combination autobiography and beginning guide for those who want to know about short-wave radio. NLS has recorded it as RC15856. Another book, Arthur Cushen's Radio Listening Guide, has not been recorded. Most of the tributes to Arthur have focused on his radio activities. In passing they have mentioned that he "did a lot for the blind of New Zealand," but I have been able to obtain very little information about this facet of his life. Apparently he helped found the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind. During the early 1960's he and his wife Ralda began some kind of simple newspaper-reading service for the blind. Ralda would read articles on tape. These tapes were placed on an answering machine, where people could call in and hear them. Today most of New Zealand, as well as Australia, is served by radio reading services which operate on open channel, usually on the AM broadcast band. In the tributes which many short-wave stations broadcast about Arthur, his wife Ralda was always mentioned. It was said that Ralda was "his eyes" and his greatest help. It is certain that Arthur and Ralda worked a great deal together, but I do not know how much of this reflects some sighted people's ideas about what we can and cannot do without sighted help and how much reflects the actual way this couple chose to work together. A careful reading of his book reveals some gentle chiding of certain sighted people who, he felt, were trying to take over the running of some organizations in New Zealand, putting into place what they thought was "necessary for the blind," rather than consulting with blind consumers. It is true that Arthur grew up in a time and place when the special tools we take for granted were not available. I have no evidence that he used talking computers and other modern devices. I do know that he used Braille during his broadcasts. I used to fancy sometimes that I heard him rattling his Braille paper, though I don't know if this was true. Arthur's family has requested that any contributions in his memory be sent to the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind, 172 Queens Drive, Invercargill, New Zealand. Tributes and condolences to Ralda Cushen may be sent to Ralda Cushen, 212 Earn Street, Invercargill, New Zealand. Condolences and recollections of Arthur may be e-mailed to [email protected] Radio New Zealand ended its tribute to Arthur Cushen with a beautiful Maori sacred song. A very well-known blind person has passed from among us. ********** ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: Doris Willoughby] Toward More Peaceful Meetings by Doris M. Willoughby ********** From the Editor: Doris Willoughby is an experienced teacher and expert on the education of blind children. Here are her ideas about what chapters can do to make children welcome at meetings without causing disruption: ********** We want young families to join the Federation and take part fully. We also want children to grow up in the Federation family. But at local chapter meetings shall we (a) let young children run around noisily, (b) spend money on child care (individually or as a group), or (c) require some member to pay attention to the children instead of the agenda? Here's an idea that costs little or nothing and helps a great deal. Assemble a collection of toys in a distinctive tote bag or box. Bring them to each meeting, or leave them at the meeting place if that is practical. Children can enjoy them with little or no supervision in or near the meeting room while the meeting is in progress. If you invite donations of toys, it may not be necessary to spend any money. If things are bought, a few dollars can be sufficient. It is best not to include noisy toys, balls, crayons or markers, or anything requiring close supervision. Here are a few examples of what to include: stuffed animals, books, puzzles, dolls and doll clothes, construction sets, toy animals, blocks, and pop-it beads. ********** ********** Dialysis at National Convention by Ed Bryant ********** From the Editor: Ed Bryant is President of the Diabetes Action Network, a division of the National Federation of the Blind. This is what he says about dialysis during the national convention: ********** Dialysis will be available during this year's annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind in Dallas, Texas, Saturday, July 4, through Friday, July 10. Those requiring dialysis must have a transient patient packet and physician's statement filled out prior to treatment. Conventioneers should have their unit contact the desired location in the Dallas area for instructions. Individuals will be responsible for, and must pay out of pocket prior to each treatment, the approximately $30 not covered by Medicare, plus any additional physicians' fees and any charges for Erythropoietin (EPO) or Calcijex. Dialysis centers should set up transient dialysis locations at least three months in advance. This helps assure a location for anyone wanting to dialyze. There are only a few centers close to the Hyatt Regency DFW on the grounds of the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, so an early reservation is essential. Here are some dialysis locations: ********** Irving Dialysis Center, 720 Plymouth Park, Irving, Texas 75061, telephone: (972) 258-0880. Note: This Center moved to this location February 1. This address is correct; the new phone listing was unavailable at press time. Calls will be transferred for several weeks; but you may need to call information. This is the closest facility to the airport--about ten minutes by taxi from the convention hotel. ********** Hurst-Euless Bedford (HEB) Dialysis, 1401 Brown Trail Road, Suite A, Bedford, Texas 76022, telephone: (817) 282-8870. Depending on traffic, fifteen to thirty minutes from the convention hotel. ********** Ameri-Tech Kidney Center, 1600 Central Drive, Bedford, Texas 76022, telephone: (817) 540-6084. Approximately the same distance as HEB. ********** South Arlington Dialysis Center (BMA), 3295 South Cooper, Suite 137 (Cooper and Mayfield), Arlington, Texas 76015, telephone: (817) 465-8586. Furthest from the convention hotel, this center is perhaps thirty minutes away. ********** Please remember to schedule dialysis treatments early. If scheduling assistance is needed, contact Diabetes Action Network President Ed Bryant at (573) 875-8911. See you in Dallas. ********** ********** Recipes ********** This month's recipes are contributed by members of the Human Services Division. ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: Doug Elliott] Midwestern Burritos by Doug Elliott ********** Doug Elliott is the President of the Human Services Division. Invented by Doug and his son as their idea of the Midwestern taste while they were living in Reno, Nevada, this is a long-standing family favorite. ********** Ingredients: 1 pound lean hamburger 2 medium cans of hot chili beans 1 green pepper 1 package powdered taco sauce 1 small onion or frozen onion chips 3 ribs celery 1/2 pound cheddar or jalapeno cheese 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon powdered garlic package of 8 to 10 large flour tortillas ********** Method: Break up hamburger meat into frying pan. Add chopped green pepper, chopped onion or onion chips, chopped ribs of celery, and one tablespoon olive oil. Stir-fry at medium high heat until hamburger is browned. Reduce heat to medium and stir 2 cans of chili into mixture. Mix taco powder and powdered garlic with one quarter cup water and stir into mixture. Simmer on medium for fifteen minutes. Then reduce to low. Slice cheese and place on top of mixture. Cover and simmer for an additional fifteen to twenty minutes. Stir mixture and then serve on flour tortillas. Roll meat mixture in two tortillas for each serving and enjoy. Some add sour cream, chopped onions, and chopped tomatoes to taste. Probably serves eight normal appetites. ********** ********** Beef Bourginon by Doug Elliott ********** Ingredients: 2 pounds stew meat, cubed 1 bottle burgundy wine 1 can or bag of pearl onions 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon powdered garlic 1 small can sliced black olives 1 package wide egg noodles 1 can button mushrooms, optional ********** Method: Place stew meat in frying pan with garlic, olive oil, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir fry ingredients until meat is browned. Add 1/4 cup water to mixture, cover, and simmer for about thirty minutes. Remove frying pan from stove and pour ingredients into cast iron or stainless steel stewing pot. Add wine, onions, olives, and mushrooms. Cover and simmer mixture on low for about two hours. Check stew meat for tenderness. When meat is tender, boil wide egg noodles according to package directions and drain well. Serve mixture on bed of noodles on individual plates or in casserole dish. If you like to drink Merlot wine with dinner, it goes well with this dish. The recipe probably serves eight normal appetites. ********** ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: Ever Lee Hairston] Apple Pie Substitute by Ever Lee Hairston ********** Ever Lee Hairston is an experienced human services professional and a long-time member of the Human Services Division. She serves as First Vice President of the NFB of New Jersey. ********** Ingredients: 6 large apples 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup sugar 1 stick margarine 1/2 cup chopped nuts ********** Method: Slice apples and set aside. In small mixing bowl mix sugars, softened butter, and nuts until mixture forms crumbs. Place apples in a 9-inch casserole dish. Pour lemon juice over apples. Spread sugar mixture over the apples. Cook in 350-degree oven for thirty minutes. ********** ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: Julie Deden] French Pancakes by Julie Deden ********** Julie Deden is the Director of Program Development for the Colorado Center for the Blind. She also serves as Treasurer of the Human Services Division. ********** Ingredients: 1 cup milk 1/4 cup margarine 3 eggs 1/2 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ********** Method: Bring milk and margarine to a boil. Remove from heat, add rest of ingredients, and beat well. Heat griddle for pancakes. Melt a little margarine on surface, pour batter onto griddle using a small measuring cup, and cook pancakes about one minute on each side. ********** ********** Chicken Burritos Supreme by Julie Deden ********** Ingredients: 4 cups cooked diced chicken 2 small cans diced green chilies 1 cup sour cream 2 cans black beans juice from one lemon garlic, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, and other spices to taste 12 tortillas 3 cups grated cheese lettuce, tomato, avocado, and anything else that sounds good ********** Method: Mix first six ingredients together. Place small amount of mixture on a tortilla. Roll tortilla and place, seam side down, in baking dish. Repeat this step with other eleven tortillas and all of the chicken mixture. Sprinkle cheese on top of rolled tortillas. Bake at 350 degrees for thirty minutes. Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, and anything else you like on the side. ********** ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: Chris McKenzie] Hot Crumble by Chris McKenzie ********** Chris McKenzie is President of the NFB of Arkansas and an active member of the Human Services Division. ********** Ingredients: 1/2 onion, minced 2 or 3 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed 1 1/2 tablespoons reduced calorie tub margarine 1 pound ground chuck, browned 1 1/2 cups cooked rice 2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce 1 1/2 teaspoons beef granules 1 level teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/4 teaspoon cumin 1 cup water ********** ********** Method: Melt margarine in non-stick skillet. Brown onions until soft (add 2 tablespoons water to finish softening if necessary); add garlic during the last minute or two. In a bowl combine tomato sauce, water, beef granules, cumin, and red pepper. Add onion and garlic mixture. Add meat and rice. Cook, stirring frequently, until much of the moisture has been absorbed or evaporated. Makes approximately four servings. ********** ********** Coconut Pound Cake by Chris McKenzie ********** Ingredients: 1/2 cup sugar 2/3 cup oil 4 eggs 1 box butter recipe cake mix 1 cup sour cream 1 small package frozen coconut ********** Method: Cream together sugar and oil. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add cake mix and sour cream to the mixture and mix well; fold in frozen coconut. Bake one hour at 350 degrees in greased and floured bundt or tube pan. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cake to cooling rack and cool a few minutes before loosening sides and removing from the pan. Allow cake to cool completely before storing. ********** ********** Yeast Rolls by Chris McKenzie ********** Ingredients: 2 packages active dry yeast 2 cups warm water 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs, beaten 6 tablespoons oil 1 tablespoon salt 5 1/2 cups flour ********** Method: Mix ingredients together in order listed. Allow dough to rise covered in warm place until doubled in bulk, about an hour; punch down. At this point rolls may be refrigerated in a covered bowl for several days. When you are ready to bake the rolls, grease muffin tin wells with oil. Pinch off dough into small pieces (about the size of a small pecan) and place two or three pieces smoothed into balls in each well. For golden color brush tops of rolls with melted butter. Cover pans with a towel and allow rolls to rise in a warm place for two hours or until they are popping out of the wells. Remove towel and bake at 400 degrees for twelve minutes. Remove from pans immediately to prevent rolls from becoming soggy or overcooked. ********** ********** Monitor Miniatures ********** Braille for China Again: We carried a notice in the February, 1998, issue which invited readers to consider donating complete Braille materials in good condition for use by blind people in China who are studying English. Larry Campbell, who asked us to post that request, reports that the response has been gratifying. He has also had some questions. He wishes to clarify several matters. First, the materials should be shipped directly to China, not to Larry. Materials may be mailed "free matter for the blind" using the same U.S. Postal specifications that you would use in mailing such materials here. Materials for overseas shipment should be placed in strong, compact cardboard boxes and should not exceed twelve pounds. Seal boxes with strong, clear tape. Boxes should be labelled as follows: 1. In the upper left corner place a small label with the sender's return address. 2. In the upper right corner, where postage is normally attached, print "FREE MATTER FOR THE BLIND." 3. In the center, using a larger label than the return-address label, print the full address of the China Braille Press.

4. At the bottom center write "By sea mail." Larry tells us that the most welcome materials are novels, current-event and other popular-interest magazines such as Reader's Digest, National Geographic, etc., and basic books and periodicals on access technology. Several groups are already providing Bibles and other religious materials, so general literature is what is needed. Materials should be mailed directly to: Foreign Language Department China Braille Press 39 Chengnei Street Lugouqiao Beijing, China 100072 ********** In Memoriam: Thelda Borisch, a member of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri, recently wrote to report that on Thursday, November 6, 1997, a long-time Federationist, Rhoda Dower, lost her fight against cancer. She was a charter member of the St. Louis Chapter. She lived a year and seven months after the death of her husband John Dower, who was also a charter member of the Missouri affiliate. John and Rhoda provided a lot of support and understanding to Federationists. I met them about fifteen years ago. They taught me much about the National Federation of the Blind. Many people will miss Rhoda. ********** Cook Books and Patterns Wanted: We have been asked to carry the following announcement: Since I can no longer read Braille, I am interested in hearing from anyone who has cook books and knitting patterns on audio tape. Please contact Rose Dalley, 1 Hubbard Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05602, or call (802) 223-1673. ********** Instructional Music Tapes Available: We have been asked to carry the following announcement: Tapes on piano teaching, theory, and transcription and accompaniment tapes for instrumental and voice with individual attention are available. Dictated audio cassette tapes of many types (mostly keyboard) of music (classical, pops, show tunes, hymns, or old favorites; beginners to advanced) can be ordered by contacting Jeanine Linster, 409 30-1/4 Road, Grand Junction, Colorado 81504, (970) 434-8639. No Braille please. ********** Convention Lunch Link: Would you like to meet someone new at the NFB Convention in Dallas? Maybe you are looking for a friendship or a bit of romance. What better way to get acquainted than over lunch? The NFB of Maryland can help you link up with that special someone. We'll leave lunch to you. Don't miss out on the fun. Join the Lunch Link today. Here's how it works. You answer a series of questions about yourself and the type of person you are looking for. The questionnaire is available in large print and Braille. It is quick and easy to do. Then we put your information into our computer, which will find the best match. We will share your name and state affiliate with that person and vice versa. Your name may be shared with up to three additional people. The service is confidential. Why stand in long lines in Dallas to get your questionnaire? Request one today by contacting Lynn Mattioli, 817 Park Avenue, Apartment 7, Baltimore, Maryland 21210, or call (410) 625-0076. Be sure to tell us which format you prefer (large print or Braille). Once you have circled your answers, return it to the above address with your payment of $5 per submission. (Make checks payable to the NFB of Maryland.) You can also get a questionnaire at our table in the Exhibit Hall on Sunday, July 5, and Monday, July 6. The deadline for joining the Lunch Link is 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Monday night the computer will do its magic. You must return to the Exhibit Hall on Tuesday, July 7, to pick up the name of your match (which will be in a sealed envelope). We will only give you this information in person. Don't miss out on your link. Join the Lunch Link today. You have nothing to lose but the problem of wondering whom you will be dining with in Dallas. ********** Wall Gardens: We have been asked to carry the following announcement: Now everyone can grow vegetables, herbs, and flowers with a space-saving new gardening technology, the Living Wallgarden. This containerized system substitutes an artificial growing medium for soil, allowing both novice and experienced gardeners to garden with ease and independence without the need for soil preparation or weeding. The Living Wallgarden comes in various sizes, can be used indoors or outside, and occupies a fraction of the space of traditional growing systems. The containers come complete with growing medium, fertilizer, and easy-to-follow instructions. All you supply are the plants. Everyone with an interest in gardening is invited to visit the Living Wallgarden Web site at http://www.livingwallgardens.com where you can learn about this new gardening resource. You can also contact Harv Robinson, Living Wallgarden Company, 9727 Williams Road, Diamond, Ohio 44412, (330) 654-9507. ********** Vintage Radio Programs: We have been asked to carry the following announcement: Audio Treasures produces cassette tapes of great old radio programs such as "Jack Benny," "The Shadow," "Suspense," "Gunsmoke," "Lone Ranger," "X Minus One," "Lux Radio Theatre," famous news and sports broadcasts, plus other old favorites. To order a free catalog call toll free, (888) 723-4642. For more information or to place an order, contact Michael Yale, Audio Treasures, 27 Cann Street, Huntsville, Ontario, Canada P1H 1K7. ********** Help Needed in Bangladesh: We have been asked to carry the following announcement: Used books; magazines; journals; and materials and equipment such as Perkins Braillers, cassette recorders, Talking-Book player/recorders, talking watches and calculators, white canes, spectacles, frames, or any other used materials for the disabled are requested by the FIMA Institute for Disabled Society (FIDS). FIDS is a voluntary organization serving the blind, deaf-blind, partially-sighted, and physically handicapped. Send your donation to FIMA Institute for Disabled Society, 12, E 5/6, P.O. Box-8104, Mirpur, Dhaka-1216, Bangladesh. If you donate money, send by postal money order and inform FIDS of the money order number and sending date. ********** Fund-raising Idea: We have been asked to carry the following announcement: The Chocolate Experience, Inc., which manufactures chocolate Braille greeting cards, has recently done a Brailled Easter bunny and Brailled chocolate heart. These items make great fund- raisers. For more information on products contact Judy Geva at (800) 669-6665. In New York only, call (718) 461-1873. Our e-mail address is [email protected] ********** Fast Track for Tenor from Tuscany: NFB of Michigan member Sunny Emerson passes along the following notice she found in The Independent, United Kingdom, May 19, 1997, about an Italian tenor with truly Federation ideas and, according to her, a spectacular voice. Here it is: Andrea Bocelli, the blind Tuscan tenor, was a complete unknown until recently. Since being discovered by Luciano Pavarotti in 1992, Bocelli, thirty-eight, has taken master classes with the maestro. He has sung for the Pope and with Pavarotti, Bryan Adams, and Bryan Ferry. He was born with a visual defect, and at the age of twelve he lost his sight completely after an accident playing football. Bocelli is adamant that for him his blindness was in no way a tragedy. "The tragedy is that people continue to make a fuss out of something which they consider tragic, not I." He is scheduled to appear on the Rosie O'Donnell Show on March 31. Available CD's are Romanza and Viaggio Italiano. ********** Letter from Liverpool: We recently received the following letter from a reader in Liverpool. Perhaps someone can help. Here it is: I have enjoyed reading the Monitor in Braille sent to me by a friend in the Irish Republic. I would like to read the journal on a regular basis. I would be happy to swap journals in Braille with any American Federationist. I am totally blind and work in the tourist industry guiding visitors (many from the U.S.) around public buildings in my city. I was fascinated by the description of your July convention, and the journal is full of information. Those interested in swapping journals should contact Stephen Binns, 7 Trispen Road, Liverpool, L116ND, United Kingdom. ********** [PHOTO/CAPTION: Dr. Betsy Zaborowski] Honored: It was recently announced that Dr. Betsy Zaborowski, a long- time leader in the NFB's Human Services Division and now a member of the staff at the National Center for the Blind, has been selected as one of Maryland's Top 100 Women for 1998. The reception will take place at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on March 25, 1998 at 5:00 p.m. The honor comes as recognition of her many professional and civic accomplishments. The award program is sponsored by the Daily Record, Baltimore's most influential business publication. ********** Elected: The St. Louis Chapter of the NFB of Missouri recently elected the following new officers: Kerry Smith, President; John Ford, Vice President; Susan Ford, Secretary; Delores Watson, Treasurer; Rhonda Dycus, Corresponding Secretary; and Thelda Borisch, Board Member-at-Large. ********** Perkins Brailler Repairs Available: We have been asked to carry the following announcement: The Selective Doctor, Inc., is a repair service for all IBM typewriters and Perkins Braille Writers. Located in Baltimore, the service has done work for the Maryland School for the Blind and a number of other organizations in Maryland. They accept Perkins Braillers sent to them from around the country. They advertise top quality service at yesterday's prices. They also request a phone call before shipment of Braillers and ask that equipment be insured in the mail. For more information contact the Selective Doctor, Inc., P.O. Box 28432, Baltimore, Maryland 21234, or call (410) 668-1143. ********** Soundman Now Available: President Maurer writes: The National Federation of the Blind is now distributing the Soundman, a tape recorder with AM/FM radio, television bands, and The Weather Channel. The Soundman sells for $165. It is also available from the Myna Corporation, 239 Western Avenue, Building A2I, Essex, Massachusetts, 01929-1102, or telephone 508-768-9000. I like to keep a tape recorder in my bedroom. For some time now I have been looking for a television receiver that I could also keep there. However, I didn't want several machines. I was hoping to find a single unit that would give me both a tape recorder and the audio bands of a television. I hoped that I would be able not only to listen to library books and other recordings, but to record some of the material broadcast on television and radio. Consequently, when the Soundman became available, I decided to try it. As I said earlier, the Soundman also brought me the Weather Channel, a part of broadcasting that I had missed. One evening, as I was scanning the dial with the Soundman, I came upon a familiar voice. It did not sound like a public broadcast. Rather it seemed much more like a private phone call. As I listened, it became clear to me that I was hearing a telephone conversation between my thirteen-year-old son David Maurer and a girl. I invited David to step around to my room. When he arrived, I asked him if he was on the phone, and he said that he was using the portable. I invited him to say something into the phone, and his voice came out of the radio. The Soundman was picking up the broadcast from our portable phone. David and I were both astonished. I have used the Soundman myself for several weeks now. It is about a foot long, about eight inches high, and about three inches thick. It can be operated on house current or on batteries. I prefer to operate it on batteries, because I can carry it with me wherever I am in the house or, for that matter, anywhere else. I don't know whether the Soundman will pick up your children's conversations or not. But I do think it is a good machine and that you should know about it. ********** Cassette Religious Magazine Available: We have been asked to carry the following announcement: The Circle of Love is a monthly Christian ninety-minute tape magazine, which features songs, poetry, Bible games, testimonies, helpful information, Scripture memorization, pen pals, and many other features. Yearly subscriptions are $20 to keep the magazine and $15 to receive it on a read-and-return basis. For a free sample, write Circle of Love, 1002 Johnson Street, Pasadena, Texas 77506-4618, or call toll-free (800) 555-9205, enter mailbox 5384, and press the star key. Be sure to speak clearly and spell any unusual street and city names. ********** Audio Business Digest Service: We have been asked to carry the following announcement: Newstrack Executive Tape Service is the Listener's Digest of business information. For over seventeen years executives, business owners, investors, entrepreneurs, and other professionals have listened to this business tool. In every issue Newstrack editors review over 100 top business publications and special sources. They select the best sixteen articles on management, sales, marketing, finance, business strategy, and much more. Since no one has the time to read every important business article, Newstrack is a time-saving source in this age of information overload. Newstrack is available on both audio tape and CD. You have a choice of two versions: the small business issue is produced once a month at a cost of $149 per year on audio cassette; the regular full subscription is produced twice a month and costs $299 per year on cassette. We also offer the transcripts of each article available by e-mail, on 3.5-inch disk, or in hard copy. To order call toll-free (800) 334-5771. Mention this notice and receive a 15 percent discount off the regular subscription price. Our subscriptions come with a money-back guarantee. If you are dissatisfied at any time for any reason, just call and we'll promptly refund the unused portion of your subscription. So start letting us at Newstrack do your business reading for you today. ********** Jerry Watkins Dies: Jeriel R. Watkins, superintendent of the New Mexico School for the Blind from 1973 until his retirement in 1996, died Tuesday, February 10, 1998. He had suffered a brain aneurism two days earlier. Watkins was one of the defendants in a lawsuit brought by fifteen former students who maintained that they had been abused in various ways while students at the New Mexico School for the Visually Impaired. (See the October, 1996, issue of the Braille Monitor.) The case was recently settled. ********** Elected: The Austin Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas elected the following officers at its January, 1998, meeting: Zena Pearcy, President; Mary Ward, First Vice President; Wanda Hamm, Second Vice President; Norma Gonzales Baker, Secretary; and Margaret Craig, Treasurer. The new Board Members are Mike Waddles and Jim Portillo. ********** OSB Alumni Reunion: We have been asked to carry the following announcement: The Oklahoma School for the Blind alumni reunion will be held May 8, 9, and 10, 1998. A newsletter with registration form was sent out the last week in February. If you are an alum and have moved or are not on the mailing list, please send your name and address to Carolyn Patocka, Oklahoma School for the Blind, 3300 Gibson Street, Muskogee, Oklahoma 74403, (918) 682-6641, fax: (918) 682-1651, e-mail: [email protected] ********** Braille Teaching Aid: We recently learned about a Braille instructional tool that could be helpful in teaching Braille to children: Produced by Dancing Dots, Tack-tiles are small rectangular blocks which show Braille symbols as large raised dots and also show the corresponding print symbol for that Braille character. The blocks snap on to a board much like Lego toys. There are sets for English, Spanish, math, and music Braille. Each set contains 320 Tack-tiles, three large boards, and four smaller boards for students. Each set costs $269 plus shipping. ********** More from the Braille through Remote Learning Project: The following notice was recently passed along to us. Braille Monitor readers will remember that Robert Gotwals, who originally sent the note, has been working to develop an Internet course to teach Braille to students and would-be instructors. This is what he says about a new project: As a part of the Braille through Remote Learning (BRL) Project, the Shodor Education Foundation, Inc., will be providing some basic instruction in music Braille on the Web. We expect this course, "Specialized Codes," to be available free of charge by early summer. The course will also include Nemeth code, computer Braille codes, etc. This course is the third in a series of novice-to-expert Braille courses being offered over the Net. As the course instructor and Braillist, I have a special interest in music. I am very active in choral music; play the cello, guitar, and hammered dulcimer; and am currently taking piano lessons and a music theory course at Duke. Therefore I am extremely excited about the Specialized Codes course. I'm also a computational chemist in my real job and am thus eager to develop and offer the instruction in Braille mathematics and other technical codes. For more information visit http://www.shodor.org/braille We welcome kids and especially parents of blind kids who need any type of Braille instruction. ********** Writing Guides Available: We have been asked to carry the following announcement: Sturdy black pocket check-writing guides are now available with spaces for date, payee, numeric and written amount, plus signature and memo fields. Standard-size checks are held in place for easy writing, and the guides are durable. Cost is $4 each. Also available are sturdy black credit-card-size signature guides that fit either on a key chain or in your wallet. The template matches the signature line on a standard-size check. The guide is also convenient for signing credit card slips in a store check-out line. Cost is $1.50 each. If both items are purchased, the cost is $5. Send your order with a check or money order plus a self- addressed stamped envelope to the Rev. George Gray, 1002 Johnson Street, Pasadena, Texas 77506-4618. ********** For Sale: We have been asked to carry the following announcement: Type 'n Speak for sale, less than one year old, used only two or three times, includes manual and cables, asking $1,200 or best offer. Contact Ruth King at 112 North Lakewood Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224, or (410) 732-5331. ********** Catalog of Braille Books Available: The Louis Braille Center's 1998 catalog of Braille books features eighteen new titles, including My Life for the Poor by Mother Teresa, $18; You Come Too, poems by Robert Frost, $12; and The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams, $18. For a free catalog in Braille or print, contact Louis Braille Center, 320 Dayton Street, Suite 125, Edmonds, Washington 98020-3590, phone: (425) 776-4042, fax: (425) 778-2384, or e-mail: [email protected] ********** Religious Materials Available: We have been asked to carry the following announcement: Outreach with the Blind and Deaf/Blind offers Bibles and other materials in Braille as well as a lending library. To find out about their services, contact Floyd Rhoads, Outreach with the Blind and Deaf/Blind, Deaf/Blind Evangelism, 4143 Edmondson, Indianapolis, Indiana 46226-5016 or call (317) 549-3433. ********** New Braille Music Notation Software Available: Connie Leblond, President of the National Federation of the Blind of Maine, has asked us to carry the following announcement: Perspectives, total accessibility specialist, is pleased to announce the distribution of Concerto-Braille. This software enables blind and visually impaired users to transcribe Braille music. Features include the production of unlimited Braille pages; free updates; free Lime notator; and current NIFF compatibility: MIDI Scan, Lime, and Encore 5.0. It transcribes melodic lines, lyrics, and piano accompaniment. For more information on Perspectives' products and services, visit our Web site at: ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/perspectives or telephone (207) 772-7305 to request a product and service guide on computer diskette, in print, or in Braille. ********** For Sale: We have been asked to carry the following announcement: I have a Kurzweil Personal Reader model 35 for sale. It has manuals in Braille, on computer disk, and on cassette. It also has a SCSI card and cables. It is in good condition. Asking $2,500 or best offer. Contact Brenda Pride at (850) 455-3994. ********** Elected: We recently received notice from the Greater Seattle Chapter of the NFB of Washington that its new officers are Noel Nightingale, President; Rita Szantay, First Vice President; Mark Noble, Second Vice President; Renee West, Secretary; Gary Deeter, Treasurer; and Bennett Prows and Stephanie Yates, Board Members. ********** Ann Morris Enterprises 1998 Catalogues Available: We have been asked to carry the following announcement: If you have not received your 1998, Volume 12, catalog, it is time to phone Ann Morris Enterprises, Inc., and request your copy in large print, cassette, or computer disk. We have over 175 new items including an indoor/outdoor talking thermometer, talking count-down timer, no-flame lighter, new Aiwa and Sony modified recorders, and much more. Call (800) 454-3175 today or e-mail: [email protected] ********** BANA Elects 1998 Officers: The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) met in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 8 and 9, 1997. It elected the following new officers: Delores Ferrara-Godzieba, Chairperson; Betty Niceley, Vice Chairperson; Phyllis Campana, Secretary; and Charlotte Begley, Treasurer. BANA will conduct its spring meeting in Washington, D.C., on April 27 and 28. ********** Elected: On December 20, 1997, the Central Florida Chapter of the NFB of Florida elected new officers. They are Jerry Heichelbeck, President; Sherri Brun, Vice President; Marilyn Baldwin, Secretary; and Ruth Heichelbeck, Treasurer. ********** New Division: We are pleased to report that at its Christmas banquet on December 6, 1997, the NFB of Mississippi created Mississippi NAPUB, a division of the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille. The officers of the new division are Prentice Horton, President; Ella Reed, First Vice President; Gwen Stocks, Second Vice President; James Beard, Secretary; James Prince, Treasurer; and Rhonda White and Octivia Cotten, Board Members. ********** Business Opportunity: Jim Blacksten, who is helping to organize a new chapter in the NFB of California, has asked us to carry the following announcement: Would you like to join an exciting business which is selling new Leading-Edge computer products to blind people and to advertise and sell catalogs with some imported products? If you are a member of the international community, a woman with an interest in business, a college student, or someone who would like to be a distributor and make some extra money, this is the perfect opportunity for you. I am seeking to build a working relationship with a blind person having an interest in the international market and interested in a possible future partnership involving work and some financial investment. Whether you're interested in selling products or helping develop catalogs and promotional materials, I'd like to talk with you. To find out how you can become involved, call Jim Blacksten of Blacksten and Associates, Import Export, at (650) 347-7533. ********** A Raffle: The Diabetes Action Network of the National Federation of the Blind provides support and information to thousands of people. Because operating this valuable network and publishing the Voice of the Diabetic cost money, we must generate funds to help cover these expenses. Our Diabetes Action Network has elected to conduct a raffle. The grand prize will be $500! The winning ticket will be drawn and the winner's name announced on July 9 at the banquet held during the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind. Raffle tickets cost $1 each, or a book of six may be purchased for $5. Tickets may be purchased from state representatives of our Diabetes Action Network or by contacting the Voice Editorial Office, 811 Cherry Street, Suite 309, Columbia, Missouri 65201, telephone: (573) 875-8911. Anyone interested in selling tickets should also contact the Voice Editorial Office. Tickets are available now. Names of those who sell fifty tickets or more will be announced in the Voice. Please make checks payable to the National Federation of the Blind. Money and sold raffle ticket stubs must be mailed to the Voice office no later than June 10, 1998, or they can be personally delivered to Ed Bryant at this year's NFB convention in Dallas. This raffle is open to anyone age eighteen or older, and the holder of the lucky raffle ticket need not be present to win. Each ticket sold is a donation, helping keep our Diabetes Action Network moving forward. ********** New Chapter: NFB of California President Jim Willows recently wrote to say that on a rainy El Nino day, February 21, 1998, some forty Federationists and Federationists-to-be met to reestablish our San Francisco Chapter. This newest chapter of the NFB of California will carry on the great work of our late colleague, Lawrence (Muzzy) Marcelino in the city and Federation he loved. Officers elected are Jim Blacksten, President; David Chittendon, Vice President; Helen Dodge, Secretary; Shannon Dillon, Treasurer; and Adam Linn, Board Member. The NFB of California looks forward to great things from the NFB of San Francisco. ********** Elected: Elizabeth Campbell writes to say: I am pleased to announce that the following officers were elected to serve one-year terms in the Fort Worth chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas: President, Elizabeth Campbell; Vice President, Gabriel Valentin; Secretary, Geneva Teagarden; Treasurer, Linda Fitzgerald; and Board Member, John Jones. We look forward to an exciting year of planning projects and seeing our chapter grow. ********** Playing Cards Available: The Black Hawk County Chapter of the NFB of Iowa is now selling Braille and large-print playing cards. Each card has National Federation of the Blind and the organization's logo printed on the back. The cost of a deck is $6 plus $.50 for shipping and handling. Checks should be made payable to Black Hawk County, NFBI and should be mailed to Loren Wakefield, 722 Denver Street #2, Waterloo, Iowa 50702-2944. ********** Resigning: We recently learned that at its February 13, 1998, meeting, the American Council of the Blind's Board of Directors accepted the resignation of long-time ACB Executive Director Oral Miller, effective in September. ********** NFB PLEDGE ********** I pledge to participate actively in the effort of the National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.