Why I am a Member!

Why I am a Member!

Braille MonitorApril 2019

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Why I am a Member!
by Everette Bacon
From the Editor: Everette Bacon is a member of the national board of directors and serves as the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Utah. He is energetic, hardworking, and ever so approachable. It is always a pleasure when he submits an article for the Braille Monitor, and I am sure that you will enjoy his latest contribution. Here is what he says:
I am blind. I have always been blind. When I was a child all the way up until I became a young man, I never wanted to admit this fact. I knew plenty of blind people, I even came from a family with hereditary blindness. I was told, and I came to believe, that my partial sight was different and that I was not ever going to be like “those” blind people!

Boy, was I wrong!

I came to know the Federation because of a bad job experience. In 1997 I became the lead store manager of a Blockbuster Video store in Irving, Texas. I love movies and pop culture, and this job was fun and rewarding. I was able to move from lower performing stores to the third highest revenue Blockbuster store in the greater Houston area. I received awards, promotions, and in 2002, I had trained ten other store managers in Houston and surrounding areas of Texas. All the while, my vision was slowly decreasing. It became more difficult to perform my responsibilities, and I knew that I needed to do something about it. I was aware that there was assistive technology such as video magnifiers and software like ZoomText available, and I thought if I went to my human resources manager at Blockbuster, I could request and receive these accommodations. In January of 2003, I made a formal request for accommodations, and a little over a month later, I was called into the regional director’s office and was informed that I was being terminated for fraudulent inventory practices. I was never given any physical proof of this; I was only told that there was evidence. The ironic thing is that in October of 2002 I had just received an award for the top inventory control store for that fiscal year. Needless to say, I was devastated. My wife and family were furious! I did not know where to turn, and I really did not know what I was going to do. My wife, who happened to be in medical school at the time, drafted an email that was titled “Blind man discriminated against by Blockbuster Video!” This was shared with all of our contacts, and my mom had forwarded it to a listserv that just so happened to include the email address of Scott LaBarre. For those of you who do not know, Scott LaBarre is an attorney who does significant legal work for the National Federation of the Blind. Scott was able to reach out to me and became my attorney. He also told me that the NFB was very interested in my case and that if need be, they would also provide assistance to me. I did not know about the NFB. I did not know any members of the Federation. I had never heard of Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, Dr. Marc Maurer, or anyone else. I knew nothing of the significant work the Federation has done on behalf of blind people. Scott told me the NFB only asked one thing in return for its representation and assistance: that I check out their website and maybe attend a chapter meeting. I was really impressed by Scott and the generosity of the Federation, and I promised I would look into the NFB.

By early 2004 my wife was accepted into a medical residency program in Utah. We moved to Utah in the spring of 2004, and I reached out to NFB of Utah president Ron Gardner. I received a call from a local chapter member by the name of Milt Taylor, and I attended my first chapter meeting in Salt Lake City. There I was welcomed by members such as Nick Schmittroth, Tai Tomasi, Dave Sarle, and so many others. What I found in that local chapter meeting and in the Utah affiliate was people just like me! Some were completely blind, some had partial vision, but they all had something in common that I did not have: they were proud of their blindness. They were motivated to make changes that would affect them directly and many other blind people as well. They were living the life they wanted, and blindness did not hold them back.

I kept attending monthly chapter meetings, and Nick and I became close friends. Nick showed me how to use a cane with confidence, and later that year I was hired by the Utah Division of Services for the Blind. I officially joined the chapter that summer, and in 2005 I was elected to the chapter board of directors. In 2006 I was elected to be treasurer of the chapter. I also attended my first national convention in Dallas, Texas. The convention was a wonderful experience, and I am proud to say that I have only missed one convention since 2006.

Unfortunately, my good friend Nick passed away in 2006, and I was elected to serve as the Salt Lake City chapter president. I have gone on to become the Utah affiliate president and am currently honored to serve on the national board of directors.

I am a member of the National Federation of the Blind because I found a community of people who are just like me. They have hopes and dreams, they want careers, and they want families. They want and are not afraid to do whatever it takes to achieve these things—and oh, by the way, they also happen to be blind! I am proud to be blind, and I am proud to be a member of the National Federation of the Blind.

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