November Bulletin

November 1, 2010

To be read at chapter meetings:

Thank you for all that you do!

Well, we have wrapped up another successful state convention. Last weekend, Federationists came together in Irvine to enrich and support each other in our quest to change what it means to be blind. By all accounts, it was a very harmonious and uplifting gathering. An event such as that would not be possible without the cooperative spirit of many, many people. So thank you to everyone who sold the tickets, passed out the agendas and assisted the new people to get from place to place.

Our national representative, Dr. Fred Schroeder gave astirring banquet speech. Many people who were present told me that he moved them to tears. He reassured all of us that the NFB has changed lives and will continue to do so if we come together, work together and stay together.

Scholarships:

This year, the scholarship committee decided to award five scholarships to worthy college students. The awards were presented at the banquet in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The “Julie Landucci Scholarship” was awarded to two students who are not clients of the Department of REHABILITATION. They are Nancy Angwin of Fresno and Marsh Smith of Los Angeles. The other three recipients were Marvin Jones, Los Angeles; Chuy Vaca, Burbank; and Henry (Hoby) Wedler of Davis. Congratulations to them all.

New Charters:

California is growing. This year we organized six new chapters. They are: East Bay Chapter, President, Jason Holloway; Southwest Riverside County Chapter, President, Jeri Siquiros; Riverside San Bernnardino Chapter, President, Pam Chase; Inland Empire, President Cheryl Thirston; and the West LA Chapter of Angels, President, Tina Thomas. We have also started an “At Large Chapter: for those who are not living in areas where the NFB of California already has a chapter. Go to our website www.sixdots.org/chapters to see when and where all the chapters meet.

Elections:

This year all of the officer positions were up for elections. The President is Mary Willows; First Vice-president, Robert Stigile; Second Vice-president, Ever Lee Hairston; Secretary, Shannon Dillon and Treasurer, Mellisa Haney.

The Board of Directors are Kia Vaca, Michael Hingson and Tiffany Manosh.

Thank you to the people whose service we will always appreciate. Gail Paulson and Lisamaria Martinez. We wish them much love and good luck in their busy lives.

Mary Willows, President
National Federation of the Blind of California
mwillows@sbcglobal.net