President’s Message

By NFBC President Nancy Burns

Visiting other NFB local chapters and state affiliates is always a pleasure. Such visits are generally informative and filled with new and exciting ideas. It is beneficial to mix and mingle with other Federationists and to gain insight into various methods of organizing and running such meetings.

This past April, Don and I had the opportunity to attend the NFB of New Mexico state convention. The New Mexico affiliate was celebrating its fiftieth anniversary along with the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind.

Dr. Fred Schroeder was the National representative and delivered the banquet address in his usual eloquent manner. He talked about an experience he had at the last national convention in Louisville. A ten-year-old blind girl had come up to him and had asked him for some directions. Her parents had given her money and had asked her to go to the other hotel tower and buy her own breakfast. She had accomplished this and was working her way back across the breezeway to her hotel room. Dr. Schroeder walked with her and stopped occasionally to point out sounds that she could use for landmarks. They both arrived at the bank of elevators and she pressed the button. Dr. Schroeder asked her if she was okay finding her room and she assured him that she was and she disappeared behind the closing elevator doors.

At that moment one of the girl’s parents tapped him on the shoulder and told him that the young girl had been lovingly followed from a distance but that she had not known this. Her parents had faith in their daughter’s abilities and allowed her to gain more confidence through this exercise. They had faith in their daughter’s abilities because of their involvement in the NFB.

In early June, Don and I were in Salt Lake City attending the NFB of Utah state convention. President Ron Gardner had asked us to come and speak on the NFB of California’s legislative successes, which brought about Braille reading and math standards. The Utah affiliate is a well-oiled machine sparked with a sense of love and caring for one another.

One of the agenda items featured a mother of a fourteen-year-old; legally blind daughter named Katy. Katy’s VI teacher was apparently pleased with the fact that Katy read twelve words a minute in Braille. Katy is a high functioning, straight A student who struggles with her limited vision to read large print. Katy’s mom is determined to find an appropriate educational setting for Katy where she would be taught Braille and other blindness-specific skills. The Department of Special Education advised Katy’s mom that there were no standards for learning Braille—that such standards did not exist. She went online and discovered the California laws, which created Braille reading and math standards. She was excited over this discovery and was even contemplating moving to this state.

The convention concluded on Saturday evening with an inspirational banquet address delivered by Gary Wunder, president of the NFB of Missouri.

On Sunday morning, Ron and Jan Gardner took several out of town guests to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as they broadcast their weekly inspirational program. It was a great experience!

In February, I attended the first ever Affiliate Presidents’ training, which was held at our national headquarters in Maryland. It was an intensive, thought provoking weekend, attended by forty-nine NFB state presidents. Subjects discussed ranged from fundraising to technology and from member recruitment to suggestions on planning for state conventions. A wealth of information was shared by federation leaders including Mrs. Mary Ellen Jernigan, Dr. Fred Shroeder, and Dr. Betsy Zabarowski. The frosting on the cake was the opportunity to tour the newly completed Jernigan Institute, which will house programs pertaining to education, employment and rehabilitation, seniors, technology, and the Jacobus tenBroek Library.

The California Association of Blind Students (CABS) held a weekend seminar at the California School for the Blind (CSB) in early May. This successful and informative seminar was well attended. CSB Superintendent, Dr. Stuart Wittenstein, provided not only the facilities but also a great deal of assistance and an educational presentation at the conclusion of the seminar.

In addition to these out of state trips, I was able to participate in numerous local chapter meetings and events. The Beginning Braille for Parents workshops continue to expand. Several chapters have presented programs for seniors who are experiencing vision loss.

The highlight of this year has been the successful passage of AB 897, which enacted Braille reading and math standards, effective June 1, 2006. This is the culmination of seven years of intense legislative work. California boasts the honor of being the first state to pass such legislation. This is a huge accomplishment and will benefit the education of blind students. The California affiliate is active and moving forward in the process of changing what is means to be blind.