"Blindness Matters"- NFB of Utah Newsletter
Coming soon the next addition soon in 2012.
Blindness Matters
National Federation of the Blind of Utah News Letter
March 2011
Greetings NFB of Utah members. This is the first Quarterly NFB of Utah newsletter.
Many hands have made this first issue easy to organize.
The information and articles contained within these few pages is a summary of the activities that have been going on in the state of Utah and around the country where blind people are changing what it means to be blind. You will find individual chapter contact information and activities that NFB Utahns have been involved in. There is details regarding 2 newly formed chapters in the southern part of the state. There are division reports within the affiliate. There is also brief information about the Blind Car Challenge and the Washington Seminar. You will find all the information you need to sign up for the State and National conventions. So sit back, listen, learn and enjoy.
Jerry Nealey Editor
Barbie Elliott, co-editor
The National Federation of the Blind of Utah has a webpage where you can keep up with all the happenings which are updated frequently, go to www.nfbutah.org
Now lets meet the NFB Utah affiliate board members:
President, Ron Gardner
First Vice, President Cheralyn Creer
Second Vice President,
Secretary, Karl Smith
Treasurer Adam Rushforth
Board Members
Everette Bacon
Norm Gardner
Sachin Pavithran
David Poteet
To read more about each one of these go to the Nfbutah.org webpage.
State and National Conventions
Mark your calendars for our upcoming state and National conventions. The Utah convention will be held on Friday May 13 and Saturday May 14 at the Red Lion Hotel in Salt Lake City. Registration is available on our website www.nfbutah.org
The National convention will be held in Orlando Florida this year from Sunday July 3 through Friday July 8. Hotel rooms are going faster this year so please visit www.nfb.org for more details. The Utah affiliate is assisting with expenses to attend the National Convention. Those who are interested should contact their chapter or affiliate president.
The Forming of 2 new chapters
by Affiliate President, Ron Gardner
We are happy to announce that we organized two new chapters of the National Federation of the Blind of Utah. We had over 20 people in Cedar City and over 60 people in St. George.
Newly formed Iron County Chapter
The new chapter organized Friday, February 25, in Cedar City is the Iron County Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Utah. Elections were held and the following officers of the Iron County Chapter were elected:
President - Tara Lamoreaux
435-867-8904,
taralamoreaux@yahoo.com
Vice President/Treasurer - Brandon Terry
Secretary - Hailey Lamoreaux
Board Members
Paul White
Michaela Lamoreaux
Newly formed Red Rocks Chapter
Press Release:
National Federation of the Blind Forms New Chapter In St. George
Saint George, Utah - A new chapter of the National Federation of the Blind was formed in St. George on Saturday, February 26 according to Utah Affiliate President Ron Gardner.
Gardner said that a group of 50 local citizens, most of whom were blind, met in the Vocational Rehabilitation Center located at 515 West 300 North in St. George. The center houses the offices for the Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
A motion from the floor was made to form a local chapter of the NFB. By unanimous vote a chapter was established, and the decision was made to call the new organization the Red Rocks Chapter. A chapter constitution was proposed and accepted, said Gardner.
After the chapter was established and named, the election of officers was conducted. Robert Olsen was elected President of the new chapter, with Karen Summerhays as Vice President. Brooke Lovell was elected as Secretary, and Ian Reed as Treasurer. Charlene Mathis and Tyson Lovell were selected as 1st & 2nd Board Members respectively.
A luncheon was provided to all those in attendance, compliments of the State Affiliate. Then experienced members of the NFB of Utah, Cheralyn Braithwaite Creer, Milton Taylor, and James Bybee, gave informative narrations about some of the divisions and organizations within both the state affiliate and the national organization, Gardner said.
Everett Bacon, an Assistive Technology Specialist with the DSBVI, then provided demonstrations of some of the amazing technology available to blind people, and explained their applications in the everyday activities of the blind and visually impaired.
Those who are blind or visually impaired in St. George or the surrounding area are invited to join the NFB’s informative and educational meetings.
For more information about the Red Rocks Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Utah, please contact
President Robert Olsen at
435-673-0616.
We are very excited about these two new chapters and the great, enthusiastic members who were present at the two meetings . We thank all those who worked hard on organizing these events, and we want to offer a special thanks to Gary Owens at the Red Rock Center for the use of their facilities.
Thanks to our members in the NFB of Utah and to the newly elected officers for their work in bringing these two new chapters into our affiliate.
Chapter News and contact information:
Weber-Davis Chapter
President Barbie Elliott
801-546-0670
barbieelliott@msn.com
vice President Jerry Nealey
Secretary Brenda Malliot
Treasurer Bill Gibson
Board Members
Richard Condie
Dr. William Clapp
Last month we created packets with copies of the kernel books, Braille alphabet cards and sticker labels with our local NFB information on it. We are now in the process of donating them to eye care specialists to help those who are dealing with vision loss to know about NFB. We will be holding our elections meeting to elect new officers on March 5 at noon at Bill Gibson's home. We hope to see lots of friends and fellow Federationists there. We are looking forward to a great year filled with conventions fund raisers, meetings and friendships.
Cash Valley chapter:
President Sachin Pavithran
sachin.pavithran@usu.edu
Vice President Kasondra Paine
Secretary Amanda Williams
Treasurer Margaret Pavithran
Board member
Ulvia Guadarrama
The Cache Valley chapter of the NFBU has donated copies of the kernel books
to several libraries in Cache Valley including libraries in Smithfield,
Logan, North Logan, and the USU library. We want to get true stories of
blind people out there, so the public will know that we are normal, capable,
citizens.
We are having a fundraising lunch at Texas Roadhouse on Thursday,
March 3, 2011 at Noon. We are also looking forward to doing another car wash
this spring or summer, and we are always recruiting new members. The Cache
Valley chapter may be small, but we are changing what it means to be blind
in this part of Utah.
Salt Lake Chapter
President Everette Bacon
801-631-8108,
baconev@yahoo.com
First vice President Dave Sarle
Second Vice President Brook Sexton
Secretary Mark Turley
Treasurer Karl Smith
Board Members
Kevin Ledford,
James Bybee,
Shaun Reimers -
The SLC chapter meets on the forth Saturday of every month at 1 p.m. in the Lincoln Tower apartments
2717 s Lincoln st. Salt Lake City
For more information contact the Salt Lake chapter info nfb hotline
801-463-6632 (info nfb).
Up coming events:
fund raiser Texas road house in April exact times to be announced.
there will be a chapter activity first Saturday in June
Another fund raiser during the second week in August,
Wednesday through Saturday salt lake county fair Equestrian center
West Jordan Ut, smashing the myths of blindness.
Utah Valley Chapter:
The Utah Valley chapter meets on the third Saturday of each month at 10am at the Provo Library located at 550 North University Ave. in room 309.
President: Kara Campbell
801-225-5852)
kara64@comcast.net
Vice President Adam Rushforth
Secretary Ray Martin
Treasurer Norm Gardner
Board Members
Judy Poteet
Renae Pavlus
Kris Wycoff
Lisa Rowberry
Project STRIVE
For teens and young adults.
STRIVE forward for teens and young adults 16--26 just completed their second quarterly activity. Four students were selected to join the Utah affiliate in Washington DC for the national Washington Seminar.
Project STRIVE is excited to announce their Employment Day Seminar
When: Saturday, April 9, 2011
Where: Division of Services for the Blind & Visually Impaired
Whom: Project STRIVE Youth & Young Adults (Ages 13-26)
Time: 10:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
Cost: Free if you pre-register by April 1, 2011, $10 at the door
Come Prepared: Bring a Resume' & Dress Appropriately for an Interview
Workshops and Instruction Include:
*Investigate Careers: Utahfutures.org
*Building and/or Writing Your Resume'
*Interview Techniques- How Do You Respond to Questions Related to Blindness or Visual Impairment
*Dress for Success- What Do I Wear to an Interview?
*Proper Etiquette & Manners- Free Lunch Included
*BELL Jr. Mentor Interviews- Summer Braille Enrichment & Literacy Program
*Mock Interviews & Feedback
*Amazing Drawings & Prizes to recognize outstanding performance and participation.*
Call or email Marla at 801-599-3164 or palmermommy@Q.com to reserve your spot today.
Club STRIVE for junior and high school age teens just held two fabulous slumber parties. Girls met at Cheralyn's home to make pizza, do make overs, watch a descriptive video and play cards. Boys met at Adam's to play video games, eat pizza, and have guy talk. Everyone seemed to have a great time! We will be holding our next monthly meeting for Club STRIVE on March 12 from 10-4 at DSBVI. We will have car care taught by blind adults. We will also be having a cooking without looking segment preparing our own lunch, and go on a GPS outside mobility and technology experience. It will be a lot of fun!
If you have questions contact Cheralyn Creer:
cell 801-651-5504
Both Club STRIVE and STRIVE FORWARD will be meeting together on April 9 for a career exploration panel. We will send more information as it becomes available.
National Events
Blind Man Drives Car Independently
The NFB has announced that for the first time a blind individual has driven a street vehicle in public without the assistance of a sighted person. Mark Anthony Riccobono, a blind executive who directs technology, research, and education programs for the organization, was behind the wheel of a Ford Escape hybrid equipped with nonvisual technology and successfully navigated 1.5 miles of the road course section of the famed track at the Daytona International Speedway. Several of our local members were in attendance and said it was an incredible experience. For more information on this historic moment, please read the digital news release with audio and video or d
Washington Seminar
21 people from Utah were privileged to go to Washington DC to participate in the annual Washington Seminar. We were able to meet with Senators Hatch and Lee and office staff from each of the three Utah representatives. We were able to discuss 3 important issues
1) A Technology Bill of Rights for the Blind
2) Ensuring Equal Education for Blind Children: Setting Standards that Promote Excellence
3) Americans with Disabilities Business Opportunity Act
Each of these initiatives is explained further on the NFB website at: www.nfb.org, and go to Washington Seminar.
Scholarships available! Each year, the NFB offers blind college students in the U.S. the opportunity to win one of thirty national scholarships. To apply, visit www.nfb.org/scholarships.
If you would like to apply for a state scholarship, you may use exactly the same application from the national scholarship application and other information and submit it to Sachin.pavithran@usu.edu. This must be submitted by April 15 to be eligible for a state cash scholarship from the NFB of Utah. These cash scholarships will be awarded during our state convention May 13 and 14 at the Red Lion Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah.
If you have ideas for further articles or news or just questions please send them to Jerry Nealey utahnfb@gmail.com.