By Jennifer Dunnam, President

The expression "You never know what will happen in the next moment" seems truer these days than ever. Change is, of course, inevitable, and there is a great deal of it happening quite rapidly just now. Some of the changes take the form of unexpected twists, to which we must be prepared to react and shape the outcome. Some have come about as the result of careful planning and hard work on our part. Some are clearly for the best; some are difficult, and the positive may take time to emerge. Some happen quickly; some, in order to work well, have to be made strategically rather than swiftly.

The field of work in blindness here in Minnesota is in quite a state of flux at the moment. First, there are significant changes in leadership at State Services for the Blind. Of course, the directorship is in transition, and the nature of that change is still to be determined. There have been other retirements and announcements of impending retirements — including that of our own Jan Bailey, who will retire from her long and stellar career as an SSB counselor in December. This is not to mention the sudden and devastating terminal illness of Mary Archer, who has with great skill and dedication directed the Braille Section at SSB for many years.

There is a new director at the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind, and we are very much looking forward to meeting her at our annual convention this year. Also, the Department of Education is, at this writing, still seeking a qualified person to fill the position of Director of the Minnesota Resource Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired vacated when Jean Martin retired in October of 2008.

In spite of what succession planning may have occurred, the loss of the experience of all these people will have an impact, and it requires that we in the Federation be more vigilant than ever about monitoring the services and communicating with the agencies, so that they will continue to recognize us as the important resource that we are, and so they will know when something needs improving.

In no small part due to pressure from the NFB of Minnesota, there has been what looks to be a positive change regarding the staff training at SSB. A new policy was released in July, adding several components and increasing the length of adjustment-to-blindness training to six weeks. The request for proposals from training facilities has just been released, and we'll know more of how the policy will be implemented once the process is further along. We will also do all we can to see that the improvements remain in place regardless of leadership transitions at the agency.

Our work on a project as far-reaching in scope as our Braille Readers are Leaders campaign is just one of many examples of how the National Federation of the Blind has changed and grown in stature and power on a national level, taking on challenges of a scale we could only dream of 20 years ago. With the greater stature and power come greater responsibility and the requirement of new skills and approaches. Earlier this year, the U.S. Mint released the Louis Braille Commemorative Coin for sale. This achievement came about as the result of hard work on the part of our members all over this country, who contacted their legislators, convincing them of the critical need to do something about the horrendously low rate of literacy in braille among children. We achieved passage of the legislation by congress; we helped to design the first coin with readable braille issued by the U.S. Mint. We celebrated its release on March 26 with various events around the country. We have been working to help promote the coins and raise awareness about the need for braille literacy programs. But the job isn’t finished yet. The coins not sold by December 31, 2009, will be destroyed, and no more will be made. In order for us to realize fully the fruit of all our efforts, we need to do all we can, each of us, and all of us, to sell as many of these beautiful coins as possible. It is much easier to sell a thing when the potential buyers can get it in their hands and take it away with them after parting with their money. The Minnesota affiliate has purchased a stash of the coins, and they are available now, right here in Minnesota. They will be on hand at the convention and other meetings as well. We will be working to sell them at local coin shows, and other events, but we need as many individuals as possible to help sell them to people you come across who care about helping to improve literacy for blind children.

We now live in a world where something as simple as purchasing a washing machine has taken on more complexity and expense just to be sure we can use it. New technology is for sure a double-edged sword because of the unprecedented access and power it can bring us, and also the unprecedented ways in which it can shut us out of areas that once presented no problems unless we fight for inclusion of nonvisual access. We must do this while still maintaining the ability to be creative and resourceful about getting tasks done even when a nonvisual method is not obvious.

In Minnesota, we started Blindness: Learning in New Dimensions (BLIND) Inc. 20+ years ago, running it out of an apartment. Now BLIND has paid off the mortgage on our beautiful mansion that we once had to fight to even be permitted to purchase. We celebrated the milestone in delightful fashion at the end of July, and we can all be extremely proud of this accomplishment.

Of course, our affiliate has been undergoing some transition as well. During the past two years since you elected me president, I’ve learned more than I ever knew needed learning. There have been exciting accomplishments, but getting the hang of the many aspects to this job has not always been easy. I am grateful for all of the help and support from you who share our positive philosophy and our willingness to work together to put it into action. Our future looks as bright as ever, because this is a strong organization with a clear purpose. We don't just complain about the problems, but we roll up our sleeves and bring to bear our collective experience and our philosophy as we work together toward solutions. For our own growth as an organization — not only growth in size but also growth in depth — there will always be a need for us to make changes in our approaches, and we'll think these changes through so that we build on the good we already have and won't need to try to re-invent the wheel.

Amid all the changes, some things remain. Society still needs our help to understand the truth about blindness and to raise expectations for blind people. Too many people are still unnecessarily limited by low expectations. No matter what advances in technology may come, we who are blind need basic skills in literacy, travel, daily living and many other alternative techniques if we are to compete on terms of equality with those who are not blind, as we know we can. We in the NFB of Minnesota have long been a force for bringing improvement, and we will continue to do so. We are a relatively small group within society, and so, to be the force we want to be we must act in an organized and cohesive way. We in the Federation will, as we always have, seize the opportunity brought by all these changes, so that more will be able to learn the truth about blindness.