October 23-25, 2009

By Judy Sanders, Secretary

CELEBRATING BRAILLE

What a fine celebration it was! Not only was braille in evidence throughout the convention, but it was a continued testimony to the hard work of blind Minnesotans and their friends taking control of their lives and creating a positive future for all blind citizens. Over 100 people gathered at the Crowne Plaza Riverfront in downtown St. Paul to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille's birth and take collective action on issues affecting blind people everywhere.

Friday

Registration began at 1:00 p.m. where people could buy Saturday lunch tickets for the Blindness: Learning in New Dimensions (BLIND) Incorporated annual consumer forum, buy banquet tickets, and register for exciting door prizes.

In the registration area one could view exhibits from Handy Tech North America, showing off braille displays and more; Access Education with an accessible dartboard; and the Speech Gurus demonstrating Kurzweil 1000 and Dragon Naturally Speaking. We welcomed a representative from the federal Department of Education with material about student financial aid for higher education. It was also possible to buy Louis Braille coins and the Metro Chapter was sponsoring a raffle giving away a portable digital audio-book reader.

As usual, there was a variety of activities with something for everyone. The first of these was an inaugural meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota Seniors Division. Chaired by Joyce Scanlan, this group adopted a constitution and elected Joyce Scanlan as temporary chair. This is going to be a high energy, vocal group.

Those who attended the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille in Minnesota (NAPUB) had a lot to talk about. However, spirits were somewhat dampened because Melody Wartenbee, NAPUB's president, was unable to be with us. She was recovering from a collapsed lung. (We are all grateful that Melody is now back in action.)

This year the BRAILLE READERS ARE LEADERS contest was expanded to include adults. There will be categories for beginning braille readers all the way to expert readers. Everyone was encouraged to participate. Election results were as follows: president, Melody Wartenbee; vice president, Amy Baron; secretary, Trudy Barrett; and treasurer, RoseAnn Faber.

The heart of any NFB convention is the process of passing resolutions. Any member has the right to submit a resolution, our resolutions committee examines it, and makes a recommendation of pass or do not pass. This committee, chaired by Steve Decker, met to review two possible resolutions and recommended both to pass.

Two more meetings filled in our Friday evening. The Minnesota Association of Blind Students made ambitious plans for the following year and elected the following officers: president, Katlyn Kress; first vice president, Jean Rauschenbach; second vice president, Jordan Richardson; secretary, Matthias Niska; and treasurer, Ann Naber.

And while our students were planning a successful future, our parents, through the Minnesota Organization of Parents of Blind Children, were revising their constitution and engaging in a thoughtful discussion about involving their children in an active, normal social life.

Generous hospitality from our Metro chapter hosts topped off the evening. Food, lively conversation and anticipation for a spirited weekend were everywhere.

Saturday

Following an invocation, our Metro chapter president Pat Barrett welcomed us. Not only were there many Minnesotans in the room, but there were participants present from Illinois, Idaho and Iowa. We began drawing for our first door prize. Rob Hobson, chair of this committee, gave away the first of many valuable prizes.

Another tradition at our fall convention is our lucrative bake sale auction. Coordinated by Zach Ellingson many members had the chance to wear the auctioneer's hat and help sell tasty goods.

Each person who wishes to do so can have ownership in the NFB by participating in our conventions and local activities. Another way to have an impact is a financial commitment. Al Spooner talked to us about becoming members of the PAC (Pre-Authorized Check) Plan. This means donating a designated amount of money automatically to the NFB from a person's checking account. Throughout the weekend, members made their commitments to make our movement stronger.

The theme for this convention was "Celebrating Braille." In honor of the 200th birthday of Louis Braille, the inventor of braille, Congress authorized the issuance of a commemorative coin with real braille on it. Proceeds from the sale of these coins belong to the NFB to conduct a national braille literacy campaign. Dick Davis described the coin to the audience and was available to sell coins to all.

We were pleased to welcome our national representative, Patti Gregory-Chang, member of the national board of directors and president of the NFB of Illinois, for her report. Patti explained in depth about the need for our braille literacy campaign. She acquainted us with the myriad of programs run through the Jernigan Institute, including Youth Slam and the Junior Science Academy.

H.R. 734 and S. 841 is the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act that will set a standard for the sound made by quiet cars after a study to determine what that sound should be. Minnesota currently has five cosponsors for that bill.

H.R. 886 deals with eliminating work incentives with Social Security Disability benefits. There are two Minnesotans cosponsoring this bill.

We also will have a Technology Bill of Rights introduced by the time of our Washington Seminar. (Note: The bill was introduced and Congressmen Keith Ellison and James Oberstar are two of ten original sponsors.) All of these bills will be topics of discussion at the Washington Seminar in February.

Our national convention will be in Dallas from July 3-8. It is not too early to start making plans.

Alice Woog is the newly appointed director of the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind in Faribault. The school has about 55 students with a very active transition program. Dr. Woog is new to the blindness field and she is still learning about the potential of her students. However, she showed a good understanding of the importance of braille, and its meaning to the success of her students when they graduate. We also heard from Ken Trebelhorn who is the assistive technology instructor at the Academy and is a member of the NFB. Dr. Woog closed by saying she wanted to work closely with us to raise expectations for her students.

"State Services for the Blind: A Time of Transition" was presented by Richard Strong, acting director of State Services for the Blind (SSB). The full text of his remarks appeared in the last Minnesota Bulletin. (Note: Since our convention, Mr. Strong has been appointed the permanent director of SSB.)

His remarks covered such topics as staff changes, ARRA (American Reinvestment and Recovery Act) funding, and focusing on accomplishments and areas of improvement for each unit of SSB.

During the question and comment period, Jennifer told us that the NFB has been actively engaged in advocating for SSB customers who are not getting the services to which they are entitled. She also sent a message to DEED (Department of Employment and Economic Development that SSB is part of) that retaining our separate agency status is imperative above all things.

Kathy McGillivray asked about the status of services for children and youth. There is no longer a program for services for children, but anyone over 14 is entitled to seek a counselor.

In his closing statement, Mr. Strong expressed the hope that the next director would seek out the support and guidance of the NFB and that if it did not happen that way he was confident we would make sure the director heard from us.

Catherine Durivage, Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library director, gave an update from our library to us. The full text of her remarks appears in the previous Minnesota Bulletin.

Ms. Durivage talked about progress with some temporary employees filling the gap of a personnel shortage that the library has had to contend with for a few years. She expressed appreciation to the blind community for our support for the library at the legislature.

Her focus was the announcement that the new digital players are being distributed. There is a waiting list with veterans receiving the first machines and those patrons who are over 100 years of age second on the list. The rest of us will follow. (Note: At this writing, any library patron can call for a machine).

A surprise guest made brief remarks to the convention. Representative Tom Rukavina reminisced with us about his involvement with our Braille Literacy bill over two decades ago. Mr. Rukavina is a candidate for governor who expressed support for a separate agency for the blind.

Kallie Decker was Minnesota's coordinator for Youth Slam. She introduced three participants in the program. Jordan Richardson was a student in 2007 and served as a mentor in 2009. He said that he developed patience in working with students for a week. He now appreciates what his mentors endured.

Ann Naber has attended Youth Slam twice and had the chance to drive the prototype of the automobile being developed by the Jernigan Institute.

Katlyn Kress helped developed a solar panel which was sort of right up her alley because she hopes to be a student of science in college. She wants to major in biology. What meant more to her than the subject matter was getting to know her mentor who had been blind for two years and works as a nurse.

Katlyn also expressed appreciation to the adults who coordinated teen night. She wanted to see more students become involved.

Jeff Thompson closed this panel with a brief review of the teen activities and his pride in their recent involvement in the NFB and our student division. Most of the new officers are participants in teen night.

During lunch people ate box lunches and listened to a progress report from the staff and board of directors for BLIND, Incorporated.

Past convention goers will remember that each year we heard from Jean Martin, Director of the Minnesota Resource Center for blind students. Due to her retirement one year ago that position has been vacant and her responsibilities are being carried out by her former supervisor, Joan Breslin-Larson. This position has been posted nine times by the Minnesota Department of Education and has not yet been filled. On a more positive note, the Department is working on providing accessible material to blind students in core instruction areas. Minnesota is one of fifteen states that has a sub-grant from the U.S. Department of Education for this project. The Department is also reviewing licensure requirements for special education teachers. They will continue to have separate requirements for teachers of blind and visually impaired students with an emphasis on braille. There should be public hearings on this rulemaking process in 2010. Jennifer asked about the review of questions on standardized tests that may be biased in a negative way for blind students. This was a major responsibility of Jean Martin and Mary Archer, former director of the Braille Section at SSB. There have been no new test questions lately but when there are, competent people will review them.

Carrie Gilmer asked for a clarification of what material the sub-grant from the U.S. Department of Education covers. It is to help digitize material for recorded material but it could also help people using braille displays.

Jan Bailey asked for the exact title of the open position and if it had been advertised outside the Minnesota system. The position is for an Education Specialist II Braille and Visually Impaired and is being posted for the ninth or tenth time. Ms. Breslin-Larson will be happy to share it.

"Learning English, Learning Cane Travel" was a panel discussion presented by three people from BLIND, Incorporated. Sharon Monthei is a language instructor who also teaches her students beginning braille. Her job is to help her students know enough English to enroll in a full-time rehabilitation program. Cane travel is a key subject so they learn travel words like "directions.”

Zach Ellingson is a travel instructor who is bridging the language gap with his students. He shared many humorous stories that show not only his students drive but also his ability to learn some new vocabulary in other languages.

Musamil Yahya is an English Language Learner student who is also taking the full program. He is from Ethiopia and has been in the U.S. for a year and a half. He told about getting on a bus and forgetting how to say the name of the street he wanted. It did finally come to him but this is an example of the challenges that he and others face. The audience could tell that he has made tremendous progress with both English and his other skills.

Sharon closed with sharing a remembrance of the day when Muzamil came into her class and excitedly bragged that he had walked around the block by himself. It was the first time he had gone anywhere by himself since becoming blind.

After taking time to meet the audience, where each person gave examples of how braille is important in their life, we heard from Andy Virden, longtime president of our Central Minnesota chapter. Andy is a mainstay of our conventions but he could not be with us this year. Through the marvels of technology, we listened to his remarks over the phone. His chapter is growing in membership, getting ready for another spaghetti dinner, and letting their community know of the importance of public transportation and other matters. They have sold several Louis Braille coins raising over $300.

Shawn Mayo, executive director of BLIND, Incorporated briefly listed many of this year's accomplishments such as welcoming Rob Hobson, a second travel instructor, taking exciting new trips like dog sledding and paying off the mortgage to our beautiful headquarters in Minneapolis.

Shawn then introduced us to another new staff member, Charlene Guggisberg, who talked to us about another exciting program for blinded veterans and wounded warriors. BLIND has its first federal grant to develop a training program specifically for veterans who have become blind after their military service or more recently on the battlefield. Charlene is helping the entire staff prepare to work with people who are not only newly blinded but are dealing with other disabilities. This preparation means meeting with Veterans Administration officials to learn about the effect of brain injuries, post-traumatic stress and other physical and mental changes. This new program will give our veterans the opportunity to benefit from adjustment to blindness training closer to home without having to travel to a VA center (the closest center to Minnesota is in Chicago.) Veterans will receive the best training blind civilians have to offer, while taking advantage of the best that the VA can give.

We heard from three students who shared their perspectives on their training. The first was Justin McDevitt from St. Paul. Justin had a long career in sales but reached a crossroads in his life. Due to a poor economy, he reached a point where he and his employer reached an amicable parting of the ways. He then faced a decision of what to do next. He sought counsel from his friends in the Federation and his wife and determined that his confidence could use a boost. Where else to get that often needed shot in the arm then at BLIND! He has been a dog guide user for 20 years and needed to brush up on his cane skills. He is learning new and better ways to work in the home and he is getting to know himself better than ever.

Laura Wolk's parents contacted the Federation when she was ten months old and gave her every opportunity to achieve. In particular, she was an excellent braille reader but when she became a young adult, she realized there was more than she knew. She knew there was a problem when she feared walking to the front of the room to defend her dissertation more than she feared defending it. She knows that everyone reaches critical points in their training such as completing their small and large meals or coming back from a complicated cane travel activity. However, she values the little things like getting that stubborn jar open or being in charge of making her own doctor's appointment. She expressed appreciation for a staff that is so caring and always there for the students while allowing them to grow.

Shawn introduced us to Mark Erickson who, as a Native American and a talented musician, wrote a special celebration song for the mortgage-burning party. Mark is a Viet Nam veteran, raised a family and has had labor jobs as a sighted person. He began losing his sight at age 40; for 10 years he did nothing about it—even when he became totally blind. He was sad and didn't know what to do. He stayed active in his culture by performing as a drummer and attending powwows. But he had to depend on people to get around and get his coffee. He had friends and family who would listen to him cry. He finally contacted SSB and met with a counselor who showed him that there could be a better future. He learned about blindness training and toured the facilities. BLIND was his first tour, where he appreciated the camaraderie. As friendly as everyone was, he sensed the training would be difficult and that he would really be challenged. Being a former marine, after touring the other facilities, he made an easy decision. It has been a long, hard journey but Mark has finally arrived.

Technology these days is both a blessing and a curse. It is our hope that manufacturers will think about nonvisual access when first building their product instead of ignoring us or trying to add it later. Mike Sahyun presented an example of how this can be done when he introduced us to the Apple iPhone. It is a music, Internet, and cell phone device that can be used by us. All their applications are text-to-speech and can be operated through voice or touch commands.

Carrie Gilmer, president of the Minnesota Association of Parents of Blind Children, presentedremarks that followed our braille theme. She reminded us that in order to know where we are, we have to know where we came from. She reviewed the trials and tribulations of Louis Braille's life and his struggle to invent braille. We should never take this method of reading for granted; we should not ever abdicate our responsibility to make sure that braille remains available to all who need and want it.

"Braille: What it means to us through the years" was meant to be a look at braille in our lives through three generations. However, we could not hear from Austyn Johnson because he had the flu and was unable to be with us. Austyn is a student at the State Academy for the Blind and a voracious reader.

Sheila Koenig is a ninth-grade teacher of English at South View Middle School. She was not given the opportunity to learn braille as a child; that opportunity came when she was an adult student at BLIND. Her full remarks appeared in the Winter, 2010 Minnesota Bulletin.

Joyce Scanlan began her reading life as a print reader. But Joyce grew up in a time when legally blind children learned both print and braille. Although Joyce resisted learning braille her teacher proved more stubborn and Joyce is now a prolific braille reader. In fact, print has not been an option for her for many years.

Pat Barrett was our master of ceremonies for what is always the highlight of every convention—our Saturday evening banquet. Following Justin McDevitt's invocation and some required jokes from our master of ceremonies, we heard from Charlotte Czarnecki who announced that Mark Erickson was the winner of the Metro Chapter essay contest. Mark received $50.00 and, from a random drawing of the other entrants so did Maureen Pranghofer. The Metro Chapter also sponsored a raffle for a portable digital player and Tom TeBockhorst was the lucky winner.

Jennifer Dunnam came forward to make a special presentation. Recently Minnesota and the nation lost a very strong advocate for braille. Mary Archer, the longtime head of the braille section at State Services for the Blind, passed away and left a void in the lives of all braille readers. The NFB of Minnesota presented the Archer family with a plaque to say, as best we could, "Thank you." That thanks was not just for the braille that was produced under her leadership but also for the respect that she had for all of us.

Sheila Koenig, chair of our scholarship committee, presented a $500 scholarship to Amanda Swanson and a $1,000 scholarship to Matthias Niska.

Many people come to NFB conventions just for the banquet—and not because of the food. It is to get our shot of spirit from our banquet speaker. This year we heard from Patti Gregory-Chang, an attorney of 20 years, mother and member of the board of directors of the National Federation of the Blind. Patti equated the blindness movement with the civil rights movement. We eliminate injustices by working together through the National Federation of the Blind. Most importantly, we change our own attitudes and grow in our independence.

Following Chang's inspiration, Al Spooner came to the podium to talk to us about the PAC (Pre-Authorized Check) Plan. People took the opportunity to increase their donation or start a new PAC.

After the banquet, many people stayed to enjoy karaoke. The talented and the wannabees had a lot of fun.

Sunday

Our Sunday morning business session began with a treasurer's report from Tom Scanlan. We are facing the same problems as most non-profit organizations in the current economy and showing a loss of $16,688 for the first half of our fiscal year.

Each year the NFB of Minnesota has two conventions; our two-day annual and a one-day semiannual convention. We discussed whether to change the format of the semiannual convention. One idea was to have a business meeting at the beginning and then hold seminars on such subjects as technology or transition for youth. Another suggestion was to focus on one topic instead of several.

The next discussion was about holding elections. In order to meet the provision in our bylaws for a secret ballot for multi-nominee elections, we agreed that we would use a method of tearing corners on cards to indicate our choice.

We followed this discussion with elections that yielded the following results: president, Jennifer Dunnam; secretary, Judy Sanders; and three board positions: Charlene Guggisberg, Jan Bailey, and newly elected board member, Sheila Koenig.

Those who were not up for election this year were vice president, Steve Jacobson; treasurer, Tom Scanlan; and board members Pat Barrett, and Joyce Scanlan.

Steve Decker presented two resolutions to the convention; the texts of these follow this article. The first resolution dealt with urging the Communication Center to begin providing books in an electronic scanned format. The second concerned the abysmal successful closure rate in the vocational rehabilitation program at SSB. It demands that SSB investigate and determine why this is happening. Both resolutions passed unanimously.

We heard from Tom Scanlan who represents the NFB on the State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind. He urged members of the NFB to join the audience at Council meetings to have an impact on the agency. Many Federationists participate by either serving on the Council or lending a hand with the Council's committee work.

Dick Davis announced that we sold 17 Louis Braille coins during the convention.

Nadine Jacobson serves on the governance board of the State Academy for the Blind. She expressed great hope for the tenure of Dr. Alice Woog as the new director of the school. She is new to blindness but not new to administering a state school.

A few moments of silence were taken in memoriam of members we lost this year. Mention was made of Julie Vogt and Melvin Schraeder. They were longtime members whom we will remember and miss.

Reports from chapters and divisions show that we are busy everywhere in the NFB. An example of our ever-changing style is that the students plan to start a Facebook page. Several members were using Twitter to keep people posted on our convention.

Jennifer said that in the coming year we are putting an emphasis on membership recruiting. We will be sponsoring recruiting training sessions.

The NFB of Minnesota received an Imagination Fund grant to sponsor a transition age fair for blind students and teachers. We will work with the Department of Education to sponsor this.

This year's bake auction raised $2,227. Many left the convention lighter in their wallets but less hungry.

The convention closed with a lot of enthusiasm and energy to keep working.

Resolution A09-01

WHEREAS, for many years the Minnesota State Services for the Blind Communication Center has been a nationwide leader in the provision of textbooks and educational materials in Braille and audio formats to postsecondary students and others; and

WHEREAS, The creation of electronic formats is an intermediate step in the creation of braille and the Communication Center already has great expertise in the scanning of books as part of the braille transcription process; and

WHEREAS, a great many students are becoming accustomed to provision of electronic texts, requesting them from colleges and universities rather than audio; and

WHEREAS, electronic texts, particularly those in a DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) format, have a number of advantages over audio materials, including greater access to the spelling, punctuation, and formatting of the material, as well as greater ease of navigation by chapter, page, subheading, paragraph, search, etc; and

WHEREAS, many schools and universities are providing texts in electronic formats, giving students flexibility in the medium in which to read the material, the environment in which it is read and the type of device used to read it; and

WHEREAS, many publishers provide electronic versions of books, and these can easily be translated into accessible formats; and

WHEREAS, in many cases, an electronic version of a book can be translated into an accessible format more quickly, even in high quality, than a human-recorded audio version; and

WHEREAS, schools are opting to scan their own material rather than utilize the Communication Center, which can lead to uneven quality for students and resulting in duplication; and

WHEREAS, offering electronic texts would enable the Communication Center to maintain its leadership status as a quality provider of alternative formats. Now therefore

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota in convention assembled this 25th day of October, 2009, in the City of St. Paul, Minnesota, that this organization strongly urge the Communication Center to provide educational materials in an electronic text format such as DAISY or BRF when requested.

Resolution A09-02

WHEREAS, Minnesota State Services for the Blind (SSB) closed only 79 persons successfully during 2009; and

WHEREAS, a breakdown of Federally-reported statistics from 2007, the most recent available, shows that of 358 closures, only 81 cases (23%) were closed successfully, that 45 persons could not be located, that 106 persons refused services, and that 38 cases were closed as uncooperative; and

WHEREAS, it defies logic to believe that 106 people out of 358 closures refused services after applying for them, and that 45 people somehow could not be located after filling out applications of service; and

WHEREAS, these shocking statistics demonstrate a lack of commitment to serving blind people by the rehabilitation supervisors and counselors; and

WHEREAS, the practice of closing cases before employment goals have been achieved sends the message that SSB does not believe that these blind persons can ever be employed, and damages their chances for successful employment; Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota in convention assembled this 25th day of October, 2009 in the city of St. Paul, that this organization condemns and deplores the epidemically destructive practices of closing cases before successful outcomes can be achieved; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon the acting director of SSB to investigate the causes of this problem and take all necessary corrective action.