By Jennifer Wenzel, Secretary

Our semiannual convention started as President Jennifer Dunnam banged the gavel at just after 9:00 AM on Saturday, May 14, 2016.  She greeted everyone and turned the mike over to our metro chapter president Ryan Strunk who welcomed everyone and encouraged us to enjoy the packed agenda.  President Dunnam then updated us about STEM2U, a program that took place the following week in partnership with the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul.  This program was open to students across the Midwest region, and opened a long-term relationship with the Science Museum for us.  Our national president, Mark Riccobono, will come for the first day of this program.  She also announced that the winner of the joint Braille Readers are Leaders Contest sponsored by Minnesota and Illinois is a kindergarten student from Minnesota.  She also announced that Steve Jacobson has been elected chair of the State Rehabilitation Council.  She also announced that the Minnesota Academy for the Blind is searching for a superintendent.  We have written a letter stressing that the candidate hired needs experience in both blindness and deafness so that both populations can be served.  On the national level, we are working hard to make the ADA apply to the Internet so that we are not locked out of jobs and other important life events taking place on the Web.  There has been a settlement with Uber regarding the use of guide dogs in vehicles.  The Space Available Act, giving blind veterans priority on flights is also important.  She also spoke about a new national Website, blindparents.org, which gives a great deal of helpful information for blind parents as well as a pamphlet for those whose parental rights are being questioned.  She also urged members to send articles to the Minnesota Bulletin. 

President Dunnam next introduced the president of the student division, Cody Beardslee.  He spoke about some of the activities he participated in at the spring Student Seminar in Illinois.  He attended various presentations including one on financing college, one on being active on campus, and one on guide dogs.  Carlton Walker also gave a presentation that challenged students to think about true equality.  He also attended an educator’s seminar where he learned about many interesting skills such as teaching with the student’s hand over the teacher's hand so that the student’s hand is not being forced.  He is excited about the future of our student division here, with our training center and the TEAMS program and encouraged the members who are no longer students to interact with the students and share their history because the history is important. 

Alice Hebert then gave our midyear treasurer’s report.  We now operate on a calendar year, so this report is different than in past years and the budget is not voted on by the membership.  The board had a special budget meeting at the beginning of the year to help plan how we are spending our money, and President Dunnam encouraged everyone to think of fund-raising ideas.

Anne Naber next spoke about persistence as it relates to martial arts.  She began taking jujitsu after graduating from the Louisiana Center for the Blind.  She takes the Japanese type, which combines judo, Karate, and Aikido.  As a blind person she uses more contact to feel what people are doing and how they are moving to learn techniques.  It helps her confidence and assertiveness, and she works to try to beat the larger, stronger people and gets better each time.

Carol Pankow, director of State Services for the Blind (SSB), spoke about the many happenings at the agency.  See “What's Happening at State Services for the Blind” earlier in this issue.

Randi Strunk then spoke about accessible fitness technology.  She demonstrated some accessible iPhone apps for health and fitness including one that measures heart rate using the phone’s camera, a sarcastic interval workout that describes the exercises and throws in humor, and a running app that intersperses a zombie apocalypse story into your music playlist.  She has also found a way to track her bike rides by putting Bluetooth sensors on her pedals and using an accessible app to track the information. 

Jack Rupert, the president of our Riverbend Chapter and vice president of the national veterans division spoke about services available to blinded veterans.  The mission of the Veteran’s division is to make sure blind veterans receive the services and training they need to live the lives they want.  Anyone can join, even if they are not veterans, and they will become members of the National Federation of the Blind.

Lori Anderson then announced that Jordan Richardson is the winner of our state scholarship this year.  He will receive a trip to national convention as well as a check and a trip to our state convention. 

Bob Raisbeck, our PAC plan chair then encouraged all to increase their contributions or to consider contributing each month to our organization in this way.  Minnesota is currently fourth on PAC.  

Jennifer Dunnam was elected as delegate and Steve Jacobson was elected as alternate delegate to our national convention.

Next, a panel of blind youth, Lisan Hasnain and Rakeb Max, spoke about their extracurricular activities including athletics such as martial arts and skiing, policy debate, and theater.  These two young people are learning a great deal by being involved in activities beyond the academics of school including adapting to new situations, making new friends, and the importance of persistence.

Next, Dan Wenzel and others from Blindness: Learning in New Dimensions (BLIND), Inc. spoke about some positive changes going on at the center.  These include faster Internet service being installed both for wireless and wired services. Taey Mack, who has started as the residential manager spoke about her experiences and new duties.  Rob Hobson is now the new head of youth services and Charlene Guggisberg is now head of admissions.  Kotumu Kamara also spoke about how the English Language Learners (ELL) program is expanding and how she will be working with an intern this summer who is originally from the Ukraine.  A student, Charles Acheson, also spoke about his experiences in home management and travel, stating that he was gaining knowledge in nine months that might have taken him 30 years to learn anywhere else.  He is hoping to be employed very soon. 

Judy Sanders then gave a legislative update focusing on increased funding for seniors and accessible voting.  One part of a larger elections bill that has passed the senate mandates accessible machines, smaller than the AutoMARK machines currently in use, could be used for accessible voting.  These machines would have smaller ballots than regular ballots, so in order for our voting to be private we want them to have a plan for many ballots from these machines.  If this bill does not pass, we will need another solution for accessible voting.  Increased funding for seniors for SSB is critical so that blind seniors can get the services they need in the future. 

Next, a panel spoke on why they joined and stayed in the National Federation of the Blind.  Both Steve Jacobson and Jennifer Wenzel focused on how the Federation gives a sense of community and energy and is a way to give back to others.  Steve said that as a member, he works together with others towards a common cause to make the world a better place for those who come after us.  Jennifer Wenzel stated that the Federation has changed what it means to be blind for her from something people kept pointing out as her most amazing characteristic  to just a part of her busy active life.  She also emphasized that the NFB gave her a sense of community and a chance to give to others.

After discussing items for sale and demonstration during lunch at exhibit tables on the second floor, taking pledges to the tenBroek fund, and making a few more announcements, the convention adjourned at noon.

 

Four breakout sessions were held during the afternoon.

Job Search and Success, by Dick Davis

The Semiannual Convention featured a seminar for jobseekers.  Natasha Jerde of State Services for the Blind described changes to the new online job application system for the State of Minnesota.  What was supposed to be an improved system has proven to be exactly the opposite; less accessible to blind and even sighted people.  Natasha described some ways to get around the problems in the system, and suggested that users contact the state human resources representative listed at the bottom of the job posting if they have any problems.  In fact, the human resources representative can help people who are having problems completely circumvent the problems by allowing them to apply using paper materials.  She said SSB is working with the state to fix the problems.  For more information about state employment, contact Dacia Vanalstine of SSB at 651-539-2349.  Dick Davis held a general discussion on applying for jobs in today’s environment.  It’s important for anyone applying for a job to customize their resume to make it look as much as possible like the job description.  This is “gaming” the system, but it is necessary in order to get an actual interview.  Dick also talked about other application methods, including a paper resume and cover letter, which sets a person apart from the rest of the crowd.  He answered a number of questions from people in the audience.

Seniors Division, by Jan Bailey

We had around 20 people at the seniors meeting.  We heard from everyone teaching the adjustment-to-blindness classes and discussed how each does things.  Many of us liked the suggestion someone made about calling sleep shades learning shades.  Ed Lecher spoke to us about SSB senior services and thanked us for trying to get extra money for seniors from the legislature.  Edward Cohen showed the group his ‘”Ez to See” calendars which are in very large print.  Judy Sanders lead an effort to help those who wanted to make phone calls to legislators encouraging them to vote for the money for seniors, and Dave Walle made a sample call.

Promote the Use of Braille

The National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB) in Minnesota held a meeting and seminar.

Blind Students

The Minnesota Association of Blind Students held a meeting and seminar.