Fall 2007

BUCKEYE BULLETIN

Eric Duffy, Editor
4501 N. 4th Street
Columbus, OH 43224
eduffy@pobox.com
www.nfbohio.org
1-800-396-NFBO

Sylvia Cooley
Production Editor
Barbara Pierce
President
237 Oak Street
Oberlin, OH 44074
bbpierce@pobox.com
(440) 775-2216

The National Federation of the Blind of Ohio is a 501 (c) 3 consumer organization comprised of blind and sighted people committed to changing what it means to be blind. Though blindness is still all too often a tragedy to those who face it, we know from our personal experience that with training and opportunity it can be reduced to the level of a physical nuisance. We work to see that blind people receive the services and training to which they are entitled and that parents of blind children receive the advice and support they need to help their youngsters grow up to be happy, productive adults. We believe that first-class citizenship means that people have both rights and responsibilities, and we are determined to see that blind people become first-class citizens of these United States, enjoying their rights and fulfilling their responsibilities. The most serious problems we face have less to do with our lack of vision than with discrimination based on the public’s ignorance and misinformation about blindness. Join us in educating Ohioans about the abilities and aspirations of Ohio’s blind citizens.
The NFB of Ohio has twelve local chapters around the state, a chapter for at-large members, and special divisions for diabetics, merchants, students, seniors, and parents of blind children. This quarterly newsletter is produced in large print and on cassette. To receive more information about the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, to make address changes for the newsletter, or to be added to the mailing list, call (800) 396-6326.

Table of Contents

From the President’s Desk
by Barbara Pierce

Victory without Firing a Shot
by Barbara Pierce

Plan for the 2007 Convention
by Mary Pool

The Loss of a Giant: Eric Parks Dies
by Eric Duffy

My First National Convention
by Rebekah J. Osborne

Teaching English--A Job that was an Answer to Prayer
by Marilyn Donehey

Report on the National Federation of the Blind Youth Slam
by Macy McClain

Personal Safety for Everyone
by Deborah Kendrick

Buckeye Briefs

Activities Calendar

From the President’s Desk
by Barbara Pierce

I am writing this column in late August, just as the Oberlin students are returning to town. The first years (we used to call them freshmen, but no longer) arrive in cars driven by teary parents and loaded down with everything they need to begin their college careers.
The Pierces are part of our church’s bed and breakfast network, which means right now I am spending a lot of time washing sheets and towels and putting them back on the beds and towel bars. We had parents and their son last evening; tonight we get parents and a daughter. We certainly are without guests most of the time—though we did have a new graduate for six weeks at the beginning of the summer while he waited for the apartment he had leased to become available.
Luckily we don’t go in for elaborate breakfasts. I still have to be at my desk by 8:00 a.m., so that doesn’t leave much time for serving guests, particularly considering that we are already feeding breakfast to our grandchildren and putting them on the bus for school. We were in Canada this month visiting the Stratford Festival, and our B&B hostess there showed me what a serious breakfast for guests would look like. Believe me, I am not ready to take that on. Besides, our guests often have breakfast meetings or have promised to take the students they are here to visit out to a real breakfast off campus.
I have decided to talk about this adjunct to my life because I find doing B&B a good way to educate people about blindness. Unless they are returning guests—and a number are—they do not know coming into our home that I am blind. Being associated even peripherally with Oberlin College, they are usually not thrown by discovering this fact. I keep Kernel Books on the night tables by each bed, and sometimes they pick one up and begin reading it. Of course my microwave and stove control panels are marked in Braille. We keep tablemats on the kitchen table to protect the table cloth from the worst of the spills made by seven- and eight-year-old grandchildren. These mats have the print and Braille letters of the alphabet and words labeling bright pictures. People’s attempts to decode the Braille words can lead to constructive conversation about Braille and blindness.
Preparing breakfast for people does a lot for their coming to understand that they really don’t have to do something to help. I try to have freshly baked bread or coffeecake for them. Moreover, pouring their coffee or peeling peaches for their cereal demonstrates that I am in control, and they can relax. Often the things I bake use blueberries that we have picked or applesauce that I have made. I make sure they know that they are getting truly homemade baked goods.
Just being in our home teaches them that blind people are normal folks who cannot see. The afghan thrown over the back of the living room sofa was a knitting project a couple of years ago. Remember when the flower arranger came to our convention? I now make sure I display at least one arrangement of cut flowers from the garden or the grocery store, depending on the season, all the time. If I am preparing food when the NFB line rings while I am working in the kitchen, I clamp the phone in place with my shoulder and dispense information, answer questions, or counsel a distraught person while I get on with the job at hand.
Occasionally we have guests who are dealing in one way or another with the onset of blindness in their families. These folks always leave with literature and contact phone numbers to help them and their loved ones or friends.
In short, being an active Federationist involves every part of my life. Dealing with strangers in my home, I have to be prepared to answer questions and tactfully fend off well-meant but unnecessary offers to help. Providing the service of bed and breakfast to raise money for my church is an excellent way to demonstrate what blindness is and what it is not. I urge everyone to pay attention to the opportunities open to you to illustrate in your own life the truth about blindness. It is the most effective method of teaching that we have.

Victory without Firing a Shot
by Barbara Pierce

As the newsletter was going to press, we experienced one of those good-news, bad-news moments that occasionally confront every publication. On balance, the good news was many times better and more important than the bad news, but the bad news was more immediate.
The major story in the issue was to have been a thoughtful piece by Eric Duffy about the looming crisis over the advance plans to merge the Ohio State School for the Blind (OSSB) and the Ohio School for the Deaf (OSD). Both facilities are in acute need of reconstruction or—and this was the announced plan—construction of a new facility to house the two schools on the OSD property with a single administration and physical plant. Twelve states have already taken this step—one that seems obviously ridiculous to anyone who stops to consider just how students with mutually incompatible communication disorders could manage anything more constructive than coexisting like ships passing in the night. From the moment we first heard of this plan we opposed it, but the problem was finding a way to have our voice heard.
Last spring, when pretty much everything but the cheering (or weeping) was over, I received a letter written to the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore inviting me to take part on a committee. I suspect that the goal was to get blind and deaf consumers to rubberstamp the decisions that had already been made. The experts had probably concluded that it was now safe to listen to consumers.
Eric Duffy and I agreed that, as an alum of OSSB and a resident of Columbus, he was the obvious NFB representative to take part in committee deliberations. He engaged in a good deal of correspondence through the remainder of the spring. Then in August he attended two days of meetings in which he listened to architects pontificate about structures and describe their plans to build a joint institution on the OSD campus. Eric pointed out that blind students would be isolated on that campus, fronting as it does on busy Morse Road with its intermittent sidewalks and infrequent bus service. The experts had clearly not considered what would happen to kids’ cane travel skills with nowhere to go and no way to walk anywhere.
Administrators from OSSB apparently had not felt that they could make the points that Eric was making in the meetings, or perhaps they had tried unsuccessfully to make those points early on and been ignored. After being told that the educational decision to merge the facilities had been made by political high-fliers and nothing could be done to reverse it, Eric said that we would simply have to get to political forces above the ones who had made the decision and make them understand that the lives and futures of blind students were on the line. His comment was disregarded until the moment when he extracted a promise, in public, from Governor Strickland to meet with him to discuss the problem.
At this writing the actual meeting has not yet taken place. We have heard nothing about the behind-the-scenes machinations that have obviously been going on in the weeks since Governor Strickland agreed to meet with the NFB. We do know that on Tuesday, September 11, Dr. Susan Zelman, Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission announced that the merged school would not be built. Instead two institutions would be built on their existing campuses. Our lead story was completely inappropriate, but Ohio’s blind students have a brighter future.
Here is what OSSB superintendent Louis Mazzoli had to say about the announcement:
On Tuesday, September 11, 2007, Dr. Susan Tave Zelman, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, asked Dr. Corbett and me to join her at the State Board of Education meeting at the Ohio School for the Deaf. Dr. Zelman started her speech with the following statement: “I’d like to begin today by talking about the construction of the deaf and blind schools. I am pleased to tell you that the programmatic needs have been determined, the architect and construction manager have been selected, and there has been much interest in possible public/private partnerships for both a state low incidence training and resource center and an athletic facility.”
Dr. Zelman went on to explain that there has been a great deal of discussion about which of the existing sites would best meet the needs of both the blind and the deaf students. She then announced that a determination has been reached by working closely with the superintendents of the schools, as well as the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission and the Office of Budget and Management, that the best option is to rebuild both schools on their existing sites. What this means is that the academic and residential spaces of both schools will be kept separate to insure that they will meet the unique and fundamentally different needs of their student populations.
I would like to commend Dr. Zelman for placing the need of our student populations first when making this difficult decision and recommending this course of action. I would also like to thank all of the OSSB staff for their help and assistance in educating all of us about the needs of blind students and for taking part in the initial planning meetings for developing the program of requirements for the building program. I would also like to thank the members of the Advisory Committee for their valuable input at the meetings. Those individuals representing our interests on the Advisory Committee include Eric Duffy, National Federation of the Blind; Mary Hiland, American Council of the Blind; John Farley, OSSB Alumni Association; Earl Cohen, Cleveland Sight Center; and  Mike Hanes, Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired.
This is just the first step in the long journey to build and develop new facilities for both schools that will serve all the blind and deaf students in Ohio for generations to come. On behalf of the children of OSSB, all of the staff and parents thank the Governor and legislature for their continued support in making OSSB the gateway to the community for the tens of thousands of blind and visually impaired youth that will be served by this new facility over its life.

Make Plans for the 2007 Convention
by Mary Pool

Editor’s Note: Mary Pool chairs the Convention Arrangements Committee. Here is what she has to say about our upcoming state convention in November:

It is now September, and I am already looking forward to the state convention in Cincinnati. Let me put your mind at rest. I am not sitting around wishing my life away. I am far too busy for that. But I do get excited about our conventions, and this year’s state convention is going to be a good one.
We will be at the Holiday Inn Eastgate, just outside of Cincinnati. Many of you will remember that we were there in 2000 for our joint convention with the Kentucky affiliate. The convention’s dates are November 2 to 4; note that it is not beginning Thursday evening, though many of us will arrive that night. The hotel’s address is 4501 Eastgate Boulevard, Cincinnati, OH 45245.
Our room rates are $67 a night plus tax. You can make your reservations by calling Intercontinental Hotel reservations at (800) 465-4329 or our hotel directly at (513) 752-4400. I urge you to contact the hotel directly if at all possible.
Here are some important things to remember when planning for the convention. The board of directors will meet on Friday morning at 9:00 A.M. and not Thursday night this year, though, if you are planning to attend that meeting, you had better plan to come in Thursday night unless you live in Cincinnati. This will be your first chance to meet our national representative, Mark Riccobono, and our scholarship winner. Our block of rooms will be released after October 17. You cannot be guaranteed our excellent room rate after that date. Please do not wait until after our block has been released to make your reservations. Inevitably one or two people do this each year, expecting someone to rescue them. Please don’t make me have to deal with that this year. Be sure that the hotel is aware of any special needs you might have when making your room reservations. For example, if you need a wheelchair-accessible room or a room close to the elevators, let them know.
You have the opportunity to preregister for the convention itself because it gives us more accurate information when providing the hotel with meal counts and talking with them about setups. To encourage you to preregister, we provide you some saving for preregistering. The deadline for preregistering is October 5, and I urge you to take this deadline seriously. We are often asked to give someone the discounts because they really intended to get their registration materials in by the deadline, but they just didn’t get their act together. We give everyone plenty of time, so such requests fall on deaf ears. Although we have not confirmed this at the time of this writing, we are planning a one-hour workshop on the Victor Stream. If this comes together, it will take place immediately after the board of directors meeting Friday morning. Bring your Stream with you, or come to see them in action.
On Friday afternoon we will offer a seminar on practical self-defense—see the article later in this issue for more information. Those who wish to participate are encouraged to register in advance. The cost for preregistering will be $15, but those who register at the door will pay $20. This workshop is offered to those age seven and up. Participants should wear loose clothing, no jeans. For the safety of participants and instructional staff and for the peace of mind of the guide dogs, no dogs will be permitted in the room. This is the instructor’s requirement, and it makes sense to us. This course will involve extensive physical contact, and we do not want the dogs to react protectively, nor do we want this training to blunt such reactions in the dogs when they are appropriate.
Friday afternoon will also feature an Internet seminar and a workshop for new members.
Friday evening are the gospel sing and an auction. The gospel sing will include local talent. Deborah Kendrick is organizing the program with J.W. Smith’s help. J.W., who will have just released a new CD, will also be the featured artist. We hope to attract members of the general public to enjoy the music and support our organization.
Various committee meetings will also take place Friday evening. The Resolutions Committee will meet at 7:30 p.m. Through this committee the policies of the affiliate begin to take shape. If you have an issue you believe the affiliate should address in some way, write a resolution. The resolution should be typewritten and, if possible, accompanied by a Braille copy. If you cannot get it transcribed into Braille, do not let that discourage you. The important thing is that we have a print copy from which to work.
Resolutions must be sent no later than one week before the Resolutions Committee meeting. This year resolutions must be received in either the Oberlin or the Columbus office by Friday, October 27, 2007. Anyone wishing to submit a resolution for consideration after this date must persuade a member of the Resolutions Committee to sponsor it and bring it to the committee. Resolutions for which the committee votes to recommend do not pass will not be considered by the Convention unless three chapter presidents present and voting at the convention sign a request to bring the resolution to the floor.
The first general session of the Convention will begin at 9:00 a.m. Saturday. During this time we will receive a report from our national representative, who directs the work of the Jernigan Institute, and hear from many other interesting speakers.
The noon lunch break provides the opportunity for division and committee meetings as well as other activities. This year we have abandoned the extended lunch break, so divisions will have only two hours to conduct their business. As always, box lunches will be available for those who order them in advance. Mark the convention registration form to indicate if you would like to attend one of the lunch meetings or have a box lunch to enjoy on your own.
The second general session will begin at 2:00 p.m. Again this is your chance to hear from speakers and participate in items to help you learn about and build the organization that affects the lives of all blind people. The afternoon session will adjourn at 5:00 p.m. Don't miss the social hour from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m. The banquet will begin at 6:30. This is always the high point of a Federation convention. I am already looking forward to Mark's banquet address. Individual and chapter awards as well as a scholarship will also be presented during the banquet.
We will as always conduct money for the movement after the banquet, so chapters and divisions as well as individuals will want to be considering gifts and pledges. I don't know what the after-banquet entertainment plans are yet, but I do know this is always a good time to make new friends and renew acquaintances.
The board has decided to conduct a continental breakfast leadership meeting early Sunday morning for presidents and board members. This will be an informal discussion of chapter and division issues of concern, such as membership development and chapter building. The Sunday morning session will begin at 9:00 a.m. with a memorial service. Immediately following the conclusion of the service, we will move into the general business of the affiliate and elections. The convention will end no later than noon. Federation conventions are always stimulating and reinvigorating. Sometimes they are life-changing. Please don’t miss this one; you will always be sorry if you do, and so will we.

The Loss of a Giant Eric Parks Dies
by Eric Duffy

When I was in high school, one of my teachers would occasionally tell me about his friend who was blind. He said this guy was a mean poker player and that he could read the Braille cards while dealing them. He talked about his friend's involvement in politics. I soon recognized that he was talking about a blind man whom he obviously respected and who sounded like he lived a pretty normal life. That was when I had my first brush with Eric Parks.
In 1989 I took a job with the Governor's Office of Advocacy for People with Disabilities. The director was part of the governor's cabinet staff and an active member of the Democratic Party. After I had been with the office for a while, I heard the director say that he was getting flack about a blind guy named Eric, who was a Republican and was being considered for an appointment to the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission (ORS). The problem was that he was firm in his conviction that the Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired (BSVI) and the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation (BVR) should remain separate. The director was told that he needed to do something about this guy. He explained that the Eric on his staff and this guy were not one in the same. That was the second time I heard about Eric Parks.
There was a time in the early nineties when we just about chased the National Accreditation Council for Agencies serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped (NAC) out of the state. The Commission was about to have a final vote on the matter when NAC decided to go on the offensive. They brought in staff and supporters to address the Commission about the virtues of their accreditation process. At the same time Eric Parks, the one blind guy on the Commission, got a threatening phone call saying that he better vote to get rid of NAC. The caller said that he was from the NFB and that his name was Tom. He told Eric that Dr. Jernigan had some powerful political allies in Ohio and that they would deal with Eric if he didn't vote the right way.
Eric told his colleagues on the Commission about the call and said that he was not going to be intimidated. He said that he was going to support NAC and, furthermore, anything that the National Federation of the Blind was in favor of, he was against. We never identified that mysterious caller, but that does not surprise me. That is not how we behave in the Federation. We do not threaten and intimidate, and clearly such tactics never worked with Eric.
Eric was a bright man. He knew how to win friends and influence people. He respected those who supported his causes as well as those who disagreed with him as long as the disagreements were handled effectively and respectfully. He was a formidable opponent for those who earned his wrath, but he was a great friend to those whom he called friend.
I consider myself fortunate to have been among those whom Eric called a friend. Eric also came to respect the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, which was fortunate for us. He had the ability to get useful information to us without compromising his integrity or responsibility as a commissioner of the ORSC. The trust and respect between Eric and the organized blind was mutual. If Eric told us he would do something, we could count on it. If he told us he would not do something, we knew he would keep his word.
Eric was certainly a staunch supporter of BSVI and its programs, but he didn't limit himself to the blindness field. If he believed in the cause, he supported it. He was not easily persuaded, but if you convinced him of the rightness of your argument, he was firmly in your corner. He did not believe in pitting one disability group against another. He believed in compromise and that you had to give in order to receive.
Many who knew Eric assumed that he was blind because of diabetes. The truth is that his blindness was caused by a playground accident. The diabetes came later, and as it does to many, it took a toll on his body. It eventually robbed him of his ability to read Braille. Although Eric was hurt by this, he was never bitter. Despite all of his physical setbacks over the years, he kept fighting and set a good example for others.
Eric Parks lived a short but meaningful and productive life. The night he died I lost a true friend, and the disabled community lost a giant.

My First National Convention
by Rebekah J. Osborne

Editor's Note: Becky Osborne is a newly blind person who attended her first national convention in Atlanta. She lives in the Ironton area, where we do not have a chapter, so she is now working hard to see if it is possible to establish one. Here is what she has to say about her first national convention:

Two-and-a-half years ago I found myself sitting in an examination chair at an ophthalmologist’s office expecting to hear: “There is a problem with your vision that we can correct.” Instead I was told, “You are already legally blind. You have retinitis pigmentosa. You should change professions (I was then a nurse), start learning Braille, and stop driving your car!” My life as I knew it was over. I was devastated. I had gone to this appointment trusting that God would give me the strength I needed to accept whatever I was told, even if the outcome was something other than what I wanted to hear. I was overwhelmed by the diagnosis that I had just received. However, I found the inner strength I needed to keep my emotions in check--at least until the reality of it all set in.
Initially family and friends were all very supportive and concerned. But that soon turned into pity and doubt that I could perform my daily functions. Reservations were raised regarding what my future abilities would be, which in turn made me question myself and my future as well. I immediately began to feel trapped in an already failing marriage. No one, including me, could tolerate hearing about anything other than a cure or treatment for this sight-robbing disease.
At a time when confidence in my abilities was at its lowest as a result of my vision loss, my BSVI counselor told me about a convention that she had attended in Texas. This piqued my interest; then she told me about a state convention in November. I was not entirely sure about going to a convention for blind people because I wasn't sure I would fit in because of the amount of vision I still had. After attending the state convention in Cleveland, I realized that there were many other people like me and that they all seemed very positive and accepting of their vision loss. I felt a little more positive about my blindness after leaving this convention. I walked away from it with some new acquaintances that have since developed into lasting friendships.
I knew the national convention was coming up in July, but I was unsure whether I wanted to attend. I wondered if I would even be able to attend because I had lost even more vision. However, for a couple of months I continued to talk with the people I had met at the state convention. I realized that it might be good for my children and me to attend this convention in Atlanta.
I was very glad that I decided to go to this convention, even though I was unsure of what I would gain from this experience. When I arrived at the hotel, I was amazed at the number of blind people in one place, not to mention the air of confidence and positive attitude that permeated the whole convention. Upon hearing more about the NFB and its philosophy, I realized that this is where I needed to be and that I definitely wanted to be part of this organization. My confidence soared after hearing Dr. Maurer and other NFB leaders speak of their experiences and accomplishments, in spite of their blindness. I was truly inspired by these people. I came to the realization that I too can accomplish the goals and dreams I choose to pursue. This convention also gave me an increased sense of independence that I had not known previously. I no longer needed assistance. For example, when I left Atlanta after hearing Dr. Maurer's banquet speech, I decided that I was going to refuse the airline escorts that I had requested. This was a direct result of the new-found confidence that I gained from this convention. After attending this convention, I now know that I want to be part of the NFB and plan to attend every convention I can.

Teaching English--a Job that Was an Answer to Prayer
by Marilyn Donehey

Editor's Note: Marilyn Donehey is a longtime Federationist and a leader in the Greater Summit County chapter. She has an unusual part-time job. Here is what she has to say about it:

A friend asked me, “How did you get this job, anyway?”
My immediate response, “It was a direct answer to prayer.” In a fervent prayer I described what I wanted, and two days later my job developer called with a description of the perfect job. The criteria included:

1. A part-time job working mornings so that I could continue to sing with Melody Masters in the afternoons. Melody Masters is the piano vocal duo which provides me with the income to do something I love—sing. (On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I work from about 7:00 a.m. to about noon and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from about 7:45 a.m. to noon.)
2. A job close to my home, eliminating the need for extensive bus transfers and long bus rides. I also do not have to deal with the inconsistencies of para-transit, or SCAT, as it is called in my area. (This job allows me to work from home on the telephone and Internet.)
3. Good pay, which allows me to keep my medical benefits. (I make well over minimum wage.)
4. Using my talents and abilities. (I love to teach.)
5. Working with people. I now have twenty-two students.

It was over a year ago when I received my first permanent student, working for Telenglish. I now have twenty-two students, who all live in Korea. The youngest is seven, and two are eighteen and attending universities in the Seoul area. Most are between the ages of thirteen and sixteen.
Learning to speak foreign languages is extremely important to Koreans. Telenglish is marketed in Korea on the Internet and on TV stations. Once I had agreed to be interviewed for this position, my job developer, Marianne Riggenbach, notified the company. Shelly Kim, a native Korean who now lives in Los Angeles, coordinates the entire program, and she called me and interviewed me. I started out by substituting for teachers who were taking days off, thus breaking me in gradually, according to Shelly. It felt more like baptism by fire when I first started! Keeping a rigid time schedule and figuring out a system to remember the 800 number, the pin number, which changes after fifty dollars of use, and the fourteen-digit phone numbers seemed like a daunting task at first.
All students in Korea are required to study English and either Chinese or Japanese as part of their everyday school curriculum, so all the students speak English to one degree or another. I do not need to know Korean, which was really helpful, in as much as I haven’t a clue about Asian languages.
By calling a toll-free number, followed by a ten digit pin number, I make these international calls with no charge to my telephone. (I called to talk to one student for twenty-one minutes. That one call was $77. Ouch!)
Each student speaks for ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes one, two, or three days a week. For advanced students the first class is “free-talk.” Beginning students get “picture words,” which I send them on the Internet. These are vocabulary words with pictures that help the students grasp the meanings. Topics include adjectives, school-related items, indoor activities, outdoor activities, cooking, household appliances, etc. Free-talk subjects might include what students did over the weekend, a movie they might have watched in a theatre or at home, or perhaps current news events. This exercise helps them create proper English sentences, broaden their vocabulary, improve pronunciation, and generally build their confidence. On the second day I send them a story or article appropriate to their level of speaking. They read the story, and we discuss vocabulary, content, and American culture and or values. On the third day the student writes a journal or diary on a topic I have given them. These topics may be about the articles they have read or describing their family, friends, or favorite sport. Often they send their journals to me, and we talk about them over the phone. We make corrections together, and I email the journals back to them, creating another learning tool.
The students are incredibly hard workers. Their days are long and filled with study. A typical day for Korean students begins at 6:30 or 7 a.m. They prepare for school and attend classes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. six days a week. After school they attend academies which might include math, English, science, piano, or Korean history. They spend anywhere from two to five hours at the academy, and then they come home to do their homework for regular school. Their day ends anywhere from 10:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Their dedication to this strenuous learning schedule amazes me. There is a thirteen-hour difference between our two countries. So, when I call them at 8:00 a.m., it is 9:00 p.m. Korean time. Each weekday I have students that take classes at 11:45 a.m. my time, which is 12:45 a.m. Korean time.
Despite the short time I speak to them, we have developed strong friendships. One of my university students is studying fashion design and for a project made and sold hand-painted fans. The fans are exquisite. Another student is planning to work for UNICEF. She just returned from a two-week trip to Mongolia, where she volunteered in a hospital, taking information on new patients. When I asked her what she had learned on this trip, she replied, “There is no electricity, and they have no running water. I couldn’t shower for five days. I learned that I am so glad that I live in Korea, where life is much easier and much more pleasant.”
I am so grateful for the National Federation of the Blind, which has helped me define my own strengths and weaknesses and has given me the confidence to know what to pray for and to know that I can do this job or anything I set my mind on, and do it well. This has been a wonderful opportunity to become acquainted with another culture and develop friendships a half world away.

Report on the National Federation Of the Blind Youth Slam
by Macy McClain

Editor's Note: Macy McClain is the daughter of Mark and Crystal McClain, who are leaders in our Parents of Blind Children Division. Macy is an active member of the Federation in her own right and a leader among students. She attended the first Youth Slam hosted by the National Federation of the Blind in partnership with Johns Hopkins University. The October issue of the Braille Monitor will carry a full report of the event, but here is what Macy has to say first-hand about her experience:

This summer I was selected to take part in one of the biggest gatherings of blind students ever. While staying at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, we learned different things related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Students were divided into different tracks, such as astronomy, technology, rockets, news, and many others. I was in the rockets track, where we learned about the making of rockets, each made a rocket, and we actually got to launch the rockets we had made. All students also had classes that were not related to their tracks. I took part in classes such as biology, an advocacy seminar, and a computer seminar, where we talked about the parts of a computer and learned about the different parts and even got a chance to take apart the computer so that we could examine the parts more closely. Some of these parts were the RAM (also known as random access memory), the processor, video cards, sound cards, etc.
If you're thinking that we got to go to our rooms and sleep after a whole exhausting day, you're totally wrong. The evenings were packed, consisting of karaoke, yoga, socializing, dancing, goal ball, weightlifting, swimming, and many other things.
We also got a chance to go to the National Federation of the Blind's Jernigan Institute, where we could choose to go on tours, listen to seminars presented by leaders of the Federation, including President Maurer himself, and explore the exhibits that they had to offer. I took a tour of some of the things at the institute, including going to the International Braille and Technology Center (IBTC), the institute's library, etc. I had an excellent time learning things about the institute that I hadn't known, and I also just liked touring and listening to seminars. At the end of the week we had the Youth March for Independence, which I also took part in at the NFB's national convention. We marched a mile-long route to the Jernigan Institute. Certain people from each state held a placard as they marched. I carried the placard for Ohio. After arriving at the Jernigan Institute, we had a celebration signaling the end of the week. Several people spoke, including our very own president of the NFB, Dr. Marc Maurer. Then the next morning we headed off to our designated shuttles which transported us to the airport to catch our flights. I was sad to leave because I learned a lot and made new friends and, most important, gained assurance that blind people can have careers involving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Personal Safety for Everyone
by Deborah Kendrick

Editor’s Note: Deborah Kendrick is an NFB of Ohio board member who lives in Cincinnati. She is excited about this year’s opportunity to learn more at the convention about personal safety. This is what she says:

Eugene Fields, owner of the school Bushido, Inc., in Cincinnati, has been teaching judo, personal safety, and other martial arts for over twenty years. He has taught many blind children and adults, including the man who was the first blind person in the U.S. to earn a black belt in Judo.
In our two-hour session Mr. Fields will teach verbal and physical methods for maintaining personal safety in a car, home, or public venue. Admission is $15 now or $20 at the door. Please register early (you can use the registration form in this newsletter), so Mr. Fields will know how many assistants to bring.

Buckeye Briefs

We are pleased to announce the addition of the Dayton Daily News to NFB-NEWSLINE®. This was made possible by the generosity of the Dayton Foundation and the hard work of Federationist Jason Ewell.

The following is excerpted from "Suds Review," the newsletter of the Cincinnati chapter: "While some of us were traveling to Atlanta on June 30, Cindy Conley was donning cap and gown preparatory to receiving a master's degree in human resources from the University of Phoenix. A week later Cindy braved temperatures of 119 degrees to attend a second graduation ceremony in Phoenix."

  At its July 26 meeting, members had a chance to try out the Portasound PA system. Since this was the first trial, there were a few bugs, but we are all enthusiastic about breaking it in. This system will be used during chapter meetings so that everyone in attendance can hear and participate in all discussions.

The Capital Chapter and the membership committee will host an informational seminar covering a variety of topics including vocational rehabilitation services, what’s new in technology, and much more. This event will take place during the afternoon of Saturday, October 13. For more information call Eric Duffy at (614) 262-9378.

The Cuyahoga County Chapter recently held an election with the following results: Annette Anderson, president; Laurel Raposa, vice president; Milena Zavoli, secretary; Cheryl Fischer, treasurer.

We regret to report that Leonard Williams, president of the Cleveland chapter, has suffered a stroke and is now resident in a nursing home. Chapter Vice President William Turner has been carrying on in Leonard’s place. The chapter will conduct elections in October.

J.W. Smith’s new CD, entitled Hymns Plus Volume 2, is now available featuring 13 songs, including "Precious Lord," "Lord I Want to Be a Christian," "Yes God Is Real," and "Peace in the Valley." These are just a few of the thirteen vocal selections and one instrumental arrangement of "Go Tell It on the Mountain." The CD also includes four oratorical pieces highlighted by "The Art of Storytelling" and "The Ultimate Love Letter." Fans of J.W.’s previous work will be interested to know that he considers these eighty minutes of inspiration and contemplation to be the best work he has yet done.

This CD sells for $10, including shipping and handling, and can be ordered by sending Dr. Smith a money order at Lasher Hall, 43 West Union, Athens, Ohio 45701. No personal checks please. He will have CDs for sale at the convention gospel sing, and you can call or email him to order your CD at any time. His cell phone number is (470) 707-5114 and his email address is .

Activities Calendar

October 1-31 Meet the Blind Month

October 5 Deadline for submitting convention assistance applications

October 13 Informational Workshop, Columbus

October 15 White Cane Safety Day

October 17 Hotel will release convention guest rooms

October 26 Convention preregistration deadline

October 27 Deadline for submitting corrected chapter lists and dues without penalty

October 27 Deadline for submitting resolutions

November 2-4 NFB-O convention, Cincinnati December 1 Deadline for expressing interest in attending Washington Seminar

December 15 Deadline for submitting materials for the next newsletter

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