Writer, aggregator Kevan Worley.Contributing editor Dan Burke.Here is what you need to know
Breaking News! Under the Saying-There is Always Something…-
Debbie MacLeod, Colorado Talking Book Library Director Updated Folks That the CTBL Has Been Closed for a Portion of the Week of December 16.
On Monday, as far as we can piece together, a vehicle sideswiped the guardrail along the north side of the building around 1 pm and then took off. This pushed the gas meter into the building and started leaking gas. Xcel came quickly to shut off the gas. Staff and Volunteers evacuated the building and were sent home. Xcel took off the gas meter and capped the lines. Around 7 pm they were still working on the outside and could smell gas, so the fire department was called to the building. They couldn’t figure why there was so much gas in the building. By 9 pm they said it was safe and all went home.
Since the hit broke a 4” pipe inside the building, those repairs had to be done and were completed December 17. There was still residual gas smell on December 17 which dissipated during the day. Inspection will be done on December 18 and the gas meter will be installed and the HVAC turned back on December 18.
The library has been closed since Monday, December 16 at 1:30 and was still closed on Wednesday the 18th. We hope to reopen December 19 to a warm building.
There is always something and this is the 3rd time since 2003 that a car has run into this building – there must be some kind of building Karma???
Yeehaw and Happy Holidays from the Wild West Chapter.
Chapter President Paul Sandoval:
Yeehaw! It’s almost Christmas again in these parts. And we are so happy for all the time we have spent with you. Our fundraisers, meet and greets, and picnic would be pretty lame without some friends to liven it up! We have more coming after this Holliday season but more to come about that later! Merry Christmas and Happy new year from all of us in the Wild West!
You Want This! You Know You Do.
Joanne Franklin, Chair of the holiday basket raffle, says there are still a few tickets for the super special holiday gift basket for sale. Tickets are only $5, or you can really support the chapter and take advantage of that special discount, $20 for 4 tickets. What a deal! Both Joanne and Kevan Worley can sell you tickets. Email or call us with your ticket order. We will be happy to collect from you later. We know where most of you live. Drawing is Saturday afternoon at the big Springs holiday party.
Colorado Springs Chapter Celebrates the Holidays.
Wherever you are in the affiliate, you are cordially invited to the Colorado Springs Christmas party. It’s Saturday afternoon, December 21, noon to 3 at the Old Chicago on Austin Bluff and Academy. The White Elephant gift exchange is always a hoot.
Happy Holidays from the LaBarre Family. By Scott C. LaBarre, President, National Federation of the Blind of Colorado.
From your aggregator: At the 2019 NFBCO State Convention, the affiliate re-elected Scott LaBarre to his 6th term. We benefit so much from Scott’s constancy, commitment, candor, and kindness. NFBCO is incredibly fortunate to have Scott and Anahit, a leader in her own right. As our friends and colleagues who celebrate Hanukah would say, “Scott LaBarre is a real mensch.” Scott is a man of integrity and insight. Here is what he reports about family at the holidays.
The Holidays got off to an early start around the LaBarre household when my younger brother, Craig, flew down here from Duluth on November 20th. He wanted to spend extra time with his niece and nephew. Craig often laments that the kids grow up too fast and that he doesn’t get enough time to spend with them.
About them growing up too fast, their father shares the same sentiment. Alex is a Junior at Cherry Creek Highschool, has been looking at colleges, and has been driving for over two years. His sister, Emily, has joined Alex at Creek this year as a Freshman and will be getting her driver’s permit over the holiday break. For me, it seems like just a moment ago when I celebrated Alex’s birth with many of you at the NFBCO 2002 State Convention, his birth coming on the Friday of that Convention. Can someone please slow down this run-away time train?
After Craig’s arrival, my parents, Donna and Chuck, literally rolled into town on the 24th after a 900-mile drive from Woodbury, Minnesota. They were joined on the 27th by my sister in-law, Deb, and two high school, foreign exchange students, Janca from Hungry and Uma from Spain.
At that point, the LaBarre contingent was fully assembled and ready for Thanksgiving. We sure dug in on Turkey Day and stuffed ourselves with a ginormous and scrumptious feast. Everyone in the family was in charge of making something. My job was making the drinks, something at which I excel. The rest of the weekend featured Black Friday shopping (something I avoided like the Plague), the Lighting of the Lights Downtown Denver, lots of board games and cards, more and more eating, and a celebration of Emily’s 15th Birthday. By December 3rd, all the Minnesota LaBarre’s were back in the Land of Ten-thousand Frozen Lakes.
On the 4th of December, I did something unusual for me and boarded a plane to Baltimore where I attended the NFB Board Meetings and the official Grand Opening of our new guest spaces and sleeping rooms. At the celebration event, our very own Diane McGeorge delivered stirring and inspirational remarks about the tremendous growth of the NFB. In our newly remodeled space, there is the McGeorge Living Room which features a beautiful, water fountain in tribute to all the tremendous contributions of the McGeorge’s over the years. Our new NFB fountain is inspired by the one Ray built and maintained for many years and which many of us enjoyed from the McGeorge deck as the fountain burbled peacefully in the background. Overall, our new facilities are truly stunning and are emblematic of the progress and growth of our movement. The rest of the weekend went incredibly well as the NFB and Jacobus tenBroek Memorial Fund Boards met and reviewed the dynamic activities and achievements of our Federation which help us to secure the right to live the lives we want.
As I scribe this reflection about the Holidays, I am filled with tremendous gratitude and pride for all of my family, the LaBarre’s and the Federation. Without the support of all the LaBarre’s, especially Anahit and the kiddos, I would not have the strong foundation and framework from which to pursue my career and Federation work and otherwise lead a blessed an enriched life. Without the Federation, there is no way that I, as a blind person, could have developed the confidence and gathered the resources that allow me to live the life I want and transform my dreams into reality.
As for pride, words cannot express how enormously proud I am of Alex and Emily as they develop into amazing and strong young people just starting to chase their dreams. I am also incredibly proud of Anahit and the life changing work she does with blind seniors at our Colorado Center and the fact that while working at the Center full-time, she is pursuing her Masters in Special Education from the University of Northern Colorado on her way to becoming a teacher of blind children. Oh, I can’t forget little Moka, our ten-month-old labradoodle. She is learning very well the things she should do and, especially, the things she shouldn’t.
As for the Federation, my heart overflows with pride as I observe and reflect upon all that we have achieved nationally and here in Colorado. Although we still have significant work ahead with lots of challenges left to solve, our dream of living the lives we want without artificial limitations placed upon us is ever closer to becoming our reality. I am incredibly proud to be part of this amazing affiliate, and it is my deep honor and privilege to serve as your President.
So, from Scott, Anahit, Alexander, Emily and Moka, we wish for you the very best of this joyous season as all of us observe our own holiday traditions and celebrations. We know that some in our family are facing daunting challenges to their health or otherwise, and it is our fervent wish that the light and peace of this time help to heal and bring comfort. May 2020 bring us even better times and continued prosperity for the Federation and for all of us individually!! Happy Holidays from the LaBarre’s!!
Try Hockey for Free Day!
Many blind and visually impaired people have been trying and competing in blind hockey in recent years. It seems that the blind hockey craze has hit Colorado. Colorado Avalanche are sponsoring an event for folks who want to get out on the ice. We are told some coaches and players may be taking center ice with those who attend the event.
At this writing, our Colorado Avalanche have 45 points and are in 2nd place in the Central Division.
The event takes place Thursday, January 9 from 3-6 p.m. at the Pepsi Center. Register here!
At the National Federation of the Blind 2019 convention in Las Vegas, a resolution was passed, becoming official organization policy, that calls upon entities such as United States Association of Blind Athletes, headquartered in Colorado Springs, and other related entities to form a study committee. This committee will investigate ways in which modifications to the sport for legally blind people will not incorporate a, “hierarchy of sight” in the matches. For further information check out the resolution and then go try hockey with the Avalanche!
Mountains and Plains Monthly Chapter Call.
ReNae Anderson, NFBCO At Large Chapter President, reminds us that the December call will be held Thursday, December 19, 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome. Call 605-313-5145, code 405276#.
Is There a Trip to Our Nation’s Capital in Your Future?
The much-anticipated National Federation of the Blind Washington Seminar is waiting for you!
Veterans of our Washington Seminar will often say that it is their favorite NFB event of the year. Many rank it up there with our National Convention. There is great energy, spirit, and love when folks do advocacy together. There are seminars for parents and students and merchants and others on February 9 and 10. Monday evening, February 10th, is our traditional and often very powerful, “Great Gathering In.” You never know who is going to show up to address the more than 700 people in attendance when the gavel falls at 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday we head to Capitol Hill to inform United States Congress about the issues and policy objectives of this nation’s organized blind movement.
First-timers who are thinking of attending may be eligible for some subsidy to afford travel, transit, etc. If you plan to attend, rookie or veteran, you must make your hotel reservations by January 8th by calling 1-877-572-6951 and reference booking code N2F. Room rate is $198 plus tax per night.
For information about NFBCO Goes to Washington feel free to contact Lisa Bonderson at lbonderson@cocenter.org.
Take a look at our 2019 National Legislative Priorities.
Colorado Center for the Blind students Cristian, Shyanne, Kelly, and Dan Burke, Colorado Center for the Blind Director of Community Relations.
We Asked. You Answered.
From the aggregator: in our last Blind CO Blog we asked, “what does live the life you want mean to you?” Feel free to post your response on this blog or send directly to me. We have collected some great responses and will be posting in weeks to come.
Jessica Beecham is our recently elected First Vice President. She also serves as President of our National Sports and Rec Division. As we look forward to 2020. I asked her to write her thoughts about living the life you want. As you will read, she is one of the most energetic and big-hearted people we have in our Federation family.
Hello Federation Family! As we close out the decade, I am so incredibly grateful for all of the opportunities I have had to live the life I want. I travel throughout the country with my guide dog. I have a career that is based on the Randolph Shepherd Act which gives blind people priority to run our own businesses. My accessible iPhone allows me to make calls, send email, shop, and so much more. Most of these and many other day-to-day activities which allow me to live the life I want would not be possible without the efforts and advocacy of the National Federation of the Blind.
As I reflect on the vast array of opportunities I have in my life because of the collective action of blind people who came before me, I am inspired to do more to make it possible for blind people of the future to have even more opportunity. In the coming year, I am dedicated to filling out more Uber and Lyft reports so that we can improve the ride share system for service dog users. I will work harder to keep reaching out to blind people in Colorado so that they can find the same family and support network that I am so lucky to have. I will actively participate in legislative advocacy to educate our representatives about legislation that will improve the lives of blind people.
As we move into the new year, I encourage you to think of two things. What can you do to truly live the life you want? Maybe you want to try a new hobby, travel, make some new friends, or have an exciting adventure.
YOU CAN LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT! BLINDNESS IS NOT WHAT HOLDS YOU BACK. Secondly, consider ways you can pay it forward. Remember all of the amazing advocacy that has allowed us to live the lives we want. I challenge you to think of ways you can either commit or recommit to the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado to help us make it possible for blind people to continue living the lives that they want for generations to come. The work we do today really does make a huge impact. Happy New Year and let’s go live the lives we want in 2020.
From the Aggregator:
Here is an important holiday question. Crushed or Cubed?The Question:
We end the year together united in spirit, commitment, and love. We end the year together sharing thoughts on our quest. And wishes for all to Live the Life We Want. What are your hopes and dreams for 2020? Share them with us. Together with love, hope, and determination we transform dreams into reality. We remember those we lost in 2019. We care for those in our Federation family who endure struggles. And we anticipate and dream of the future we and all of our partners and allies will build.
Happy Hanukah,
Happy New Year,
Happy Kwanza,
Merry Christmas!
Forward, Always Forward!
