Blind Coloradoan Blog
October 1, 2021
Writer,
Aggregator: Kevan Worley.
Contributors: Dan Burke & Erin Daley
Here is what you need to know-
This issue is dedicated to the members and allies of The National Federation of the Blind. This October, we celebrate National Blind Equality Achievement Month. Congratulations! We celebrate our achievements and we pledge to continue our quest for true equality.
State convention! State convention!
This year, our NFBCO state convention will be held at the Denver Marriott South in Lone Tree. Activities begin early Thursday afternoon, October 28. Much of the convention will also be anywhere and everywhere over Zoom. It will be a hybrid convention of the highest order. Keep checking the NFBCO website for full agenda coming in mid-October. Our affiliate leadership is planning extraordinary, fun, uplifting opening ceremonies. They will begin at 5:30 Thursday afternoon the 28th, in-person and over Zoom. Zoom coordinates will be included on the agenda. Please make hotel reservations and register for the convention as soon as possible.
We are very proud to announce that the president of The National Federation of the Blind, Mark A. Riccobono, will be with us all weekend long. If you have not met Mark, we urge you to come to the convention and make a point to do so. He is leading our movement with grace, kindness, innovation, strength of character, and love. He will provide a national report. He will also offer a banquet address on Saturday evening, October 30.
This year we will again have great exhibits of technology, chapter fundraisers, and other products and services. You will not want to miss the latest and the greatest. If you are interested in exhibiting please email Peggy Chong at chongpeggy10@gmail.com .
For registration and reservation information, rates, and deadlines, please visit our website. We urge you to come to the convention to be a part of the action. Invite others and bring a guest. Our annual convention is where the blind meet to consider policy, network, and enjoy the company of our federation family.
https://www.nfbco.org/nfbco-state-convention-review
Please note: this will be a historic convention. Our long-time president Scott LaBarre has indicated that he will not be seeking another term. As he says, “I'm not going away. I’ll just be wearing different hats.” He has endorsed our first Vice President, Jessica Beecham, to become our next president. You will want to be where the action is.
Resolutions time
Resolutions are one of the principal ways we as members guide the work of our affiliate, whether to applaud good work on behalf of the blind or to call out barriers to opportunity for the blind. So, if you think the NFBCO should call out a barrier or applaud the removal of one for blind people, you can, and should, write a resolution. If you are unsure about how to do so, Resolutions Committee Co-chairs Dan Burke and Curtis Chong are glad to help.
The deadline for submitting resolutions is Wednesday, October 20 – a week before we convene in Lone Tree. If you have an idea for a resolution, but aren’t sure how to approach writing it, please contact Curtis or Dan before the deadline! Otherwise, send your drafts to burke.dall@gmail.com or chong.curtis@gmail.com.
What a race! What a race!
The 4th annual NFBCO 6 Dot Dash was an amazing success! More than 250 people gathered on the beautiful grounds of our Colorado Center for The Blind for family fun, exhibits, an amazing Puerto Rican food truck, inflatable slide, Guiding Eyes puppy kissing booth, and more. 173 participants ran, wheeled, rode, or walked the idyllic picturesque course, beginning from our campus over the Centennial Links Trail. Participants in the dash ranged from world-class runners to families out for a stroll. Listening to the joyful smiles everywhere that Saturday morning was reason enough to hold our 6 Dot Dash, but the dash was also a financial success, raising approximately $20,000 for our braille literacy and other education programs. If you were there, you know how fun it was. We thank you for your contributions and participation.
We also thank our incredible title sponsor Arise Beyond Barriers. Arise Beyond Barriers is a Colorado Springs non-profit operated by people with disabilities to create greater opportunities for people with disabilities to enjoy everything from athletics and recreation to arts and entertainment.
We also offer our appreciation to platinum sponsors FSIG and JB&K Services; Gold sponsors Labarre Law, Southern Foods, Comcast, Vanda & First Bank; Silver sponsors Blackstone Consulting, Ability Counseling, Philadelphia Insurance, NanoPac, and MagniSight of the Rockies.
You can read more about our sensational Saturday in the sun in future issues. For now, we hope to see each and every one of you at our 5th NFBCO 6 Dot Dash in 2022!
We have a great team of people who work hard to make the dash the success that it has become. One of the key players (some on the team call her our fearless leader) is NFBCO First Vice-President Jessica Beecham.
This just in:
A very special Mountain Time at 5 happens Wednesday October 6 sponsored by our NFBCO Equality and Diversity committee. Please join Monique Melton, and the usual Mountain Time at 5 crowd and members of the committee for an insightful discussion of our efforts to include everyone on equal terms in our great organized blind movement. What time? Mountain Time At 5. Of course.
One tap mobile: +13462487799,,97417562247#
Dial in number: +1 346 248 7799
Meeting ID: 974 1756 2247
White Cane Day celebration and rally
From the aggregator: We received the following exciting announcement from Diane Taylor, director, community relations, Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind. Many organizations of and for people who are blind will be celebrating and drawing attention to the important White Cane Awareness Day on Friday, October 15. It’s a great day for people who are blind and it is celebrated on October 15 smack dab in the middle of National Blind Equality Achievement Month. Here’s what Diane reports.
White Cane Day Celebration and Rally
Friday, October 15, 2021
10:00 am - 11:30 am
Acacia Park Band Shell
115 E. Platte Avenue
Colorado Springs, CO
Federation mourns a loss and celebrates a life
Our dear friend and accomplished colleague, Doris Willoughby, left us on September 8, 2021. Doris had been in ill health for quite some time. On Saturday, September 18, a service was held at the United Methodist Church in Wheat Ridge where Doris and her husband Curtis have been members for over 25 years. The service was a hybrid of in-person and Zoom, with Doris’s niece, Laura Baumgartner, adding a unique family feeling and understanding of Doris’s significant contributions to the NFB as she co-officiated on Zoom. Laura is pastor of Lake Haller United Methodist Church in Seattle and described car trips with her Aunt Doris behind the wheel leading sing-alongs mile after mile. Other speakers included Scott LaBarre and Julie Deden. Federation members Paul Sandoval, Scott LaBarre, Dan Burke, and David Dawson were pallbearers. Our deepest condolences go to Doris’s husband of 56 years. Doris was one of those special nonblind people we call “blind at heart.” We urge you to read Doris’s complete obituary at the end of this issue. She was kind, compassionate, and generous. She was a talented educator. Many of us benefited from the teaching she did at our Colorado Center for the Blind. We will miss her spirit, humor, and capacity.
During the celebration of Doris’s life, we learned one thing many of us did not know. Doris loved line dancing and she was very good at it. Doris, keep on dancing.
Our annual auction is coming!
From the aggregator:
MaryAnn Migliorelli wears many hats in our affiliate. One of which is to chair and collaborate closely with co-chair Gary Van Dorn and others on our team for our convention auction. She and co-chair Gary Van Dorn wear many hats to make sure the work of our affiliate gets done. They are seeking auction items, so please contribute auction items big and small. Here is what she says about a new game in our 2021 auction.
Play Heads or Tails for Broncos Tickets
This year, the NFBCO auction team brings a new game to our annual State Convention: Heads or Tails. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen! For $20, you get the chance to play the game that could net you two tickets to see the Denver Broncos crush The Los Angeles Chargers on November 28.
You may ask, ”How will this work?”
You will purchase your $20 ticket in person at the State Convention and be in the banquet ballroom when we play the game. Each time the coin is flipped, you will put the ticket on your head or your tail. As long as you have made the correct choice, you will stay in the game. We will keep flipping the coin until there is one lucky Broncos ticket winner.
Shine up your lucky shoes and make plans to have a new kind of fun on Saturday, October 30 at the NFBCO annual banquet.
Head on over to Avenue Q
From the aggregator: We received the following exciting announcement from NFBCO board member Maryann Migliorelli. She's always putting together interesting, accessible outings to the theater. Here's what she says about Avenue Q.
The NFB Boulder Valley Chapter is proud to celebrate Blindness Equality Achievement Month on October 10 by taking an audio-described accessible trip to Avenue Q. Normally, there is no Avenue Q in Boulder, but thanks to the wonderful talents at BDT Stage, for a limited time we have Avenue Q.
Picture Sesame Street mixed up with South Park and you have the brilliant, heartwarming comedy that is Avenue Q. Songs include “Everyone's a Little Bit Racist,” “It Sucks to Be Me,” “The Internet Is for Porn,” and “I Wish I Could Go Back to College.” Although there are as many as sixteen puppets that take us on a journey through life on Avenue Q, this show is not for children and contains adult content.
Those who wish to join us for this accessible trip to Avenue Q will start the day at 11:00 am with a tour of the props, set, costumes, and puppets from the show. We will have lunch at noon followed by the show, which will be audio described by Bonnie Barlow. As a special treat, some of the waitstaff in the dining room are also the actors in the show.
If you would like to join our group, call the BDT Stage box office at 303-449-6000 and tell them that you want to buy tickets at Maryann Migliorelli's table. Each ticket costs $70 and includes lunch and the show.
Check out www.BDTStage.com http://www.BDTStage.com for the menus, show information, and tickets in alternate locations. Please let me know if you are joining us for the 11:00 am tour. If you have any questions or need further information about this special trip to Avenue Q, please contact me at 720-284-2318 or email maryannmigs@gmail.com.
Calling all scavengers!
From the aggregator: When it comes to fun activities at the upcoming state convention, you can count on your Colorado Association of Guide Dog Users. Check out this poetic announcement from Maryann Migliorelli.
Come one come all,
Whether tall or small.
With canes that tap
Or tails that slap.
Get ready for a new kind of convention fun,
At the first ever COAGDU scavenger hunt.
You can play by yourself or make up a team,
Solve all the clues and discover our theme.
Five dollars per person,
Gets you into the game,
At the end we’ll draw for prizes,
We want to call your name.
Everybody get ready,
Let the sleuthing begin,
Let’s all go exploring,
May the best scavengers win.
Who let the dogs out?
Colorado Association of Guide Dog Users will hold a scavenger hunt at state convention. Whether you use a cane or dog, you are welcome to participate. Find the lady with the clues beginning Friday afternoon at the convention. Join the adventure and be a winner.
The Colorado Association of Guide Dog Users will hold their annual general business meeting over Zoom on Sunday afternoon, October 24, at 4 pm. This year's agenda will be jam-packed with stories of handlers and dogs. There will be a national report detailing the progress we have made and the challenges we must still confront. We will also be discussing the state of our division, policy, constitution, as well as holding elections. Please join the crowd. Zoom coordinates coming soon.
NFBCO crafters make it happen at state convention
Hello Colorado Crafters!
Are you a crafter that enjoys making items, but don’t always know what to do with them once they are finished? Well, at the state convention in October, we will have a craft sale and event that everyone will enjoy. If you knit, crochet, bead, leather craft, clay, or any of the many other crafts, we want to offer the opportunity for others to buy your creations. For more information, contact ReNae Anderson at mother27dragon@gmail.com or Sandy Schleich at allisonean@comcast.net.
Happy crafting!
Doris Willoughby June 29, 1936 - September 8, 2021-Obituary from the Denver Post
Doris Mellott Koerner Willoughby was born on June 29, 1936, in Easton, PA, and died on September 8, 2021, in Lakewood, CO. She moved to Boulder, CO, with her family when she was 11 and graduated from Boulder High School as class valedictorian in 1953.
She earned a bachelor's degree in education from Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA, in 1957 and taught second grade in Cedar Rapids for 11 years. She met her husband D. Curtis Willoughby in 1966. They were married on June 24, 1967, in Cedar Rapids, IA, and honeymooned in Clear Lake, IA, Los Angeles, and Hawaii. The event in Los Angeles was the national convention of the National Federation of the Blind, the first of over fifty NFB conventions for Doris. From the time they met, Doris became a driver and reader assistant for Curtis. Since he was an electrical engineer, perhaps the first blind electrical engineer in the country, and most of the material he wanted to read was technical, Doris's assistance was extremely valuable. During the school year 1966/7, Judy Young, a young blind woman, was seeking a degree in elementary education from the State University of Iowa, but the University had difficulty finding a place for her to do her student teaching. Doris volunteered to be the supervising teacher and enjoyed the opportunity to work with Judy. Together they found techniques to make Judy an excellent teacher. Doris received her certification in the teaching of blind children in 1969 after studying during the summers and evenings and then began teaching blind children. The Willoughbys moved to Des Moines in 1972, and Doris taught blind children there until 1993. Curtis was often asked to work on electrical and telephone equipment at the Iowa Commission for the Blind, and Doris often assisted. Shortly after they were married, she said with a smile, "I married an electric wire. In 1990, she received her ham radio operator's license. Her husband, mother and sisters have all been hams. Doris continued to work with Curtis on many projects for nearly 30 years. Doris was an active member of the United Methodist Church and invited Curtis to join. They continued in this denomination in Des Moines and in Colorado. The Willoughbys moved to the Denver area in 1993, and Doris received a master's degree from the University of Northern Colorado soon after that. Doris taught blind children in the Adams 12 School District near Denver. She later taught blind adults at the Colorado Training Center for the Blind, where she helped students prepare for citizenship and the GED test, among other things. Doris was a pioneer and leader in the education of blind children for at least 4 decades and wrote or co-authored 4 books on that subject. At its 50th anniversary convention, the National Federation of the Blind honored Doris with its highest award in education: the Distinguished Teacher of Blind Children Award. Doris was soft-spoken, kind, generous, creative, and hardworking. She was preceded in death by her parents Margaret and Harold Koerner. She is survived by her husband and her sisters (Margery Herrington of Pueblo, CO, and Marian Lord of Omaha, NE). There are 6 nephews and nieces and 9 great nephews and nieces. Doris was an important part of the Willoughby and Koerner families, her church congregations, the NFB, and her communities and will be missed by all. A celebration of Doris's life will occur at 1:00 pm on Sept. 18, 2021, at the Wheat Ridge United Methodist Church in Wheat Ridge, CO. Memorial donations may be made to the National Federation of the Blind or the Wheat Ridge United Methodist Church.
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