Blind Coloradan Blog
July 28, 2023
Writer, aggregator: Kevan Worley
Contributors: Dan Burke & Erin Daley. With assistance from Lisa Bonderson.
National Federation of the Blind of Colorado, President, Jessica Beecham
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the mid-summer 2023 Blind Coloradan Blog. It's been a while. So much has been happening across our great affiliate. Colorado Center for the Blind Summer Youth Programs are in full swing. Almost one hundred of us flew to hot Huston for the #NFB23 national convention. Chapters have engaged in celebrations of the Americans with disabilities act, ADA, signed into law on July 26, 1990. It is chapter picnic and BBQ season. The Mile High City Chapter had a meet-up at a bowling alley. This was both social and membership development. We are in the midst of final plans for our annual 6 Dot Dash fundraiser. Registration is open now. https://runsignup.com/Race/CO/Littleton/6DotDash3 . Colorado federationists are being honored for their distinguished community service. (see below) NFBCO state president Jessica Beecham was elected to our National Board of Directors at the Houston convention. State convention, the last weekend of October will be here before you know it. We have much to do and much to celebrate. We will detail some of the action in your mid-summer Blind Coloradan. Thank you for reading and thank you in advance for sharing with others. As always, we appreciate your comments, ideas, articles, and pictures. Remember we have a number of readers with eyesight who enjoy the pictures we post. So, let's share our stories and pictures of us living the lives we want.
NFBCO President Elected to National Board of Directors
You could feel the excitement in the Colorado delegation when the name of Jessica Beecham was placed into nomination during the report of the nominating committee. NFBCO has not had a member of the board of directors since 2004. Diane McGeorge, long-time NFBCO president and principal founder of our Colorado Center served on the national board for many years. It’s a mighty prestigious position. The national convention is the governing authority of the organization. Between national conventions, the 17-member board of directors guides and helps to implement our policies.
Jessica joined the movement in the latter half of the first decade of this century. She was a 2011 national scholarship winner. NFBCO hired her in 2011 to develop membership and other programs. In 2014 she co-founded We Fit Wellness. In 2017 Jessica began her career as a consultant as well as a food service business operator under the Colorado Business Enterprise Program. In 2019 Jessica gave the commencement address at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind. She is a fitness enthusiast and a marathoner who served as president of the National Federation of the Blind Sports and Rec Division. She became president of NFBCO in 2021. Mentored by Scott LaBarre, he was strong in his support of her presidency. She has served on many committees and in numerous positions of leadership throughout our movement and beyond, to her other community interests. She is a graduate of the Leadership Pikes Peak Young Professionals Program.
Jessica is a proud graduate of the Tennessee School for
the Blind. Her Tennessee roots are strong and found in a loving family,
complete with Granny at the annual, original, Shady Grove town picnic. Can’t
you just hear Doc Watson, imagine the quilts, and taste the pie? Younger sister Lora, parents Doug, and Marsha
Beecham, and longtime partner Kevin Kovacs are the most important people in her
life. Federationists never know where Kevin may show up to lend a hand, provide
direction, run an errand, or just share his patented humor. She has degrees
from Middle Tennessee State University. The above are only a few of her
accomplishments that come to mind. But really, she is known for her exceptional
kindness, spirit, wit, vivaciousness, intellectual curiosity, hard work, and
genuine warmth. When Jessica says “Let me know how I can help” she means it.
Jessica is one of those teammates that is comfortable leading while doing what
she can to bring out the leadership qualities in others. Jessica’s energy and
kindness is sought after beyond Colorado. From Georgia to Massachusetts,
California, Tennessee, and Maryland. Jessica Beecham has been known to travel
on her own dime, on her own time to support affiliate activity and help and
mentor new leaders. NFBCO President Jessica Beecham has the grace and gravitas
necessary to lead this generation of the organized blind movement. NFBCO is
extremely proud of one of the newest board members of the National Federation
of the Blind. Congratulations Jess!
NFBCO Celebrates Partnerships
From the aggregator: One of the most intriguing partnerships we celebrated at the national convention was our national partnership with HumanWare and American Printing House for the Blind to create a device that will bring us multi-line Braille and graphics. Blind people have long dreamed of a device that would provide more than just one single line of Braille and be able to do graphics. Through our national partnership with the major players in blindness products, the Monarch has been born. It is now being tested by blind folks, schools for the blind, and elsewhere. During the presentation highlighting the Monarch development in Houston, little butterfly antenna replicas were passed out to convention delegates. NFBCO president Jessica Beecham and second Vice President Maureen Nietfeld were observed wearing their Monarch antennas with pride. Even Charis Glatthar’s guide dog Augie was caught wearing a pair!
Local Blind Historian wins the Jacob Bolotin Award in Houston, Texas
From the aggregator: Regular readers of this blog know of the painstaking incredible work being done by our own Peggy Chong, a member of our Aurora chapter. We are pleased to share her well-researched stories in The Blind Coloradan. As you will read, Peggy has been given the prestigious Bolotin Award.
July 8, 2023 (Aurora CO) Peggy Chong, aka, The Blind History Lady, won the Jacob Bolotin Award at the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind in Houston Texas on Thursday, July 6, 2023, to advance her research into the history of the blind of the United States.
Chong who lives in Aurora, is well-known for her efforts to preserve the history of the blind of Colorado and led the effort to make that history available over the Colorado Virtual Library. She is beginning a new project to research and tell the history of an awards program through the Harmon Foundation from 1928-1932. The Bolotin Award that comes with a $5,000.00 check will help her travel to Washington, DC. next year to begin her research.
Jessica Beecham, President of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado said, “We are excited that Peggy Chong won this award to preserve our history. This is the second time she received this award for her work, the first was in 2018 when blind people were just beginning to realize we as a minority of blind people have a history.”
“As a blind person, I never knew our history,” Beecham continued. I thought we as blind people were always the first to do or try anything. That is so lonely. But, through her research, I, and thousands more are learning that we have broad shoulders of our blind ancestors to stand on inspiring us to climb higher and reach farther.”
“This award means a lot to me,” Chong said. “It represents the validation by my peers that my work to uncover the lost history of our blind ancestors is important. Until recently, no one in Colorado knew we had a blind governor, Elias Ammons. I found his legacy with the blind of Colorado through my research and learned that although he had some vision, it was not enough to read or recognize people across the room. What a great history for blind Coloradans, and we in Colorado never heard that he too was blind. I look forward to uncovering new surprises in the Library of Congress archives, thanks to this award.”
The Dr.
Jacob Bolotin Award honors individuals and organizations that are a positive
force in the lives of blind people. Each year the National Federation of the Blind
presents the awards at its annual convention. The Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards are
funded by the National Federation of the Blind with assistance from the Alfred
and Rosalind Perlman Trust, which was created by a bequest left to the Santa
Barbara Foundation and the NFB by Dr. Jacob Bolotin’s niece-in-law, author,
Rosalind Perlman.
Dr. Jacob W. Bolotin (1888-1924) was the world’s first physician who was blind from birth. He achieved that goal despite the tremendous challenges faced by blind people in his time. Not only did he realize his own dream, but he also went on to support and inspire many others.
The Dash is Coming! The Dash is Coming!
Run! Don’t walk to your computer and register now for the NFBCO 6 Dot Dash 5k event! Whether you walk, jog, run, volunteer, or just hang out, NFBCO cordially invites you and your family to join us for big fun. When? Saturday, September 9, at 8 am. Where? Colorado Center for the Blind, Littleton Colorado. What? This is our most important annual fundraiser. And don’t forget one of the highlights of the annual dash. “The Blind Beer Tasting.” We will pop a top and lift a toast with The Great Divide and Breckinridge Breweries. There will be a bouncy house and other games for the kiddos, food trucks, Kona Ice truck, and exhibits of interesting products and services. It's one of the social events of the year with live entertainment and more. Please register now! When you register and then raise $100 from friends and family, your $40 registration becomes free. We want to thank our many returning sponsors, Comcast, Philadelphia Insurance, Worley Enterprises, J B & K Services, and Blackstone Consulting Inc. We welcome our new White Cane sponsor the Englewood Lions Club. If you or your company would like to sponsor you can do so for as little as $500 or as much as $5,000. To learn more about sponsoring contact Kevan@nfbco.org. There are many surprises to be announced. Should you desire exhibit space contact Maureen, mnietfeld@cocenter.org.
If you are the teacher or family member of a blind child. Please consider the NFBCO 6 Dot Dash. Join us for all the fun! https://runsignup.com/Race/CO/Littleton/6DotDash3
CAB 452 a Kernel Book Story By Scott C LaBarre
From the aggregator: For the thousands of delegates to
the National Federation of the Blind Convention this year was different. We
missed our beloved leader and dear friend Scott LaBarre. In the above article
about our 6 Dot Dash, you will note that LaBarre Law is no longer listed among
our top sponsors. For many years Scott and his family have been one of the top financial
contributors to all of our fundraisers. The LaBarre family has supported our
conventions, 6 Dot Dash, our raffles, and our pre-authorized check program with
their hard-earned treasure. We are forever grateful. And Scott will be forever
in our memories. We thought you might enjoy listening to a story written by
Scott for our Kernel book series. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the
National Federation of the Blind released a number of booklets containing the true-life
stories of our members. Here is the audio recording of a story written by our
own Scott LaBarre.
https://nfb.org/images/nfb/audio/kernel_books/kern24/08_cab_452.mp3
Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award
From the aggregator: Gary Van Dorn is always everywhere all at once. He provides leadership to the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado in so many ways. He is our transportation guru. He is a leader of our Mile High Chapter, and he has now won the prestigious Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award.
I am excited to tell all that Gary Van Dorn will be
honored with the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award on Thursday, August 17,
at 10:00 a.m., outside, on the 16th Street Mall, at 16th and Welton. Please try to come and share in the
event.
The ceremony will last about 30 minutes and will include a brief history of the award and Min Yasui's life. Gary will be presented with a plaque, a proclamation from the Mayor, and a check for $2000, which he has chosen to give to the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado to be used to preserve the NFBC's archives.
The Mission of the Award is to honor outstanding volunteers who have received little or no recognition for their efforts on behalf of the community. Please feel free to invite any friends, staff, or family who would like to honor Gary on his special day.
For more information, please call Peggy Chong at 303-745-0473.
Letter to the Director, Another National Convention Success Story
From the aggregator: Our chief program is the Colorado Center for the Blind. Every day brings challenge and accomplishment to our students. They come from Colorado, the nation and sometimes the world. Michelle Felix is a student from Mexico. All of our Independence Training Program students attend our national convention. Michelle wrote a letter to CCB Executive Director Julie Deden about her convention experience, and she has allowed us to share it with you.
Hello,
I would like to express my immense gratitude for the myriad of learning moments, conversations, seminars, and great energy I had the privilege to experience at the 2023 national convention!
It was an invaluable opportunity to meet new people, make connections, educate myself on new tech developments, but especially to increase my confidence and independence greatly. Now, if someone invites me to go to LA on my own for the greatest convention of audio and music professionals and manufacturers which happens every January, I am not afraid anymore! I would say yes without hesitation! Or even, I might invite myself!
Thank you, Julie, especially, for having helped me through my nerves at your office when I was feeling pretty afraid. There was a host of doubts, and I swore I wouldn’t be able to find my room each night. But oh my! By the second day I was extremely comfortable with two or three entire floors, and it was a joy to find meeting rooms on my own and have everything labeled in Braille. It was liberating to go alone and do activities with no one watching.
The learning started from the moment I had to take my luggage down the 18 apartment stairs! Working the Independence Market and doing Spanish interpreting was really helpful because I tried my hand at things I’ve never done before and got the chance to help others at the same time. I had a blast!
I appreciated the multiple opportunities to take myself out of my comfort zone, go put my name out there and introduce myself. As an introvert, this is absolutely essential, and I am very proud to have pushed myself to do it! I visited the presidential suite. I went up to the sound booth to meet the guy who runs front of house for the general sessions, and got his contact information and of course, to touch the board! The job fair was definitely one of the biggest highlights, and I’m very fortunate to have stopped by your table. I also loved whom you put me with in the banquet, and especially, I had an amazing mentor!! I learned so so so much from Chris.
Thank you for these moments. They are truly something I won’t forget!
Michelle
Brush at Breakfast by Jo Elizabeth Pinto
From the aggregator: As a regular reader you know I am a huge fan of Joe Elizabeth Pinto’s writing. She is an active member of our community. She is a blind parent of a sighted teenager. She is a guide dog handler. She is an author and a keen social observer. Her work appears regularly in this blog. Here is a piece she had adapted from one of her Facebook posts.
I spent a nice weekend in the mountains with my husband's family. One of his nephews had gotten married in June, so friends and relatives of the bride and groom gathered in Eagle, Colorado, where they live, for a summer celebration.
But something happened on our way home that made me sad. A fairly big group of us met for breakfast at a restaurant in Vail. I walked into the restaurant with my daughter at the back of the group, and I had my guide dog, Spreckles, with me. Spreckles was wearing her harness, the way she always does when she's working in public.
We decided not to stay at the restaurant because the wait was going to be over an hour. There were ten or twelve large parties in line ahead of us to eat. We all turned around and filed through the crowded dining room to the door. I remembered thinking how well Spreckles navigated between the closely packed tables.
"Mom, we just passed a man who was giving you and Spreckles the meanest looks," my daughter told me in an angry whisper. "He was shaking his finger at you, and his wife was rubbing his back in little circles, trying to calm him down. He did the same thing when we walked by on our way in, too."
"I guess he doesn't like service dogs," I answered, feeling a familiar weight settle itself on my shoulders.
"If there wasn't a three-year-old close by," my daughter said, referring to her little niece, "I'd tell him to kiss my--"
"I
know, I know." I sighed. "But there's no point in making a scene.
Let's catch up to your dad before he hits the road without us."
I didn't let the uptight man in the restaurant ruin my weekend. But people like him--I don't know. I hope I live to see the day when my existence--and that includes the presence of the dog who helps me navigate the world--doesn't cause such upheaval that someone's wife has to rub his back and calm him down in a public restaurant just because I walk by the table where he's having a mid-morning meal. That's kind of hard to take, even on a good day. My husband suggested that maybe our daughter shouldn't tell me when she sees someone acting like that, but I think it's best that I know. I don't need to have encounters like that kept from me; they need to stop happening in the first place.
Blind Parents Picnic Announcement from Nate Trela
From the aggregator: Nate has been one of our blind parent leaders for a number of years. He is a journalist currently working for USA Today. If you are working with blind youth don’t let anybody, ever tell them they can’t be a writer/reporter at the highest level. Here is the info from Nate about the picnic in the park, maybe you will see Yogi the Bear.
The Blind Parents Division of the NFB of Colorado is holding a picnic before the start of the school year. We plan to gather from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5, at Westlands Park, 5701 S. Quebec Street in Greenwood Village. The park has multiple playgrounds, and we will be at the large playground near the park's main entrance.
We'll provide drinks and light snacks, but feel free to bring something. Please RSVP to ntrela@gmail.com if you are coming so we bring enough. We'd love to see families from outside the Denver area come down. If you need help figuring out logistics or paying for transportation, please email me and we'll see if we can help.
Olympic City Chapter invites one and all to our spectacular summer picnic. All roads lead to Arise Beyond Barriers 1120 N Circle Drive, Colorado Springs. Join us from 11 until 2. “We’ve got the meat” You should feel free to bring a dish. To RSVP and tell us what you are bringing please contact Jeanette Fortin nettiecosp@icloud.com or Joann Franklin jfranklintx@msn.com. Invite friends and reach out to blind and low-vision people. Invite them to join the hospitality of the National Federation of the Blind Olympic City Chapter.
Inclusion and Accessibility, Don’t Overthink, Games are for Everyone!
From Peggy Chong
Have you ever wondered how blind and low vision people
are able to play games like Dominos, Checkers, Solitaire, Yahtzee, Go Fish,
Monopoly, Candyland and Uno?
Are you someone who is blind or has low vision and you wonder how you can join your friends and family members to play games?
Are you losing your vision as an older adult and feel left out of the fun with your grandchildren? Do you have a child with blindness or low vision and want to include them in games with siblings and friends?
The Aurora Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado demystifies INCLUSION. We invite you to join us for a fun and free event to simplify INCLUSION, through accessible games for everyone. We will show you games that are already accessible and games that can be easily modified to make them accessible. We will have handouts on resources on INCLUSION.
Please bring your co-workers, friends, or family members.
Date: Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Time: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm – open house
Location: Heather Gardens Community Center, 2888 Heather Gardens Way, Aurora CO
Contact Peggy Chong for more information:
303-745-0473, chongpeggy10@gmail.com
National President’s Volunteer Service Award
Blind Coloradan Blog congratulations Nate Trela. Nate is the winner of this issues article submission contest. Nate gets $50 to be donated to the chapter or division of his choice. What say you Nate? Remember that when you submit pictures and articles for your Blind Coloradan your name goes into a hat. Every issue we will draw for a $50 donation to be made to the chapter or division of your choice.
That’s all she wrote! Keep those cards and letters coming! Forward always forward
