THE PROGRESSIVE VOICE
ACB OF SOUTH CAROLINA
March 2000 Newsletter
OFFICERS
President: Patsy Jones: West Columbia
(803) 791-3368
First Vice President: Betty Jones: Ninety Six
Second Vice President: Susan Jones: Charleston
(843) 577-6670
Secretary: Janice Harden: West Columbia
Treasurer: Todd Turansky: Augusta, GA
(706) 868-5832
FROM OUR CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE II
The purpose of the American Council of the Blind of South Carolina is to strive for the betterment of our total community.
A. Through a representative state organization primarily of blind people.
B. Providing a forum for the views of the blind from all parts of the state and from all walks of life.
C. By elevating the social, economic, and cultural level of the blind.
D. By improving educational and rehabilitation services.
E. By broadening vocational opportunities.
F. By encouraging and assisting the blind, especially the needy blind to develop their abilities and potentialities to assume their responsible place in the community.
G. By cooperating with the public and private institutions and agencies of and for the blind.
H. By providing for the free exchange of ideas, opinions, and information relevant to concerns of blind people through publication of the magazine.
I. By conducting a program of public education aimed toward improved understanding of blindness and the capabilities of blind people.
Editors note: This is taken from our constitution. The newly revised constitution should be ready for distribution in April.
Message from President Patsy Jones
Hello, ACB Members and Friends,
It is time again for me to come to you via our newsletter. I hope everybody had a happy holiday season. If you are like me, you are now looking forward to spring and an end to cold weather and the flu and other such inconveniences related to the winter season.
I hope all of you are enjoying this newsletter. If you think our editor, John Harden, is doing a great job, drop him a line or call him and let him know how much we all appreciate his efforts. It takes a lot of time and patience to get all of each issue together. Thank you, John.
As most of you know, I attended the ACB Mid Year Presidents conference the weekend of February 18-20. I want to thank the Board of Directors for allowing me some funds to help with my expenses with attending this fabulous meeting. I look forward to the day when we can send all of our local chapter presidents to this meeting because it is such an interesting learning experience. I came back from this meeting with many new ideas for our state chapter that we will be discussing at future board meetings, and of course, at our State Convention.
This year's conference was centered around the theme of "Improving the use of old tools and the introduction of new tools" in an effort to reach our goals. This is particularly true in the areas of membership retention and the acquisition of new members, and improving fund raising efforts. Both of these issues are of particular importance to us in ACB of SC.
What keeps members attending meetings? What brings new members to our organization? How do we raise the money to do some things to help us reach the goal of increased membership? Well, there were several things listed to help us get and retain new members; I will mention some of these at the end of this report. Fund raising is a very big issue for every ACB affiliate in the country. Some state affiliates are racking up thousands and yes, maybe even a million or two with some of their activities. California and a few other states are getting rich off of a car donation program. Others are having money left to them in wills and trusts and so on.
There are other big fund raising projects as well. One of the best ways is to find a person or organization who believes in our cause and get them to sponsor events that make money. Well, I could go on and on, but I won't. We will be looking in to some of these ideas as the year progresses.
Now something about the upcoming national. First, for those people who have never attended a national ACB convention, a First Timers grant is available. The McDaniel first timers grant is available to assist first time convention attendees with expenses. If you have a candidate in your organization that displays leadership potential and who you believe may benefit from attending our national convention please encourage them to write a letter telling us a little about her/himself and why they would like to attend a convention. You should also write a letter of recommendation to support your member's position. Letters should be sent to the Washington office, McDaniel First Timers Contest, to the attention of Terry Pacheco, no later than May 15.
As you probably know already, the convention is scheduled for the week of July 1 through July 8, 2000, at the Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky. This is where the mid year was held as well. It is a very nice hotel located near a large mall. There are several eating establishments in the hotel, only one of which appears to be rather expensive. During my stay, the most I paid for a meal was a little over $9.00. There will be several exciting tours to local areas of interest including Church Hill Downs horse racing track and the American Printinghouse for the Blind. There will also be trips to the Louisville Sluggers Baseball museum and much more. Be sure to check your Braille Forum for more details. The theme of this year's convention is partnerships.
Speaking of the Braille Forum, I must give you some interesting information. Penny Reeder, the editor of the Forum reports that the magazine has a circulation of over twenty six thousand copies each month. However, only about
50% of the national ACB membership is receiving the magazine. If you aren't receiving this magazine each month, please call the national office at 1-800-424-8666 between the hours of 2:00 PM and 5:30 PM and get signed up. The magazine is free and you will learn a lot about what is going on nationally with blind and visually impaired people.
At the last Board meeting it was suggested that each local chapter consider having one fund raising activity each year and donate the funds to the state treasury. If we are ever able to do some of the many things we want to do; such as increasing our membership, provide information and assistance to the blind citizens of South Carolina, the state organization absolutely must have more money. We cannot send large groups to the national convention and do many other things without funds. I sincerely hope that local chapter presidents will bring this issue up at their meetings for consideration. As your president, I would really appreciate your doing so. Of course, this does not mean that the ACB of SC state organization stops any fund raising activities. In fact, Betty Jones and Keith Moreland are working on a lovely bedspread for a statewide raffle. If you have any suggestions for state fund raisers, please let us know.
May God bless you and keep you until we meet again.
Tips for Acquiring and Retaining Members
1. Remind members of the time and location of each meeting on a regular basis. A phone tree is usually good.
2. Have programs at meetings that are of general interest and are entertaining. A program is not necessary for every meeting.
3. Treat each member's ideas with respect and courtesy.
4. Call former members and members in good standing who do not attend meetings and invite them to come again. Remind them that you may be doing something new and different now.
5. Advertise your meetings. This can be done through local newspapers, local radio stations and of course the SC Educational Radio for the Blind.
Committees for 2000
Patsy appointed the following committees at the Board Meeting in February:
Convention Hotel and Food: Betty Jones, chairperson; Ann Smith; and Joyce Moreland.
Convention Program: Patsy Jones, chairperson; Keith Moreland; and John Harden.
Awards: Karen Bays, chairperson; Billy Rash; and Ann Smith.
Scholarship: Patsy Jones, chairperson; Todd Turansky; and Jan Harden.
Fund Raising: Betty Jones, chairperson; Gwinette Hatcher; and Neil Morehead.
Nominating Committee will be appointed later.
Ninety-Six-Greenwood ACB Chapter
by Keith Moreland
Our chapter is looking forward to the new year ahead. We are still participating in the area Food Bank Program, and often are able to get 5 times as much as our cost in food value, so it is helping some very needy people. Almost all of our members are participating.
Our February meeting was a fun time. One of our members lives in a group home and she brought the residents of her home to our meeting as our guests. Large heart shaped baskets were given out filled to capacity with all kinds of makeup that we had received. Our refreshments were heart shaped cupcakes and heart shaped sugar cookies, along with chicken salad and pimento cheese sandwiches, chips, and valentines candy with plenty of soft drinks for all to enjoy.
Also in November we made a large food donation to a family whose house had burned down, and the grandmother and 2 grandchildren perished in Greenwood.
We are also getting prepared to be ready for our Annual Spring Bake/Hotdog/Yard Sale, and we invite each and everyone to come out and support our chapter in this endeavor.
Also Betty Jones and Keith Moreland are making an afghan that will be raffled to help raise funds for our State Organization.
We thank each and everyone of you who have helped in the labors and purchasing of our fundraisers, and look forward to your participation in the future.
2000 Annual State Convention
Our annual convention will be held the weekend of October 13-15 in Greenwood. Although the program is not ready to be announced I can tell you that Friday the 13th there will be a full moon and Saturday the 14th there will be a full schedule of events. Look for the next Newsletter to tell you more.
Columbia News Notes
By John Harden
We ended the 1900s on an upbeat. At our October meeting we had Jenny Peschel from Toast Masters tell us of some of her humorous life experiences.
Our December meeting was our Christmas party and elections. Ronnie Kimbrel planned the Party and he did such a good job and all present had a great time. We were so appreciative of his efforts we elected him Secretary to fill out the term for Charlie Hooker who was unable to attend meetings because of family obligations.
We started out the new year with Scott Brennan speaking to us about the changes in the Technical Services Department at the Commission for the Blind. Scott started work at the Commission in the first week of January. He reported that under his management the staff in the TSD is now working well and they have more students at one time than they have had in many years.
We will have Fred Gissoni as our guest at the March 25th meeting. He is the Technical Support Specialist at the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, Kentucky. We invite any of you who would be able to come to our meeting to Contact John Harden, Chapter President, for more information. I can be reached by phone at (803) 796-4887 or by e-mail at jharden@gte.net.
Ho Ho Ho
Columbia Chapter Plays Santa Clause
By Nancy Burtron
The Columbia Chapter has had the privilege of playing Santa Clause for the past two Christmases. In 1998 we provided gifts, clothes, school supplies and some food items to a family in Hopkins. Our family was identified to us through an outreach counselor with the SCCB. Our five adopted children ranged in age from sixteen to six. We were able to use some local resources to multiply our monies threefold and provide the family with a bountiful Christmas.
In 1999 our Christmas family consisted of three children. This family was living in a transitional housing shelter. They honored us with their company at our Chapter's Christmas party and the children entertained everyone that evening.
Both families had a child with low vision and at least one other child with a disability. We are pleased to note that we have kept in touch with both families, and while economics remain problems, the spirits of both families continue to soar. We have all been Blessed by these opportunities to share with others and to know that our children are continuing to do well.
Greetings from the Charleston Chapter
By Karen Bays
In December we held a Christmas party in conjunction with the local Blind Veterans. It was a great success with over 50 people in attendance. Visitors included Mr. Blackstone our representative from Congressman Mark Sandford's office who brought us holiday greetings from the congress. We even had one visitor from the South Pole. We also collected toys for the Marine Toys for Tots program. We would like to extend a special thanks to Doug Ratliff for his excellent job in pulling this all together.
In January our speaker was from Anchors Away, a program that provides water sports for people with disabilities. We are planning a picnic to be held in April during which we will be able to go boating with Anchors Away. Those who are interested will be able to take turns driving the boat.
From the Editor's Desk
As you all probably have heard, the National ACB Convention will be held in Louisville, Kentucky the week starting Saturday July 1. We suggest that you meet with others of your chapter to see if there is any interest in getting a bus load. This will spread the cost of travel among all those going and should be less expensive.
If you are interested in serving as South Carolina delegate to the National Convention send a letter to Patsy right away. $500.00 is given to the delegate to help with expenses. The delegate will be chosen at the April 1 Board Meeting.
If you are not getting the Braille Forum every month, or if you are not getting it in the format you prefer please notify the home office as soon as possible. You can contact the home office by writing to The American Council of the Blind, 1155 15th Street North, Suite 1004, Washington, DC 20005. Or by calling (800) 424-8666.
We hope you have enjoyed this Newsletter. To help keep costs down we would appreciate your returning the cassettes. They may be mailed to the Newsletter Editor, 1741 Decree Avenue, West Columbia, South Carolina 29169.