Note: Search "* * *" to find the beginning of articles. THE BLIND CALIFORNIAN Quarterly Magazine of the CALIFORNIA COUNCIL OF THE BLIND Winter 2016 Volume 60, No. 1 Published in Braille, Large Print, Cassette, Email (bc-subscribe@ccbnet.org), and Online in readable and downloadable text and audio media Jeff Thom, President 7414 Mooncrest Way, Sacramento, CA 95831 916-429-8201 jeff.thom@ccbnet.org Executive Office: California Council of the Blind 1303 J Street Suite 400, Sacramento, CA 95814-2900 800-221-6359 toll free 916-441-2100 voice; 916-441-2188 fax Email: ccotb@ccbnet.org; Website: www.ccbnet.org San Francisco Bay Area Office: Catherine Skivers 836 Resota Street, Hayward, CA 94545-2120 510-357-1986 cathie.skivers@ccbnet.org Los Angeles Area Office: Donna Pomerantz 1115 Cordova Street #402, Pasadena, CA 91106-3036 626-844-4388 donna.pomerantz@ccbnet.org Mitch Pomerantz, Director Advocacy and Governmental Affairs 800-221-6359 toll free 626-372-5150 cell Governmentalaffairs@ccbnet.org Webmaster: webmaster@ccbnet.org Judy Wilkinson, Editor 1550 Bancroft Avenue #113 San Leandro, CA 94577-5264 510-357-1844 editor@ccbnet.org Susan Glass, Associate Editor 408-257-1034 editor@ccbnet.org The CALIFORNIA CONNECTION is a weekly news service provided: * by phone, in English and Spanish at 800-221-6359 Monday through Friday after 4 p.m. and all day on weekends and holidays. * by email subscription. Send a blank message to connection-subscribe@ccbnet.org; * or on the web at www.ccbnet.org. Submissions for the California Connection can be emailed to ca.connection@ccbnet.org. Non-members are requested and members are invited to pay a yearly subscription fee of $10 toward the production of THE BLIND CALIFORNIAN. In accepting material for THE BLIND CALIFORNIAN, priority will be given to articles concerning the activities and policies of the California Council of the Blind and to the experiences and concerns of blind persons. Recommended length is under three pages or 1800 words. The deadline to submit material for the Spring 2016 issue of THE BLIND CALIFORNIAN is noon on March 1, 2016. Please send all address changes to Executive Office. * * * TABLE OF CONTENTS From the Editor's Desk by Judy Wilkinson I Love Louie by Bonnie Rennie Awards Time by Roger Petersen, Awards Committee Member and Judy Wilkinson Fresno Chapter Spotlight by Susan Glass Governmental Affairs Report by Mitch Pomerantz Winifred Downing Interview by Linda Porelle, Publications Committee Chair CCB Convention Report by Susan Glass and Rob Turner Dining in the Dark with CCB Fresno Chapter 2015 by Sylvia "Sugar" Lopez CCB,s Revolving Equipment Loan Fund: A "Working" Resource by Mitch Pomerantz Minutes: California Council of the Blind Board Meeting June 30, 2015 by Judy Wilkinson CCB Secretary California Council of the Blind Officers and Board * * * From the Editor's Desk by Judy Wilkinson Happy Birthday The Blind Californian! Take a look at the front cover volume and issue number: Volume 60, No. 1 That means that in some form, this magazine has been published for 59 years and is now beginning its 60th. From CCB's website you can download individual issues from 2008 until the present, and zipped files for each year (containing all four issues) go back to 1986 (with the exceptions of 1991 and 1987). Our Administrative Assistant Ed Branch tells me that somewhere buried in the back room of the CCB office are boxes of back issues, but he has no idea how far back they go. He tells me that unearthing them would take hours and hours, and there is certainly more important work for him to be doing on behalf of us all. Over this next year, we plan to bring you a number of commemorative BC articles including interviews with previous editors, beginning with Linda Porelle's with Winifred Downing. We will bring back guest appearances from favorite columns such as On The Lighter Side by Evelyn Drewry. I took over as editor from Mike Keithley with the Summer 2010 issue, and since that date, I have taken my job extremely seriously, putting a great deal of thought into my columns, some of which have proved very controversial. You will note in this issue as in all others on my watch, I have included extensive introductory Editor's Notes in order to provide historical relevance for articles; this takes more time than you might think. Last year we welcomed Associate Editor Susan Glass, and what an addition she has been. In an effort to fulfill the mandate of our Strategic Plan to reach out to chapters in a meaningful way, we begin our second year of Susan's profiling individual chapters and their projects. Fairly recently prior to my editorship, budgetary cuts mandated a Board decision to drastically cut the length of the publication to roughly half of what it had been. At the very least, the magazine continues to be the organ of record for the doing of CCB. A couple of years ago, The Publications Committee conducted a survey, and those who responded overwhelmingly requested that we maintain it as a quarterly publication. This raises ongoing challenges in this electronic age as to what to include to keep the BC timely and relevant. Rest assured that I will do my best to meet the mandate of timeliness and relevance, and I remind you that this publication belongs to all of us. The material in this issue comes from contributors who have stepped up to the plate repeatedly. The publication needs new voices if it is to continue vibrantly into the future. Let one of them be yours. * * * I Love Louie by Bonnie Rennie [Editor's Note: Here is another wonderful poem from Bonnie. What a talented woman! Her contributions to the BC have been varied: everything from profiles of key CCB folks to articles of interest to Seniors in her long-time capacity as Chair of the "Seniors with Vision Loss Committee" including the Ebook "How to Have A Happy Life: As a Senior Losing or Without Vision" announced in the Winter BC 2015.] Literacy is a key to opportunity and to a meaningful life. It is a priceless commodity, perhaps most appreciated when it is absent. In honor of his birthday, January 4, 1809, I here salute my literacy champion, Louie Braille. I'm thinking of a hero, this month born over two hundred years ago. A brilliant pioneer, inventor, Who humanly speaking, allows me to see and to know. One door to the world is through reading. Takes us to places we could not walk otherwise. Abstract concepts, the great stories live on paper, Most folks glean through the work of their eyes. Was a time, folks like me had no access. Printed pages mocking what we had not got. Until one of us, a French guy named Louie Created clever code with a tactile raised dot. Louie transformed our world giving literacy To blind people so hungry to read. His aptitude lighting our pathway, Proving solutions can be born of great need. We moderns owe a whole lot to Louie, Even talking computers cannot take Braille's place. Imagine if you couldn't read or write for yourself, How unequal the competitive career race! I, for one, am proud to say I love Louie. I would thank him in person if I could. Bet that he'd rather I write him a letter. If the mail went to Heaven, then I would! * * * Awards Time by Roger Petersen, Awards Committee Member and Judy Wilkinson Once again and it is time for us to start preparing for our annual CCB awards. The organization presents several awards to deserving individuals and groups at our annual conference and convention. Some are presented by the Awards Committee and some are given by other committees. The Publications Committee presents writing awards usually based on articles written for the BC and chosen by the committee. At the fall CCB Conference/ Convention the issue-oriented article award went to James Forbes, former president of the Humboldt Chapter for "The Road to Accessible Movie-Going" BC Summer 2014. For the first time, the committee awarded two "Lifestyle" awards: to Tuan Nguyen (a member of the students affiliate and of Capitol Chapter) for "My Story: Differences in Cultural Attitudes Toward Blindness And Literacy" and to former CCB Board member Erik Smiley for "Looking Forward to Camping Season" both in the BC spring 2014 issue. The Membership Committee presents the Chapter of the Year Award to the chapter that conducts a group effort to make a significant difference in the life of an individual and/or the community. Letters from chapters for projects developed and completed in 2015 should be submitted to the CCB state office by March 1, 2016. In the letter, please explain the group chapter project, who benefited from the effort, and the time-line of the project. In 2014, this award went to the Humboldt Chapter for its work on bringing audio-described movies to Eureka. Win one of the CCB Membership Incentive Awards for 2015! Awards will be presented to the chapter with the largest number of new members, and the other to the chapter with the largest membership percentage increase. At our most recent convention banquet, Committee Chair Ardis Bazyn presented certificates to the Long Beach chapter for the highest percentage of membership growth and to Silicon Valley Council of the Blind for the largest increase in the number of members since the previous year. Awards Committee Here's how you play a part in the presentation of awards by the Awards Committee. We need you to submit letters to the CCB office nominating people for these awards, so we will be presenting them to the most deserving people possible. These letters are due by March 1, 2016. Here are the awards and their criteria. The CCB Hall of Fame: up to five persons per year who have made significant contributions and sustained effort to advance the goals of CCB over a period of years may be nominated. The CCB Community Service Award: presented annually to a blind or visually-impaired individual who, through his or her association and activities, has demonstrated integration into and interaction with the life of the community. The CCB Distinguished Service Award: given periodically to an outstanding blind or visually-impaired person who has contributed significantly to the betterment of blind people in general. The recipient of this award need not be a member of CCB. The CCB Legislator of the Year Award: bestowed periodically on a state or federal legislator who has introduced and successfully sponsored enactment of legislation on behalf of persons who are blind or visually-impaired. The Humanitarian Award: granted to an individual or organization that has assisted blind people in general or CCB and its affiliates in particular to an extraordinary degree. The recipient may be blind or sighted. The CCB Merit Award (Formerly the Certificate of Merit): given to any individual who provides outstanding volunteer service to CCB, its chapters or affiliates. The Committee's new chair is Joe Smith and members include Roger Petersen and Michael Williams. * * * Fresno Chapter Spotlight by Susan Glass It seems fitting that the Fresno chapter of CCB, now about to launch its third "Dining In The Dark" fundraiser, should have an aspiring chef as its president, and a dynamic story teller and motivated Membership Chair as its vice president. Food, stories, community fellowship, and community service are the watch words of the Fresno chapter of CCB. According to Sarah Harris, who has served as chapter Vice President for the past year, recruiting people for the Dining In The dark events has been surprisingly easy. Families, friends and church members all attend. President Nathan Romo said that fellow students at his cooking school bought a table, and so did his stepmother and her colleagues who work at an art gallery. "Our first event was catered," said Sarah, "but we held our second one at Yosemite Falls Restaurant, and the staff as well as our diners really got into the experience. The evening was full of surprises. People you didn't expect to put on blindfolds and eat the meal were the ones who did." What truly inspired and moved the sighted participants however were the stories that blind chapter members told about their lives while the meal was in progress. "Our member William Eliot told his story about how a can of beans changed his life," Sarah said. "He was standing near a market shelf looking at the beans and everything went dark." Another chapter member told diners about coping with glaucoma. Then Debbie Flowers described her experiences as a teacher of the visually impaired, and one of her students present at the meal is also a member of our chapter." Hopefully, the sighted attendees ended their evening meal with deeper, more positive impressions of blindness than when they sat down to dinner. Thus the dining in the dark events themselves were a service to the community. But the Fresno chapter also used the proceeds from their fund raisers for additional community service. Recently they purchased an iPad mini for a blind high school student. And they're active in the larger community in other ways too. Not long ago, three chapter members participated in an event sponsored by Blind Babies Foundation called Walk In My Shoes. Sarah, who is a mother herself to her 12-year-old daughter, hopes that chapter members can become mentors to families with blind children. "We need to be out in the wider Fresno community," says President Nathan Romo. "We need to be visible, known." Sarah Harris agrees. "We as blind and visually impaired people need to teach the community. We can't expect someone to know what we need. We should use moments when we're frustrated as teachable moments. Like when you go to a doctor's appointment, and a nurse grabs your arm instead of allowing you to take hers. That's a teachable moment." President Nathan Romo and Vice President Sarah Harris both feel that growing chapter membership is a challenge, as is balancing the needs of chapter members, some seek a local focus, some want to connect more with CCB and ACB, and some are just looking for a social outlet. They'd love to see more blind people in their twenties and thirties who could join their chapter and be active in it. Both Nathan and Sarah would like to see CCB use social media more in reaching out to members. Specifically, they'd like to see a CCB Membership handbook available in digital formats, and available through social media. "This is a digital world," says Sarah. "The more we can get things like documents in a digital format, the faster we can read them, and act on them." Of course, not everyone chooses to board every digital train, so braille, and large print, and telephone calls, and good old face to face contact will continue to be mainstays in the Fresno chapter of CCB, and most likely in all of our CCB chapters. * * * Governmental Affairs Report by Mitch Pomerantz This is an end-of-the-year update on bills sponsored, supported, or followed by the California Council of the Blind during the first half of the 2015-16 legislative session. During 2015, CCB sponsored one bill, wrote letters of support (and opposition in a couple of instances), and kept track of several others. I want to first acknowledge the members of the CCB Governmental Affairs Committee for their assistance and support: Leena Bandy, Ardis Bazyn, Margie Donovan, Roy Harmon, Alice McGrath, Steven Mendelsohn, Charles Nabarrete, Teddie-Joy Remhild, and Robert Wendt. Each of them has specific expertise in one or more areas and CCB was most fortunate to be able to utilize their talents as legislative proposals came to our attention. I also want to acknowledge President Jeff Thom's assistance in our advocacy efforts. Since I reside in Pasadena and Jeff in Sacramento, the leg-work involving face-to-face meetings with legislators or their aids and testifying at committee hearings was handled by Jeff. I spent a fair amount of time on the phone and drafting letters. So let me begin with the bill CCB sponsored: Senate Bill 199, authored by Isadore Hall, which would add to the list of supportive services offered under the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program up to two hours per month of reading assistance and completing of financial and other documents for recipients who are blind or visually impaired. CCB sponsored this bill because as we know, while access to written information is one of the greatest barriers we face in living independently, the reading and completing of documents is not a service covered under the IHSS Program. While SB199 passed both the State Senate and Assembly, Governor Brown vetoed the bill due to funding concerns. Senator Hall will not be able to reintroduce this proposal during 2016, the second half of the current legislative session, due to existing rules. Assembly Bill 1353, authored by Jim Patterson, was a proposal sponsored by blind vendors and actively supported by CCB. It would prohibit the Department of Transportation (we know it as Caltrans) from being reimbursed for utility costs incurred by vendors operating under the Business Enterprises Program for the Blind and would require Caltrans to pay for those utility costs out of state funds. The vendors adversely effected by having to pay for utilities are those running roadside rest areas on California's highways. Many of these vendors operate on very thin profit margins and AB1353 was intended to remove this financial burden. Thanks to the hard work of a number of vendors along with many of our members, AB1353 was signed by the Governor. This is a tremendous victory and one about which all of us should be proud. Other bills in which CCB took interest included: AB8 (Gatto), which authorized use of the state's existing network of changeable message signs to help apprehend a suspect when a hit-and-run accident occurred resulting in a fatality or serious injury. CCB supported this bill because of the number of blind and low vision individuals who have been injured in such accidents over the years. Just prior to the CCB Conference and Convention, the Governor signed AB8 into law. Reluctantly, CCB was forced to oppose AB683 (Low), which requires the Secretary of State to establish a Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee (VAAC)--a cross-disability entity--to make recommendations related to improving the accessibility of elections for people with disabilities who are voters. This body was put forward in lieu of the initial concept: a blindness-specific entity to address the unique access needs of blind and low vision voters. The bill did propose a subcommittee under the VAAC to address our specific accessibility concerns. While there were a number of provisions which would potentially benefit us, CCB became concerned that the bill language failed to specify representation from consumer organizations of the blind including CCB. Not surprisingly, AB683 was signed by the Governor so we will just have to see if our concerns are appropriately addressed by the subcommittee and the VAAC. CCB opposed SB251 (Roth), which protects a business with 100 employees or less from liability for minimum statutory damages after the business has obtained an inspection by a Certified Access Specialist, thereby allowing that business to identify and correct violations. We sent a letter strongly opposing this bill because we saw it as a clear effort to enhance the ability of business owners to thwart the legitimate efforts of persons with disabilities to ensure that places of public accommodation comply with state and federal accessibility statutes. Surprisingly given the political orientation of the legislature, SB251 passed both houses rather easily. Fortunately, Governor Brown decided to veto this bill because of a tax credit provision to which he objected. SB474 (Brown and Thurmond) would have increased SSI grants for individuals to 112% of the federal poverty level. Although we strongly supported this bill, the increase was not included in the budget agreed upon by the Governor and legislature in June. CCB strongly supported SB624 (Anderson), which would have taken steps toward ensuring that all state websites finally meet state and federal accessibility requirements. Unfortunately, this bill failed to muster sufficient support for passage by the legislature. SB450 (Roth) is a proposal which will be taken up in 2016. It would permit some counties to conduct elections primarily via vote by mail. CCB is involved in drafting language which would call for those counties to offer ballots that blind and low vision voters could privately and independently read and mark before a county could conduct a vote by mail election. The bill is likely to include other beneficial provisions as well. And speaking of our legislative efforts next year, I want to mention two proposals resulting directly from recent CCB resolutions. First, CCB, in collaboration with Guide Dog Users of California, will be looking to introduce legislation addressing issues under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind. Second, this year we were unable to find an author for draft bill language permitting purchase by state agencies including the Department of Rehabilitation of assistive technology utilizing DOR's State Price Schedule in lieu of the existing requirement of a competitive bid process which is typically time-consuming and bureaucratic. This lengthy process has cost blind persons employment opportunities and CCB must try to rectify this unacceptable situation. Finding authors for both proposals will be a priority for CCB this fall. Finally, the Governmental Affairs Committee in the person of Charles Nabarrete will be looking into the feasibility of holding another CCB Capitol Day sometime during the spring in Sacramento. When we have more information, we will let everyone know. Take care and continue advocating for our rights in your local communities. * * * Winifred Downing Interview by Linda Porelle, Publications Committee Chair [Editor's Note: Throughout this year celebrating the BC's birthday, we will be interviewing former editors. Linda Porelle brings you her visit with one of the longest serving, Winifred Downing who edited this publication as near as we can figure from 1995-2005. And the article does double duty as Winifred is one of our "nonagenarians." For decades, Winifred was one of the seminal figures in CCB. In the spring issue of the BC 2011, I profiled her: "CCB Treasure, Winifred Downing?, and we reprinted one of her outstanding Editor's Column: Winter, 2005, volume 49, no. 1, timeless then, timeless today.] On a recent Saturday afternoon, I traveled across town to visit with Winifred Downing in her lovely home in the Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco. Winifred, who celebrated her 90th birthday on October 28, 2015, has the good fortune of remaining in her own home with the devoted attention of three of her children, numerous grandchildren, and live-in caregivers. Over the last several years, Winifred's active involvement in CCB and the San Francisco Chapter has steadily dwindled. By her own admission, she noted that she 'spent many hours of every day on something pertaining to the organization.? Her absence is primarily due to her increasingly complicated health challenges. During our visit, she referred again to her serious hearing loss, which she feels ?came on suddenly at around 80.? In addition, she continues to experience bouts of severe back and leg pain, which require strong medication and days of bed rest. As a woman, who throughout her life derived deep personal satisfaction from her ability to help and inspire others, Winifred has been known to express considerable frustration about feeling useless and confined. Of course, those of us who know and love her insist that her mere presence is still a priceless gift. After exchanging updates about our families and her current health status, the conversation turned to her time as editor of the Blind Californian. This interview is fairly brief due in part to Winifred's desire to take her afternoon rest. LP: Do you still read the Blind Californian in braille? WD: I don't read it because I don't go to meetings anymore, but I do look at it, just not cover to cover. LP: How long were you the editor of the BC? WD: I did it for ten years. LP: What challenges did you face while preparing the magazine? WD: Finding the time to do it. I was never good at getting articles for the BC. [Then] people complained about [our] taking articles from the internet. LP: What did you enjoy most about your time as editor? WD: I liked getting intelligent letters [from readers who] liked or disliked the BC because I always learned something. LP: What advice do you have for the current or any future editors? WD: You have to like writing and you have to have some people who read it all, even 5 or 6 [people] who do read it all can make it worthwhile. We concluded our time together by reviewing our holiday plans. Although my visits to her are necessarily brief, it is always a great pleasure and privilege for me to spend time with a woman, whom I deeply admire and who served as a mentor for me in my first few years as a member of CCB. Before closing this piece, I'd like to bring your attention to a project that Winifred spearheaded about ten years ago with the San Francisco Chapter. It has evolved during that time and is now the Student Education Access Grant or SEA Grant. With Winifred's early leadership, this annual grant has become the cornerstone of our chapter's fund-raising efforts as well as providing an ongoing focus for motivation and inspiration for our chapter. We have Winifred to thank for this gift of focusing our attention toward serving the Bay Area community through this meaningful project. For more information about eligibility for the 2016 Grant, contact Charlie Dorris at tyreedorris@comcast.net. [Editor's Note: In the most recent BC, Fall, 2015, you can find an article about this project: San Francisco Chapter Student Education Access Grant by Daveed Mandell and Charlie Doris.] * * * CCB Convention Report by Susan Glass and Rob Turner [Editor's Note: On a number of occasions in the past our friends from Silicon Valley Council of The Blind have allowed us to use the convention reports which their delegates are required to write. A number of chapters require delegates to provide some kind of report following our statewide conventions. I know in Bay View chapter, the delegate (newly-elected CCB board member Steve Fort in recent years) gives a thoughtful, thorough convention report. If your chapter doesn't do this yet, the report that follows, prepared by BC Associate Editor Susan Glass (now president of SVCB and Rob Turner (its immediate past president) serves as a good model. If your chapter does require a written report, we would gladly include it as one of our convention summaries.] I agree with Rob Turner that having only one convention per year allows for more interesting affiliate seminars and more refreshing content at CCB general sessions. I attended the California Library Users program (CLUA), Guide Dog users of California (GDUC), all general sessions including a Saturday afternoon breakout seminar on leadership, the meeting of the CCB Board of Publications, and meetings of the Credentials and Nominating Committees. Here are some highlights. CLUA held its program on Friday, October 2. This year, CLUA has been conducting bimonthly telephone conference book discussions which, although not always hugely attended, are always animated and fun. The conference calls take place on Sunday evenings at 7:30, and CLUA secretary Debby Berry takes notes on the conversations and circulates them to those on the CLUA mailing list. Readers on the call have shared favorite books from childhood, historical fiction, science and science fiction, and travel literature. CLUA's keynote speakers were Brian Charlson, president of the ACB affiliate Library Users of America (LUA) and ACB President Kim Charlson, who shared information about library programs and services at Perkins Institute. In his remarks, Brian CHARLSON addressed the dire consequences that result from the misperception, sometimes held by the general public, that the availability of audio book resources in public libraries eliminates the need for braille and talking book services. Eight years ago, the talking book library in British Columbia closed its doors for just this reason. The problem, of course, is that public libraries generally carry only commercially available audio books, which tend to be only the most popular titles. But well-rounded library services should and do make everything available to their sighted patrons: scholarly titles, reference materials, a wide-ranging children's collection, science materials, historical materials; the list is endless. If you are a blind patron in BC, your pickings are slim. The state of Alaska also recently eliminated its braille and talking book program. Blind and visually impaired Alaska residents now receive all of their braille and talking book materials from the NLS regional library in Salt Lake City. The upside of this situation is that the NLS collection is large, varied, and growing. As a centralized circulation library, it has the available resources to keep books flowing to the patrons who need them. The downside is that Alaskans are on their own if they want to create local reading resources. Sighted children have long known the joys of local libraries, book clubs, and community reading activities. It's always been tougher for those of us who are blind or visually impaired to enjoy these things. But since blind readers are spread out through the entire population, it's good that we have centralized libraries that can reach us. Since 1900, Perkins Library has served and continues to serve patrons in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Washington DC, and MASSACHUSETTS. Brian concluded his remarks by reminding us that libraries today are a marriage between text and technology. Depending upon what we can afford, we can now access hard copy braille, electronic braille, digital books, professionally recorded books, books available through our phones, and much more. Literacy, said Brian, has never been more important than it is now in terms of helping blind and visually impaired people stay connected. Those members of our chapter who work with guide dogs would have loved this year's GDUC program. The guest speaker was Lisa A. Pope, DVM, who worked for several years as a veterinarian at Guide Dogs of America, and who is now Chief Medical Director of Stevenson Ranch Veterinary Center in Southern California. Dr. Pope addressed a number of topics germane to us as guide dog handlers: nutrition and supplements, treating allergies in our dogs, and maintaining the health and wellness of our senior guide dogs. She has since made her lecture notes available to GDUC attendees of the program. We also heard from Dr. James A. Kutsch, Jr. President and CEO of The Seeing EYE in Morristown, NJ. Dr. Kutsch spoke about the history, purpose, and impact of the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF), and the three-year effort that led to the passage of guide dog protection legislation, "Dusty's Law," that was adopted in New Jersey in 2014. Dusty, a puppy in training, as well as his handler, were severely injured by a dog attack. Dusty's Law makes dog attacks a criminal as opposed to a civil offense, and this distinction between civil and criminal is crucial. If your state law dictates that dog attacks are only civil offenses, and your guide is attacked on a late Friday afternoon, for example, it's likely that your first responder will be someone from the Humane Society or Animal Control, and this individual will have little authority with which to prosecute. If, on the other hand, your state lists dog attacks as a criminal offense, your 911 call will be answered by police, who will have the authority to prosecute. Let me close my portion of our convention notes by sharing the results of CCB elections, and summarizing a key resolution that was passed. Only partial elections were needed this year. Judy Wilkinson was elected as CCB Second Vice President, and Ardis Bazyn was elected as CCB Secretary. The newly elected CCB Board members are Charles Nabarrete, Pamela Metz, Steve Fort, Robert Wendt, and Joe Lopez CCB adopted one significant resolution pertaining to accommodation for Federal employees who are blind and low vision. To date, the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) has not mandated accommodations such as screen readers, braille reading/writing devices, etc., and this failure has resulted in visually impaired people being denied jobs and promotion opportunities. In some instances, blind employees have even been fired when insufficient accommodations made it impossible for them to fulfill their job responsibilities. CCB has resolved to contact Commissioners of the EEOC, and insist that it include in its documentation to employers guidelines for accommodating potential employees with vision loss and blindness. CCB will also forward this resolution to ACB for further action and endorsement. CCB Convention Notes by Rob Turner Here are my thoughts on the convention after nearly two weeks of reflection. In my opinion, meeting once a year is enough. The presentations seemed fresher and more relevant. We will probably not meet at the Woodland Hills Hilton hotel again, but it was sure mobility friendly. [Editor's Note: we in fact will return to the Woodland Hills Hotel in 2017.] An iPhone app called LowViz Guide Indoor Navigation (sponsored by the Macular Degeneration Foundation) was helpful, but it wasn't the panacea I'd hoped for. Points of interest such as meeting rooms, restrooms, the registration table, etc., were marked with electronic beacons. After a destination was chosen, a tone was used to indicate the correct path of travel. The more accurate the path, the softer the tone. This is where bone conduction headphones would have been especially useful. I felt that the LowViz Guide was too verbose to the point of distraction. Even so, it showed great promise and no doubt will improve over time. The Technology Committee presentation was on Thursday afternoon. The highlight of the program was supposed to be a presentation from Microsoft on Windows 10, but the speaker canceled at the last minute. This problem has plagued the committee in years past, too. Let's hope their luck improves. The good news is that Stephanie Rood, a technology trainer for the Veterans Administration, filled in and gave an enlightening presentation on Apple's IOS9. She described several new features, accessibility enhancements and bugs, plus a few tips and tricks. The Find My iPhone and Find My Friends apps are now installed automatically. One of my favorite new features is the improvements for selecting and manipulating text. Sharing information among apps is another. An example of this is the ability to share voice-mails by attaching them to text messages. One of her tips is that if VoiceOver stops speaking, you can perform a warm reset to recover by holding down both the power button and home button for around seven seconds. The next speaker was Damien Pickering, the new West Coast sales representative for HIMS as of July. He joined HIMS because he appreciates the quality of their products, and the agility with which they are able to roll out new features. Their new fourteen cell braille display can connect to six devices at once, which is why it's named the Smart Beetle. Peter Korn and Peter Cantisani showed off the new line of Fire Tablets that are accessible out of the box with Voiceview, a built-in screen reader. Narrated audio books can be sped up or slowed down without changing the pitch of the voice. The least expensive Fire Tablet sells for under $60. I think that this is a huge step forward for Amazon. I'll be curious to learn more about these tablets as they become more widely used. The next demo was the Amazon Echo, which I wrote about in my August President's Message column. [Editor's Note: in SVCB's monthly "In Touch? newsletter.] It was a huge hit. The audience was enthralled by its ability to respond to voice commands and by all the information it could speak. I get emails every week detailing its new features. It's bound to become increasingly popular in the blind community as word gets around. The Braille Revival League of California (BRLC) met Friday morning. Kim Charlson was the guest speaker. She mentioned a reference resource for braille and talking book library patrons on the web at www.infoeyes.org. Give it a try if you are having trouble finding reference material, perhaps for an obscure topic. The Friday afternoon general session opened with a primary concern expressed by CCB about the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) which is that it will eliminate services for individuals who want training in blindness skills rather than employment. Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) Executive Director, Joe Xavier, said that the WIOA was signed into law on July 22, 2014, and that it contains significant mandates related to services to youth, to independent living, to supported employment, and to the definition of an employment outcome. The presentation provided an overview of the mandates, including those that may be of interest to individuals who are blind and visually impaired. The key concern in the blindness community is for those DOR clients who currently receive rehab help and IA (Independent Assessment) funding for living skills such as cooking, cleaning, and home mobility, but who have no plans to use these skills for employment. Once the new WIOA regulations take effect, DOR will no longer serve these clients, and they will be required either to return any equipment they have received from DOR, or purchase the equipment at market value. Additionally, DOR will no longer open "homemaker" cases if no employment outcomes are forthcoming. The next presentation following our discussion of WIOA was titled "No Cost Or Low Cost Adaptive Technology Solutions," by Silvana Rainey, co-owner of Access Technology Services. This was a practical, down-to-earth presentation covering low cost screen readers, screen magnifiers, optical character recognition software, and a whole lot more. She encouraged the audience to "match the tech with the task." A thumb drive containing the software and resource documentation was provided free of charge upon request. We then heard a presentation concerning absentee voting, which is becoming more popular in California. It would be wonderful if a telephone-based system could be implemented to make it easy to vote from home, or from anywhere else, for that matter. After the Friday night general session gets underway with the welcome and invocation, participants are given a chance to say a few words about CCB members who have died since our last gathering, followed by a moment of silence. This custom began several years ago, but it wasn't always this way. To me, it's a rather sad way to start the convention. Perhaps this segment would be more appropriate for the Sunday morning final session. Voting in CCB elections by individual members is done by secret ballot, so elections can be quite time-consuming. The way it works is that paper ballots are passed out when an office is contested. To vote for the candidate recommended by the Nominating Committee, the ballot is left intact. To vote for the candidate who runs from the floor, you tear off one corner. To vote for a second candidate, if one runs, you tear off two corners. It rarely happens, but five candidates have been known to run. To vote for the fifth candidate, tear off all four corners. This year, elections ended just after midnight. * * * Dining in the Dark with CCB Fresno Chapter 2015 by Sylvia "sugar" Lopez [Editor's Note: As we did with our spotlight on the San Francisco Chapter, Fall BC 2015 where we also included an article about their major fundraising activity, so here in addition to the Fresno Chapter spotlight, we are delighted to add this article about their major fundraiser. Here is how Sylvia introduces herself. "I have been a CCB member since the year 2000, and a member in the Fresno Chapter for the past 7 years or so. I was President for The Inland Empire Chapter before I moved to Fresno. For the BC I used to write a recipe corner called "Cooking with Sugar"; I truly enjoyed it. I am currently on the Membership Committee with Ardis Bazyn and 4 other members. In the past I have sat on several boards for disability rights and in the City Of Commerce and for Riverside. I enjoy helping, assisting and learning from the CCB. I want to help others with the same opportunity that I have been shown when I first had my sight taken from me 18 years ago."] Greetings fellow CCB members, it has been a while since I wrote anything for the BC and I am happy to do so again. My name is Sylvia Sugar Lopez and I want to share a little about the CCB Fresno Chapter's Dining in the Dark fund raiser event that was held on Saturday September 19, 2015. The event was held at Yosemite Falls Restaurant in Fresno. Our chapter sold tickets for this event and we had about 100 guests in attendance. Blind-folds were available for those who wanted to experience how it is to eat a full meal being blind. It was very exciting and amusing hearing and seeing those who used the blind-folds as they tried to relate to those of us who are blind. Attached to the blind-folds were pamphlets that spoke of CCB and our chapter and what we stand for. It was nice to hear guests talk out loud in amazement as they recognized how much we members of the blind community are capable of accomplishing what needs to be done if we all work together. A fine example for all walks of life. As our guests entered the restaurant they were assigned a number if they wanted to participate in our silent auction. We had volunteers who came and assisted the guests to the back of the room where each auction item was on the table. In front of the item was a small picture frame with the name and how much it was going for. If you were interested in purchasing it, you just had to write your number on paper with your name, again there were volunteers to assist with whatever was needed. For this fundraiser, our chapter sent out donation letters, physically went to several stores, restaurants and many different places around Fresno to collect donations to use for our event. We sold tickets for $40 each or $70 for two. Our event started at 3 PM and ended around 7. Not only were our volunteers very helpful but they were also our live entertainment. They call themselves First Avenue and they were great! We also had individuals of our chapter who spoke about themselves and how they have used their blindness to advocate for themselves and for the community through CCB. The dinner consisted of salad, beverage and a choice of either tri-tip-chicken or a vegetarian plate with all the fixings including dessert and coffee. Members of the Fresno Chapter all wore different colored T-shirts with a big heart on the front saying, "I love CCB," and on the back in both print and Braille puffed dots it read, "Ask Me About CCB." Our Chapter also sold T-shirts with all of the names of sponsors and places/individuals who were kind enough to donate items for the silent auction. With proceeds from our event, we sponsored Central Valley Blind Babies Beeper Egg hunt. We also donated a mini iPad for a Blind/visually impaired high school student. The student had to submit an essay giving us a reason about how this item would benefit them as a blind student. The essay was a good one and the winner expressed that she was newly blind and lived with her grandmother. She had nothing to communicate with and was very eager to learn more about CCB and thanked the chapter for allowing her to begin to learn to be more independent. Our chapter also sponsors local Junior Blind Olympians. With everyone's cooperation and hard work I am happy and proud to announce that we had a successful fundraiser and that we were able to raise $2,000 for the CCB Fresno Chapter. We are now focusing on our next event and finding more ways to bring CCB into our community to make Fresno more aware of blindness. Thank you for the opportunity to share on behalf of my chapter; it is truly appreciated and thank you to all who have taken time to read about the CCB Fresno Chapter's Dining in the Dark. Blessings, Sugar Lopez * * * CCB's Revolving Equipment Loan Fund: A "Working" Resource by Mitch Pomerantz [Editor's Note: One of the things I desperately needed as a community college English teacher was a braille printer. My district wasn't about to fund such a reasonable accommodation in those days, but luckily, the revolving loan fund was in place and thanks to this wonderful resource, I purchased my Romeo Braille printer with an interest-free loan which I paid back over several years. We last printed an article describing this fund in the Winter BC, 2011 and we thought it was high time to remind our members of its existence.] In 1983, several members of CCB's Committee on Employment Assistance (CEA)--including myself as Chairperson--were musing about the cost of assistive technology and the difficulty blind and visually impaired people were having in getting loans to purchase such equipment. We decided to try doing something about it so shortly after this discussion, I became a grant writer. Having reviewed grants in a previous job assignment with the City of Los Angeles, but never having written one, I was gratified and a little surprised when our proposal to establish a low-interest revolving loan fund received grants from three foundations. (Since then, policies were amended so that interest is not charged on a loan.) Since establishment of the program, CCB has loaned tens of thousands of dollars to well in excess of a score of persons in need of assistive technology to obtain or retain paid employment. In that time, we have had only one default on a loan. Requests for loans however, have slowed to a Los Angeles River trickle, even before I reassumed the CEA chair in 2013. It seems appropriate therefore, to publicize the Revolving Loan Fund in order to bring this valuable resource to the attention of those in our community who could benefit from knowing about it. Purpose The Revolving Loan Fund Program was established to assist blind and/or visually impaired persons to purchase necessary assistive technology or other work-related equipment. It is designed for persons needing such equipment to retain their present job in light of the use of more advanced technology in the work place; to facilitate a promotional opportunity; to accept an offer of employment where technology is required to perform job duties or to a person volunteering in a structured, supervised work place in the public or private sector which may lead to employment. Eligibility Criteria In order to be considered eligible by the Committee on Employment Assistance, you must meet the following criteria: 1. a. Be currently employed in the public/private sectors, or in your own business; b. Have a confirmed offer of employment, or--if you own a business--have a written "business plan"; c. Have a confirmed offer of a volunteer position in the public or private sector. 2. Show sufficient verifiable income (from earnings, SSI, SSDI, a cosigner or some combination thereof) to demonstrate your ability to repay this loan in the stipulated time. 3. Have no significant problem areas on your credit history (you may apply if you have little or no established credit) What May Be Requested You may request any work-related and blindness-related equipment such as Braille writers; talking calculators; speech output, large screen, or Braille computer systems; other materials, etc. The Committee will consider equipment which is not specifically blindness-related if the applicant can demonstrate a need. The Process Once the application has been completed, it is submitted to the CCB Office along with all required documentation. The application may be completed in Braille or print, on cassette, or via electronic file. Failure to provide any of the required documents will result in a delay in processing. Once the completed application is received in the CCB Office, it will be forwarded to the CEA chairperson for review and consideration by the full Committee. Once preliminary approval has been given, a credit check will follow. If credit information is verified, the application will be given final approval. Terms and Conditions Funds to pay for all requested equipment will be disbursed directly to the vendor(s) by check. This is a "revolving" fund, meaning that only if loans are repaid in full will the fund be perpetuated, and therefore available for others to use in the future. Most loans will be repaid within a one to three year period. This determination is made solely by the committee. The loan recipient will be expected to sign a loan agreement and promissory note. Please feel free to pass this information along to anyone you know who might be interested and able to take advantage of this opportunity. An applicant need not be a CCB member for consideration. While employers are required under both state and federal statutes to provide reasonable accommodations to employees or applicants with disabilities (who have received an offer of employment), we know from experience that this doesn't always happen; particularly when the business is small. As such, CCB's Revolving Loan Fund may be an option if/when such an employer is unwilling or unable to do what the law requires. CCB's Revolving Loan Fund is, after all, a "working" resource. * * * Minutes: California Council of the Blind Board Meeting June 30, 2015 by Judy Wilkinson CCB Secretary [Editor's Note: As promised in the Fall issue, here are the final set of minutes from my term as secretary. In the spring issue, once they are approved, we'll present Ardis Bazyn's minutes.] President Jeff Thom called the executive session to order at 6:32 PM. Absent: Treasurer Peter Pardini, Directors Ardis Bazyn and Robert Wendt. Contract matters were discussed. No actions were taken. General Meeting President Jeff Thom called the meeting to order at 7:03 PM. Absent: directors Ardis Bazyn and Robert Wendt. Other Attendees: Steve Aminof, Annette Carter, Steve Fort, Gabe Griffith, Debby and Phill Obregon, Pam Polagi, Pete Romero, Anthony Signorello, Vivian Younger The agenda was read: no additions. Gene Lozano moved and Leena Bandy seconded the motion to approve the minutes from the board meeting of May 28, 2015. One abstention. AMC charter President Jeff Thom cited the relevant section of the CCB constitution governing chapter suspension (See Appendix 1, Article VIII, sec. 8.3). The Association of Multicultural Concerns affiliate has submitted no relevant documents including officer sheets and appropriate rosters for at least 2015, and 2014. Rosters are incomplete. The same names for both officers and members are submitted year after year going back as far as Jeff's previous presidency. Since 2012 attempts have been made in writing and by phone to get the affiliate to provide proper documentation. Jeff reiterated this is a charter issue. We can't have affiliates flaunting the CCB Constitution. Discussion Former President Donna Pomerantz reported the affiliate had been non responsive for years to attempts to reach out. The officer sheet included the president but incomplete information for officers. Deceased persons were included in the roster and people who hadn't paid dues in years and did not consider themselves members of the affiliate. Frank Welte moved and Gene Lozano seconded a motion to suspend the charter for the Association of Multicultural Concerns. Further Discussion Pam Polagi stated that she was listed as a dues paying member as recently as last year; she hadn't paid dues in years and no longer considered herself an affiliate member. Jeff stated the affiliate could reorganize. The vote was unanimous. 2015 Convention Update Gene Lozano reported that on June 25, the site committee visited the Hilton Woodland Hills hotel. They met with the director of sales and marketing Scot McLatche to discuss the status of renovations. Gene reminded us of upcoming deadlines. 2016 Convention Update Gene reported the site committee visited the Viejas Casino And Resort, 36 miles outside downtown San Diego near Alpine. The resort covers 100 acres and has been in existence 20 years. They are building a second tower with more guest rooms and conference facilities, slated for opening in October. Our committee was unable to have a walkthrough of this area though a representative from Conference Direct confirmed it should meet our needs. The majority of our rooms and events will be in this new tower with spill-over in the existing facility. We do not have to go through the gaming area to access our events. Specific details: a shuttle roundtrip for all transportation sites (train, bus, airport) will cost $50 (normally 116). Paratransit serves the casino. There is a fixed-route bus from San Diego. The casino has confirmed the dates of April 6-10 for $99 per room all inclusive; food and beverage: $15,000 all-inclusive. To have no meeting room charges, we must book 228 nights and meet the F&B minimum. Gene gave numbers to gain various upgrades. A dog relief area exists and another will be constructed. They are appreciative of the GDUC guidelines provided by Margie Donovan. They will make menus available in braille and large print for their seven restaurants. They will help with the buffet. The restaurants have a price range from $6-$58 in the steakhouse. This could impact our plated meal count. Gene is concerned that attendees may get disoriented going to restaurants through the large 400-slot gaming area; we will work on having volunteers in that area. Others from the site committee added comments: Jeff added the food is great; they are responsive to our ADA requests. We will include a clause in our contract so we can visit once again and cancel if necessary. The casino is near a mall with lots of stores. Peter added they have a health club facility. They could provide us a spa package; he was impressed with the staff. They have 1,800 employees. Donna added the signage is good and the rooms are very nice. We would probably need to opt out of our contract by the end of November. They seemed comfortable working with blind people since one of our affiliates goes there regularly. A 20% attrition rate was raised, but in response to a question from Judy it was affirmed we need to meet the 228 nights and $15,000 F&B minimums. Judy moved and Vince seconded a motion to enter contract negotiations with the Viejas Casino with the understanding that if site conditions are unsatisfactory we can dissolve the contract. Vince asked if there could be some kind of group discount for the $50 transportation fee: answer was we'll check but probably not. In regards to Vince's question concerning transferring from one company to another on paratransit, Jeff said they would get clarification but the casino assured us paratransit would work. Steve Fort expressed concern over transportation costs, but was reassured that we really couldn't get a better deal given the relatively low room rates and reasonably priced meals. Gene reminded us the minimum we'd been quoted for room rates elsewhere was $129. Gene reminded us of the challenge we face beginning in 2018 finding an affordable venue. Pam Polagi thanked the committee and reiterated the reality that this is the best deal we could expect. She reminded us that paratransit users could get visitor status. Vivian Younger asked about the workout facility and pool. Yes to both. Vita asked that as we get closer to the event, all transportation options be clearly spelled out in the Connection. The motion passed with one abstention. Gene reminded us that once we have a full board, it must be a high priority to address the issue of future conference/conventions. Costs will rise. The Board must use creative thinking. Even the room rate of $129 had an associated F&B minimum of $20,000. Hotels aren't as interested in small groups. Position of Secretary Jeff announced that given Judy's decision not to run again for the position of secretary, he has appointed Ardis Bazyn to serve until elections in the fall. Provider to Record The Blind Californian Linda Porelle, Chair of the Publications Committee reported that when it became clear that Learning Ally could no longer record the BC, Mike Keithley arranged for Mickey and Sandy Quinnzer to record for us: (they also record the Silicon Valley newsletter). They charge $150 per issue; their costs were covered for the first two issues of the year by Publications Committee members Mike Keithley and Susan Glass. Linda moved and Judy seconded a motion to allocate $600 to cover the entire cost of recording the 4 2015 issues of The Blind Californian, reimbursing our two hardworking publication committee members. This would represent $100 over the $500 amount budgeted for this year. Donna asked what the format would be: the format Mike Keithley needs to create the cassette masters. Discussion arose as to how to designate the $300 donated by Mike and Susan. Judy and Linda reiterated that though the money technically had been donated, it was the unanimous decision of the Publications Committee to have the money reimbursed. Vita said that if it was a donation, we should respect that. Linda added that we would explore other recording options but needed an immediate solution so decided to go "with the bird in the hand" and use this reasonably priced alternative for the time being. Discussion arose as to whether we need a formal contract. Gene felt we need a contract with deliverables for the auditors. We need to check to see what kind of contract we have with Annette Carter who produces the large print version. Judy hoped we would leave things as they are with our current contractors. Jeff stated we would take the issue under advisement and check to see what the auditors need. Vita asked if the $600 would apply to next year's budget. Donna stated that having served on the Budget Committee for many years, we look at the previous year's budget to determine the costs for the following year so that the amount would most likely be budgeted. The motion passed with one no vote. Departing Board Members Jeff stated his goal for the next three months is to deal with things that must be dealt with not acting on things which can be postponed until we have a full board, but if necessary, board meetings would be called. Jeff publicly thanked the departing members. Roger Petersen who always works with total aplomb. Judy Wilkinson: it's not easy to draft minutes for this wild bunch; and for your questions. Linda Porelle: an excellent board member who served in so many different ways. Vita Zavoli for all the things you have done in a number of capacities and all her excellent questions. He noted that John Ross and Robert Wendt would also be leaving the board. Further Updates The new phone system is in. There are still glitches. The first Connection is up. The president's mailbox is up. More material will be added to the Governmental Affairs mailbox. We're gearing up for the Mutt Strut. He reminded us we can phone Ed at the office for assistance in setting up fundraising pages. Donna spoke of the sweepstakes: thanks to a generous donor of $500 we will be able to offer a first prize of $1,000. Other prizes are being sought. Tickets are $2 each; the drawing will be December 4. Public Comment Steve Fort commented on a suggestion made at last night's presidents' call to have a survey of what activities people would like to see at conventions. He added he would definitely be at the 2016 convention despite the issue he raised earlier which was satisfactorily answered. Pam Polagi wished everyone a safe ACB convention and Happy Fourth. She thanked the Board for its good job. Appendix 1 Section 8.3 A chapter's privileges and duties as an affiliate of the California Council of the Blind shall be as set forth in this Constitution and the Council Bylaws. Any chapter not retaining at least ten members for two consecutive years shall be deemed inactive and shall lose its privilege to vote at the Council Convention. At this time, the Board of Directors may consider the withdrawal of the chapter's charter. All members of such a chapter shall retain their privileges of membership in the Council and shall become Members-at-large in the case of withdrawal of charter. * * * California Council of the Blind Officers and Board [Editor's note: We are indebted to Bernice Kandarian who updates and corrects the list of CCB officers and board members, including the number of the term each is presently serving, the year elected to that term and the year next up for election. Terms begin on July 1 following election. The presence of an asterisk means that the individual served a partial term before the first full term.] President, Jeff Thom, Sacramento (14-16 1st term) 916-995-3967 c, jeff.thom@ccbnet.org 1st Vice President, Eugene Lozano, Jr., Sacramento (*14-16 4th term) eugene.lozano@ccbnet.org 2nd Vice President, Judy Wilkinson, San Leandro, (15-17 1st term) 510-388-5079 C, judy.wilkinson@ccbnet.org Secretary, Ardis Bazyn, Burbank (15-17) 1st term) ardis.bazyn@ccbnet.org Treasurer, Peter Pardini, Mill Valley (14-16 3rd term) 415-990-9202 c, peter.pardini@ccbnet.org Immediate Past President, Donna Pomerantz, Pasadena (14-??) 626-844-4388 h, donna.pomerantz@ccbnet.org Board of Directors Leena Bandy, Sacramento (*14-16 3rd term) 916 905-9034 c, leena.bandy@ccbnet.org Vincent Calderon, Montclair (*14-16 4th term) 626 429-4539 c, vince.calderon@ccbnet.org Steven Fort, Alameda (15-17 1st term) 510 604-5657 C, steven.fort@ccbnet.org Joseph Lopez (15-17 1st term) joseph.lopez@ccbnet.org Pamela Hill Metz, Chatsworth (15-17 1st term) 818 882-3610 h, pamela.metz@ccbnet.org Charles Nabarrete, West Covina (15-17 1st term) 626 338-8106 h, charles.nabarrete@ccbnet.org Paul Patche Jr., Sacramento (14-16 1st term) 916-662-0861 c, paul.patche@ccbnet.org Frank Welte, San Leandro (14-16 1st term) 510-541-1442 c, frank.welte@ccbnet.org Robert Wendt, Long Beach (15-17 4th term) 562-438-7100 h, robert.wendt@ccbnet.org Publications Committee Linda Porelle, Chair San Francisco, CA 94112 415-577-8437 c, linda.porelle@ccbnet.org Judy Wilkinson, Editor Susan Glass, Associate Editor Annette Carter Mike Keithley Roger Petersen Bonnie Rennie Donna Sanchez Dr. Catherine Schmitt Whitaker * * * If you or a friend would like to remember the California Council of the Blind in your Will, you can do so by employing the following language: "I give, devise, and bequeath unto the California Council of the Blind, a nonprofit charitable organization in California, the sum of $____ (or ____) to be used for its worthy purposes on behalf of blind persons." If your wishes are more complex, you may have your attorney communicate with the Executive Office for other suggested forms. Thank you.