The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same
Judy Wilkinson

In preparing for my final address as president at our upcoming virtual conference/convention, I am reviewing my daily calendar, email history, board agendas and minutes, and of course, past issues of The Blind Californian. By coincidence, this my final official article as CCB president, occurs 10 years from the summer issue in 2010 when I assumed the BC editorship. As a condition of becoming editor, I made it clear that my column would be a soapbox, leaving me free to say pretty much whatever I wanted. So other than the single issue in summer 2011 where space constraints made my column expendable, and the spring 2015 issue where Susan Glass stepped in while Steve and I visited New Zealand, I've been talking with you for 10 years now. Some fifty-plus articles bear my name as editor (six years) and president these last four.

Over this decade, a number of themes recur. In summer 2011, I discussed the importance of institutional memory, from good record keeping to remembering those upon whose shoulders we stand. We have lost so very many beloved members since my first issue when Ken Metz eulogized Connie Schoeman, and Connie Bateman remembered Barbara Caslava-Messinger, a mentor to many, especially as a DOR counsellor. So many more! A partial list includes Mitch Pomerantz for Frances Mannino, Ken Metz again for Obbie Schoeman, Susan Glass for Teddie-Joy Remhild, Frank Welte for Winifred Downing, my remarks for Ken Metz and Al Gil, and of course our upcoming memorial issue of the BC for Cathie Skivers.

Certainly our ongoing financial struggles have occupied many BC pages. We fondly remember more flush times: Bob Acosta reminds me that when he left the presidency, we had 2 million dollars; and Cathie never tired of reminding me that when she left office, we had well over a million. But for nearly 20 years now, over a succession of presidencies, we have run a budget deficit. Many of our initiatives have not turned out: the struggle to make The Mutt Strutt successful, the hopes for Dining in the Dark and Canes Across California, the disappointment of the failed Major Gifts Ramp-up, and several time-consuming and extremely labor-intensive grant and contract applications. Despite these failures, time and again our members have shown their faith in the organization and demonstrated its importance to their lives, by stepping up with generous donations from our appeal letters to convention sponsorships to other gifts. As of this writing, I know of one member who has remembered us in her estate plans, and of course we are hoping the Mel Kahn trust will ameliorate our financial situation. Despite these disappointments, I remain optimistic about the trust, our EUC grant and our business venture with OntheMuv.

Another recurring theme is the need for the organization to adapt and evolve. From my winter 2017 article The Road Taken:

"However much we revere the organizational model which has brought us so far, real danger exists that without significant modernization, this road can lead us no further."

Our modernizing efforts began during Donna Pomerantz's presidency when we developed and began implementing our Strategic Plan, printed in the Fall 2014 and Winter 2015 BCs. Despite our feelings about our former CEO Paul Shane, he was instrumental in pointing the way for the CCB to move into the 21st century. Our original Case for Support and its modified version created for our Major Gifts campaign, point the way for informing people why our work is important and deserving of their support. Other modernizations include codifying a number of policies including one for gift acceptance; we have an employee handbook as well as a resource document for those answering phone queries. We have revised our bylaws to such a far-sighted extent that we are the only ACB affiliate currently able to conduct business, including holding elections, through virtual meetings.

The most important and enduring theme is our work, crystalized early in my presidency when the board adopted a streamlined mission statement: "To increase the independence and equality for all Californians who are blind or low vision." That mission is challenged today in ways reminiscent of 10 years ago when in fall 2010 I wrote:

"The budget crisis affecting California has resulted in savage cuts to many programs--cuts which have already and will continue to result in serious harm to real people... We can never be complacent." That stark realization as much as anything, explains why CCB's work is as important today as it has ever been. "None of our rights or opportunities are secure or invulnerable."

I continued, "New and broader coalitions and new forms of advocacy are going to be necessary for our agenda and legitimate concerns to have a place at the table."

Note our work with Disability Rights California and Jeff Thom's place on the governor's taskforce for Seniors. In this regard, my summer 2019 article "The Other Faces of Advocacy" emphasizes that our advocacy efforts extend far beyond our legislative efforts.

Of all the threads that can be drawn from the tapestry of our experience, the most inspiring is our continuing commitment to our grassroots origins. The preamble to our Bylaws states this clearly. In perhaps my most angry column from Winter 2018 "The Scarlet Letter" to those who accused CCB of becoming "an agency," I wrote:

"But let's be honest here: many agencies can and do provide useful services and benefits; the issue is: who controls them?" our membership of course!

The final paragraph: "I look forward to the day when the letter A stands for Advancement: the kind of advancement we can accomplish when we communicate and converse, working together toward the common goal of promoting the interests of all Californians who are blind or visually-impaired."

All these themes are inextricably intertwined: without funds we, the grassroots CCB members, cannot do our meaningful work reflecting our core values substantially created by those who came before.

For me these threads come together in my article of which I am perhaps most proud: Spring 2017's "George Bailey and the Miracle Question: Opposite Sides of the Coin."

"Remember when, in the movie 'It's A Wonderful Life,' George Bailey says his family would have been better off if he'd never been born? Clarence granted his wish and George learned how changing that one thing created a far-reaching domino effect. In a similar vein, what if there had never been a California Council of the Blind?" A sobering list follows including no CCB scholarships; no SB105 creating the Division for the Blind; no white cane laws; no environmental design accessibility regulations or accessible pedestrian signals; no structured negotiations allowing access to ATM's, prescriptions, or point-of-sale machines. And there'd be no assistive technology loans, no audio description in movie theaters, no advocacy for accessible autonomous vehicles, or no legal protection against attacks on guide dogs. And blind parents: be prepared to lose the custody of your baby.

My article goes on to fantasize about that beautiful morning when our mission had been completely accomplished. That dream was fabulous to imagine, but we're a long way from its fulfillment. Today's CCB continues to advocate for increased rights even while we strive to preserve existing ones. George Bailey learned just in time that the world was a better place with him in it, and surely with CCB in it, the world is a better place as well.