DISCLAIMER: This publication contains announcements from the Silicon Valley Council of the Blind and is also a forum for opinions relating to blindness issues. Signed articles reflect the views, and research, of their authors.
STATUS: SVCB is a 501(c)3 non-profit, tax-exempt organization under the California Council of the Blind.
MEETING LOCATION: SVCB's monthly meetings are held in the dining room of the Monte Vista Terrace Apts. at 1101 Grant Road, Mountain View. Meetings run 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. the third Saturday of the month and are open to all. Monte Vista Terrace is one block from the intersection of Grant Road and El Camino Real and is accessible by bus #22.
Note: Local contact information is removed except when requested to remain. For local contact info, email Mike Keithley at mkeithley@pobox.com.
October 13 featured our White Cane Safety Day. SVCB members gathered at the intersection of El Camino and California Avenue to participate. Here is Dawn Wilcox's description:
"We had 12 people at the white cane walk including Philip Kutner and David Hunter from SMCCB and Frank Welte, who now lives in Alameda. We gave out the white cane history and Courtesy Guidelines from CCB to over 20 people and talked to many more.
Norma Torres turned out to be a natural leader and was very helpful at lunch. Luckily I had made three large print versions of the menu from the web; and Norma read it to Roger, Bernice and David.
The Counter, a local restaurant, wasn't ready for 12 blind people at once, and they had a very complicated menu. Maybe that's because it just opened, but it took forever for all of us to get served. I might call them and suggest they get a couple of braille and large print menus."
At our October membership meeting, Beth Berenson from the San Francisco LightHouse for the Blind discussed some LightHouse history and many of its programs like the Enchanted Hills camp. She administers the Low Vision Resource Center, which distributes information for low vision and blind people.
You'll find the LightHouse website ( www.lighthouse-sf.org ) quite accessible, and you can purchase items from the Adaptations store online. Want to hear Beth's presentation? Go to www.svcb.cc/psaudio/ps1007.mp3 .
Our November meeting is SVCB'S 20th anniversary party. The program isn't firm at this writing, but you can check out the PhoneTree message. I understand Cathy Skivers (CCB's past President) might attend; and there will be a birthday cake, and the telling of stories.
One thing we will definitely do is elect SVCB's new administration for 2008. The nominating committee (composed of Roger Petersen, chair; LeeAnn Nakagawa and Lupe Medrano) has formed a slate of candidates, which will be announced in this newsletter and the PhoneTree message. Remember that you will have an opportunity to nominate and elect your candidates from the floor.
Our cookbook is in the production phase, and you can order yours right now. All you have to do is read the fund-raising report in this issue and contact Michelle.
And remember our holiday party on December 15, at the Santa Clara Valley Blind Center. Again, you'll be hearing more about the party, but I want you to know that November 30 is the deadline for making your reservations. Costs are $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Bring your money to the November meeting or contact Victor Clifford. Come join us at SVCB's 20th birthday.
Return to "In This Issue"At our November 17 meeting, we will be celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the founding and chartering of SVCB as a CCB chapter. On that occasion, we expect to have Catherine Skivers, past President and Historian of CCB to talk a little history. We are also inviting all past presidents of SVCB and we expect several of them to be there. All that and elections too! Don't miss it!
Return to "In This Issue"See's candy bars are again available! Dark chocolate with almond, milk chocolate with almond, and plain milk chocolate bars cost $1.50 each. Nut and chew bars and walnut squares cost $1 each.
Hungry for some See's peanut brittle? SVCB is selling five-ounce boxes for $5 each. To purchase or help sell See's candy, please contact me at 650-964-7973 or at michelle@svcb.cc.
Do you have friends, coworkers, neighbors, or family that you would like to give a special gift to during the holiday season? See's will have three other items available in addition to the peanut brittle. Each is in an appropriately shaped and decorated box. They have two assortments of milk and dark chocolate: "Mini Holiday Fancy" and the "Santa Box," and a package of milk chocolate foil balls. These are 4-ounce items, and cost $5 each.
Want a larger See's candy gift or perhaps some sugar-free See's candy? Gift certificates for one-pound boxes cost $14.50, or I can get various one-pound boxes of candy. We can also use gift certificates to purchase See's new sugar-free candy. Contact me (650-964-7973 or michelle@svcb.cc) for additional details or to order holiday items. Holiday items must be ordered by November 28. I will have sample holiday boxes to show at our November meeting.
To commemorate our 20th anniversary, SVCB is producing a cookbook featuring recipes enjoyed by chapter members and guests at our meetings, picnics, and holiday parties. Contributors also share special memories about these recipes in short anecdotes. We hope to have the books back from the printer's in time for our November meeting. Cookbooks cost $10 each, and are available in large print, in braille, on cassette tape, and on CD-ROM (as a text file). To place an order or to help sell cookbooks, please contact me at 650-964-7973 or at michelle@svcb.cc, and indicate your format preference.
SVCB is again selling Entertainment Coupon Books. They cost $25 per book. SVCB receives 20 percent of the proceeds for each book sold. To purchase or help sell books, contact Ken Carey at 408-259-1307. He has books for San Francisco, San Mateo County, and Santa Clara County. And, if you need books for anywhere else in the United States, just let him know so he can get them for you. If you would be interested in chairing this fund raiser in future years, please also contact Ken as he is interested in taking a break after this year.
Do you have your 2008 large print/braille calendar yet? These calendars feature artwork by blind and visually impaired people of all ages. SVCB is selling them for $9 each. To purchase yours, contact me at 650-964-7973 or at michelle@svcb.cc.
See you at the November meeting!
Return to "In This Issue"As the president mentioned in his message, I chaired the Nominating Committee, with Lupe Medrano and LeeAnn Nakagawa joining me. Our task was to nominate one person for each office that is to be filled. At our election in November, anyone can nominate additional candidates for each office from the floor. In this event, an election will be held for that office between the Nominating Committee candidate and any additional candidates. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, another ballot will be conducted between the top two candidates.
The slate of candidates nominated by the Nominating Committee is as follows:
President, Mike Keithley; Vice-President, Naomi Grubb; Recording Secretary, Susan Schulter; Corresponding Secretary, Allen Jones; Treasurer, Victor Clifford; Director, Steve Nakagawa; Director, Lorraine Brown. (Note: the third director is Deborah Armstrong, whose term is not up until the fall of 2008.)
The election will be held at our November 17 meeting and the new officers and directors will take office in January, 2008.
The committee notes that this is the last time that Victor Clifford can be elected Treasurer because of the term limits in the SVCB Constitution, so we determined to search for an "apprentice" treasurer during the coming year and he/she can receive training from the Treasurer. We also are communicating information to the president concerning people who have expressed interest in possible committee assignments. These appointments would be made by the President.
Interview with Naomi Grubb.
The other day, I was able to get Naomi Grubb to slow down long enough to talk to her about her very busy life. Many of you know her as the current corresponding secretary. However, if you attend any of the SVCB monthly meetings, you will quickly become aware that she is one of those zooming around the room making sure that everyone has coffee, tea, etc.
Naomi said that her eye condition is one that she was born with and involves three different conditions that are all intertwined. Because both she and I had difficulty in spelling the conditions, I am not listing them. She said that her vision is pretty stable and that her vision is like looking through waxed paper. She said that she believes that improving her diet has made her vision better. In addition, Naomi has had hearing loss which began eight years ago. She said that this was a result of lots of childhood ear infections, which has resulted in her using hearing aids for the past three years.
Believe it or not, Naomi was born in the Bronx, New York. She did not live there long enough to develop a New York accent or "attitude" because at the age of one, her family moved to Puerto Rico where she lived until she was six. After that, her family lived three more years in New York before moving to the Los Angeles area when she was nine. Naomi said that she has one brother, who was born during the family's stay in Puerto Rico.
Raised by her mother after her father was missing in action during World War II, Naomi went to schools in New York and Los Angeles before graduating from Pasadena High School in Southern California. She was married not long after graduation. After living for a while in Orange County, she and her husband moved to South San Francisco and then on to their home in San Jose, where she has lived for the past 31 years. Her husband, who passed away 17 years ago, was a machinist in San Jose. Naomi and her husband had three children, two boys and one girl. She now has six grandsons, ranging in age from 16 to 4.
Naomi was not only busy raising her own children; she also had both a day care license and a foster care license. As a foster care mother, she said that she tended to get attached to some of the foster children under her care.
For the past nine years, Naomi has worked for the Silicon Valley Independent Living Center in Gilroy. She said that she was the first visually impaired person employed there. She works there 28 hours a week. She goes to clients' homes where she does intakes to determine clients? needs and then puts personal assistants in the homes to help.
Having Fridays off, Naomi has time for her second job--that of going to people's homes to do needed chores, such as laundry, dishes, etc. She said that she also organizes closets and drawers.
Blind Organizations:
Other organizations:
Hobbies:
Quick questions:
The first thing I would like to say here is Thank You So Much to all of you who have brought goodies to our meetings in 2007. They have been spectacular and SO delicious, and we have all enjoyed them immensely, I know.
Starting now, I am looking for volunteers who would like to bring goodies for our 2008 meetings. You may cook something you really like to eat (we are not fussy and will try most anything), or you may visit your favorite bakery or grocery store to pick up something tasty for us. You may choose to bring either something sweet or something savory, depending on your whim--or both, if you feel particularly ambitious! Whatever you decide to do, I have found that four or five dozen sweets or savories is about right to feed our group, with a few pieces of fruit thrown in for those who can't eat sugar (or who are being virtuous that morning). The chapter provides paper plates and bowls, plastic utensils, and napkins should you decide to contribute something that requires them (like pie, or some kind of breakfast casserole). Your help in this endeavor will be greatly appreciated by all of us.
The sooner you contact me with the month you would like to volunteer, the better your chance of getting your desired time slot. I will call you at the beginning of your chosen goodies month to remind you that you are responsible for that meeting's snack, and at that time you can tell me what you plan to bring. My contact information is as follows:
Bev Clifford
Phone: 408-223-6444
Email address:
bevclffrd@sbcglobal.net
Thanks in advance for your generosity, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Return to "In This Issue"CAR, the Community Association for Rehabilitation, has as its mission to "discover the abilities in disabilities". It lists its many services at www.c-a-r.org. I have used their Swim Center for a few years. It provides complete ADA access for doors, changing room, and pool. There are classes in open swim, a variety of educational group classes, and personal training. All these classes have a lifeguard or swim instructors on duty. I had personal training when I started. This gave me an assessment, specific exercises, and knowledge of the exercise equipment they had. I go for two hours a day, allowing the relaxing open swim, then for the swim class led by a yoga or Fluid-Flex-Stretch instructors. The best part is the fact that the pool is indoors and is at the warm temperature of 90 degrees! The open swim is $10 and group classes are $12. They do have financial aid that I use which is $40 per month with unlimited classes. Give it a try!
Community Association for Rehabilitation, Inc. (CAR)
525 East Charleston Road
Palo Alto CA 94306
Telephone: 650-494-0550
The swim center is accessible from a driveway from Middlefield Road near a bus stop for the 35 bus.
Santa Clara Bowling Group: Every Saturday at Moonlight Lanes in Santa Clara, info@visionbeyondsight.org
Nov 4, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: SAVE SIGHT SUNDAY. The Foundation Fighting Blindness is hosting a symposium on current leading research regarding retinal degenerative diseases and clinical trials (with presentations from implant participants). Contact Walter Raineri to RSVP: 650-465-9899 or email wtr1977@yahoo.com
Nov 7, 7-9 p.m.: SVCB board meeting; Meeting Place, 650-260-9029 ID 7822222.
Nov 17, 9:30 am.-1 p.m.: SVCB 20th anniversary membership meeting. Join the festivities! Dining room, Monte Vista Terrace Apartments, 1101 Grant Road, Mountain View; Outreach reference: 650-940-9769. Lunch orders must be made by 9:45. 9:30: Coffee and conversation, 10: Program, 11: Business, 12: lunch. Program: Catherine Skivers and past presidents. Business: Elect officers for 2008, announce budget committee, hear fall CCB convention reports.
Nov 23, noon: December In Touch newsletter deadline.
Nov 30: Deadline to register for holiday party.
Dec 1: SMCCB Gala Installation Party
Dec 1, 7-11 P.M.: Holiday Gala, $25 in advance, $30 at the door, Connecting Through Dance, Lake Merritt Dance Center, 200 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA. More info at www.connectingthroughdance.com , or 510-501-4713
Dec 5, 7-9 pm. SVCB Board meeting.
Dec 7, 10-noon: SAF lab tour. call 408-245-7330 for reservations.
Dec 8, 2 p.m.: THE COLOR PURPLE with descriptions by AudioVision. Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market St, San Francisco. Tickets are $45; call 415-551-2027. Info: katiemags@aol.com or 448-265-2203.
Dec 9, 4-8:30 P. M.: Bayview Chapter CCB Annual Christmas Party, dinner, music and door prizes. Jack London Square at the Buttercup Kitchen restaurant, 229 Broadway, Oakland. The cost is $22.50 per person. You have a choice of prime rib, salmon, champagne chicken or baby back ribs. All money must be received by December 1, 2007. No refunds will be given after December 1, 2007. For further information contact Ida Johnson at 510-655-1982.
Dec 15: SVCB Holiday Party, reservations due by November 30, $10 members or $15 non-members. Also, deadline for expense reimbursement requests, with documentation.
Dec 21-22, 8 p.m., 23, 2 p.m.: Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT, Lucie Stern Theatre, description by the Visual Voice.
Dec 28, noon: January, 2008 SVCB In Touch newsletter deadline.
Dec 30, 1 and 6:30 p.m.: AMTSJ presents JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR with descriptions by AudioVision.
January, 2008
Braille Literacy month, Glaucoma Awareness month.
Jan 4, 10 a.m.-noon: SAF lab tour.
Jan 5, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: SMCCB meeting. Contact Philip Kutner for info.
Jan 9, 7-9 p.m.: SVCB board meeting (provisional date).
Jan 19, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: SVCB annual meeting. Approve 2008 business calendar.
Jan 25, noon: February In Touch newsletter deadline.
Jan 30-31 at 8 p.m, Feb 1 at 8 p.m., Feb 2 at 2 p.m. Feb 3 at 1 & 6:30 p.m.: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at AMTSJ with descriptions by AudioVision.
Mike Keithley