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, SVCB president.
Happy new year to you all! Are you ready? Have you forgotten all those resolutions yet? Actually, I'm writing this on December 27, so I've not made mine yet!
Our holiday party went off very well. I had a wonderful time, and I'm sure everyone else did, too. I want to thank Lolly Osborne and her crew of Delta Gamma Alumnae volunteers for the great support we had. Kudos also go to the Jingleers, SVCB's Christmas band, for wonderful carols and entertainment. My wife and I even did some dancing. Cathie Skivers installed the new officers and Board members, and I was impressed, as always, with her ready sense of humor and spontaneity.
As part of my presidential duties, I have appointed chairs for our standing committees. The committees, and their chairs, are:
Membership: Lorraine Brown; Hospitality: Dawn Wilcox; Program: Roger Petersen; Publications: Roger Petersen; Website: Mike Keithley; Goodies: Beverly Clifford; Fund- raising: Michelle McGrew; Braille Literacy: Michelle McGrew; and Legislation: Sam Chen. The Chairs for the transportation and volunteer committees have not been assigned, but I intend to have this issue resolved in a few weeks. I'll update this list in the February newsletter.
All of these committees welcome your help and feedback. If you are at all interested in participating in the work of a committee, don't hesitate to contact the appropriate chair. You can also contact me by email.
As promised in my last message, a brainstorming meeting was held to identify goals we hope to accomplish in 2008. We decided that the cookbook can be used as a fund-raiser and a membership-recruiting tool, and it's hoped that new members will contribute to an evolving cookbook for the enjoyment of all. We also came up with a group of membership and advocacy ideas. Sam Chen, chair of the legislative committee and an attendee at the 2008 ACB Legislative Seminar in Washington, DC, will be telling us about happenings on the federal, state and local fronts, as well as how we can reach our local and state legislators and the most effective way to talk to them. This year, there will be a 14.1 billion dollar deficit in the state budget, and we'll have to guard diligently against budget cuts in local programs.
Debee Armstrong will be contributing frequent "research " articles to our In Touch newsletter about technology she hears about. Debee is your source for information pertaining to disabled students attending colleges in Santa Clara county; and if you know a disabled student who needs help obtaining course material, be sure to get in touch with Debee. Plans are in the works for braille users in SVCB to assist at the Northern California Regional Braille Challenge at the San Francisco LightHouse on February 9. The Braille Challenge is a series of regional events where kids from K through 12 read and write braille. It is a fascinating and valuable tool to promote braille literacy and literacy in general. The winners of regional events attend finals at the Braille Institute in June.
This event was originally developed and sponsored by the Braille Institute in Anaheim, but has gained enthusiastic popularity in the past few years, and regional Braille Challenges are now sponsored by many local blindness organizations. The Vista Center in Palo Alto is the South Bay's sponsor, and SVCB members will serve as scorers and proctors at the event through the center.
I hope to have detailed information at the January meeting. Want to participate? Contact any SVCB officer or director, and your name will be put on the list.
And speaking of the January meeting, be sure to read the Business Calendar, which is distributed with this newsletter. This calendar is the blueprint under which SVCB will conduct its business in 2009, and you will be asked to approve it during the business segment of the meeting.
Also, you will have an informal opportunity to tell us what you'd like to hear during the program segments of our meetings. Between 9:30 and 10, someone will be passing around a tape recorder, and you can express your preferences.
I've said this before, but this time it's true: our cookbook is ready! The large print edition is being distributed now, and sighted people I've talked to are impressed with the beauty and usefulness of the cookbook. Complex details have delayed the embossing and binding of the braille edition, but it's hoped that it will be ready for distribution before the January meeting. Ditto for the CD edition. We've got a winner here, and all the hard work is going to pay off.
Finally, our dues secretary, Julie Lovins, has asked me to insert the following reminder:
Unless we have your 2008 dues (still $10) by January 31, this may be your last newsletter. You can mail a check to the P.O. box (address in newsletter header), or bring cash or check to the January meeting and pay Vic or Julie. If you want a receipt, please ask for it.
Return to "In This Issue"Our January 19 meeting will be the meeting just preceding an election, the Presidential Primary on February 5. Thus, in keeping with our tradition of past years, we will have a program about the election. Jane Bahr will be our guest again from the League of Women Voters of the Los Altos-Mountain View Area. She will give us objective data on the propositions on the ballot and attempt to answer any other questions we have about the election or give us resources for answering them. In the circus which the presidential campaign has become, not much attention has been given to the propositions. So come and pay attention!
Return to "In This Issue"After our 2006 holiday party, I thought that it would be a hard one to top in 2007. But I think we did it! Once again, teamwork was the key to our successful 2007 holiday party.
I want to recognize and thank the members of the team and if I forget anyone, I apologize in advance. The Delta Gamma Alumnae included Lolly Osborne, Sherry Hergott, Nancy Hueber, Sandra Short and daughter, Mayerly and Ruth Lewis (a friend of Lolly's, not a real DG). Other volunteers included Diane Glew, Gay Wittenberg, Roger Havasy, Linda Rosen, and our wonderful pianist, Anna Maggiora. Naomi Grubb was unable to attend, but did a lot of advance work collecting door prizes and volunteers. At the event, Carol Silveria stepped in and, with the help of Lolly and Mayerly, organized, described and distributed the door prizes. What makes the day especially festive for me is the music. Thanks are due to Dawn Wilcox, who organized everything, including updating of songbooks, along with playing the clarinet, Bev Clifford at the Qchord, Rose Deterding on bells and harmonica, Roger Petersen on vocals and Anna at the piano. And finally, thanks to Kenneth Frasse for the use of the! Center and Ric and Maryann Robson of Ric's A La Carte for catering service beyond the call of duty.
Special appreciation goes to Cathie Skivers, whose son, Darryl, drove her from Hayward to install our officers and board members.
Happy January birthdays to Kenneth Frasse, Diane Glew, Margaret Hardy, Kenneth Hoag, Lupe Medrano, Roger Petersen, Walter Schinke, Tom Slack, Norma Torres, and Stephen Webb!
Return to "In This Issue"Happy New Year to you all!
Perhaps you would rather not think about food right now, after all of the decadent indulgence of the holiday season just past, but I am really hoping that more of you snack lovers will get in touch with me soon to volunteer to bring meeting goodies in 2008. I know there are great cooks among you, and we all look forward to the yummy confections you will bring (or buy, as the case may be). The months still available are April, June, October, and November, so put your bid in as soon as you can in order to get your first choice. If you are interested, please email me.
Thanks in advance for your willingness to help make our meetings tasty as well as informative and fun.
Return to "In This Issue"I am pleased to announce the completion of our 20th anniversary SVCB cookbook. This cookbook, featuring recipes enjoyed by chapter members and guests at our meetings, picnics, and holiday parties, has truly been a labor of love. Contributors also share special memories about their recipes in short anecdotes. Cookbooks cost $10 each, and are available in large print, in braille, on cassette tape, and on CD-ROM (as a text file). We have begun distributing the large print edition, and hope to have the other formats available soon! To place an order or to help sell cookbooks, please email me, and indicate your format preference.
See's candy bars are still available! Dark chocolate with almond, milk chocolate with toffee, and plain milk chocolate bars cost $1.50 each. Nut and chew bars and walnut squares cost $1 each. Plus, we have a couple of boxes of See's peanut brittle left; these 5-ounce boxes cost $5 each. To purchase or help sell See's candy, please email me.
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, email me.
Remember to save your recyclable aluminum cans and plastic water bottles. Donna Sanchez is collecting plastic water bottles, and Charlie Stein is collecting aluminum cans. You may bring these items to an upcoming meeting or call the appropriate contact to make other arrangements. Donna and Charlie redeem the bottles and cans for funds which are then used to support SVCB activities.
Please thoughtfully consider how you personally might help SVCB raise funds this year, and join together with other chapter members to make this year the best yet! See you at our January meeting.
Return to "In This Issue"As your newly installed board member, I wanted to do something special and interesting for SVCB. Because I like to learn about stuff, I've appointed myself your research chairman. It's my job to keep us posted on new developments, whether they be related to blindness, technology, local happenings, ACB news, other chapters or anything else that could be of interest to us. Each month, I'll try to prepare a little report and a newsletter article about something interesting. I plan to interview other CCB members who do exciting work for the organization. I hope to talk to other local people who have information that is valuable for us to know. And because I read widely, and listen to a variety of media, I can pick up tidbits from there as well.
If there is something in particular you'd like me to research, email me.
I'll be happy to check out topics you suggest. Stay curious, and watch this space for future reports!
Return to "In This Issue"The Governor has declared January 1-7, 2008, to be Braille Literacy Week. How do you plan to celebrate Braille Literacy Week?
Darin and I are involved in a club called The Rallye Club. It's a club of people that run car rallyes. There are different types of car rallyes that people participate in, but we have only done gimmick car rallyes.
A gimmick car rallye is not a race. It is a fun puzzle that tests one's ability to follow instructions along a predetermined road course. Many of these rallyes have themes.
Darin and I (mostly Darin) are writing the rallye for January. It's called "Happy Birthday Louis Braille." As part of the rallye, we will be handing out braille alphabet cards and having people decode some of the rallye instructions that have been written in braille.
Darin and I have been planning this car rallye for some time now. Besides just having a lot of fun with a braille theme, one of our goals is also to educate people about braille and its inventor. So this should be a good way to celebrate Braille Literacy Week. I obtained one of CCB's braille literacy kits, and we plan to share these materials with car rallye participants.
As Braille Literacy Committee Chair, I look forward to working with others in our chapter during the coming year to educate people about braille and its uses. Some time ago, we began a project to distribute books about Louis Braille to some of our local libraries, and it is my hope that we can complete this effort. And I'm hoping that we can get back to doing the braille displays again in 2009. And with your help, we can do even more! If you would like to be a part of this committee and/or have other ideas of things we could do, please email me know.
Return to "In This Issue"January: Braille Literacy and Glaucoma Awareness months.
Jan 4, 10 a.m.-noon: SAF lab tour. Call 408-245-7330 for reservations.
Jan 9, 7-9 p.m.: SVCB Board meeting; Meeting Place.
Jan 17, 11 a.m.: Frank Welte presents services available at Vista Center; Mountain View Senior Center; gathering outside the Social Hall.
Jan 19, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: SVCB annual meeting. Dining room, Monte Vista Terrace Apartments, 1101 Grant Road, Mountain View. Lunch orders must be made by 9:45. 9:30: Coffee and conversation, 10: Program, 11: Business, 12: lunch. Program: League of Women Voters. Business: Approve 2008 business calendar and site for picnic.
Jan 25, noon: February In Touch newsletter deadline.
Jan 26: Membership dues are due to avoid disruption of newsletter subscription.
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.
February: Eye Donor Awareness Month.
Feb 2, 10 a.m.-noon: SAF lab tour.
Feb 3, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: SMCCB meeting. Contact Philip Kutner for info.
Feb 4-8, Sagebrush Conference, Randolph Sheppard Vendors of America: Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino; Las Vegas, Nevada; Reservations: 800-634-3454.
Feb 6, 7-9 a.m.: SVCB board meeting.
Feb 8-9, 8 P.M., 10, 2 P.M.: THIRD by Wendy Wasserstein, presented at the Mountain View Center for Performing Arts, described by the Visual Voice.
Feb 9, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.: Braille Challenge regional event; San Francisco LightHouse.
Feb 10: Deadline for membership dues payment to CCB.
Feb 13, Employee Access Conference (EA) 2008: Microsoft Conference Center; 1065 La Avenida; Mountain View, CA 94043; www.employmentaccess.org.
Feb 16, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: SVCB membership meeting. Approve 2008 SVCB budget, elect delegates for CCB spring convention and distribute Human Race info.
Feb 29, noon: Deadline for March SVCB In Touch newsletter.
Feb 29-Mar 2: CTEVH Conference; Los Angeles Airport Marriott; 5855 W. Century Blvd.; Los Angeles, CA 90045; 310-641-5700 or 800-228-9290.
Mar 1, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: SMCCB meeting.
Mar 5, 7-9 p.m.: SVCB Board meeting.
Mar 7, 10 a.m.-noon: SAF lab tour.
Mar 10-15, CSUN Conference: Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference, 2008; Los Angeles; Phone: 818-677-1200; Email: conference@csun.edu; Web: www.csun.edu/cod/conf.
Mar 12-14 at 8 p.m., 15 at 2 p.m. and 16 at 1 & 6:30 p.m.: AMTSJ presents CABARET with descriptions by AudioVision.
Mar 15, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: SVCB monthly meeting. Discuss resolutions for CCB Spring Convention.
Mar 21, noon: April newsletter deadline. Distribute membership list with newsletter.
Return to "In This Issue"