Vol. 28, No. 10
DECEMBER 2003
MUMBLES
A publication of the Mid-Florida Council of the Blind
MESSAGE FROM MFCB PRESIDENT RACHEL BADER
Hello members and friends. It's hard to believe that this year has just
flown by so quickly. But believe it or not, the holidays are now upon
us. This means it's time again for our annual holiday luncheon. This
will be a time to celebrate friendship and our MFCB family and to look
forward to the coming year. I hope to see many of you there. If you
can't join us, let me take this opportunity to send best wishes to all
of you and your families during this holiday season.
NEXT GENERAL MEETING
The next General Meeting of MFCB will be the Annual December
Luncheon, which will be at Red Lobster, 3552 E Colonial Dr., Orlando,
FL, 32803, on Saturday, December 6th, 2003, from 11:00 AM to 1:00
PM. If you need more information on Red Lobster, you can contact
them at (407) 896-3657. It is highly recommended that if anyone uses
paratransit, please plan your rides accordingly.
This is an opportunity for those who cannot attend the General Meetings
to meet many members of MFCB and enjoy great food, and the people
at Red Lobster take very good care of us. And they do have Braille
Menus available for those who need them.
NOVEMBER MEETING REVIEW
At the November 1st General Meeting, 28 members were present as the
Annual Elections were held for MFCB Officers for the next year.
Here are the MFCB Officers for 2003-2004:
President - Rachel Bader
1st Vice President - Betty Sparrow
2nd Vice President - Jackie Gideons
Recording Secretary - Shelley Justice
Treasurer - Dan Spoone
Membership Secretary - Jay Bader
Basically, all current MFCB Officers were re-elected for another 1-year
term.
After Rachel thanked the members for having confidence in the
current Officers to continue them intact for another year, she announced
that she represented MFCB at a meeting at CITE, Lighthouse for the
Visually-Impaired, a few days before concerning the changes in the
re-certification process at Access Lynx. As of October 1st, 2003,
Access Lynx is now verifying disability by a licensed medical
professional, not a DBS Counselor or CITE.
Those who have Low Vision will also have functional assessments done
by Qwest, a local organization that assists those with various
disabilities. Lynx is not backing down on its position with these
changes but CITE, DBS and MFCB are all united to try and work on
better solutions than what Lynx is implementing for re-certification.
We'll keep you informed as to the changes.
Rachel also announced that the Annual December Luncheon will be on
Saturday, December 6th, at the Red Lobster on Colonial Drive, across
from Fashion Square. It is the most ideal size for our group, and the
service we receive there has been excellent.
Nicole Hugues told the members present about the "Walk About St.
Augustine," which is a walking tour that includes use of a hand-held
audio player that provides lots of stories about the history of the
city. The players can be rented for $15.00 and rentals are good for 24
hours. If anyone wants more information about the "Walk About St.
Augustine," they can call (904) 824-2872 or go to
http://www.walkaboutstaugustine.com.
Rachel mentioned that MFCB participated in a CITE Strategic Planning
Meeting that took place in late October. This meeting was held to see
the direction CITE would take over the next 5 years. It was a very
productive meeting and Rachel feels that MFCB will continue to have a
good relationship with CITE as a result.
Leslie Spoone then thanked Pamela Laub for all her help at the MFCB
White Cane Event that took place at Orlando Fashion Square on
October 18th. She also added that Pam was the one who donated the
tape duplicator that has been used for the cassette issues of the MFCB
Newsletter. Rachel did add that, as she said in the November 2003
MUMBLES, even though not a lot of people approached our table at
Fashion Square, it was a successful event for those who did
participate as we feel we did make an impact on the ones who did
see MFCB at Fashion Square.
Door Prizes were then awarded:
1st Prize - Christmas Mug with 16 packets of hot chocolate - Jim Lamb
2nd Prize - Christmas Kitchen Towel and Pot Holders - Judy Ramirez
(Judy was a Guest at the Meeting)
3rd Prize - Red and White Christmas Basket with
Peanut Butter Toast Crackers - Louis Williams
4th Prize - Miniature Santa Claus Plush - Bill Freeman
5th Prize - Christmas Tree Reindeer Ornament - Craig Marquis
After the Door Prizes, "Game Day" began. Members participated in a
"Walk Around the Cake," which was similar to Musical Chairs, with
various members winning cakes; SkipBo; Dominoes and other games
that members brought to the General Meeting. Also, the "Walk Around
the Cake" was the November fundraiser as those who wanted to join
in made a donation. It raised $20.00.
A fun time was had by all who did participate, and congratulations to
all the Door Prize and Cake winners!
NEW NAME COMING FOR MFCB NEWSLETTER
Beginning with the January 2004 issue, a new name will be chosen for
this MFCB Newsletter. As we have mentioned these past few months,
MFCB has become a more recognizable voice in the local blindness
community, and as an organization, we feel that a new name that better
reflects the direction of MFCB is only proper at this time.
The new name will be announced at the MFCB December Luncheon on
Saturday, December 6th, 2003. We hope everyone will be proud of
this name and let everyone know that we no longer just "MUMBLE" but
are definitely heard in the Greater Orlando area. So please join us at
the December Luncheon and be part of an announcement that will be
noted in the next MFCB Newsletter for January 2004.
MFCB ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
Mid-Florida Council of the Blind now has a presence on the World Wide
Web. Through the Florida Council of the Blind web site,
http://www.fcb.org, there is information available on the Internet about
MFCB as well as current as some past issues of the MFCB Newsletter.
This is only the beginning as another option has made available for
people to find out what is going on with our organization.
To specifically get to the MFCB section of the FCB website, go to
http://www.fcb.org/mfcb.htm.
Feedback is strongly encouraged as to the accessibility and content of
the website, so if you have any questions or suggestions, e-mail
webmaster@fcb.org.
NETWORK TO AIR HOLIDAY CLASSICS WITH DESCRIPTION
(from Media Access Group at WGBH) - submitted by Nicole Hugues
Viewers of all ages who are blind or visually-impaired now will be able
to more fully enjoy several classic holiday TV specials along with their
sighted family members and friends. For the first time, CBS will air the
animated programs with video description, provided by the Media
Access Group at WGBH.
The described holiday line-up includes:
Frosty the Snowman, November 28th, 8 pm ET
Frosty Returns, November 28th, 8:30 pm ET
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, December 9th, 8 to 9 pm ET
Robbie the Reindeer: Hooves of Fire, December 20th, 8 pm ET
Robbie the Reindeer: Legend of the Lost Tribe, December 20th, 8:30 pm ET
Two of the programs, Robbie the Reindeer: Hooves of Fire and Robbie the
Reindeer: Legend of the Lost Tribe, are award-winning specials produced
in 3D-model animation. They also feature the voices of Ben Stiller, Hugh
Grant, Leah Remini and Jerry Stiller.
(Editor's Note: CBS has been one of the networks that has been very
progressive when it comes to programs with description. Please let your
friends who are visually-impaired know about these programs and enjoy
them this holiday season.)
FCB BOARD MEETING IN MFCB COUNTRY
The Annual Florida Council of the Blind Board Meeting was held at
the Sheraton Safari Hotel during the weekend of November 7th, 8th
and 9th, 2003. It was the second consecutive year that FCB has held
the Board Meeting at this hotel. There were some MFCB members
who attended as well as some who were not members that were told
by others about it.
The many FCB Committees met on the 7th and 8th and lots of issues
were discussed among these committees. The Business Meeting on
the afternoon of the 8th gave the committees the opportunity to
report on what was talked about in their meetings and also provided
those in attendance a chance to hear about issues most important at
the state level.
On Sunday morning, the 9th, there was a special "Board Rap Session"
held to give those in attendance a chance to show FCB what direction
to take through the 2004 FCB Convention to be held in June in Tampa.
The most important things decided were to concentrate on letting the
Florida Transportation Disadvantaged (TD) Commission know about
the problems locally with paratransit systems and improve the
information provided on the FCB Website.
It has already been announced that the 2004 Florida Council of the
Blind Board Meeting will again be held at the Sheraton Safari Hotel in
Orlando next November. So let's not forget to show our appreciation
to FCB for choosing our area as the host for the important meetings.
MEMBERSHIP
Notes from Jay: The MFCB Annual Membership Drive has less than two
months left. A reminder that in addition, we are asking you, the
current members, that if you know anyone who would be interested in
becoming a member of MFCB, have them contact me at (407) 658-2479
or e-mail mfcbinfo@bellsouth.net
and I will follow-up with what information is needed to become a part of MFCB.
We also continue to take renewals on current memberships. Remember,
the cost for MFCB Membership continues to be $10.00 for the year. You
can renew at the December Luncheon and pay by cash, check or money
order. If you cannot attend the General Meeting, please only pay by
check or money order. Make that check or money order payable to
MFCB. The deadline for new and renewal memberships is not far away
on January 7th, 2004.
Please welcome the following NEW MEMBERS:
JAMES AND LOIS HUDDLE
17 E. Neptune Rd.
Kissimmee, FL 34744
(407) 847-2465
Please make a note of the following member's ADDRESS CHANGE:
GEORGE BACHMAN
Westminster Care
830 W. 29th St.
Orlando, FL 32825
(407) 843-3230
(The address has been corrected since the November 2003 MUMBLES.)
And just a reminder that I am accepting any submissions to MUMBLES.
All submissions must arrive by regular mail or e-mail to me by the 15th
of the month as issues are prepared shortly after that. I will make
sure you are credited with the submission. If you have any further
questions, please call me at (407) 658-2479 or e-mail at
mfcbinfo@bellsouth.net.
Looking forward to seeing many of you at the December Luncheon. Have
a very happy holiday season!
BIRTHDAY PEOPLE
DECEMBER
13 - Wes Keister
13 - Leslie Spoone
25 - Patti Davis
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