Vol. 29, No. 1
JANUARY 2004
THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE
A publication of Mid-Florida Council of the Blind
TABLE OF CONTENTS
MESSAGE FROM MFCB PRESIDENT RACHEL BADER
NEXT GENERAL MEETING
DECEMBER LUNCHEON REVIEW
MFCB HAS THE VOICE!
MFCB ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
SECOND MOPIX THEATER IN ORLANDO
TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
MEMBERSHIP - from Jay Bader
BIRTHDAY PEOPLE
I hope all of you have had a very Happy Holiday season with family and
friends. With the start of the New Year comes some changes for MFCB.
One of them you've probably already noticed in the new name of our
monthly newsletter. Thanks to many creative minds who came up with
suggestions for the new name, we had lots to choose from. We decided
on THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE.
This more accurately reflects the content of this publication as it tells
you what's happening with MFCB. This is also a more outwardly-sounding
term which reflects our goal of creating and maintaining a greater
presence out in our community. What an exciting way to start off 2004!
In addition to a new name and look to our Newsletter, at our January
General Meeting, we'll be taking a look at some of our goals for the next
year, along with reviewing our Committees for 2004. If you have any
great ideas, or if you're interested in contributing either time or any
special talents you may have to working with MFCB, we want to hear
from you.
Happy New Year and looking forward to seeing many of you in '04!
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The next General Meeting of MFCB will be at Booth Towers, 633 Lake
Dot Circle, Orlando, FL, 32801, on Saturday, January 3rd, 2004, from
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. It is highly recommended that if anyone uses
paratransit, please plan your rides accordingly.
President Rachel Bader will call a Board Meeting at 12:30 PM.
Longtime MFCB Member Jim Lamb is going to speak on some of the
history of MFCB as well as FCB, the Florida Council of the Blind.
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30 members were present at the December 6th Holiday Luncheon at
Red Lobster on Colonial Drive in Orlando. After everyone had a chance
to order from the menus, some of which were Braille menus, President
Rachel Bader officially welcomed members to the Luncheon.
She then turned things over to Membership Secretary Jay Bader who
told everyone about how we would be re-naming the MFCB Newsletter
as well as him presenting "Thank You" gifts to the MFCB Board. These
"Thank You" gifts were handmade Christmas Tree ornaments.
(The process and results for re-naming the MFCB Newsletter will be
detailed later in this issue.)
After everyone enjoyed their lunch, Rachel then gave the members an
opportunity to donate for the Love Offering. This is something MFCB
does every year at the December Holiday Luncheon, giving money to
an organization that was chosen at the November General Meeting.
The Love Offering collected was $63.00 and will be given to ABE,
which stands for "Adult Basic Education," an organization committed to
helping the visually-impaired better themselves.
Rachel then announced the Love Offering and that it would appear in the
officially re-named MFCB Newsletter, "THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE,"
which received a generous amount of applause. Thanks to all those
who attended the Luncheon as the people at Red Lobster again took
very good care of us, and the food was not bad either!
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On Saturday, December 6th, 2003, at the Annual December Holiday
Luncheon, which was held at the Red Lobster location on East Colonial
Drive, across from Orlando Fashion Square, something else happened.
Besides enjoying good food, better service and great company, those
who attended the Luncheon were not expecting a surprise
announcement. The members at the Luncheon were given the
opportunity to re-name the MFCB Newsletter. Here's how it was done:
Each table reserved by MFCB was given a blank index card. On one
side of the card, those at the table were to decide on two names they
felt were best for the MFCB Newsletter. Then on the back, they would
note the members at that table. If all those at the table were either
blind or could not write well, Membership Secretary Jay Bader would
assist and note all the necessary information on the card.
After an hour of giving members the opportunity to select names, the
cards were collected and the MFCB Board huddled at an open table
close to the designated dining area to review the names written on the
index cards. There were many interesting names, like "The Eyes Have
It," "Mid-Florida Chronicle," "The Broadcaster" and "Mid-Florida Text
Message." But the one we all agreed best fit the direction MFCB is
taking is what is now noted at the top: THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE.
Special thanks to MFCB Treasurer Dan Spoone who came up with
the original idea for this process. And thanks to all those who
attended the Annual December Holiday Luncheon! You have helped
make history with MFCB!
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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,
both in the previous name of MUMBLES and the new name of THE
MID-FLORIDA VOICE. This is only the beginning as another option has
been 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.
With your suggestions so far, there will be some changes forthcoming
that will better what we have on the Web.
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There is now a second choice for the visually-impaired to enjoy a movie
using the MoPix technology. It is the Pleasure Island AMC 24, located
at 1500 East Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830. Their
phone number is 407-827-0138, so call them if you would like more
information, especially about any movies they show in MoPix.
As was noted in the October 2003 issue, when the MFCB Newsletter was
known as MUMBLES, the MoPix technology allows those who are
hearing-impaired or visually-impaired to enjoy a first-run movie. You
can go online to www.amctheatres.com
and follow links to see what movies the theater will be showing, but if
you want to see what movies at the theater are showing with MoPix, check
out www.mopix.org. Movies usually
change weekly and sometimes the ones they show with MoPix are in
closed-captioning only for the hearing-impaired.
The first theater in the area that introduced the MoPix format was the
AMC Altamonte Mall 18, located 433 E. Altamonte Dr., Altamonte Springs,
FL 32714. Their phone number is 407-551-2262, which is an actual voice
line, not a recorded message.
Let's show our appreciation for having these available to us and
check out a movie at one of these locations soon. There may even be a
chance for a group of MFCB members to go in the near future. Details
will be listed in a future issue of THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE.
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MFCB Members Chuck Graham and Nicole Hugues have been working
tirelessly to keep up-to-date on the latest happenings when it comes to
the Transportation issues all visually-impaired people face daily.
Chuck tells us that at the November 19th Lynx Transportation Advisory
Committee Meeting, it was announced that DBS can certify a person's
blindness, whether they be totally blind or have low vision. However,
CITE - the Lighthouse for the Visually Impaired, and other educational
facilities still are not approved to certify those same people. Chuck will
report on what happens at the next TD Commission quarterly meeting at
the January General Meeting.
Nicole is keeping in touch with Lynx about getting Access Lynx material
available in accessible formats, especially Braille. At the time of this
Newsletter, she has 9 of the accessible format surveys available for people
who did not originally receive it. If you would like to have a survey to
complete, please e-mail Nicole at either
blindnikki@aol.com or
blind_nikki@yahoo.com.
With your help, there may be some improvements when it comes to dealing
with Transportation for the visually-impaired in the Greater Orlando area.
We will continue to keep you informed as announcements are made in
future issues of THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE.
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The MFCB Annual Membership Drive is in the final weeks.
One last 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 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 General Meeting 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 quickly approaching on
January 7th, 2004. This date is for when I have to receive them, not for
the last date for them to be postmarked. If you cannot attend the next
General Meeting on January 3rd, please make sure to send your check or
money order in the mail by that date because if you send it on Monday,
January 5th, there is no guarantee that it will arrive by the 7th.
Please welcome the following NEW MEMBERS:
DEBRA SPENCE
5545 Los Palma Vista Dr.
Orlando, FL 32837
(407) 856-5317
DANIEL WEINER
604 Balfour Dr.
Winter Park, FL 32792
(407) 671-4736
And a reminder that I am accepting any submissions to THE
MID-FLORIDA VOICE. 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 January General Meeting and
hope everyone continues to enjoy the Holidays! Happy 2004!
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JANUARY
2 - Raymond Roeder
2 - Dalphana Tisdale
12 - Anna Clements
13 - Kathryn Bradbury
14 - Bob Huntsman
17 - Ron Phinney
19 - Jeannette Rhodes
21 - Dekle Jones
24 - Linda Lynch
27 - Trudy Brumfield
31 - Daniel Weiner
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