Vol. 33, No. 1
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2008
THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE
A publication of Mid-Florida Council of the Blind
TABLE OF CONTENTS
MESSAGE FROM MFCB PRESIDENT SHELLEY JUSTICE
NEXT MFCB GENERAL MEETINGS
MFCB ANNUAL HOLIDAY LUNCHEON REVIEW
ACCESSIBLE PEDESTRIAN SIGNAL PROGRESS IN ORANGE COUNTY
START PLANNING AHEAD FOR 2009 ACB CONVENTION IN ORLANDO
FCB E-MAIL DISCUSSION LIST AND VOICE CHAT ROOMS
MFCB ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
BLIND BOWLERS BOWL-A-THON UPCOMING
SHOPATUNITY
SPECIAL THANKS TO MFCB
MEMBERSHIP - from Jay Bader
BIRTHDAY PEOPLE
MESSAGE FROM MFCB PRESIDENT SHELLEY JUSTICE
Greetings MFCB Members and Friends, and a very Happy New Year to you all,
My message in this issue will be brief. I hope everyone's Holiday season has been a joyful one, and that the New Year will find us all
ready for new beginnings and a willingness to work hard toward our future goals as an organization.
First, let me remind you all that beginning with this issue, the MID-FLORIDA VOICE will be bi-monthly. We are going to try it this way and
see how it goes. If it doesn't work out, we can always rethink the plan and come up with a new one.
Also, I remind you of the White Cane T-shirts which can be ordered through me. The shirts are $12.00, and are being sold to raise
money to offset next year's expenses for the White Cane Day event. Remember that $10.00 for each shirt goes toward the White Cane
Day Fund and $2.00 goes to our chapter. Bring your orders for shirts to the January General Meeting, and I’ll have your shirts at the
February Meeting.
I hope to see all of you at the January General Meeting. It will be time to form our committees for the coming year. I am excited about the
coming year, as we begin to think about plans for the upcoming ACB National Convention in 2009. There is much to do, and there is
room for everyone, so don't be shy. See you all soon.
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NEXT MFCB GENERAL MEETINGS
The next General Meetings of MFCB will be at William Booth Tower, 633 Lake Dot Circle, Orlando, FL, 32801, on Saturday, January 5th,
and Saturday, February 2nd, 2008, from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM. The phone number at William Booth Tower is (407) 843-5533. It is highly
recommended that if anyone uses paratransit, please plan your rides accordingly.
As of the time this issue went to press, there is no Guest Speaker scheduled for these General Meetings. However, there may be some
discussion that could take place that could be of interest to many Members. For more information, please contact 1st Vice President
Patti Land at (407) 521-9047.
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MFCB ANNUAL HOLIDAY LUNCHEON REVIEW
About 20 Members and Guests attended the MFCB Annual Holiday Luncheon, held December 1st at Logan's Roadhouse in south
Orlando. After everyone ordered food and drinks, MFCB President Shelley Justice thanked those for attending this year's event.
Then once everyone enjoyed their meals, the Love Offering was announced and collected. This year, newly-elected 1st Vice President
Patti Land said it was for the Bijani family, who have gone through recent health and accident troubles. Sheila Young added that many
groups and organizations have helped contribute to making the family's resulting financial setbacks easier to deal with. The Love
Offering from MFCB to the Bijani family was later announced to be $200.00. Many thanks to all who contributed.
There were Door Prizes of Christmas bags of items awarded to the following people:
Paul Hutsko
Patti Land
Bill Freeman
Shelley Justice
Congratulations to all Door Prize Winners!
Shelley then wished everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
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ACCESSIBLE PEDESTRIAN SIGNAL PROGRESS IN ORANGE COUNTY
One of the primary issues than MFCB will be dealing with in 2008 is the progress on Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) in the greater
Orlando area. The progress has been much slower than expected, and even though there are apparently more than a dozen
intersections that have been proposed for APS even in Orange County, most of them have not even had the planning of the installation
begin. Even with the efforts of Central Florida Advocates for Accessible Public Rights-of-Way (CFA), the area engineers with the Florida
Department of Transportation have either not been made aware of APS or the proper people have not been contacted to make APS a
reality.
However, history was quietly made in mid-December 2007. The first intersection to have the state-certified Polara Navigator APS
installed was completed. This is at the intersection of Dean Road and University Boulevard in east Orlando, not far from the University
of Central Florida. The APS boxes are located at all four corners of the intersection, which has never been done before in the greater
Orlando area.
Since the installation was completed so close to the time this issue of THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE was prepared, not many MFCB
Members have had the opportunity to either be made aware of this, or for those who were, had the chance to see how the installation
was completed and use APS at the intersection. So at this point, MFCB is not yet ready to review the APS at Dean Road and University
Boulevard. What does need to be said is that all disabled should be aware of APS and also to be involved from the beginning steps,
from the planning to installation for final implementing of APS at every possible intersection in our area.
A full review of the Dean Road-University Boulevard APS will be included in the next issue of THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE.
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START PLANNING AHEAD FOR 2009 ACB CONVENTION IN ORLANDO
In 1998, our national organization, the American Council of the Blind (ACB), held its National Convention in Orlando. At the time, it was
the most-attended ACB Convention in history. That was topped in attendance in 2005, when Las Vegas hosted the ACB Convention.
ACB has announced that its 2009 National Convention will return to Orlando, and it plans to be again the biggest one yet. It will take
place in early July 2009 at the Rosen Center, located near the Orange County Convention Center on International Drive. With the many
tourist attractions in the Orlando area, more than there were in 1998, it will be a major undertaking, not only at the national level but also
on the local level. So MFCB is expecting to be heavily involved, and invites not only its Members but also anyone who reads this
Newsletter to assist in any way possible in making ACB more than welcome when the 2009 ACB Convention comes to Orlando.
In the coming months, MFCB will prepare to do its part in the forming of a Host Committee for the 2009 ACB Convention. So it is
encouraged that MFCB Members plan on attending as many MFCB General Meetings and activities as possible, as all suggestions will
be heard and considered for what will prove to be an experience we treasure just as much as when ACB was in Orlando in 1998, and
even more so. If you cannot attend many of our Meetings, please contact anyone on the MFCB Executive Board, and let them know any
ways you wish to participate as before we know it, the American Council of the Blind will return to Orlando for its National Convention.
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FCB E-MAIL DISCUSSION LIST AND VOICE CHAT ROOMS
Florida Council of the Blind (FCB) is proud to have its members throughout the state participate in a couple of ways on the Internet. The
FCB E-mail Discussion List is a way for members, locally and statewide, to express themselves freely on a variety of issues. These can
range from those on a local level to issues on a state or even national platform.
MFCB encourages all Members with E-mail and Internet access to sign up and participate in the various discussions as well as maybe
even starting a few. To sign up for the FCB E-mail Discussion List, and for more information about the List, go to the FCB website at
http://www.fcb.org and go to the link for "FCB E-mail Discussion List Information and Instructions."
And FCB has 2 improved voice chat rooms for members of the organization. One of these is for General chat, the other is for the FCB
Board and its respective committees to meet. Everyone is invited to sit in on these chats, especially to participate with those in the
General chat room.
For more information about these FCB chat rooms, especially if you want to know how you can join in on the
chats, click on the link "Voice Chat for FCB" at http://www.fcb.org.
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MFCB ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
Mid-Florida Council of the Blind has a presence on the World Wide Web. Through the Florida Council of the Blind website,
http://www.fcb.org, there is information available on the Internet about MFCB, especially the MFCB
By-Laws, as well as current and past issues of the MFCB Newsletter. MFCB is proud to have people find out what is going on with our
organization in this global manner.
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, changes can be made that better what we have
on the Web.
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BLIND BOWLERS BOWL-A-THON UPCOMING
Sherri Brun, President of the National Federation of the Blind-Greater Orlando Chapter (NFB-GOC) and good friend to MFCB, wanted
Members to be aware of something that MFCB has participated in for the last couple of years. So here she tells about it in her own
words:
Chuck Graham, President of the Carter Family Blind Bowlers. has asked me to announce our upcoming Bowl-A-Thon to take place from
6 to 8 PM February 2nd, 2007. This is to raise funds for Carter Family Blind Bowlers to participate in our national tournament to be held in
May in St. Louis.
We invite all who would like to participate or who would like to learn more to contact Chuck Graham at (407) 654-6199. As in the past, we
hope to have a friendly rivalry between MFCB and NFB-GOC. We always have lots of fun so we encourage you to invite friends, family
members, business associates and get teams together.
In addition to bowling, you will have the opportunity to participate in drawings for many nice prizes. Between now and the Bowl-A-Thon,
you can also participate in the league's raffle. We are raffling off two extremely nice gazebo swings. The cost is $3.00 for one ticket or
$5.00 for two tickets. The raffle will be drawn that evening.
The Blind Bowlers look forward to your participation.
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SHOPATUNITY
There is a new technology for those disabled who have a computer to be better local shoppers. "Shopatunity" was introduced during
this Holiday Season with the following promotional message, and MFCB wanted to share that with you:
VISUALLY IMPAIRED HEAR HOLIDAY RETAIL “SHOPATUNITY” REPORTS
Deal tracking System to Deliver Audio Analysis for Holiday goods
Orlando… With more than 80,000 blind Florida residents of the 261,000 diagnosed visually impaired (3.42 of the US); the huge volume
of holiday advertising circulars is an immense challenge. That will be less of a problem this holiday gift buying season as a landmark
deal-tracking system called “Shopatunity” uses computers to find bargains for the visually impaired.
No pipe dream, the computer system was first funded by the government in 1981 to help food stamp and others receiving subsidy
payments get “More Bang for their Buck”. Using the same circulars those with sight receive in their weekly newspapers, a scanning
program collects the product information and creates a listing of lower prices.
After this message was received, it was found that "Shopatunity" is a free service and is being tested in the state of Florida. Proven by the
government's Community Services Administration to save shoppers "an average of 28.34 percent against unaided buying decisions,"
called the "Shopatunity Program," it produces a report showing which products provide "More Bang for the Buck" at supermarkets and
larger retail stores. The absolutely free weekly reports come in e-mail, text message, and video format covering all major Florida
stores.
To get yours, just visit the Shopatunity website at http://www.shopatunity.com. You can find
out more about this free service as well as how it works and reviews of it so far. MFCB recommends Members with computer access try
it out and provide constructive feedback of this alternative to the Sunday newspaper advertisements the sighted have enjoyed for many
decades.
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SPECIAL THANKS TO MFCB
MFCB Member Sheila Young has been in touch with the Bijani family, the family that has experienced recent setbacks. With recent
hospital stays in a short period of time by many members of their family, their finances have been greatly affected. Sheila wanted to
pass along the following short message.
On behalf of the Bijani family, they would like to thank the MFCB for their kindness in giving such a generous love offering from our
Holiday luncheon. They are so grateful that there are so many wonderful and kind people to help them during their very difficult time.
MFCB again wishes the Bijani family a better 2008 and hopes all in the Bijani family can return to a normal life much sooner rather than
later.
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MEMBERSHIP - from Jay Bader
As 2008 begins, I am proud to announce that when the chapter's roster was sent to the FCB Membership Secretary, MFCB has 57
Members. Thanks again to those who either renewed their memberships or joined our local chapter of the American Council of the
Blind for 2008.
Welcome to the following New Member of MFCB (out of the respect of those who wish not to have their information made public, only the
name is listed):
Jessica Sears
This is the first issue in the history of MFCB Newsletters that combines two months. This year, THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE has become
a bi-monthly publication, and we are hopeful that whoever reads it will continue to appreciate it, even with the lesser amount of issues.
As MFCB President Shelley Justice has said previously, please feel free and contact any MFCB Officer with your feedback, and for those
who receive THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE by e-mail, please do not reply to the Newsletter.
And I always accept submissions to THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE. All submissions for the March-April 2008 issue must arrive by regular
mail or e-mail to me by the 15th of February as it will be prepared shortly after that. You will be properly credited with the submission.
If you have any further questions, please call me at (407) 658-2479 or e-mail
mfcbinfo@bellsouth.net. Looking forward to seeing many of you at the upcoming MFCB
General Meetings, and Happy New Year!
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BIRTHDAY PEOPLE
JANUARY
5 - Lisa Lawson
14 - Bob Huntsman
16 - Machel Cooper
25 - Sheila Young
FEBRUARY
3 - Anita Stone
13 - Jim Huddle
20 - Elizabeth Bouyer
22 - Ruth Meddaugh
26 - Dick Sawyer
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