Vol. 29, No. 5
MAY 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
APRIL GENERAL MEETING REVIEW
FCB 51ST ANNUAL CONVENTION AROUND THE CORNER
MFCB ANNUAL JUNE LUNCHEON NOT FAR AWAY, EITHER
FCB NOW HAS A DISCUSSION LIST!
MFCB ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
NO MORE "BRAILLE FREE PRESS"
IMPORTANT LOCAL TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION - by Nicole Hugues
MEMBERSHIP - from Jay Bader
BIRTHDAY PEOPLE
MESSAGE FROM MFCB PRESIDENT RACHEL BADER
Hello to all of you. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who participated in helping to revise the By-Laws for MFCB. We had a
few meetings of hard work to accomplish this task but I believe the finished document is something we can all be proud of to send to the
state By-Laws Committee for final approval. Thanks to Jay and everybody who worked hard to get things done.
With that said, it's time to lighten up a bit for our May General Meeting and have some fun, yet gain useful information as our guest speaker
will be from the Orlando Fire Department. I hope to see many of you there.
Back to Table of Contents
Back to MFCB Newsletters
Back to MFCB main page
NEXT GENERAL MEETING
The next General Meeting of MFCB will be at Booth Towers, 633 Lake Dot Circle, Orlando, FL, 32801, on Saturday, May 1st, 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.
The guest speaker scheduled for this General Meeting will be a member of the Orlando Fire Department.
Back to Table of Contents
Back to MFCB Newsletters
Back to MFCB main page
APRIL GENERAL MEETING REVIEW
31 members were present at the April 3rd General Meeting at Booth Towers in Orlando. After the Treasurer's and Secretary's reports were
read and approved, 2nd Vice-President Jackie Gideons announced that the MFCB Annual June Luncheon would be taking place on
Saturday, June 12th, the second Saturday in June due to the FCB Annual Convention being held the first weekend of the month. She
asked the Membership in attendance if they had any suggestions for where to have the Luncheon. Some suggestions were: Red Lobster
on East Colonial Drive across from Orlando Fashion Square, Olive Garden at Orlando Fashion Square, and Roadhouse Grill on 436, north
of Aloma Avenue near Casselberry.
As always with our Luncheons, everyone is on their own but if anyone would have other suggestions for where to have the Luncheon, they
could contact 1st Vice President Betty Sparrow or Jackie.
A 50/50 Raffle was then held, which raised $42.00. The $21.00 prize was won by Bob Huntsman.
The following Door Prizes were given out, which were picked as the winners were selected:
Leslie Spoone chose Wind Chimes
Arline Graham picked a set of Glad Containers
Ken Norman selected Zebra Cakes
Chuck Graham chose Chocolate Cream Pies
Betty Sparrow then got the last Prize left, which was a Valentine's Day Cookie Tray
Congratulations to all the Prize Winners!
President Rachel Bader then chose members to be delegates for the upcoming FCB Annual Convention in Tampa, which takes place
June 4th thru 6th. The delegates are:
Jay Bader
Bill Freeman
Arline Graham
Chuck Graham
Shelley Justice
Alice Wolf
Paul Wolf
Alternates are:
Rachel Bader
Nicole Hugues
Bo Justice
Convention First-Timers:
Lisa Lawson
Larry Turnbull
The First-Timers for the FCB Annual Convention will each receive $50.00 from FCB. Rachel would discuss with Treasurer Dan Spoone,
who was not in attendance at the April General Meeting, budgeting a matching $50.00 for each First-Timer, giving them $100.00 for
attending the Convention.
The rest of the April General Meeting was devoted to discussing and voting on the proposed Revisions to the MFCB By-Laws. Jay Bader,
chair of the By-Laws Committee, conducted this process, which at times got heated but, in the end, proved beneficial to all who
participated. The major changes approved by the Membership in attendance were:
-Raising the Annual MFCB Dues from $10.00 to $12.00
-Extending the term limits for President and Vice-Presidents from 2 terms to 4 terms
-Putting in the By-Laws that only the President and Vice-Presidents need to be blind or have Low Vision; that restriction does not apply to
all other elected officers
-The Executive Board of Directors includes the Immediate Past President
-The Nominating Committee, formed at the September General Meeting, will be chaired by the 1st Vice-President, with up to 3 additional
members selected and approved by the Membership
-6 of the 8 MFCB monthly meetings in the year must be General Business Meetings
-Articles VIII and IX (8 and 9) have been reversed, with Article VIII revised to reflect that the majority of members present at any MFCB
monthly meeting shall constitute a Quorum
-The MFCB By-Laws may be amended by a majority vote of the Quorum at any General Meeting
The approved Revisions to the MFCB By-Laws will be sent to Jim Kracht, chair of the FCB Constitution and By-Laws Committee, for final
approval. Once approved, they will take effect immediately. Thanks again to all who participated in revising our By-Laws!
Back to Table of Contents
Back to MFCB Newsletters
Back to MFCB main page
FCB 51ST ANNUAL CONVENTION AROUND THE CORNER
The 51st Annual Convention of the Florida Council of the Blind will be held from Thursday, June 3rd, 2004, thru Sunday, June 6th, 2004, at
the Doubletree Hotel Tampa Westshore. The hotel is located at 4500 Cypress Street in Tampa and has a complementary shuttle from
Tampa International Airport.
Room rates are $68 for singles and doubles; $72 for triples and quads. Hotel reservations must be made by May 15th, 2004, to ensure the
special rate. You may call the hotel's toll free line at 1-800-355-0524 and state the group's name.
For more specific information about the events, meetings and seminars scheduled during the Convention, please go to
http://www.fcb.org/FCBConvCall4.htm.
If you are interested in registering for the FCB Annual Convention, please pick up a copy of the registration form at the MFCB May General
Meeting or fill out the Convention Online Registration Form at
http://www.fcb.org/FCBConvReg4.htm and follow the instructions on the Form. All those interested in going to the FCB Annual
Convention must have their completed form and checks or money orders mailed in by May 10th, 2004.
For further questions or information regarding the FCB Annual Convention, please contact Project Insight at 1-800-267-4448. We hope
many MFCB Members take the trip to Tampa and join us at the FCB 51st Annual Convention!
Back to Table of Contents
Back to MFCB Newsletters
Back to MFCB main page
MFCB ANNUAL JUNE LUNCHEON NOT FAR AWAY, EITHER
The Saturday after the FCB Convention is one that many MFCB Members enjoy as it is our annual send-off into the summer. The MFCB
Annual June Luncheon will take place at Logan's Roadhouse in South Orlando on Saturday, June 12th, 2004, from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM.
The location of this Logan's Roadhouse is 3060 West Sand Lake Road, Orlando, Florida 32819.
If you need more information, you can contact Logan's Roadhouse at (407) 351-4599. Here's a little more information about what food you
will find there, taken from their website, http://www.logansroadhouse.com:
"While Logan's Roadhouse is all about fun, we take the quality of our food very seriously. Which is why our wide variety of menu items
includes everything from the finest U.S.D.A. choice, aged steaks, hand-cut on premise, to the freshest chicken breasts around to flame
grilled salmon and catch-of-the-day to homemade yeast rolls that'll make you feel all warm inside. Our salads are equally fresh and
flavorful."
More on the MFCB Annual June Luncheon in the next issue of THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE.
Back to Table of Contents
Back to MFCB Newsletters
Back to MFCB main page
FCB NOW HAS A DISCUSSION LIST!
Florida Council of the Blind (FCB) is proud to have its members throughout the state participate in its E-mail Discussion List. 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 everyone 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.”
Back to Table of Contents
Back to MFCB Newsletters
Back to MFCB main page
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 web site,
http://www.fcb.org, there is information available on the Internet about MFCB as well as current and
some past issues of the MFCB Newsletter, both in the previous name of MUMBLES and the newer 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.
Back to Table of Contents
Back to MFCB Newsletters
Back to MFCB main page
NO MORE "BRAILLE FREE PRESS"
Due to an agreement reached between the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and Penny Reeder, there will be no more issues of the
Braille Free Press. She made this posting recently on a blindness community website after the online publication was shut down:
"I want to thank all of you who supported my online publication, with attention, articles, questions, and general interest...Look for a new
online magazine to replace the now defunct "Braille-Free-Press.org," in a few weeks. That publication will be called, "The Blind
Independent.""
We apologize to those who wanted to find out more about what was, in its short existence, a very insightful publication. As soon as its
succeeding publication is online, you will be informed about it and hopefully bring you an article or two from what promises to be
worthwhile reading for anyone who has interest in issues affecting the blindness community.
Back to Table of Contents
Back to MFCB Newsletters
Back to MFCB main page
IMPORTANT LOCAL TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION - by Nicole Hugues
With some MFCB members having some issues regarding paratransit to and from the MFCB General Meeting, Nicole Hugues, who has
been working closely with MV Transportation and Access Lynx, has important information for all of us to take note:
All paratransit users are to schedule their appointments at least 30 minutes prior to the MFCB meeting; however, I would strongly suggest
an hour earlier. If clients want to have their pickup held until 3 PM, (they should) say "no earlier than 3 PM." I would encourage all clients to
book these trips no later than 12 NOON the day before, if possible. Try to book appointments between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM as these are
off-peak times.
If a client is booking for another client, they are permitted to book a total of six trips with one phone call, 3 for themselves and 3 for the other
client. Hold times will be slightly longer than usual because the Medicaid clients must be placed on hold while the reservationist gets a
new authorization number for the month.
It does not what matter what day of the week the 1st is on. I would encourage all clients to book at least the first days of month in advance,
if at all possible. This way they could avoid the long hold times.
If you need more information please let me know.
Nicole can be reached on her cell phone at (321) 663-2007. After May 16th, 2004, please call this number after 7 PM or anytime on
Saturday or Sunday. You can also contact Nicole by e-mail at blindnikki@aol.com. If you are not
able to reach her via e-mail, she prefers that you contact her on the cell phone.
Back to Table of Contents
Back to MFCB Newsletters
Back to MFCB main page
MEMBERSHIP - from Jay Bader
Notes from Jay: The 2004 MFCB Members Phone Roster is available in Print, E-mail, Cassette and Braille. If you are interested in having
a Cassette or Braille version, please contact me as soon as possible as these versions will otherwise only be available at the May
General Meeting.
There are some inaccurate listings in the Braille version of the Phone Roster. These were due to the fact that there were oversights in
transferring the database from one computer to another before sending off the Roster for embossing. Among the errors:
Patti Davis' and Elizabeth Bouyer's phone numbers are correct in the Committees section but not in the actual Members Roster section;
The Members whose last names start between the letters "J" and "W" were actually listed from last year's version so there are many listed
who are no longer members and some new members may not be listed.
I apologize for these errors. If you have any further questions about the Braille version of the MFCB Phone Roster, please contact me.
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 May General Meeting!
Back to Table of Contents
Back to MFCB Newsletters
Back to MFCB main page
BIRTHDAY PEOPLE
MAY
3 - Christy Whitt-Galford
6 - Lois Huddle
17 - Rebecca Letzkus
19 - Jim Lamb
20 - Denyse Eddy
21 - Eddie Lee
24 - Elizabeth Mossman
28 - Florence Anderson
Back to Table of Contents
Back to MFCB Newsletters
Back to MFCB main page
FCB home page