THE TEXAS STAR
Vol. 23, No. 4 October 2015
Neil Finley, Editor
Expressions from the President’s Desk Kenneth Semien, Sr.
Membership Updates Peggy R. Garrett
Tales from the Treasurer Sheila Derrick
ACBT 2015 State Conference/Convention Peggy R. Garrett
ACBT Scholarship Program Cynthia Julun
Resolutions Report Bob Bartlett
ACBT Advocacy Services/Legislation Committee Paul Hunt
Alamo Council Rosalyn Benavides
Dallas Area Council Ana Russo
El Paso Council Dianna Carter
Fort Worth Council Jean Russell
Houston Council Happenings Bob Bartlett
Braille Revival League of Texas Gigi Firth
Computer Users Bob Bartlett
Guide Dog Users of Texas Cindy Finley
Member Morale Committee Cindy Finley
“Your voices are being heard, so keep communicating.”
Scott Bowman, Interim Assistant Commissioner, DBS
Note from the Editor
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[Note: Articles printed in The Texas Star are submitted by the
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Expressions from the President’s Desk Kenneth Semien, Sr.
Greetings Members, Friends, and Colleagues:
We had an outstanding annual Conference/Convention in Corpus Christi this September, and it was great greeting all of you who were in attendance. The enlightening workshops are sure to make an impact on our personal and professional lives. The launching of the first two components of the ACBT Advantage Suite ignited a flame of personal empowerment that is sure to capture the essence of the spirit of ACBT. We are grateful for every volunteer, including members, colleagues, and friends, who provided assistance to ensure that everyone would be able to hold on to pleasant memories. Remember to keep your copy of the ACBT Conference/Convention Program Book. Larry Johnson of San Antonio contributed much of the work involved in producing this book. The ads submitted by sponsors are resources you can access and benefit from throughout the year. Funds acquired through this venture will truly make a difference.
Please join me in expressing appreciation for the efforts of Olivia Chavez of El Paso and Dennis Sims of Austin as they led the exciting and educational opportunities experienced by students who participated in the Youth Advantage Program activities. Special thanks to the DARS/DBS Transition Specialist, Transition Counselors, parents, and sponsors who assisted in the success achieved. Appreciation is extended to the conference/convention guest speakers and facilitators of workshops, especially those who presented during the Resources and Services for Seniors workshop that placed an emphasis on strengthening and promoting independence of our senior members through the Senior Advantage Program. These workshops are only the beginning of what we plan to do to meet the needs of all our members in a greater way.
Congratulations to the 2015 award and scholarship recipients acknowledged during the annual awards breakfast, and our newly elected Directors, Andrew De Avila of El Paso and Ken Sparks of Buda.
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Please inform me of your interest in serving on one of our standing committees in support of the betterment of our organization. Let’s keep in touch. Write or call me with any questions, concerns, or ideas. My email address is and my desk phone number is 409-866-5838. Enjoy the upcoming holiday season with family and friends!
Membership Updates Peggy R. Garrett
Yes, it is that time of year again! While we are beginning to see some cooler weather and to look forward to the upcoming holidays, it also is time to renew your ACBT membership.
We tried to hold some membership conference calls this year, but due to everyone’s extremely busy schedules, we weren’t able to make it happen. However, we will be scheduling calls in the coming months to help chapters and special interest affiliates with recruiting and retaining members. Stay tuned for updates!
Tales from the Treasurer Sheila Derrick
I hope all of you have recovered from the excitement of the conference in Corpus Christi. It was a great experience. I want to thank all of you who supported the 2015 auction, both with your donations and your purchases. We raised almost $1,800.00 for ACBT. Great job everyone and many thanks to our volunteers for their time and dedication!
It is now time to begin renewing ACBT memberships and bringing in those new members. Dues are as follows: local chapters pay $7.00 per member and $3.00 for junior members aged 13-18, at-large members pay $10.00, and special interest affiliates with ACBT (Library Users of America-Texas, Braille Revival League of Texas, and Guide Dog Users of Texas) pay $2.00 for each member. I would like to encourage each of these special affiliate members also to participate in ACBT as a member
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of a local chapter or as an at-large member.
Current membership rolls will be sent to each chapter treasurer in December. This should make it easier to make changes and add new members. (Remember, new members can
be added any time during the year.) Because of the ACB deadline of March 15 for certifying affiliate membership for the national convention, corrected rolls must be returned by February 15, 2016. The following information is needed for each member: name, address, phone number, Braille Forum format (large print, cassette, Braille, or email), The Texas Star format (large print, CD, or email), vision status (totally blind, legally blind, vision impaired, or fully sighted), and email address. Please encourage all members with email access to please opt to receive their publication via email as this helps reduce printing and recording costs.
If you have any questions, please contact me: Sheila Derrick, ACBT Treasurer, 309 Paloverde Ln., Fort Worth, TX 76112; 817-507-3964; .
ACBT 2015 Conference/Convention
Peggy R. Garett, Conference/Convention Coordinator
The Holiday Inn Downtown Marina, located in Corpus Christi, Texas, was the site of the American Council of the Blind of Texas 2015 Conference/Convention. The hotel was conveniently located in the Marina District of Downtown Corpus Christi overlooking the bay.
There were more than 200 attendees and twenty-four vendors in attendance this year. Attendees were offered a variety of sessions including Fraud/Identity Theft, How to Be a Smart Traveler, Resources for Seniors, Best Practices for Effective Communication, Sounding the Trumpet: Leadership Training, Social Ballroom Dancing sessions, and much more.
There were two tours on Friday. The first tour was an audio described tour at the Texas State Aquarium which included lunch.
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The second was a dinner tour aboard the USS Lexington. We express much appreciation to the South Texas Lighthouse Foundation for their very generous sponsorship which helped to keep the cost down and make it affordable for our attendees.
In addition to the Saturday luncheon and opening session, we also held the annual banquet. The keynote speaker was Alana Manrow, Director of Public Affairs and Development with the South Texas Lighthouse for the Blind. The banquet was followed by the auction where attendees picked up some great bargains, thanks to the generous donations from our local chapters and members.
On Sunday morning, we held the Awards Breakfast. The following awards were presented:
ACBT Ed & Linda Bradley First Timer Award-
Miguel Palomar of El Paso
Who’s Who Among Blind Texans Award-
Dr. Gene I. Brooks of Austin
Rev. Michael E. Garrett, Missouri City
We held our annual business meeting and elections. Congratulations to the newly elected board members, Andrew De Avila from El Paso and Ken B.Sparks from Buda.
We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the hotel staff who went above and beyond to help make this a successful event for all of our attendees. Thanks to everyone who joined us in Corpus Christi. We look forward to meeting you next year in Austin for the 38th Annual Conference/Convention of the American Council of the Blind of Texas.
ACBT Scholarship Program Cynthia Julun
The American Council of the Blind of Texas (ACBT) Scholarship Committee, consisting of Rosalyn Benavides of San Antonio, Michelle Boyd of Tyler, Michael Garrett of Missouri City, Jan Gray of Fort Worth, and Warren Julun of Beaumont, was honored to have the opportunity to present scholarships to three
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well-deserving recipients at the annual conference/convention. Leanne Ireland, a native of Houston, Texas, was presented the Carolyn Garrett Scholarship. Kathryn Hurd, a resident of Austin, Texas, received the Randy and Viola Greene Scholarship. Holly Weston is from Lewisville, Texas, and she was awarded the Durward K. McDaniel Scholarship. Thank you to each committee member for their assistance, diligence, support, and willingness to serve.
Resolutions Report Bob Bartlett
The Resolutions Committee had a quiet year for 2015 as only three resolutions were handled. The first resolution had to do with encouraging use of the Nemeth Code for teaching math in Braille today. The other two resolutions were "thank-you" type resolutions, thanking the hotel and staff, as well as thanking volunteers who helped so much.
My thanks to LouAnn Williams, Ed Bradley, and Chris Prentice for their work on the committee this year.
ACBT Advocacy Services/Legislation Committee Paul Hunt
In the last Texas Star article, I told you that the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 208 which transfers all of our programs, with the exception of the blind children's program and the Blindness Education Screening and Training (BEST) program, to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC.) The legislature also passed House Bill 2463 which requires the state to contract Independent Living Services to the Centers for Independent Living (CILS).
Finally, they established the Health and Human Services Transition Legislative Oversight Committee to oversee the transition. This committee is composed of four senators, four representatives, and three members appointed by the Governor.
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Several of us applied for positions on the committee, but none of us were selected. I am checking to find out how we can participate in the activities and meetings of the oversight committee and will pass the information along on the ACBT email list.
The Division of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) and the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) are creating transition plans. As part of the planning process, they conducted seven public hearings across Texas and received oral and written testimony. These hearings were completed on September 18. Many of you participated in the process and we really appreciate your efforts. After the Transition plan is written, DARS and TWC will conduct additional public hearings. We will post additional information on the ACBT email list when it is available.
We had a successful ACBT state convention in Corpus Christi on September 17-20. I appreciate the work done by Peggy Garrett and the Convention Committee. On September 19, the Advocacy Committee conducted an advocacy workshop. During this workshop, we updated the participants on our work. We then reviewed several scenarios and explored steps that people can take to advocate for themselves based on the scenarios. This workshop focused on solving problems in the real world.
Alamo Council Rosalyn Benavides
The only problem with the 2015 ACBT Conference was that it went by too fast! The two high points for us were listening to our banquet speaker, Alana Manrow, Director of Public Affairs for the South Texas Lighthouse, and having Alamo Council’s Jose Rangel receive an ACBT Leadership Award recognizing him for his many contributions.
Ms. Manrow spoke movingly about her journey from the time she was diagnosed with her eye disease to when she realized that the answer is not about recovering lost vision, but in working to help others. She said a lot in a few minutes.
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Back home in San Antonio, our three visually impaired scholarship winners happily received their checks which totaled four thousand dollars. They were Natalie Watkins, a UTSA student studying counseling; Nicholas Garcia, attending Texas State University studying Audio Visual Technology; and Lily Campbell, a Texas A&M student studying Meteorology. Congratulations to our winners and to LouAnn Williams, Scholarship Committee Chair!
Let me give an update on our sensitivity training with the Star Shuttle paratransit drivers. The experience is enjoyable and the feedback forms we get back are gratifying. We calculated that since mid-March to mid-September, we met with 124 drivers. And, on a scale of 1 (poor) to 4 (very good), we got 117 or 94% very goods. Just had to mention this. Thanks to the very good trainers and to Donna McBee who does a great job as chair of this project. Cheers!!
Dallas Area Council Ana Russo
Greetings from Dallas. Conferences, aren't they a kick? Being the host committee for ACB's national conference involved lots of work, but the experience of meeting and greeting ACB folks from across our country and beyond was well worth the effort. A few of us from DACB traveled to Corpus Christi to our ACBT conference and this, too, was a special treat. It is always a pleasure to reconnect with all our statewide friends.
Becky Collier has again taken over the reins as DACB President. We will now be holding our monthly meetings at The Midway Point in Dallas as the Black-Eyed Pea location that we were using has closed its doors.
Temperatures are slowly inching down into a comfortable place as we move into the busy last quarter of the year. Membership renewal time will introduce Ted Harper to his First Vice Presidential duties as he steps into Becky Collier’s prior position. On October 15 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, we will
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celebrate White Cane Day together with other local organizations that advocate for the blind. We walk around City Hall, enjoy a box lunch, and listen to the presentations. DACB's speaker for the month of October will be Rose Mary Rumbley, who gave a colorfully humorous history of the founding of the city of Dallas at the ACB National Conference. We invited her back to finish the story as she had only been allocated 20 minutes. The plans for our Christmas Party are still in the works, but it will be held at the Bread Winners Restaurant.
El Paso Council Dianna Carter
Greetings from EPCB! It was good to spend time with everyone at our ACBT Convention. Thank you again to everyone for hosting such a great event. We would like to congratulate Andrew De Avila for his election as an ACBT Director. Also, congratulations to Miguel Palomar for receiving the Ed and Linda Bradley First Timer Award. Great job, guys!