Podcasts about business enterprise program

In episode 284 of iCantCU, I talk about another hiccup with my psoriatic arthritis meds—this time, the pharmacy wanted over two grand out of pocket. Spoiler: I said no. Taltz has helped a bit, but not $2,000-a-month helpful. So now I'm back on the hunt for something else that won't break the bank or mess me up with scary side effects. I also share some sad news: we lost Stan Ingram, a fellow blind entrepreneur in the Business Enterprise Program here in PA. That means one less BEP operator and a big question mark about what happens to his spot. Plus, my friend Ken's dad passed, and I send love to his family. It's been a rough week. I share the fact that my other podcast, White Canes Connect, is currently ranked #19 on the 100 Best Visually Impaired Podcasts! So much for the false rumors being spread about the show. We've got a Keystone Chapter fundraiser coming up on April 29 at Landmark Americana in Philly. Print the flyer and bring your appetite. I'll be there around 1 p.m. for lunch—come say hi. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/284 Links Mentioned (product links are affiliate links so that I may earn a commission.) Ray-Ban Meta Glasses, Wayfarer: https://amzn.to/42EU0Sy Keystone Chapter Landmark Americana fundraiser flyer: https://nfbofpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Sip-Savor-Support-FINAL-TROY.pdf White Canes Connect one of the 100 Best Visually Impaired Podcasts: https://traffic.libsyn.com/whitecanesconnect/white_canes_connect_132_post.mp3 Federation Focus on the NFB of PA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@nfbofpa I edit the show with Descript and love it!: https://www.iCantCU.com/descript/ Attend the Blind Merchants Spring Fling Blind Vendor Showcase: https:www.pablindmerchants.org/fling/ If you are a blind entrepreneur and would like exhibit at the Spring Fling: https://www.pablindmerchants.org/exhibit/ Be a sponsor of Spring Fling: https://www.pablindmerchants.org/sponsor/ Be My Eyes app (free): https://www.bemyeyes.com/  Seeing AI app (free): https://www.seeingai.com/  Index of That Real Blind Tech Show episodes: https://www.icantcu.com/trbts/  Watch iCantCU episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iCantCU Support iCantCU When shopping at Amazon, I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast Episode 129 In episode 132 of White Canes Connect, hosts Michelle McManus and David Goldstein welcome Shawn Welker, founder of Visual Eyes Access, a low-cost visual interpreting service with a unique approach. Shawn shares how his background in accessibility and mobility training gives him a deeper understanding of blind users' needs, setting his service apart from other platforms like Aira and Be My Eyes. Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709  Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI YouTube Https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast My Podcast Gear Here is all my gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sony ZV-E10 camera : https://amzn.to/4fFBSxM  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Follow iCantCU on your favorite podcast directory! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/icantcu-podcast/id1445801370/  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3nck2D5HgD9ckSaUQaWwW2  Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/iCantCU-Podcast-Podcast/B08JJM26BT  IHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-icantcu-podcast-31157111/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/davidbenj  Reach out on social media Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/davidbenj Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidbenj Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidbenj LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbenj Are You or Do You Know A Blind Boss? If you or someone you know is crushing it in their field and is also blind, I want to hear from you! Call me at (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Please include your name and town, and tell me who the Blind Boss is and why I need to have them on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.

In this episode of iCantCU, I share a jaw-dropping moment when the director of a Pennsylvania state agency called me a four-letter word. Yes, really. It all ties back to my ongoing fight for transparency and inclusion in the Business Enterprise Program (BEP), which provides blind entrepreneurs with opportunities to run vending and food service businesses on government properties. Despite promises of reopening the program, Pennsylvania hasn't trained a new blind vendor in over five years. With the number of operators dwindling from 200 to just 20, and many nearing retirement, the program's future is in jeopardy. I break down the bureaucratic roadblocks, potential conflicts of interest, and the resistance to allowing public attendance at key meetings—including my own. I also discuss the upcoming PA Association of Blind Merchants Spring Fling on May 17 in Harrisburg. It's a chance to support blind entrepreneurs, network, and raise awareness. Tickets are available now! Blind entrepreneurs exhibit opportunities and sponsorship opportunities are also available. See all the links below in the Links Mentioned section. I tease my recent trip to Baltimore and a behind-the-scenes look at my OnlyFans page… I'm not kidding. Tune in for the full story! Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/282   Links Mentioned (product links are affiliate links so that I may earn a commission.) Ziggy loves this ball and your dog will too! : https://amzn.to/3ZpuLTO I edit the show with Descript and love it!: https://www.iCantCU.com/descript/ Attend the Blind Merchants Spring Fling Blind Vendor Showcase: https:www.pablindmerchants.org/fling/ If you are a blind entrepreneur and would like exhibit at the Spring Fling: https://www.pablindmerchants.org/exhibit/ Be a sponsor of Spring Fling: https://www.pablindmerchants.org/sponsor/ Be My Eyes app (free): https://www.bemyeyes.com/  Seeing AI app (free): https://www.seeingai.com/  Index of That Real Blind Tech Show episodes: https://www.icantcu.com/trbts/  Watch iCantCU episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iCantCU Support iCantCU When shopping at Amazon, I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast Episode 127 In Episode 127  of White Canes Connect, Lisa Bryant and I welcome Stacie Leap and Marva Hall from the Pennsylvania Organization of Blind Parents. This newly chartered division of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania  is only the second of its kind in the entire NFB, marking a historic moment for blind parents nationwide. Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709  Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI YouTube Https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast White Canes Connect On Twitter Https://www.twitter.com/PABlindPodcast My Podcast Gear Here is all my gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sony ZV-E10 camera : https://amzn.to/4fFBSxM  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Follow iCantCU on your favorite podcast directory! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/icantcu-podcast/id1445801370/  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3nck2D5HgD9ckSaUQaWwW2  Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/iCantCU-Podcast-Podcast/B08JJM26BT  IHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-icantcu-podcast-31157111/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/davidbenj  Reach out on social media Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/davidbenj Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidbenj Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidbenj LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbenj Are You or Do You Know A Blind Boss? If you or someone you know is crushing it in their field and is also blind, I want to hear from you! Call me at (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Please include your name and town, and tell me who the Blind Boss is and why I need to have them on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.

In episode 271 of iCantCU, I talk about two state-level meetings I attended and the adventure of navigating a new train station without any help from Amtrak. First up was an OVR meeting where, despite being focused on disabilities, they had nothing accessible for blind folks—no Braille, no large print, nothing. Frustrating, but not surprising. I also attended a BEP meeting, where the training program has been on hold for over four years. It was disheartening to hear there's no clear timeline for reopening, especially since blind people rely on these opportunities to run businesses. On the travel side, I figured out the Paoli train station on my own, got to Harrisburg, and had a much better hotel experience than last time. Plus, I talk about my fantasy football leagues (still holding on!) and preview the upcoming NFB of PA state convention in Erie. It's a packed episode, so stick with me, and as always, thanks for listening! Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/271  Links Mentioned (product links are affiliate links so that I may earn a commission.) Sony ZV-E10 camera : https://amzn.to/4fFBSxM  Crunchy Peanut Butter Kind Bars - YUM!: https://amzn.to/4cYfm0E  Be My Eyes app (free): https://www.bemyeyes.com/  Seeing AI app (free): https://www.seeingai.com/  Watch episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iCantCU Support iCantCU When shopping at Amazon, I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast Episode 110 In episode 110, co-host Lisa Bryant and I gear up for the upcoming National Federation of the Blind  of Pennsylvania State Convention, which will be held from November 7–10, 2024, in Erie, PA. The episode features an insightful conversation with Lynn Heitz, NFB of Pennsylvania's president, and Tracy Soforenko, NFB of Virginia president and national representative for the event. Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709  Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI YouTube Https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast White Canes Connect On Twitter Https://www.twitter.com/PABlindPodcast My Podcast Gear Here is all my gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Follow iCantCU on your favorite podcast directory! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/icantcu-podcast/id1445801370/  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3nck2D5HgD9ckSaUQaWwW2  Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/iCantCU-Podcast-Podcast/B08JJM26BT  IHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-icantcu-podcast-31157111/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/davidbenj  Reach out on social media Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/davidbenj Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidbenj Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidbenj LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbenj Are You or Do You Know A Blind Boss? If you or someone you know is crushing it in their field and is also blind, I want to hear from you! Call me at (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Please include your name and town, and tell me who the Blind Boss is and why I need to have them on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.

In this episode of iCantCU, I share some exciting updates and stories. First, I want to thank Renee, Dan, and Alex for supporting the NFB of Pennsylvania April raffle. It's been a fun ride with tickets at $5 each, offering everyone a chance to win daily throughout April. Getting those tickets out, especially to our visually impaired friends, has been a journey involving some creative solutions and a little help from technology. In this episode, I also share my recent travels and experiences, starting with a leadership seminar in State College, PA. This year's seminar took a fresh approach with committee meetings and a strong focus on team building, which I found incredibly valuable. A personal highlight was a visit to the Berkey Creamery—if you ever find yourself in State College, their ice cream is a must-try. Then, there was the Business Enterprise Program (BEP) meeting in Harrisburg. It's been eye-opening to discuss the slow progress and challenges within the program, particularly around training. It's clear there's a lot of work to be done, and I'm hopeful for improvements in the future. Throughout the episode, I sprinkle in personal anecdotes, like my father's lottery number superstitions and the adventures of navigating public transportation as a visually impaired person. These stories add a bit of humor and light-heartedness to our journey together. Thanks for tuning in to episode 260 of the iCantCU podcast. Your support means the world to me, and I look forward to sharing more stories, insights, and laughs with you in future episodes.Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/260     Links Mentioned Buy raffle tickets to support the NFB of PA! Tickets are $5. Email iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com  Find this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iCantCU No-jab Ambutech White Cane: https://amzn.to/3NKpD5J The new BenQ PD3420Q monitor I bought for my new Mac mini: https://amzn.to/4bAcOGv  Amtrak code mentioned: V819. Call (800) USA-Rail to book NFB White Cane Program: https://nfb.org/programs-services/free-white-cane-program  Support iCantCU When shopping at Amazon, I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast Episode 098 In episode 098, Lisa and I have an engaging conversation on low vision awareness. The episode featured insights from Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapists Lachelle Smith from Salus University and Steve Kelley from Hadley, alongside Pam Baquaro, a blind vendor and President of the Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants.    Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709  Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI IHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-white-canes-connect-89603482/ YouTube Https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast White Canes Connect On Twitter Https://www.twitter.com/PABlindPodcast My Podcast Gear Here is all my gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Follow iCantCU on your favorite podcast directory! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/icantcu-podcast/id1445801370/  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3nck2D5HgD9ckSaUQaWwW2  Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/iCantCU-Podcast-Podcast/B08JJM26BT  IHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-icantcu-podcast-31157111/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/davidbenj  Reach out on social media Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/davidbenj Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidbenj Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidbenj LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbenj Are You or Do You Know A Blind Boss? If you or someone you know is crushing it in their field and is also blind, I want to hear from you! Call me at (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Please include your name and town, and tell me who the Blind Boss is and why I need to have them on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.

In this episode of White Canes Connect, presented by the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania and hosted by Lisa Bryant and David Goldstein, listeners are treated to an enlightening conversation on living with low vision, commemorating February as Low Vision Awareness Month. The episode featured insights from Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapists Lachelle Smith from Salus University and Steve Kelley from Hadley, alongside Pam Baquaro, a blind vendor and President of the Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants. The discussion highlighted the challenges and misconceptions those with low vision face, particularly the spectrum of visual impairment that often goes unrecognized by the sighted community. The guests shared their personal and professional experiences, emphasizing the importance of awareness, education, and tools and technologies to navigate life with low vision. Key takeaways included the critical role of early and regular eye examinations, the value of connecting with vocational rehabilitation services, and the empowering impact of assistive technology. The conversation also underscored the importance of advocacy and support networks. Pam Baquaro shared her journey as a visually impaired entrepreneur, demonstrating that vision loss is not a barrier to achieving one's goals. This episode of White Canes Connect sheds light on the realities of living with low vision. It celebrates the resilience and capabilities of the low-vision community, encouraging listeners to seek support, embrace adaptive solutions, and live fully despite visual challenges. Show notes at https://www.whitecanesconnect.com/098  Links & Phone Numbers Mentioned Foundation Fighting Blindness website: https://www.fightingblindness.org/  White Canes Connect Episode 057 about Foundation Fighting Blindness: https://whitecanesconnect.libsyn.com/a-conversation-with-michelle-glaze-eric-bennardo-from-the-foundation-fighting-blindness  Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services: https://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Disability-Services/bbvs/Pages/default.aspx  APH Connect Center Phone Number: (800) 232-5463  Webinars from Freedom Scientific: https://www.freedomscientific.com/training/  Contact Lachelle Smith Lachelle Smith is a Professor at Salus University and operates a non-profit called Blind Blessings Inc. Contact Lachelle via email at lasmith@salus.edu or (215) 266-5020 via phone.  Contact Steve Kelley Steve Kelley has been at Hadley for five years. Contact him via email at stevenk@hadleyhelps.org. Call him at (800) 323-4238. Check out Steve's website at https://hadleyhelps.org/. Learn more about Hadley at https://www.hadleyhelps.org.  Contact Pam Baquero Pam Baquero is a vendor in the Business Enterprise Program and President of the Pennsylvania Association Of Blind Merchants. Contact Pam via email at oneblindhippie@yahoo.com. Call or text her at (215) 200-3696. An Easy Way to Help the NFB of PA Support the NFB of PA with every purchase at White Cane Coffee Company by going to https://www.whitecanecoffee.com/ref/nfbp. When you use that link to purchase from White Cane Coffee, the NFB of PA earns a 10% commission! Share the link with your family and friends! Listen to Erin and Bob Willman from White Cane Coffee on episode 072 of White Canes Connect. Donate to the NFB of PA If you want to donate to the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania, go to https://www.NFBofPA.org/give/. Give Us A Call We'd love to hear from you! We've got a phone number for you to call, ask us questions, give us feedback, or say, "Hi!" Call us at (267) 338-4495. You have up to three minutes for your message, and we might use it on an upcoming episode. Please leave your name and town as part of your message.  Follow White Canes Connect Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube Connect With Us If you've got questions, comments, or ideas, reach out on Twitter. We are @PABlindPodcast. You can also email us at WhiteCanesConnect@gmail.com.  

Welcome to our January 2024 monthly Digest: a monthly newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania! The events and information listed below will be within the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania and any pertinent information from the National Federation of the Blind and the Pennsylvania blind community. If you or anyone you know have any upcoming events or information that can pertain to the blind community in Pennsylvania, please send them to Stacie Leap at nfb.stacie@gmail.com by the 27th of the month so it can be added to our calendar for the following month.   Editor's Note Hello all: I do apologize that December 2023's edition never came out. I was experiencing some hardships and had to remove myself from certain obligations. Thank you to those who checked on me and kept me in their thoughts and prayers.   On a happier note, the Monthly Digest is one year old! We started this monthly newsletter in January 2023, and it was a pleasure sharing all of this information with everybody! I have received many emails with positive feedback and am glad people are reading this newsletter. That was a fear of mine: that people would not read this newsletter and delete it. However, I am happy that people are engaging with the newsletter. Thank you all!  - Stacie Leap     A Message from our State Affiliate President   Dear Members and Friends, Happy New Year! It was wonderful spending time with you at our recent State Convention in November 2023. We had record registration, record attendance at the Banquet and the Possibilities Fair, and an overflowing Exhibit Hall. The feedback I have received about the programming has been overwhelmingly positive.  Thank you to the many hands, hearts, and minds that went into putting this together!!! Looking forward to wonderful things in 2024! Sincerely, Lynn Heitz President, National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania president@NFBOfPA.org   Google Calendar Links   The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania also has a Google Calendar that can be viewed either through the web or subscribed to your calendar apps. You can view the calendar at www.NFBofPA.org/calendar. However, if you wish to subscribe to the calendar and get the events on your calendar apps, please Subscribe and go through the steps to subscribe:   Member Spotlight: David Goldstein   Each month, we will highlight someone within our affiliate. The goal is to allow us to learn about other members within the affiliate. We hope you enjoy this little spotlight! David Goldstein was recently elected as the First Vice President of our state affiliate during our 2023 State Convention! He is also the Treasurer of the Keystone Chapter and Treasurer of the Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants. He is also one of the hosts of White Canes Connect, our official state affiliate podcast. In addition, he is also our web coordinator of our new affiliate website: www.nfbofpa.org. If you do not think that is enough, he is the President of Digital Graphics Design, LLC. David is a father of two adult children and a dog dad to Ziggy, a golden retriever. He is into technology and has his own podcast, iCantCU, where he chronicles his life and the different activities he is involved in. In his own words, “iCantCU sounds like a sentence, but it is only 7 letters long. It is like blind people for dummies.” If you ever get a chance to meet David, do not forget to say, “Hello!”   Calendar of Events   The following events are also on our Google calendar with the Zoom information or meeting location. If anyone within a chapter, division, or group sees any errors or misinformation, please contact Stacie Leap at nfb.stacie@gmail.com   The below information is correct as of the first week of the month. The information is most up-to-date on the Google Calendar. Please check back periodically to ensure the correct information is correct.   Coffee with the State President and Board   This monthly discussion meeting brings everybody together to get to know the state affiliate board members and the happenings within the state's divisions, chapters, and advocacy efforts. This meeting is typically held on the 1st Wednesday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with State President Lynn Heitz at president@nfbofpa.org Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 7:30 PM.    Jigsaw Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who do not have a local chapter in their geographical area. This is our at-large chapter Meetings. This meeting is typically held on the first Saturday of the month. Saturday, January 6, 2024 at 10 AM   Deaf Blind Division Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who consider themselves Deaf Blind and their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the second Monday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Division President Chris Westbrook at westbchris@gmail.com Monday, January 8, 2024 at 6 PM.   Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants (PABM) Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who are or wish to be involved with the Business Enterprise Program, entrepreneurship, and their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the second Wednesday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Division President Pamela Baquero at oneblindhippie@yahoo.com  Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 6 PM.   Greater Berks Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Berks County of Pennsylvania. This meeting is typically held on the second Friday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Chapter President Rosemary Freedman at dogguide.winston@icloud.com Friday, January 12, 2024 at 10 AM.   Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. This includes Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and the surrounding areas. This meeting is typically held on the second Saturday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Chapter President Cheryl Frazier at cherylnfrazier@yahoo.com Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 10 AM.   Keystone Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Philadelphia area. The other chapter is the Greater Philadelphia Chapter. This meeting is typically held on the second Saturday of the month at the Penn Museum. For more information, please get in touch with Chapter President Harriet Go at goharriet00@hotmail.com Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 10:15 AM.   Happy Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in or surrounding State College, Pennsylvania. This meeting is typically held on the second Saturday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Chapter President Michelle McManus at michelleandremy@gmail.com Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 1 PM.   Diabetes Action Network (DAN) Group Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who have diabetes, pre-diabetes, or are at risk for developing diabetes. This group typically meets on the third Monday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Group Chair Christine Palmer at tinybuchanan1204@gmail.com Monday, January 15, 2024, at 7 PM.   Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children (PAOPBC) Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for parents of blind children and their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the third Tuesday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Division President Emily Gindlesperger at vp2@nfbp.org Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at 1 PM.   Pittsburgh Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Pittsburgh area. This meeting is typically held on the third Wednesday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Chapter Revitalizing Team Members Emily Gindlesperger at vp2@nfbp.org or Denice Brown at dbrown8827@aol.com Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 6 PM.   Capital Area Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Harrisburg area. This meeting is typically held on the third Saturday of the month. For More Information, please get in touch with Chapter President Jason Polanski at jaedpo96@gmail.com Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 10 AM.   Erie County Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in Erie County, Pennsylvania. This meeting is typically held on the third Saturday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Connie Scheu at conniej1250@gmail.com Saturday, January 20, 2024, at 2 PM.   Blind Parents Group Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for blind parents, grandparents, and their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the third Saturday of the month. For more information, please contact Group Chair Stacie Leap at Stacie.leap@gmail.com. Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 7 PM.   Pennsylvania Association of Blind Students (PABS) Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for blind students of all ages and their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the fourth Monday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Division President Simon Bonenfant at sbonenfant2@gmail.com Monday, January 22, 2024 at 7 PM.   Blind Seniors Group Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who are seniors or almost seniors as well as their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the fourth Wednesday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Group Chair Connie Scheu at conniej1250@gmail.com Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at 7:30 PM.   Brandywine Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Brandywine Valley area of PA. This meeting is typically held on the fourth Saturday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Chapter President Lynn Heitz at president@nfbofpa.org Saturday, January 27, 2024 at 10 AM.   Greater Philadelphia Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Philadelphia area. The other chapter is the Keystone Chapter. This meeting is typically held on the fourth Saturday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Chapter President Denice Brown at dbrown8827@aol.com Saturday, January 27, 2024 at 10 AM.    Pennsylvania Association of Guide Dog Users (PAGDU) Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who have or are considering getting a guide dog and their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the fourth Saturday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Division President Becca Weber at weberbecca630@gmail.com Saturday, January 27, 2024 at 4 PM.   White Canes Connect Podcast   Did you know the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania has a podcast? It is hosted by members David Goldstein and Lisa Bryant, as well as some guest hosts. It features interviews with our PA members and interviews and resources for the blind community. The monthly Digest is also on the podcast for those who wish to hear a human's voice instead of a screen reader. You can listen to it wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, IHeartRadio, and YouTube @PABlindPodcast. Contact White Canes Connect at whitecanesconnect@gmail.com if you have any show ideas or wish to be on the podcast.   State Convention 2023   We had our state convention in November 2023 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Here are some highlights!  We had 28 people register for our Senior Possibilities Fair. This was our 2nd year having it at the convention, and this was our highest number of registrants! 10 people attended the state convention as a first-timer! Welcome to our NFB of pA family! A total of 125 people registered for the convention! We had our state board elections, and the following people have been elected: President: Lynn Heitz First Vice President: David Goldstein Second Vice President: Emily Gindlesperger Secretary: Harriet Go Treasurer: Brian Mackey Board Director: Denice Brown Board Director: Kirk Hunger Board Director: Michelle McManus   Diabetes Action Network (DAN) Group formed in Pennsylvania!   We are delighted to have a new group join our NFB of PA family! This group, Diabetes Action Network (DAN), aims to educate and provide peer support for those living with diabetes or for those who are at risk for developing diabetes. The group plans to meet quarterly on the second Monday of the month at 7 PM. For more information, please get in touch with the Group Chair, Christine Palmer, at tinybuchanan1204@gmail.com   Washington Seminar 2024   At our Washington Seminar, members of the National Federation of the Blind convene to learn about and advocate for legislative initiatives that will improve the lives of blind Americans. Dates: Monday, January 29 through Thursday, February 1, 2024 Location: Holiday Inn Washington Capitol – National Mall 550 C Street, SW Washington, DC 20024   If you want more information on what the NFB of PA is doing regarding Washington Seminar, please get in touch with our Legislative Director, Emily Gindlesperger, at vp2@nfbp.org   For more information on Washington Seminar, please visit www.nfbofpa.org/washington-seminar.   Shout-Outs and Announcements!   Birthday Wishes   The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania wishes all those born in December & January a very happy birthday!   Fundraisers   Blind Parents Group T-Shirts Fundraiser   The T-shirts come in either black with white lettering or white with black lettering. Both shirts say “I Support #BlindParents” with the NFB of PA Logo and “Blind Parents Group” at the bottom. Funds raised will start a financial fund to assist blind or visually impaired parents and their families through financial life hardships. To purchase a t-shirt, please contact Stacie Leap at nfb.stacie@gmail.com   NFB Pledge   I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind; to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.   NFB Message   The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams.   Many thanks to everybody for all they do within the Federation!   Thanks!   the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania team www.nfbofpa.org  

Hello everybody!   Welcome to our September 2023 monthly Digest: a monthly newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania!   The events and information listed below will be within the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania as well as any pertinent information from the National Federation of the Blind and the Pennsylvania blind community.   If you or anyone you know have any upcoming events or information that can pertain to the blind community in Pennsylvania, please send them to Stacie Leap at nfb.stacie@gmail.com  by the 27th of the month so it an be added to our calendar for the following month.       For those using screen readers, you can use your heading navigations to skip around the email.     A Message from our State Affiliate President   Happy September Federation Family!   It is hard to believe that State Convention is 2 months away.  Our National Representative this year is Pam Allen, 1st Vice President of the NFB. There is only a short time to register for the Convention at the Early Bird price.  On September 15, the registration increases to $25.  Register early and save!   Looking forward to speaking with you on Coffee with The President on Wednesday, September 6 at 7:30PM!       - Lynn Heitz   President, National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania   president@NFBOfPA.org      Google Calendar Links    The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania also has a Google Calendar that can be viewed either through the web or subscribed to your calendar apps.   You can view the calendar without subscribing to it and view it on your web browser by going to NFBofPA.org/calendar/.  However, if you wish to subscribe to the calendar and get the events on your calendar apps, please click Subscribe link in the show notes and go through the steps to subscribe:     Member Spotlight: Angelina Angelcyk    Each month, we will highlight someone within our affiliate. The goal is to allow other members to learn about other members within the affiliate. We hope you enjoy this little spotlight!       Angelina Angelcyk serves as one of our board members for the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania. Serving as the youngest board member, she is the student representative. Angelina is a senior of her high school in the Greater Pittsburgh area. You might recognize her name and voice at many NFB events, both nationally and locally. She showcases her piano skills and singing ability at the annual Piano Bar that is hosted by the student division. She is a part of a band, Spectrum, and recently performed alongside Pittsburgh musician Norman Mardini. A woman of many talents, she performed as Rafiki from the Lion King at the Geyer Performing Arts Center in July 2023. She also sings at many events and sells Sachets during our state convention. If you ever get a chance to meet Angelina, do not forget to say, “Hello!”      Calendar of Events    The following events are also on our Google calendar with the Zoom information or meeting location. If anyone within a chapter, division, or group see any errors or misinformation, please contact Stacie Leap at nfb.stacie@gmail.com       The below information is correct as of the first week of the month. The information is most up-to-date on the Google Calendar so please check back periodically to ensure the right information.      Jigsaw Chapter monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for those who do not have a local chapter in their geographical area. This is our at-large chapter Meetings This meeting is typically held on the 1st Saturday of the month.   Saturday, September 2, 2023 at 10 AM      Coffee with the State President and Board   This monthly discussion meeting brings everybody together to get to know the state affiliate board members and the happenings within the state's divisions, chapters, and advocacy efforts. This meeting is typically held the 1st Wednesday of the month.   Wednesday, September 6, 2023 at 7:30 PM      Greater Berks Chapter Monthly Meeting    A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Berks County of Pennsylvania This meeting is typically held on the 2nd Friday of the month.   Friday, September 8, 2023 at 10 AM       Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting    A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.  This includes Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and the surrounding areas. This meeting is typically held on the 2nd Saturday of the month.   Saturday, September 9, 2023 at 10 AM       Keystone Chapter Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for those who live in the Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Philadelphia area. The other chapter is the Greater Philadelphia Chapter. This meeting is typically held on the 2nd Saturday of the month.   Saturday, September 9, 2023 at 10:15 AM      Happy Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting     A monthly meeting for those who live in or surrounding State College, Pennsylvania.  This meeting is typically held on the 2nd Saturday of the month.   Saturday, September 9, 2023 at 1:00 PM     Board of Directors Quarterly Meeting   This meeting is the quarterly meeting for the board of directors. Only those in the board can make motions and vote but all are invited to be a part of the meeting.   Sunday, September 10, 2023 at 7:30 PM      Deaf Blind Division Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for those who consider themselves to be Deaf Blind and their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the 2nd Monday of the month.   Monday, September 11, 2023 at 6:00 PM       Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants (PABM) Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for those who are or wish to be involved with the Business Enterprise Program, entrepreneurship, and their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the 2nd Wednesday of the month.   Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 6:00 PM       Capital Area Chapter Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Harrisburg area. This meeting is typically held on the 3rd Saturday of the month.   Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 10:00 AM       Erie County Chapter Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for those who live in Erie County Pennsylvania. This meeting is typically held on the 3rd Saturday of the month.   Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 2:00 PM       Blind Parents Group Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for blind parents, grandparents, and their supporters This meeting is typically held on the 3rd Saturday of the month.   Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 7:00 PM      Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children (PAOPBC) Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for parents of blind children and their supporters This meeting is typically held on the 3rd Tuesday of the month.   Tuesday, September 19, 2023 at 1:00 PM       Pittsburgh Chapter Monthly Meeting    A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Pittsburgh area. This meeting is typically held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month.   Wednesday, September 20, 2023 at 6:00 PM      Greater Philadelphia Chapter Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for those who live in the Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Philadelphia area.  The other chapter is the Keystone Chapter. This meeting is typically held on the 4th Saturday of the month.   Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 10:00 AM      Brandywine Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for those who live in the Brandywine Valley area of PA. This meeting is typically held on the 4th Saturday of the month.   Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 10:00 AM      Pennsylvania Association of Guide Dog Users (PAGDU) Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for those who have or are considering getting a guide dog as well as their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the 4th Saturday of the month.   Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 4:00 PM      Pennsylvania Association of Blind Students (PABS) Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for blind students of all ages and their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the 4th Monday of the month.   Monday, September 25, 2023 at 7:00 PM      Blind Seniors Group Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for those who are seniors or almost seniors as well as their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the 4th Wednesday of the month.   Wednesday, September 27, 2023 at 7:30 PM      White Canes Connect Podcast    Did you know that the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania has a podcast? It is hosted by members David Goldstein and Lisa Bryant as well as some guest hosts. It features interviews with our PA members as well as interviews and resources for the blind community. The monthly digest is also on the podcast for those who wish to hear a human's voice instead of a screen reader. You can listen to it wherever you listen to podcasts.   Listen on  Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, IHeartRadio, and on YouTube @PABlindPodcast. Contact White Canes Connect at whitecanesconnect@gmail.com if you have any show ideas or wish to be on the podcast.      State Convention 2023     Our State Convention is coming up soon! Mark your calendar! Clear your agendas! We will be convening from November 9 to 12, 2023 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Harrisburg, PA!   Please see the links below to register for the convention as well to reserve your hotel rooms! Room rates are $99 a night. We will have a Senior Possibilities Fair, Technology Seminars, Talent Showcase/Live Auction, special interest groups and division meetings and so much more! We hope to hang out with you at the convention!   Attendee Registration for State Convention:   https://nfbofpa.org/2023-state-convention-registration/   Info on making hotel reservations at the Crowne Plaza Harrisburg:   https://nfbofpa.org/reservations-for-crowne-plaza-hotel/     Senior Possibilities Fair 2023   We will also have a senior possibilities fair on the morning of Thursday, November 9, 2023. There is a separate registration form for this event and can be found at the following link:  https://nfbofpa.org/senior-possibilities-fair/     Talent Showcase   For those who will be attending the convention in-person, we are looking for performers of all talents to showcase them at the talent show which will take place on the evening of Friday, November 10, 2023. If you are interested in performing, please contact Stacie Leap at Stacie.leap@gmail.com      Shout-Outs and Announcements!  Birthday Wishes    The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania would like to wish all those who were born in September a very happy birthday!     Rest in Peace Tom Anderson   Tom Anderson served as the Chair of the Blind Christians Group after it was changed from the Communities of Faith division. This email was from Dan Burke:   "Dear friends and Federation family -       Julie and I are heart-broken to tell you that Tom Anderson, the beloved first-Braille teacher at CCB and one of the two staff members who opened the doors of the Colorado Center for the Blind in 1988 with Diane McGeorge, died Tuesday afternoon. Tom had been in the hospital for about two weeks in Kansas where he and his wife, Linda returned after tom's retirement from CCB in 2015. He passed quietly from this life with his dear Linda holding one of his hands and his twin sister Toni holding the other.       Tom had cancer nearly 20 years ago, but was cancer free until about two years ago. He entered treatments and finished them early this year. He and Linda came to the national convention in Houston, and it was wonderful for all of us to see him. He was so obviously excited to be back at the convention again. But he became ill after they returned home and eventually was hospitalized.       Tom was a man of faith and a minister, having his own small church in Littleton for a number of years. He was also a staunch, life-long Federationist, holding many offices  at the chapter, state and  national levels, including the Denver Chapter President, the NFB of Kansas state board, and the long-time President of the NFB in Communities of Faith.       Tom was such a good man, a dedicated and patient teacher of Braille to hundreds of blind students over the 27 years he taught at the Center, if also exacting and sometimes stern. He embraced his nickname, “Dr.  Dots,” loved to page students late for his class with, “Henrietta, the dots await your fingers,” and had one of the most endearing and genuine laughs ever heard in the halls of CCB. No one had a laugh like Tom's, and he laughed often and easily.        Julie spoke with Linda this afternoon. At this time, there is no public memorial scheduled. Please send Linda and the family your prayers and positive thoughts.   Rest in peace, dear, kind and loving friend and teacher to so many.”      Fundraisers  Blind Parents Group T-Shirts Fundraiser    The t-shirts come in either black with white letterings or white with black letterings. Both shirts say “I Support #BlindParents” with the NFB of PA Logo and “Blind Parents Group” at the bottom. Funds raised will start a scholarship fund to assist blind or visually impaired parents and their family through financial life hardships. To purchase a t-shirt, please contact Stacie Leap at nfb.stacie@gmail.com     Dancing in the Dark   The Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter will be hosting their annual Dancing in the Dark event on Friday October 13, 2023.   On Friday October 13th we Joyously invite you to enjoy a night of fun and enlightenment to celebrate ational Meet the Blind Month and White Cane Day. This is a semi-formal evening of dinner, music and dancing.   Cocktails begin @ 6:00 PM   .  Tickets are $75 and the deadline to purchase ticket is September 15, 2023.   This event will be held at: Blue Grillhouse   . (4431 Easton Avenue. Bethlehem, PA 18020)   There are four menu selections:   1. Flounder stuffed with jumbo crab in lemon cream sauce   2. Chicken breast marsala   3. Slow roasted prime rib of beef - traditional or horseradish crusted   4. Roasted Zucchini with Quinoa   Contact the Event Chair Jemmie Jones for more info and to purchase tickets: 908-391-8375      Believe You Can! Talent Show     SAVE THE DATE: The Keystone Chapter will be having their annual talent show fundraiser on Saturday, October 14, 2023 at 8 PM ET. If you wish to be a performer, please complete the Google Form: BelieveYouCan.live/talent.   Tickets are on sale now at BelieveYouCan.live/tickets.    For more information, please visit their website: believeYouCan.live or contact David Goldstein at david@iCantCU.com If you wish to be a performer or have any questions, please contact BelieveYouCanShow@gmail.com      Other External Events    These events are not hosted or sponsored by the NFB or the NFB of PA. However, we think these might be good resources for those living in Pennsylvania. If you have any events that you wish to be in our monthly digest, please email Stacie Leap at nfb.stacie@gmail.com      Liberty Resources' Blind/Low Vision Support Group    Our members Karen Rose and Simone Cooper partner up with Liberty Resources to hold a weekly virtual support group at Liberty Resources. The aim is to share resources and provide support to those experiencing blindness or low vision. Meetings are weekly on Tuesdays from 1pm to 2pm ET via Zoom. You do not need to live in Philadelphia to attend these meetings, this is open to all in Pennsylvania! For more information or to sign-up, please email Latoya Maddox at LatoyaMaddox@libertyresources.org       Purple Path Awareness Walk   Purple Path is an awareness walk about domestic violence. It will be a day filled with testimonials, live entertainment, raffles, food, resources/information tables and much more! The event will be on October 7, 2023 from 12PM to 4PM at 800 Macdade Blvd.Collingdale, PA 19023. More information including volunteering, sponsorships, and registering can be found on their website: www.purplehouseporjectpa.org      Women Healed For a Purpose 2023 Conference!    Our member Lyvette Byrd is hosting her 2nd Annual Women Healed For a Purpose Conference under her business, For the Byrds Consulting, LLC. The mission of the conference is to equip and restore the community through a faith-based initiative that we hope will strengthen women holistically; mind, body, and spirit.   We are women Living Interdependently in support of Family, Friends, and our Fellow neighbors to Educate and Empower our community. The event will be on Saturday, October 28, 2023.  There will be guest speakers, and live entertainment. There will be an in-person option as well as a Zoom option. For more information including vending opportunities, volunteering, or to register, please visit the For The Byrds Consulting website .      NFB Pledge    I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind; to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.      NFB Message    The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams.       Many thanks to everybody for all they do within the Federation!       Thanks!   the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania team   www.NFBofPA.org

  Welcome to our August 2023 monthly Digest: a monthly newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania! The events and information listed below will be within the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania as well as any pertinent information from the National Federation of the Blind and the Pennsylvania blind community. If you or anyone you know have any upcoming events or information that can pertain to the blind community in Pennsylvania, please send them to Stacie Leap at nfb.stacie@gmail.com  by the 27th of the month so it can be added to our calendar for the following month.     A Message from our State Affiliate President. Hello everyone! Happy August! It is hard to believe that summer is almost over and school will be back in session!  We are hoping that the registration for the State Convention will be open by the time of this message.  Please register early! I am beginning to line up speakers for the Saturday Agenda.  If you have a topic you want to hear about or someone you think would be of interest, please let me know. Stay Cool! - Lynn Heitz President, National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania president@NFBOfPA.org   Google Calendar Links The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania also has a Google Calendar that can be viewed either through the web or subscribed to your calendar apps. You can view the calendar without subscribing to it and view it on your web browser by going to https://www.NFBofPA.org/calendar . However, if you wish to subscribe to the calendar and get the events on your calendar apps, please click Subscribe and go through the steps to subscribe.   Member Spotlight: Brian Mackey. Each month, we will highlight someone within our affiliate. The goal is to allow other members to learn about other members within the affiliate. We hope you enjoy this little spotlight!   Brian Mackey serves as the NFB of PA State Treasurer as well as the Treasurer of the Greater Berks County Chapter. He is a huge Philadelphia Flyers fan. His love of sports does not keep him as a spectator though as he is also a golfer with the Mid-Atlantic Blind Golfers Association. His expertise and interest in web development has given Brian the opportunity to continue serving not just Pennsylvania but multiple states as their webmaster and content developer. His organization skills also landed him a job as the Administrative Assistant with the DoubleTree Hotel in Reading, PA. He is the lead person for our registration tables at the state conventions. If you happen to run into Brian, do not forget to say “Hello!”   August Calendar of Events. The following events are also on our Google calendar with the Zoom information or meeting location. If anyone within a chapter, division, or group see any errors or misinformation, please contact Stacie Leap at nfb.stacie@gmail.com   The below information is correct as of the first week of the month. The information is most up-to-date on the Google Calendar so please check back periodically to ensure the right information.   Coffee with the State President and Board This monthly discussion meeting brings everybody together to get to know the state affiliate board members and the happenings within the state's divisions, chapters, and advocacy efforts. Wednesday, August 2, 2023 at 7:30PM.   Jigsaw Chapter monthly Meeting a monthly meeting for those who do not have a local chapter in their geographical area. This is our at-large chapter Meetings Saturday, August 5, 2023 at 10 AM.   Greater Berks Chapter Monthly Meeting: A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Berks County of Pennsylvania Friday, August 11, 2023 at 10 AM.   Keystone Chapter Monthly Meeting: a monthly meeting for those who live in the Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Philadelphia area. The other chapter is the Greater Philadelphia Chapter. Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 10:15AM.   Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting: A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.  This includes Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and the surrounding areas. Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 10 AM.   Happy Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting: A monthly meeting for those who live in or surrounding State College, Pennsylvania. Saturday, August 12,2023 at 1PM.   Deaf Blind Division Monthly Meeting: a monthly meeting for those who consider themselves to be Deaf Blind and their supporters. Monday, August 14, 2023 at 6PM.   Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children (PAOPBC) Monthly Meeting: a monthly meeting for parents of blind children and their supporters Tuesday, August 15, 2023 at 11 AM.   Pittsburgh Chapter Monthly Meeting: A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Pittsburgh area. Wednesday, August 16, 2023 at 6PM.   Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants (PABM) Monthly Meeting: a monthly meeting for those who are or wish to be involved with the Business Enterprise Program, entrepreneurship, and their supporters. Wednesday, August 16, 2023 at 6 PM.   Capital Area Chapter Monthly Meeting: a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Harrisburg area. Saturday, August 19, 2023 at 10 AM.   Erie County Chapter Monthly Meeting: a monthly meeting for those who live in Erie County Pennsylvania. Saturday, August 19, 2023 at 2 PM.   Blind Parents Group Monthly Meeting: a monthly meeting for blind parents, grandparents, and their supporters Saturday, August 19, 2023 at 7 PM.   Blind Seniors Group Monthly Meeting: a monthly meeting for those who are seniors or almost seniors as well as their supporters. Wednesday, August 24, 2023 at 7:30 PM.   Greater Philadelphia Chapter Monthly Meeting: a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Philadelphia area.  The other chapter is the Keystone Chapter. Saturday, August 26, 2023 at 10 AM   Brandywine Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting: a monthly meeting for those who live in the Brandywine Valley. Saturday, August 26, 2023 at 10 AM   Pennsylvania Association of Guide Dog Users (PAGDU) Monthly Meeting: a monthly meeting for those who have or are considering getting a guide dog as well as their supporters. Saturday, August 26, 2023 at 4 PM.   Pennsylvania Association of Blind Students (PABS) Monthly Meeting: a monthly meeting for blind students of all ages and their supporters. Monday, August 28, 2023 at 7 PM.   White Canes Connect Podcast Did you know that the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania has a podcast? It is hosted by members David Goldstein and Lisa Bryant as well as some guest hosts. It features interviews with our PA members as well as interviews and resources for the blind community. You can listen to it wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, IHeartRadio, and on YouTube @PABlindPodcast. Contact White Canes Connect at whitecanesconnect@gmail.com if you have any show ideas or wish to be on the podcast.   National Convention 2023: Recap We had such a wonderful time reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones at our national convention in Houston, Texas this year! We had a total of 43 people registered from our state and 10 of those who registered were first timers! Welcome to the Federation family to all the first timers! Here are some highlights from national convention as it relates to our PA members: Emily Gindlesperger was elected back to the board of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children! Denice Brown is still in the position of Treasurer of the National Organization of Blind Black Leaders as the position is a two-year term! Gloria Nathan-Cherry was elected to the seat of board member for the Community Service Division! Harriet Go was elected as the 2nd Vice President for the National Organization of Blind Educators! Harriet Go also is the new Kids Camp Director! Stacie Leap was nominated as a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee! Two National Scholarship winners are from our state: Joann Kim and Ashley Rogers! Accessible Pharmacy received the Bolitin Award! Lynn Heitz presented at the annual meeting for the Diabetes Action Network Division and the Blind Seniors division about Accessible Pharmacy! Esther Gillyard performed at the Performing Arts Division Showcase of Talent! Quitrina Townes' name was called for a Door Prize with the PAC Plan!   Congratulations to those mentioned above on all their accomplishments! Pennsylvania is definitely a state full of leaders and game changers!   Our 2024 National Convention will be from July 3 to 8, 2024 in the Rosen Center located in Orlando, Florida! Start saving up and we look forward to meeting you in Orlando!   State Convention 2023 Our State Convention is coming up soon! Mark your calendar! Clear your agendas! We will be convening from November 9 to 12, 2023 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Harrisburg, PA! Please see the links below to register for the convention as well to reserve your hotel rooms! Room rates are $99 a night. We will have a Senior Possibilities Fair, Technology Seminars, Talent Showcase/Live Auction, special interest groups and division meetings and so much more! We hope to hang out with you at the convention! Attendee Registration for State Convention: https://nfbofpa.org/2023-state-convention-registration/ Info on making hotel reservations at the Crowne Plaza Harrisburg: https://nfbofpa.org/reservations-for-crowne-plaza-hotel/   Shout-Outs and Announcements! Birthday Wishes The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania would like to wish all those who were born in August a very happy birthday!   Rest in Peace Eric Coleman! From Denice Brown: On July 7th we lost a great friend in the blindness community. Eric Coleman passed away. Many of you met Eric through ASB (now Vision Link). Eric loved to have game night at his house, and his wife Yancey was always the perfect hostess. He was one of the biggest Philadelphia Eagles fans, and had no problem boasting about his team. In the past Eric had been a member of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter, and he did travel to a few of our National Conventions. Please keep all of Eric's family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. His service was on Monday, July 17, 2023 at Majestic Hall, 800w. Olney Avenue, Philadelphia, PA   Rest in Peace Vanessa Walsh! From Denice Brown on Sunday, July 30, 2023: It is with a heavy heart that I come to you again with another death in the blindness community. It was reported to me that last night former member Vanessa Walsh passed away in North Carolina. Please keep Vanessa's loved ones in your thoughts and prayers. If I receive any additional information, I will let you know.   John Jon Awareness Walk Member Lyvette Byrd had her 2nd Annual John Jon Awareness Walk under her business, For The Byrds Consulting, LLC, and a lot of members of the affiliate came to support. At the walk, Greater Philadelphia Chapter member Yvonne Hughes received an award for all her advocacy work in the disability community! Congratulations to Yvonne!!! Lyvette Byrd would like to thank everybody who contributed in any way to the walk: giving donations, participating at the walk, serving snacks and beverages, and everything in between! Lyvette would also like to thank members Quitrina Townes and Stacie Leap who volunteered their time as planning committee members!   Fundraisers Blind Parents Group T-Shirts Fundraiser The t-shirts come in either black with white letterings or white with black letterings. Both shirts say “I Support #BlindParents” with the NFB of PA Logo and “Blind Parents Group” at the bottom. Funds raised will start a scholarship fund to assist blind or visually impaired parents and their family through financial life hardships. To purchase a t-shirt, please contact Stacie Leap at nfb.stacie@gmail.com   Believe You Can! Talent Show SAVE THE DATE: The Keystone Chapter will be having their annual talent show fundraiser on Saturday, October 14, 2023. More details will follow as the date gets closer! If you wish to be a performer or have any questions, please contact BelieveYouCanShow@gmail.com   Other External Events These events are not hosted or sponsored by the NFB or the NFB of PA. However, we think these might be good resources for those living in Pennsylvania. If you have any events that you wish to be in our monthly digest, please email Stacie Leap at nfb.stacie@gmail.com   SEPTA Advisory Council Update SEPTA stands for “Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority.” The SEPTA Advisory Council has not been having their monthly meeting due to internal restructuring. Please see the below message from the SAC team.   Good morning, The SAC leadership is just about finished updating SACs bylaws... We decided to delete the teams link series calendar invite so everything will start fresh. SAC staff that work with SAC leadership will share the new link with all SEPTA staff that attend these meetings. For SAC attendees, SAC leadership will circulate the new link to you all as well. We do apologize for any inconvenience, we know this has taken longer than expected, but trust SAC leadership, when we said we want these meetings to produce results for the disability community, that's exactly what we meant and mean. Stay tuned, trust the process, and we'll be back to meeting regularly real soon.   Best, Latoya Maddox-SAC Chair Heather  Shanefield-SAC Secretary Liam Dougherty-Assistant Secretary   Senior Summit Continues! Member Yvonne Hughes has been hosting a bunch of senior summits throughout the city and there is one coming up in August. Please see below as it is the text from her flyer: EDUCATE TO EMPOWER   Information: Health Screening (Blood Pressure, Diabetes Health Information) National Federation of the Blind Revenue And other resources!   Sponsor: Temple Health & Medicaid Date: Tuesday, August 22nd, 2023 Time: 1:00-3:00 PM Location: Christy Recreation Center (728 S 55th Street, Philadelphia PA 19143) Enter on Christian St.   REMEMBER THE FOUR E'S: EDUCATE TO EMPOWER TO LEARN TO ENGAGE AND EMBRACE YOURSELF   CONTACT YVONNE HUGHES FOR MORE INFORMATION (215) 966-9614 | MARVON22253@GMAIL.COM   Liberty Resources' Blind/Low Vision Support Group Our members Karen Rose and Simone Cooper partner up with Liberty Resources to hold a weekly virtual support group at Liberty Resources. The aim is to share resources and provide support to those experiencing blindness or low vision. Meetings are weekly on Tuesdays from 1pm to 2pm ET via Zoom. You do not need to live in Philadelphia to attend these meetings, this is open to all in Pennsylvania! For more information or to sign-up, please email Latoya Maddox at LatoyaMaddox@libertyresources.org   Purple Path Awareness Walk Purple Path is an awareness walk about domestic violence. It will be a day filled with testimonials, live entertainment, raffles, food, resources/information tables and much more! The event will be on October 7, 2023 from 12PM to 4PM at 800 Macdade Blvd.Collingdale, PA 19023. More information including volunteering, sponsorships, and registering can be found on their website: www.purplehouseporjectpa.org   Women Healed For a Purpose 2023 Conference! Our member Lyvette Byrd is hosting her 2nd Annual Women Healed For a Purpose Conference under her business, For the Byrds Consulting, LLC. The mission of the conference is to equip and restore the community through a faith-based initiative that we hope will strengthen women holistically; mind, body, and spirit. We are women Living Interdependently in support of Family, Friends, and our Fellow neighbors to Educate and Empower our community. The event will be on Saturday, October 28, 2023.  There will be guest speakers, and live entertainment. There will be an in-person option as well as a Zoom option. For more information including vending opportunities, volunteering, or to register, please visit the For The Byrds Consulting website.   NFB Pledge I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind; to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.   NFB Message The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams.   Many thanks to everybody for all they do within the Federation!   Thanks! the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania team https://www.nfbofpa.org 

In this episode of iCantCU, I talk about playing tour guide for some out-of-town NFB members. We enjoyed exploring the Franklin Institute with Eliz as our descriptive docent. It was planes, trains, and a 3D-printed motorcycle, along with the famous walkthrough heart! Then to the Liberty Bell for a tactile visit. I also discuss the position I recently applied for in the Business Enterprise Program. I tell you more about the almost-ready new NFB of PA website, too. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/235    Links Mentioned The Franklin Institute: https://www.fi.edu/  GoPro Hero11: https://amzn.to/3PjIuqG  Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/442PDR0  Learn More About Descript The transcript from this episode is done using Descript. Try out Descript for free at https://www.descript.com/?lmref=Yw2dhQ. This is an affiliate link, so I'll earn a commission if you pay for the app. Thanks! Support iCantCU When shopping at Amazon, I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast Episode 077 In episode 077, Stacie and I talk to Ann Cunningham, the creator of the Sensational Blackboard (https://www.sensationalbooks.com/). Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI IHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-white-canes-connect-89603482/ YouTube Https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast White Canes Connect On Twitter Https://www.twitter.com/PABlindPodcast My Podcast Gear Here is all my gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Follow iCantCU On Your Favorite Podcast Directory! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | Google | IHeartRadio Reach Out On Social Media Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Are You Or Do You Know A Blind Boss? If you or someone you know is crushing it in their field and is also blind, I want to hear from you! Call me at (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Include your name and town, and tell me who the Blind Boss is and why I need to have them on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.

Gloria Blanco, Steve Alfred, and  Kyle Tyson join Scott Eggen in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about their perspective of the Business Enterprise Program. Being fairly new owner-operators, we thought it would be interesting to hear their perspectives compared to those perspectives from our past guest on the Randolph Sheppard Vendors of America podcast. Join the crew in this informational episode and find out more about the Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America on the web at Randolph-Sheppard.org. thanks for Listening!

  Welcome to our June 2023 monthly Digest: a monthly newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania! During the first few days of the month, we will start sending out our calendar of events. These events will be within the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania as well as any pertinent information from the National Federation of the Blind and the Pennsylvania blind community. If you or anyone you know have any upcoming events or information that can pertain to the blind community in Pennsylvania, please send them to Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com by the 29th of the month so it can be added to our calendar for the following month.     Special Note: There will be no July 2023 monthly digest as a lot of us will be in Houston, Texas for the 2023 National Convention! 1. A Message from our State Affiliate President Hello everyone! We are now in the month of June and things are really happening! We are continuing our conversation with BBVS, so if there are any concerns, please let me know! On June 8th, the next OVR Board meeting will be held via Zoom.  Contact information will be available shortly.  Registration for the National Convention is closed and we are waiting impatiently for the 2023 Agenda! I hope to see many of you in Houston!   Lynn Heitz President, National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania president@nfbp.org   Google Calendar Links The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania also has a Google Calendar that can be viewed either through the web or subscribed to your calendar apps.  You can view the calendar without subscribing to it and view it on your web browser by clicking the link in the show notes. However, if you wish to subscribe to the calendar and get the events on your calendar apps, please click Subscribe in the show notes and go through the steps to subscribe:    Member Spotlight” Harriet Go Each month, we will highlight someone within our affiliate. The goal is to allow other members to learn about other members within the affiliate. We hope you enjoy this little spotlight!   Harriet Go serves our state affiliate as our secretary. She is also the President of the Keystone Chapter. Considered quite hilarious, she shows off her comedic styles at our meetings and social functions. She is proclaimed to be the number 1 best seller of M&M's. Make sure you do not leave any lying around because she will start selling them! Full of energy, she is taking on the role of Kids Camp Director at our 2023 National Convention in Houston, Texas.  This definitely requires bouts of energy and patience that she learned at her current job as an elementary school teacher for the School District of Philadelphia.  She is always willing to have a conversation so if you get a chance to meet her in-person, introduce yourself and say “Hello!”   Calendar of Events The following events are also on our Google calendar with the Zoom information. If anyone within a chapter, division, or group see any errors or misinformation, please contact Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com    The below information is correct as of the first week of the month. The information is most up-to-date on the Google Calendar so please check back periodically to ensure the right information.   Jigsaw Chapter monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for those who do not have a local chapter in their geographical area. This is our at-large chapter.  Meetings Saturday, June 3, 2023 at 10:00 AM   Keystone Chapter Monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for those who live in the Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Philadelphia area. The other chapter is the Greater Philadelphia Chapter. Saturday, June 3, 2023 at 10:15 AM   Coffee with the State President and Board This monthly discussion meeting brings everybody together to get to know the state affiliate board members and the happenings within the state's divisions, chapters, and advocacy efforts. Wednesday, June 7, 2023 at 7 PM     Greater Berks Chapter Monthly Meeting A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Berks County of Pennsylvania    Friday, June 9, 2023 at 10 AM   Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.  This includes Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and the surrounding areas. Saturday, June 10, 2023 at 10 AM   Deaf Blind Division Monthly Meeting  a monthly meeting for those who consider themselves to be Deaf Blind and their supporters.          Monday, June 12, 2023 at 6 PM   Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants (PABM) Monthly Meeting  a monthly meeting for those who are or wish to be involved with the Business Enterprise Program, entrepreneurship and their supporters.    Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 6 PM     Capital Area Chapter Monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Harrisburg area.   Saturday, June 17, 2023 at 10 AM     Erie County Chapter Monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for those who live in Erie County Pennsylvania. Saturday, June 17, 2023 at 2 PM     Blind Parents Group Monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for blind parents, grandparents, and their supporters   Saturday, June 17, 2023 at 7 PM   Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children (PAOPBC) Monthly Meeting  a monthly meeting for parents of blind children and their supporters  Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at 11 AM   Pittsburgh Chapter Monthly Meeting A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Pittsburgh area. Wednesday, June 21, 2023 at 6 PM   Greater Philadelphia Chapter Monthly Meeting a monthly meeting for those who live in the Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Philadelphia area.  The other chapter is the Keystone Chapter. Saturday, June 24, 2023 at 10 AM     Brandywine Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for those who live in the Brandywine Valley.   Saturday, June 24, 2023 at 10 AM     Pennsylvania Association of Guide Dog Users (PAGDU) Monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for those who have or are considering getting a guide dog as well as their supporters.   Saturday, June 24, 2023 at 4 PM     Pennsylvania Association of Blind Students (PABS) Monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for blind students of all ages and their supporters.   Monday, June 26, 2023 at 7 PM     Blind Seniors Group Monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for those who are seniors or almost seniors as well as their supporters.   Wednesday, June 28, 2023 at 7:30 PM   White Canes Connect Podcast  Did you know that the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania has a podcast? It is hosted by members David Goldstein and Lisa Bryant. It features interviews with our PA members as well as interviews and resources for the blind community. You can listen to it wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, IHeartRadio, and on YouTube @PABlindPodcast. Contact White Canes Connect at whitecanesconnect@gmail.com if you have any show ideas or wish to be on the podcast.   National Convention 2023 Our national convention will take place from July first through sixth in Houston, Texas. Online registration for the 2023 National Convention is closed. Do not worry, you can still register for convention when you are there in-person; however, prices will be $5 higher and will cost $30 per person. Banquet tickets will still be $70. More information on the convention including hotel reservations, agenda, and registration to the Career Fair, Kid Camp Day Care, and the NOPBC Conference can be found at www.nfb.org/convention There are also different tours and a baseball game that you can purchase tickets for. 1. Tours to Space Center Houston will cost $35.00 per person, regardless of age. There are three tour opportunities. The price includes both the tour ticket(s) and roundtrip transportation. 2. The tour of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, which includes an exhibit by 3-D Photo Works of King Tut's sarcophagus. This touchable piece will provide visitors with all kinds of information about the boy king. Tours of all exhibits will be led by docents. The museum would like feedback regarding ways to make the museum more accessible, and we will send everyone who attends a brief survey following the tour so you can offer comments. The tour price for this event is $37.00, regardless of age. Like the Space Center Houston tour, the price includes both the tour ticket(s) and roundtrip transportation. 3. On July 7, the Houston Astros will play the Seattle Mariners, at Minute Maid Park A.K.A the Juice Box. The game will begin at 7:10 PM, and there is a plan to take a group of Federationists to that game.   All tour information and game information can be found at the NFB of Texas's website. See the show note for the link   Special Shout-Outs! Birthday Wishes The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania would like to wish all those who were born in June a very happy birthday!   Thank you, Dad! The NFB of Pennsylvania would also like to extend our gratitude to all fathers and father figures! Thank you for all your hard work, perseverance. Love, and support! Happy Father's Day!   Speedy Recovery to Lyvette Byrd! Greater Philadelphia Chapter Board Member Lyvette Bird had a series of surgeries and have been in the hospital since May 15th. We wish her to get well soon and have a complete and speedy recovery!   Well wishes to Gloria Nathan-Cherry Greater Philadelphia Chapter Board Member Gloria Nathan-Cherry had surgery in late May and is recuperating at home. We would like to extend our well wishes and also wish her a speedy and complete recovery!   Get Better Joseph Powell! We would also like to extend our well wishes and a complete and speedy recovery to Greater Philadelphia Chapter member Joseph Powell as he recuperates at home from the surgery he had in May!   Congratulations to Lily Asadullina! We want to congratulate Keystone Chapter member Lily on the birth of her first-born Aria Eva! Welcome to the world Aria and we wish you nothing but wonderful and amazing things as you grow and bond with your family members and friends!   Fundraisers Blind Parents Group T-Shirts Fundraiser The t-shirts come in either black with white letterings or white with black letterings. Both shirts say “I Support #BlindParents” with the NFB of PA Logo and “Blind Parents Group” at the bottom. Funds raised will start a scholarship fund to assist blind or visually impaired parents and their family through financial life hardships. To purchase a t-shirt, please contact Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com  . Stacie will also have some t-shirts available at the 2023 national Convention to those wish to purchase it there!   Other External Events These events are not hosted or sponsored by the NFB or the NFB of PA. However, we think these might be good resources for those living in Pennsylvania. If you have any events that you wish to be in our monthly digest, please email Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com   OVR State Board of Vocational Rehabilitation Quarterly Meeting Thursday, June 8, 2023 10 AM to 2:30 PM Break: noon to 12:30 PM This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. The public is invited to call in to this meeting using the following information: Webinar ID: 822 3300 7808 Passcode: 787610 Or One tap mobile: US: +16469313860,,82233007808#,,,,*787610# or +19292056099,,82233007808#,,,,*787610# Additional Zoom information can be found in the show notes.   Disability Pride Week 2023 The week of June 5-10, 2023, there will be a lot of events in honor of Disability Pride Week. You Can register via the Google Form registration page .  Our own Keystone Chapter's member Esther Gillyard will be performing on June 10, 2023 at 3pm ET. Events are as follows: June 5: Disability Pride Kick Off at City Hall: flag raising, live music by Johnny Crescendo, Ben & Jerry's ice cream giveaway, and guest speakers include Deputy Secretary of ODP Kristin Ahrens, Disability Pride PA's Board Chairperson Chuck Horton, and Director of LGBT Affairs Celena Morrison, City Rep Sheila Hess, and more   June 6: Karaoke Block Party at Inglis Innovation Center from 2-6 PM   June 7: Microaggressions Workshop with Artist Wendy Elliott-Vandivier at 2 PM   June 8: Exploring Nature on the Trail  11-1 PM on the Delaware River Trail   June 8: Meet & Mingle with Liberty Resources from 5-8 PM   June 9: A Laughing Lunch (more details to follow)   June 10: Parade kick off at City Hall's North Apron at 11 AM (approcimately4 blocks) Festival begins at 1600 Ben Franklin Parkway at 11 AM with live music on the hour at 12, 1, 2, and 3 PM; and resource tables, fun activities for all ages, food trucks, and community!   Disability Pride PA encourages all people to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions, please call them at (267)621-1480 or email them at info@DisabilityPridePA.org  at least 10 days in advance of your participation.   John Jon Awareness Walk Our member Lyvette Byrd is putting on her 2nd Annual John Jon Awareness Walk on Saturday, July 15, 2023 from 8AM to 10AM ET at the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge Park in Philadelphia, PA. It is to raise awareness about people with different abilities and to honor their advocates. More information and registration can be found at the For the Byrds Consulting website.!   Liberty Resources' Blind/Low Vision Support Group Our members Karen Rose and Simone Cooper partner up with Liberty Resources to hold a weekly virtual support group at Liberty Resources. The aim is to share resources and provide support to those experiencing blindness or low vision. Meetings are weekly on Tuesdays from 1pm to 2pm ET via Zoom. You do not need to live in Philadelphia to attend these meetings, this is open to all in Pennsylvania! For more information or to sign-up, please email Latoya Maddox at LatoyaMaddox@libertyresources.org   Vision Thru Art Vision Thru Art is a weekly sculpture class for blind and visually-impaired artists that has been running at Allens Lane Art Center for more than 30 years. Our dedicated faculty, staff and volunteers help the students express their inner vision through a variety of media including clay, wood, mosaic, stone and other mixed materials. The students are encouraged to work at their own pace while enjoying the easy-going social atmosphere of the class. In 2014, Allens Lane Art Center made the class completely free for all the students including free art supplies each year. Location: The Fluhr Studio - (downstairs back studio accessible by rear entrance). Many of the students use Para-transit to get to the class. Service dogs are of course welcome. Day/Time:  Wednesday, 10:30 am – 12:30pm and Friday 10:30 am – 12:30pm. Fees: There are no fees for this class. Registration: Contact by phone (215-248-0546) or by https://allenslane.org/vision-thru-art/   Women Healed For a Purpose 2023 Conference! Our member Lyvette Bird is hosting her 2nd Annual Women Healed For a Purpose Conference under her business, For the Birds Consulting, LLC. The mission of the conference is to equip and restore the community through a faith-based initiative that we hope will strengthen women holistically; mind, body, and spirit. We are women Living Interdependently in support of Family, Friends, and our Fellow neighbors to Educate and Empower our community. The event will be on Saturday, October 28, 2023.  There will be guest speakers, and live entertainment. There will be an in-person option as well as a Zoom option. For more information or to register, please visit the For The Birds Consulting website.   NFB Pledge I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind; to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.   NFB Message The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams.   Many thanks to everybody for all they do within the Federation!   Thanks! the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania team www.nfbp.org

In this episode of iCantCU, I talk about a Business Enterprise Program Zoom meeting that has soured my outlook on the program. I also mention how Ziggy's actions in the car reminded me of several events I've attended when I faced where I thought the person giving a speech was located. I discuss the successful Keystone Chapter Spin Fundraiser. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/230  White Cane Coffee Learn more about the company and place orders at https://whitecanecoffee.com/ref/KeystoneChapter/. That link is an affiliate link, meaning the Keystone Chapter earns a small commission if you click it and purchase from White Cane Coffee. Listen to iCantCU episode 074 with Erin and Bob Willman from May 14, 2020, at https://www.icantcu.com/an-interview-with-erin-and-bob-from-white-cane-coffee/. Learn More About Clusiv Learn more about Clusiv at https://www.clusiv.io. If you've got questions, contact Bruce at bruce@clusiv.io. Learn About Descript The transcript from this episode is done using Descript. Try out Descript for free at https://www.descript.com/?lmref=Yw2dhQ. This is an affiliate link, so I'll earn a commission if you pay for the app. Thanks! Support iCantCU When shopping at Amazon, I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast Episode 072 In episode 072 of White Canes Connect, Preston and I talk with Erin and Bob Willman from White Cane Coffee Company. Erin tells us why and how the company got started. Bob discusses how Covid slowed their expansion plans, but now they are in a more prominent location in Warren, PA. He also mentions that the company is negotiating with officials in the UK to open a site in Coventry, England. Erin gets us hungry by discussing some of the in-house baked goods. . Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI IHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-white-canes-connect-89603482/ YouTube Https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast White Canes Connect On Twitter Https://www.twitter.com/PABlindPodcast Support Keystone Chapter Please consider donating to the Keystone Chapter of the National Federation Of The Blind Of Pennsylvania. Go to http://www.SupportKeystoneChapter.org. Enter any amount you want to give. You can check a box to cover the fees, which is helpful if you wish to donate a dollar or two. PayPal handles payments, but you don't need a PayPal account. You can donate with any credit or debit card. Thank you so much! As the Treasurer of the Keystone Chapter, I appreciate it. My Podcast Gear Here is all my gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Follow iCantCU On Your Favorite Podcast Directory! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | Google | IHeartRadio Reach Out On Social Media Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Are You Or Do You Know A Blind Boss? If you or someone you know is crushing it in their field and is also blind, I want to hear from you! Call me at (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Include your name and town, and tell me who the Blind Boss is and why I need to have them on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.   Spin Fundraiser Flyer Clusiv.io  Episode 074 https://www.icantcu.com/an-interview-with-erin-and-bob-from-white-cane-coffee/

Welcome to our May 2023 monthly Digest: a monthly newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania!   During the first few days of the month, we will start sending out our calendar of events. These events will be within the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania as well as any pertinent information from the National Federation of the Blind and the Pennsylvania blind community.   If you or anyone you know have any upcoming events or information that can pertain to the blind community in Pennsylvania, please send them to Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com by the 29th of the month so it can be added to our calendar for the following month.       For those using screen readers, you can use your heading navigations to skip around the email.     1. Google Calendar Links   The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania also has a Google Calendar that can be viewed either through the web or subscribed to your calendar apps.   You can view the calendar without subscribing to it and view it on your web browser by clicking: View our Google Calendar   However, if you wish to subscribe to the calendar and get the events on your calendar apps, please click Subscribe and go through the steps to subscribe:     2. Member Spotlight” Emily Gindlesperger   Each month, we will highlight someone within our affiliate. The goal is to allow other members to learn about other members within the affiliate. We hope you enjoy this little spotlight!       Emily Gindlesperger serves as our affiliate as the 2nd Vice President. She was also nominated to be our Legislative Director and 2023 Convention Chair. As Legislative Director, she is the lead on our Washington Seminar events where a group of people talk and advocate to our federal legislators on issues affecting our Pennsylvania blind community.  She is also the President of the Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children (PAOPBC). She sits with other parents at IEP meetings in order to ensure the best accommodations for blind children. A mother of two, enjoys baking cookies and making soup. She likes to network with other people at the annual state convention so if you get a chance to meet her, do not forget to say “Hello!”     3. Calendar of Events   The following events are also on our Google calendar with the Zoom information. If anyone within a chapter, division, or group see any errors or misinformation, please contact Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com        The below information is correct as of the first week of the month. The information is most up-to-date on the Google Calendar so please check back periodically to ensure the right information.     Jigsaw Chapter monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for those who do not have a local chapter in their geographical area. This is our at-large chapter.  Meetings   Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 10 AM ET     Deaf Blind Division Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for those who consider themselves to be Deaf Blind and their supporters.    Monday, May 8, 2023 at 6PM ET     Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children (PAOPBC) Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for parents of blind children and their supporters    Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 11 AM ET     Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants (PABM) Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for those who are or wish to be involved with the Business Enterprise Program, entrepreneurship and their supporters.     Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 6PM ET       Greater Berks Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Berks County of Pennsylvania   Friday, May 12, 2023 at 10 AM ET     Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.  This includes Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and the surrounding areas.   Saturday, May 13, 2023 at 10 AM ET.     Keystone Chapter Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Greater Philadelphia area. The other chapter is the Greater Philadelphia Chapter.   Saturday, May 13, 2023 at 10:15AM ET     Pittsburgh Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Pittsburgh area.   Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 6PM ET       Capital Area Chapter Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Harrisburg area.     Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 10 AM ET     Greater Philadelphia Chapter Monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Greater Philadelphia area.  The other chapter is the Keystone Chapter.   Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 10 AM ET       Erie County Chapter Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for those who live in Erie County Pennsylvania.   Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 2PM ET       Blind Parents Group Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for blind parents, grandparents, and their supporters     Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 7PM ET       Pennsylvania Association of Blind Students (PABS) Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for blind students of all ages and their supporters.     Monday, May 22, 2023 at 7PM ET       Blind Seniors Group Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for those who are seniors or almost seniors as well as their supporters.     Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 7:30PM ET       Brandywine Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for those who live in the Brandywine Valley.     Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 10 AM ET       Pennsylvania Association of Guide Dog Users (PAGDU) Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for those who have or are considering getting a guide dog as well as their supporters.     Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 4pm ET     4.  White Canes Connect Podcast    Did you know that the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania has a podcast? It is hosted by members David Goldstein and Lisa Bryant. It features interviews with our PA members as well as interviews and resources for the blind community. You can listen to it wherever you listen to podcasts.   Listen on  Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Amazon Music , IHeartRadio , and on Twitter @PABlindPodcast . Contact White Canes Connect at whitecanesconnect@gmail.com if you have any show ideas or wish to be on the podcast.     5. National Convention 2023   *Registration is now open for the 2023 National Convention. Tickets are $25 and banquet tickets are $70. The convention will take place in Houston, Texas from July 1-6, 2023. Hotel information and registration links are at * *www.nfb.org/convention*      6. Special Shout-Outs! Birthday Wishes   The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania would like to wish all those who were born in May a very happy birthday!     Thank you, Mom!   The NFB of PA would also like to extend our gratitude to all mothers and mother figures! Thank you for all your hard work, perseverance. Love, and support! Happy Mother's Day!     Congratulations to Cheryl Frazier!   We would like to congratulate Cheryl Frazier for being nominated as the President of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter at their April 2023 meeting. She previously served the role of Vice President! Congratulations!!!     A Message from Stacie Leap   “Hello Federation family! Thank you to everybody for all your well wishes, positive thoughts, and prayers as I went through a big medical emergency. I ended up with a bad case of pneumonia that ended up affecting a lot of my already existing health conditions. I am slowly regaining my health and slowly taking on responsibilities. This past month has helped me reflect on my health and I will be taking more time focusing on my health instead of pushing it off to the side. I thank those who called, texted, and showed up to help. I really, really, really appreciate all of you!”     7. Fundraisers PAOPBC Chocolate Fundraiser   The Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children ended their Sarris Chocolate fundraiser and would like to thank everybody who helped make the fundraiser a success!     Community Service Division to bring their boxes of love service project to national convention!   The National Federation of the Blind Community Service Division will participate in a service project on Sunday, July 2, 2023. We are partnering with The Ronald McDonald House in Houston, Texas.   Our division's goal is to fill 100 Bags of Love. The items we need to collect are below:   ·        Individual variety snacks (Chips, Crackers, Cereal/Granola Bars of any kind)   ·        Ramen noodles   ·        Shampoo/Conditioners   ·        Toothbrushes/Hair Brushes   ·        Toothpaste   ·        Disinfectant Wipes   ·        Ziploc Bags of all sizes   ·        wet wipes   ·        mouthwash   ·        lotion   ·        bath towels or sponges   ·        hand sanitizer   ·        razors   ·        deodorant (all types)   ·        body wash (bars or bottle)       These brand-new products can be trial or any size.  Also, if you plan to mail your products to our division president, they will need to be mailed by Wednesday, May 31, 2023. If you have questions, please contact Jeanetta Price at 409-344-1005.       Mailing Address   Jeanetta Price   8035 San Bruno Street   Beaumont, Texas 77708     Blind Parents Group T-Shirts Fundraiser   The Blind Parents Group still has some t-shirts left over from our fundraising efforts at the state convention. The t-shirts come in either black with white letterings or white with black letterings. Both shirts say “I Support #BlindParents” with the NFB of PA Logo and “Blind Parents Group” at the bottom. Funds raised will start a scholarship fund to assist blind or visually impaired parents and their family through financial life hardships. To purchase a t-shirt, please contact Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com     8. Other External Events   These events are not hosted or sponsored by the NFB or the NFB of PA. However, we think these might be good resources for those living in Pennsylvania. If you have any events that you wish to be in our monthly digest, please email Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com     SEPTA Advisory Council Meeting Postponed   The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority typically holds monthly advisory council meetings to the public; however, meetings are postponed until further notice. There was a May meeting scheduled but it was canceled. Please see the letter sent to the Advisory Council and public. This was sent out in February 2023.   Good afternoon, SAC members and general public,   I regret to inform you that the February 9, 2023, SAC meeting is canceled. SEPTA must complete an internal investigation regarding the conduction of SAC meetings.       SAC meetings will resume upon SAC chairs and SEPTA coming to a resolution on their internal issues. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.       Sincerely,       The SAC chairs     John Jon Awareness Walk   Our member Lyvette Byrd is putting on her 2nd Annual John Jon Awareness Walk on Saturday, July 15, 2023 at the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge Park in Philadelphia, PA. It is to raise awareness about people with different abilities and to honor their advocates. More information and registration coming soon!     Liberty Resources' Blind/Low Vision Support Group   Our members Karen Rose and Simone Cooper partner up with Liberty Resources to hold a weekly virtual support group at Liberty Resources. The aim is to share resources and provide support to those experiencing blindness or low vision. Meetings are weekly on Tuesdays from 1pm to 2pm ET via Zoom. You do not need to live in Philadelphia to attend these meetings, this is open to all in Pennsylvania! For more information or to sign-up, please email Latoya Maddox at LatoyaMaddox@libertyresources.org     Vision Thru Art   Vision Thru Art is a weekly sculpture class for blind and visually-impaired artists that has been running at Allens Lane Art Center for more than 30 years. Our dedicated faculty, staff and volunteers help the students express their inner vision through a variety of media including clay, wood, mosaic, stone and other mixed materials. The students are encouraged to work at their own pace while enjoying the easy-going social atmosphere of the class. In 2014, Allens Lane Art Center made the class completely free for all the students including free art supplies each year.   *Location:* The Fluhr Studio - (downstairs back studio accessible by rear entrance). Many of the students use Para-transit to get to the class. Service dogs are of course welcome.   *Day/Time:*  Wednesday, 10:30 am – 12:30pm and Friday 10:30 am – 12:30pm.   *Fees:* There are no fees for this class.   *Registration:* Contact by phone (215-248-0546) or by https://allenslane.org/vision-thru-art/     Women Healed For A Purpose 2023 Conference!   Our member Lyvette Byrd is hosting her 2nd Annual Women Healed For a Purpose Conference under her business, For The Byrds Consulting, LLC. The mission of the conference is to equip and restore the community through a faith-based initiative that we hope will strengthen women holistically; mind, body, and spirit.   We are women Living Interdependently in support of Family, Friends, and our Fellow neighbors to Educate and Empower our community. The event will be on Saturday, October 28, 2023. More details about the event will come at a later date!     9. NFB Pledge   I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind; to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.     10. NFB Message   The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams.       Many thanks to everybody for all they do within the Federation!

Scott Dennis, Assistant Superintendent of the Maryland Division of Rehabilitative Services (DORS), joins Carol Pankow in the VRTAC-QM Studio and tells us about how Maryland DORS increased recruitment and decreased resignations by raising salaries to compete in the regional job market. Learn how they opened the door and proved the case.   Listen Here   Full Transcript:   Music} Speaker1: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management, Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host Carol Pankow.   Carol: Well, welcome to the Manager Minute. Scott Dennis, assistant superintendent of the Maryland Division of Rehabilitative Services or DORS, is joining me in the studio today. So thanks for joining me. How are things going in Maryland, Scott.   Scott: Things are going well, Carol. I appreciate the opportunity to join today's podcast. Excellent.   Carol: So a little background for our listeners. I did have some familiarity with Maryland DORS. I had worked with Sue Page. She was the former director and a national level. We were on the executive committee together and Sue and I also did a couple panel presentations and that was super fun. And I was so disappointed, you know, when she had retired in '18, I had just worked with her. And then like the next week she goes, I'm retiring. She had sent me a note and I knew you had been her deputy and I think you were named right in 2019 to replace her, was that right?   Scott: Yeah. I came into this position an acting role in 2018. Sue left in June of 2018 and I was named, the Acting. Was permanently placed into the position in January of 2019.   Carol: Gotcha.   Scott: Almost five years now.   Carol: Nice. Well, it was really fun because early in '19 you and I, we were working on that RSA workgroup around Rethinking Performance. So I liked getting to know you and realizing, Oh, you're the fiscal guy too. You were the fiscal guy for the agency. So it's been fun to have that kind of a little lens into your agency. So I know you've had some unique challenges that we're going to get into later. And I understand that there had been some previous runs at trying to get employee wages increased, which, you know, had failed. So this was all prior to you being at the helm. And the state of the recruitment and retention issue nationally has been front and center for every VR agency, I think. And you were able to more recently secure a rather significant employee pay increase. So I am sure our listeners are on the edge of their seats and are anxious to hear, How did you make that happen? So let's dig in. So Scott, can you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself, like how long you've been with DORS and how have you got to the position you hold today? What's kind of the path you took?   Scott: Well, sure. I kind of happened into VR. I was working in a private sector in retail and was looking to do something different than that. And as anybody who's ever worked in retail, there's a lot of long hours that are very odd and so forth. So I was looking to do something different and happened to come across an advertisement in the paper for a director for this program called the Business Enterprise Program for the Blind.   Carol: Oh, wow.   Scott: It kind of struck me. And so I said, Well, I've got a retail background, I've got a business background, let me get my shot at it. And so I put in my application and went through the interview process. And about four months later in 1990, I became the director of the Maryland Business Enterprise Program for the Blind, which was kind of unique because my background was not in the area of either VR or in blindness, but I did bring that business background, which is what the agency at the time was looking for. It was a great experience. The business enterprise programs for the blind bring their own unique challenges and so forth, and trying to operate a business environment inside of a state government. And you've got some real challenges in trying to do stuff fast and an organization is trying to slow you down. But it was a great experience. I was the director for BEP for six years and then our state director, who was Bob Burns at the time, said, I need some help over at DDS. And I went, What's a DDS? Because my focus had been strictly on BEP. And so he sent me over to the Disability Determination Services as the assistant director over there, and I oversaw sort of the administrative side of the DDS and did a number of activities over there. We moved into a much larger facility. We also at that time moved off a state legacy system onto *Levi. And for any of those who have been around a long time and have a program, you understand how far back that went. After about five years of DDS, moved over, back over here to the side of the shop and became the director of business services, which included all the administrative functions of the agency and sort of the financial piece of it. And so I was that until 2018 when I became the assistant state superintendent.   Carol: Very cool. I had no clue. Your days started with BEP. That is amazing. Good for you. You have a definitely a great broad history there. Paint a picture for our listeners about DORS and what agency you live under. What's your designated state agency and how many staff do you have in VR? And you already said you had DDS, but is that service under your purview as well?   Scott: Yeah, we're  housed within the Maryland State Department of Education. We're probably one of the first big divisions of the Maryland State Department of. We were created in 1929 and we at that time the division had two employees and a budget of $15,000. And the only reason I know any of this is because we've got the enacting legislation sitting out in the hall. We had two employees and $15,000 worth of state appropriation at the time. And of the two employees, one was the director of the agency and the other one was his secretary. He was also the counselor at the time as well. So obviously but we've been here ever since. The Division of Rehabilitation Services is comprised of two main programs that we operate are the VR program, obviously, as well as the program. In total, we've got 648 employees in total, of which 416 of them reside in the VR program and the remaining 232 reside in the DDS program. Within that VR program operates an Office of Field Services, which is very much operated the way the general agencies operate and then we have an Office of Blindness and Vision Services, which operate very much as a blind agency. And so we have a director of each one of those offices. They have their own budget and own staff and so forth. Then we also operate our Workforce and Technology center, which does a lot of our training and so forth, as well as a number of community based services out in the field and so forth. So yeah.   Carol: Yeah, you have a large operation. Holy cow. I didn't realize all of that. That's a bunch.   Carol: So let's talk about your unique position as far as the state. You border other states, as does every state. You know, people probably think duh, but there's something special about where your state is positioned in this country, because I always hear people say that you're the training ground for people that move to RSA. Can you talk about like what that geographical situation has played for you as far as your staff?   Scott: Yeah, and appreciate that. It does provide a unique situation for us. We border Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia as well as D.C. We do have some challenges, especially when we're competing with the federal government. And so because of the federal agencies that are housed here, it has become a real challenge because obviously the states don't pay as much as the federal government does, in particular around the Washington, D.C. area. The salaries are much higher than what we as an agency was able to offer. I mean, in some cases we'd have staff leave and they would nearly double their salaries as a result of that. In some cases, you just can't blame them. It has been a challenge having some of that federal government around, you know, as especially the presence of it, you know, large presence and so forth.   Carol: So we all know about this great resignation, you know, that's been talked about in the news. VRs experienced that itself. So how has that impacted what was happening in your agency? What were you facing for vacancy?   Scott: We were facing a high level of resignation. It was almost I hate coming in in the morning and turning on my computer and opening my email to see how many people resigned that particular day or week. And so we got hit pretty hard. We had about 40 counselors and supervisors, so it was about 30% of our workforce. We had vacancies in and that's on the VR side, on the side. You know, for those agencies that operate that, we had 59 vacancies and our examiners, which was about 45% of that. And, you know, the big culprit was they were going elsewhere, both private and public, to organizations that were paying them substantially more money than what we could afford, at least at the time. It hit us bad.   Carol: Well, I know your number's up there. I'd heard from some other directors talking about you like a 60% turnover in counselors and all these crazy numbers. It's hard to imagine how the work is able to get done. So obviously, you've got this geographic situation, you've got the great resignation going on, and you decided to embark on a journey where you wanted to get these wages increased. Can you tell us more about what went into that?   Scott: It was more than just me. I mean, it was a total agency effort. And I'm talking about from the top. In 2021, we got a new state superintendent who was from Texas. And so he was obviously very new, very young and high energy. And so being one of the large divisions and he wanted to have a one on one with me. And so we sat down and we talked. And what he wanted to know what DORS was to begin with and what VR was because he'd always been in education and so forth. And so we, you know, we talked and his first question, you know, real serious question was, what's your biggest challenge? I said, I can't hire, I can't retain because our salaries are so low. And I gave him an example. I said, we've had a recruitment out for three weeks now and we've got one person who is applying and they don't even meet the qualifications down in Montgomery County and Prince George's County, which are two largest counties in the state as far as population, but they're also the two counties that encircle Washington, D.C. And so the obviously the wages down there are extremely high because of the federal government. And so getting any staff at the wages that we were paying was next to impossible. We couldn't recruit, period. That was just the part of the problem. And so, you know, after I told him what the wages were, he even coming from the south out of Texas, even by his standards, the wages were low. So he put together, you know, he tasked the senior management, not only of the Maryland State Department of Education, but also of DORS to start working on a salary adjustment. Obviously, with something like this, it takes all hands on deck because it's just not one person who's doing all the work and guiding this. And so he tasked us and so my staff started doing feelers out to other states to find out what they're going for. We looked at the federal government and some of the positions that they were hiring for that had sort of equal entry level requirements. We looked at our counties. Some of our counties were paying way more than what we were. And so we took all that into consideration in looking at what is it that we wanted our salaries to look like. The other piece of this that was probably sort of the saving grace for us. Our counselors are in a classification series in this state that's only unique to DORS. It doesn't cross other state agencies or anything. And because of that, our Department of Budget and Management allowed us to do what they call an off cycle adjustment. Typically when they take a look at their salary adjustments and so forth and see whether they need to rescale them, they're looking across all the state agencies. They've got to balance who's got money and who doesn't, money when they start to raise salaries for, you know, let's say, an office secretary. Well, every agency has an office secretary. So they've got to have to balance this all out. When they say, okay, we're going to raise the office secretary's levels, well, they only had to look at us. They didn't have to compare us to anybody else, which made it a lot easier. And because a lot of our salaries, the way the state funds us, they put most of our state match dollars into our case services budgets. And so we've got just a small amount that actually goes towards salary. And so when we kind of pulled this together and say, okay, where can we go with this? We said, Hey, for a little bit of investment from the state side, we've got more than enough appropriation and federal funding over here. We can support this without any problem. So the meeting started in September. We kind of got going in earnest just after the Christmas holidays. We spent basically from October through December polling just gathering information. And then in from about January on, we started writing this up, getting everything put together. And then by late April we had the package ready together and we presented it to our Office of Budget and Management and Director of State personnel, and we suggested a threshold that we thought we could go to. They didn't quite agree with that. So there was some negotiating with the Department of Budget and Management, but we landed on a on a figure that was acceptable that they could live with that wasn't so far off that they were going to have problems with other state agencies as well, once they learned about what we had done. Our superintendent really wanted to push our salaries. He wanted it to be the highest in the nation.   Carol: Wow!   Scott: And he was pushing very hard to get us there. Didn't land there.   Carol: So how far did you get? How high did you get to go?   Scott: We got a substantial pay increase for them. We got, depending upon where they started, it was well over 20% pay increase for our counselors and examiners, which really stabilized it. I mean, it kind of gives you an idea, our salaries, starting salaries for what we call our VR counselor ones, which are individuals who come in with just a bachelor's degree, no experience. So we kind of have to build them up. We were starting at like 41,000 between 41 and 42. Our VR 2-counselors are individuals who have come in with a master's degree, no experience or some experience. And they were starting around 44,000 at the time and we were able to get them up. I mean, today our starting salary for counselor one is 57,000 and a couple of months with the new fiscal year will go to 58. Our twos were starting them at 60,000 and they'll go up to 62 in July. And then we have a technical specialist series and these are for individuals who again, have master's degrees, have been here a couple of years. They're starting in the upper 60s and low 70s now.   Carol: Yeah, good for you. That's pretty amazing. So were there other positions included? So it's not like your examiners or counselors. Were there any other types of positions in the agency include?   Scott: Well, we had to go back and do a readjustment because it affected both our counselors and our supervisors because it's a series of counselors, one, twos, technical specialists and supervisors. Then we have our regional supervisors and our regional directors. Well, because of it went up by grades and steps. Basically our regional supervisors were making the same thing as our office supervisors now. And so we had to raise them. When we raised the regional supervisors, they were making the same thing as the regional directors. So we had to raise the regional directors, but it had to happen over the course of time. The first push was the counselor series and so forth, and then we had to come back about a month later and do the rest of the others and so forth. So yeah, it's been sort of a work in progress and we still have some other classifications to take a look at as we kind of move down this path.   Carol: I wondered about that. If you had some work left to do.   Scott: Yeah, yeah, we do. We have to kind of go back. I mean, our support staff, we've got to go back and we've already started that work already to start looking at that group as well, because again, those classifications go across all state agencies, so we have no authority to raise those salaries. So we have to go back and do what we call a reclass them, which means we have to take a look at their classifications, see whether or not it still fits the job duties and so forth. So that's the only way I can raise that series, those individuals up. I just can't do what we did with the counselors. And in some cases, those salaries and all that are all controlled by the union.   Carol: Yes.   Scott: And so you've got to kind of have to work through all that stuff. So those positions take a little bit longer to kind of get through.   Carol: That makes good sense. So how long did that take you for this?   Scott: The first like I said, we started in 20. We started in September when I first met and we started in September. Late October.   Carol: Was that 2021?   Scott: Right.   Carol: Okay.   Scott: And then the pay raise went into effect on July 1st of 2022. So it took us nine months to kind of get it all put together and work through all the processes and doing the negotiation and so forth. So yeah.   Carol: And it's interesting because you are a union state as well. I came from a union state too, so there's extra things that go into play because I know some other folks have been successful across the country, but they didn't have that added complexity to it. So it was good to see you were able to do this in that environment.   Scott: Yeah, well, I mean, one of the things is even though we're part of a union, because the series is strictly DORS, we brought the union in once we had kind of got everything kind of worked through and said, okay, here's what we've done. They could have said, Yeah, no, we don't want you getting a pay raise. We worked at it that way just because and we had to cross even within our parent agency, if our parent agency, the Department of Education had a classification series and some of the stuff that they did, this would have never happened.   Carol: right.   Scott: Because of that uniqueness, we were able to get it done.   Carol: Yeah, the stars were aligned for you, for sure. So how have these increases impacted your staff recruitment and retention?   Scott: Oh, yeah. Big. I mean, it's like I mentioned earlier, we couldn't find staff or if we did, our supervisors and directors were making the decision of, I got to have a body, and so in some cases you're just getting a warm body. This has nothing to do with the person or anything like that. But they were probably individuals that this may not have been the best fit. But because you're sitting there as a supervisor and you've got 3 or 4 empty caseloads sitting on your desk, at least if I can get them in and get them do some work that's less work that I've got to do and so forth. So we were making some decisions on trying to sort of balance whether this was the right fit for people, but also looking at the number of people that are actually applying for the job was extremely low. I mean, we might come up with 4 or 5 individuals that make like really good candidates. And then when you made salary offer to them, they went, Uh, no thanks. In some cases we actually had made salary offers to individuals who had interned with us and wanted to work for us. And then we made the salary offer and they went, no thanks.   Carol: They're like, I can go work at Target instead.   Scott: You're exactly right. Because the salary, especially down in Prince George's and it is extremely high. Maryland has the highest median income in the country. You know, it's driven by about 3 to 4 counties in this state that drive that. And so that kind of shows you how tough it is in some other jurisdictions to find people and retain people is extremely difficult. Like I said, you know, one of those recruitments was just before we put out the salary change where we had gotten one individual. We got the permission to start publishing the new salary and we went from 1 to 40 in about two weeks.   Carol: Wow. Good for you.   Scott: For example, we had a recruitment out for this for about a month and maybe have gotten 25 to 30 applications. We re-advertised and got 170 in 3 weeks. So we went from 30 people to well over 200. So it obviously had a tremendous impact. In fact, I just had a regional director in talking with me earlier this week, talking about the quality of individuals that we're now seeing, because I haven't seen this high level of quality of people that we've gotten in years. So yeah, the impact has been immediate.   Carol: That's terrific. Have you had any staff want to come back? Maybe that left?   Scott: Well, actually, funny you asked that. We went back out to we had several staff. members who left 3 or 4 months earlier, and these were good staff. Sometimes you have staff leave and you go, thank God. Other times, you know, you see staff go out the door and you go, What a loss. And so we had about a half a dozen staff that had recently left that were sort of, oh, man, I hate to lose them. And so we reached back out to them and we were able to get four out of those six back. We almost got five back. But when they went to talk to their new employer, they went, Oh, we'll give you a pay raise. So she ended up getting a pay raise out of it because we told her what we were going to give her and they went higher. That's the benefit of a private sector situation versus, you know, state government type of situation. So we were able to get some seasoned staff back really quick. I mean, literally within weeks after the new pay plan went into effect. So yeah, it's stabilized. I'm seeing right now what I would consider sort of normal turnover. Now you're back down to 5 to 6% turnover rate versus 25 to 30% turnover rate. It's really made a made a difference in the world. It's stabilized the agency. We have a wait list. We had to basically shut it down because we had so many vacancies. I mean, we have had one and we were bringing people off the wait list. We just had to literally just shut it down. We couldn't handle. The individuals that were coming in the door that met the criteria for Category one. We were struggling with that along with our pre-employment. We just couldn't handle. We couldn't do it. So we shut it down.  Once we got stable. Our regional directors and director of Office Field services came to me and said, We can handle bringing people off the waitlist now. And so we've been able to start bringing people back off the waitlist now.   Carol: Good for you. That is terrific news is a big win all the way around. I just wondered if you had any advice for other directors and leaders across the country as there may be interested in doing something like this in their state. What advice would you give them?   Scott: The biggest advice is you've got to get buy in from your senior secretary, superintendent, whoever is your most senior, most person in the agency, because at the end of the day, they're the ones that are really going to have to go to bat and particularly when you start dealing with the counterparts over at your budget office who are always going, Oh, that's going to cost us a dollar. No, I don't think so. That's where you really need to have sort of that political clout to kind of push some of this stuff through, because it's not, it's not easy. And again depending upon the environment, to some degree, we benefited from the environment itself because obviously we weren't the only state agency losing people. And so the state, I think, recognized that they had to do something. Because even other state agencies around us couldn't hire people because of the state wage. And so I think we kind of hit it right at the right time, so we were able to do it. So I think the combination of two. One, we had a superintendent who had no problem to go banging on the secretary of budget management's door and say, I need this in order for this program to function and opening the door and then letting the rest. of the team go to work and prove the case.   Carol: I Like that you said that, prove the case. So if folks wanted to reach out to you. What would be the best way for them to contact you? Because a lot of times our listeners will say, I want to talk to Scott Dennis about what he just said.   Scott: Yeah, I mean, anybody can reach out to me. My email address is Scott Dot Dennis (D e n n i s) @maryland.gov.   Carol: Excellent. I really appreciate you joining me today and congratulations on the win. I just wish you continued success as you're working through your other positions. This is very cool. Thanks, thanks much.   Scott: Not a problem. Thank you, Carol.   {Music} Speaker1: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time, brought to you by the VR TAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

In this episode of White Canes Connect, we look at the calendar of events within the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania and any pertinent information from the National Federation of the Blind and the Pennsylvania blind community. Special Note: Stacie Leap has been doing a fantastic job assisting with the Monthly Digest. This month, Stacie is feeling under the weather. We all share our thoughts and prayers for Stacie's quick recovery. Thank you. Hello everybody! Welcome to our April 2023 monthly Digest: a monthly newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania! During the first few days of the month, we will start sending out our calendar of events. These events will be within the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania and any pertinent information from the National Federation of the Blind and the Pennsylvania blind community. If you or anyone you know have any upcoming events or information about the blind community in Pennsylvania, please send them to Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com by the 29th of the month for inclusion in our calendar the following month.   For those using screen readers, you can use your heading navigations to skip around the email.   A Message from our Affiliate President 04/01/2023 Welcome to this Month's Issue of the Digest! No, this is not an April Fools Joke! Spring has sprung, and we look forward to a month filled with outreach opportunities. If you need literature for any outreach event, call the National Center at (410) 659-9314 and select option 3 for the Independence Market. All literature is mailed Free Reading Matter within a week of you placing the order.   Please inform us of any outreaches you are participating in and approximately how many individuals you speak with. This information is good for us when requesting grants to assist members.   NFB of PA April Raffle Thank you to everyone who purchased raffle tickets! Get your Tickets ready! The time is here! If you bought an NFB of PA Spring raffle ticket, get your numbers ready. The month is finally here.    Please check out the calendar events for upcoming meetings and seminars available! - Lynn Heitz, NFB of PA State Affiliate President   Membership Dues for 2023 We are still collecting dues for 2023! Please get in touch with your chapter and divisions for membership dues; each has different amounts.    Google Calendar Links The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania also has a Google Calendar available online or subscribed to your calendar apps.  You can view the calendar without subscribing to it and view it on your web browser by clicking the following link: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=7jgal0nrodbmg61a8aar0o3i2g%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America%2FNew_York However, if you wish to subscribe to the calendar and get the events on your calendar apps, please click the following link and go through the steps to subscribe: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/7jgal0nrodbmg61a8aar0o3i2g%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics   Member Spotlight" Connie Scheu Each month, we will highlight someone within our affiliate. The goal is to allow other members to learn about other members within the affiliate. We hope you enjoy this little spotlight!   Connie Scheu holds many roles within the affiliate. She is one of the Board Directors for our State Affiliate. Connie also helps with the Erie County Chapter meetings and co-chairs our newly formed group: Blind Seniors. She also assisted in restarting the Senior Possibilities Fair at our 2022 State Convention, along with other volunteers. With all that, she also loves to sing Karaoke. If you attended our 2022 State Convention, you would have heard her beautiful voice singing Karaoke at the Talent Showcase! If you ever get a chance to meet her in person, make sure you say "Hello!"   Calendar of Events The following events are also on our Google calendar with the Zoom information. If anyone within a chapter, division, or group sees any errors or misinformation, please get in touch with Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com or text (215) 776-6741.     The below information is correct as of the first week of the month. The information is most up-to-date on the Google Calendar, so please check back periodically to ensure accurate information.    Coffee With The President & Board Bring your coffee and questions to this virtual town hall with NFB of PA President Lynn Heitz and affiliate board members.  Wednesday, April 5, 2023, at 7:00 pm ET    Jigsaw Chapter Meeting  a monthly meeting for those who do not have a local chapter in their geographical area. This is our at-large chapter.  Saturday, April 1, 2023, at 10:00 am ET      Erie County Chapter Meeting  a monthly meeting for those who live in Erie County, Pennsylvania.  Saturday, April 15, 2023, at 2:00 pm ET   Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants (PABM) Monthly Meeting  a monthly meeting for those who are or wish to be involved with the Business Enterprise Program, entrepreneurship, and their supporters.   Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at 6 pm ET    Greater Berks Chapter Monthly Meeting A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Berks County of Pennsylvania   Friday, April 14, 2023, at 10 am ET    Keystone Chapter Monthly Meeting  a monthly meeting for those who live in the Philadelphia area. Keystone is one of two local chapters in the Philadelphia area. Saturday, April 8, 2023, at 10:15 am ET   Deaf-Blind Division Monthly Meeting  a monthly meeting for those who consider themselves Deaf-Blind and their supporters.          Monday, April 10, 2023, at 6 pm ET   Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children (PAOPBC) Monthly Meeting  a monthly meeting for parents of blind children and their supporters  Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at 11 am ET   Pittsburgh Chapter Monthly Meeting A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Pittsburgh area. Wednesday, April 19, 2023, at 6 pm ET    Capital Area Chapter Monthly Meeting  a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Harrisburg area.  Saturday, April 15, 2023, at 10 am ET    Blind Parents Group Monthly Meeting  a monthly meeting for blind parents, grandparents, and their supporters  Saturday, April 15, 2023, at 7 pm ET    Blind Seniors Group  a monthly meeting for seniors or almost seniors as well as their supporters.  Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at 7:30 pm ET    Brandywine Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting  a monthly meeting for those who live in the Brandywine Valley.  Saturday, April 22, 2023, at 10 am ET   Greater Philadelphia Chapter Monthly Meeting a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Philadelphia area. Greater Philadelphia is one of two local chapters in the Philadelphia area.  Saturday, April 22, 2023, at 10 am ET    Pennsylvania Association of Guide Dog Users (PAGDU)  a monthly meeting for those who have or are considering getting a guide dog and their supporters.  Saturday, April 22, 2023, at 4 pm ET    Pennsylvania Association of Blind Students (PABS) Monthly Meeting  a monthly meeting for blind students of all ages and their supporters.  Monday, April 25, 2023, at 7 pm ET    White Canes Connect Podcast  Did you know the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania has a podcast? Members David Goldstein and Lisa Bryant host. It features interviews with our PA members and interviews and resources for the blind community. You can listen to it wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, IHeartRadio, and Twitter @PABlindPodcast. Contact White Canes Connect at whitecanesconnect@gmail.com if you have any show ideas or wish to be on the podcast.   Birthday Wishes and Special Occasions Birthday Wishes! The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania would like to wish all those who were born in April a very happy birthday!     Blind Parents Group T-Shirts Fundraiser The Blind Parents Group still has some t-shirts left over from our fundraising efforts at the state convention. The t-shirts come in either black with white lettering or white with black lettering. Both shirts say "I Support #BlindParents" with the NFB of PA Logo and "Blind Parents Group" at the bottom. Funds raised will start scholarship funds to assist blind or visually impaired parents and their families through financial hardships. To purchase a t-shirt, please get in touch with Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com   Past: Happy Valley Powerhouse Sub Fundraiser The Happy Valley recently had its Powerhouse Subs fundraiser that ended earlier this month. They want to thank everybody who helped make this fundraiser a success! Other External Events These events are not hosted or sponsored by the NFB or the NFB of PA. However, these might be good resources for Pennsylvania residents. If you have any events that you wish to be in our monthly digest, please email Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com   Liberty Resources' Blind/Low Vision Support Group Our members Karen Rose and Simone Cooper partner with Liberty Resources to hold a weekly virtual support group at Liberty Resources. The aim is to share resources and support those experiencing blindness or low vision. Meetings are weekly on Tuesdays from 1 pm to 2 pm ET. For more information or to sign-up, please email Latoya Maddox at LatoyaMaddox@libertyresources.org.   Vision Thru Art Vision Thru Art is a weekly sculpture class for blind and visually-impaired artists that has been running at Allens Lane Art Center for over 30 years. Our dedicated faculty, staff, and volunteers help the students express their inner vision through various media, including clay, wood, mosaic, stone, and other mixed materials. The students are encouraged to work at their own pace while enjoying the easy-going social atmosphere of the class. In 2014, Allens Lane Art Center made the class entirely free for all the students, including free art supplies each year. Location: The Fluhr Studio - (downstairs back studio accessible by the rear entrance). Many of the students use Para-transit to get to the class. Service dogs are, of course, welcome. Day/Time: Wednesday, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm and Friday, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm. Fees: There are no fees for this class. Registration: Contact by phone (215-248-0546) or by https://allenslane.org/vision-thru-art/   Women Healed For A Purpose 2023 Conference! Our member Lyvette Byrd is hosting her 2nd Annual Women Healed For a Purpose Conference under her business, For The Byrds Consulting, LLC. The conference's mission is to equip and restore the community through a faith-based initiative to strengthen women holistically; mind, body, and spirit. We are women Living Interdependently in support of Family, Friends, and our Fellow neighbors to Educate and Empower our community. The event will be on Saturday, October 28, 2023. More details about the event will come at a later date!   NFB Pledge I pledge to participate actively in the effort of the National Federation of the Blind; to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.   NFB Message The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams.   Many thanks to everybody for all they do within the Federation!   Thanks! The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania team

  In this episode of iCantCU, I talk about traveling to Harrisburg for a Business Enterprise Program meeting that was canceled at 9PM the night before it was due to be held. Hours after I arrived in the State Capital and checked into the hotel. I also mention my glaucoma doctor appointment, where the specialist couldn't determine my recent vision loss. I fear that things don't look good, pardon the pun. He said he didn't need to see me again for six months. I've been seeing him every three to four months for the last couple of years. Additionally, I recap my tour of the Eastern State Penitentiary with the Philly Meetup for the Blind crew. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/224   Links Mentioned In The Episode Why was the Labor and Industry building in Harrisburg closed for our meeting? https://www.wgal.com/article/pennsylvania-labor-industry-building-closed/43386884  Learn more about Philly Touch Tours at http://phillytouchtours.com. Learn About Descript The transcript from this episode is done using Descript. Try out Descript for free at https://www.descript.com/?lmref=Yw2dhQ. This is an affiliate link, so I'll earn a commission if you pay for the app. Thanks! Support iCantCU When shopping at Amazon, I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast Episode 066 In episode 066 of White Canes Connect, Dakota Hogwood discusses her journey in the Business Enterprise Program (BEP). She explains the training, the bidding on a location, and her future plans. Dakota also tells us how she was shut down by COVID soon after opening her first location. She also gives a plug for the Philadelphia Fire of the National Beep Baseball Association, where she plays. Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI IHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-white-canes-connect-89603482/ Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7dd1600d-05fa-48f3-8a8e-456e30e690bc/white-canes-connect White Canes Connect On Twitter Https://www.twitter.com/PABlindPodcast Parents Of Blind Children Fundraiser Support the Parents Division by purchasing candy! Go to https://www.sarriscandiesfundraising.com/VIEWBYCATEGORY.aspx?id=VA to make your purchase. If you do not see their name on the page, enter their code: 10-0316. Support Keystone Chapter Please consider donating to the Keystone Chapter of the National Federation Of The Blind Of Pennsylvania. Go to http://www.SupportKeystoneChapter.org. Enter any amount you want to give. You can check a box to cover the fees, which is helpful if you wish to donate a dollar or two. PayPal handles payments, but you don't need a PayPal account. You can donate with any credit or debit card. Thank you so much! I appreciate it. My Podcast Gear Here is all my gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Follow iCantCU On Your Favorite Podcast Directory! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | Google | IHeartRadio Reach Out On Social Media Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Are You Or Do You know A Blind Boss? If you or someone you know is crushing it in their field and is also blind, I want to hear from you! Call me at (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Include your name and town, and tell me who the Blind Boss is and why I need to have them on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.    

In this episode of White Canes Connect, Lisa and David talk business with Dakota Hogwood, who runs a Grab and Go at the Green Federal Building as part of the Business Enterprise Program (BEP). Dakota explains the training she received in the program and the process of bidding for locations. She also talks about her goals and what she'd like to see happen in the program. Dakota also mentioned that she is a member of the Philadelphia Fire of the National Beep Baseball Association member.  Show notes at https://www.whitecanesconnect.com/066    Business Enterprise Program Info Learn more about the Business Enterprise Program in Pennsylvania at https://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Disability-Services/ovr/Pages/Your-Road-to-Independence.aspx. You'll also find contact info for all the BBVS offices statewide. Other Episodes Mentioned In This Episode Dakota mentioned that she, her sister, and her father have RP. In episode 057, we spoke to Michelle Glaze and Eric Bennardo from the Foundation Fighting Blindness about RP: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/whitecanesconnect/white_canes_connect_057_post.mp3. We play a voicemail from Janice in South Carolina responding to something Lisa mentioned in episode 062 when we had Paul Howard and Kris Crawley from NOBBL: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/whitecanesconnect/white_canes_connect_063_post.mp3. Philadelphia Fire in the National Beep Baseball Association Learn more about the NBBA at https://www.nbba.org/. Connect with the Philadelphia Fire on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063545075205. Parents Of Blind Children Fundraiser Support the Parents Division by purchasing candy! Go to https://www.sarriscandiesfundraising.com/VIEWBYCATEGORY.aspx?id=VA to make your purchase. If you do not see their name on the page, enter their code: 10-0316. Give Us A Call We'd love to hear from you! We've got a phone number for you to call, ask us questions, give us feedback, or say, "hi!" Call us at (267) 338-4495. You have up to three minutes for your message, and we might use it on an upcoming episode. Please leave your name and town as part of your message.  Follow White Canes Connect Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | IHeartRadio  Connect With Us If you've got questions, comments, or show ideas, reach out on Twitter. We are @PABlindPodcast. You can also email us at WhiteCanesConnect@gmail.com.

Scott Eggen, Randall Crosby and Linda Allison come together once again in the Blind Abilities Studio and this time talking about a day in the life of an owner/operator/vendor in the Business Enterprise Program. What is a typical day like for Scott as he operates his businesses in prisons and colleges? What is Randall's day like operating a Rest Area in the heavy tourist area of Florida? And, how about Linda and her commute, inventory access and now changing her location? Listen in as they talk about their business and how they enjoy the fruits of their labor. You can find out more about the Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America on the web at www.Randolph-Sheppard.org and stay up to date with all the happenings and events on the Randolph-Sheppard Facebook page. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email and give us a call at 612-367-6093, we would love to hear from you! Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Community on Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired 

In this episode of White Canes Connect, David talks about the events coming up in March within the NFB of PA and outside of the affiliate that may be of interest to blind Pennsylvanians. The script for this episode was taken word-for-word from Stacie's email. Literally. If you're not on the list serv of your chapter or division, go to https://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo. Thanks again to Stacie for compiling the monthly digest. Welcome to our March 2023 monthly Digest: a monthly newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania! During the first few days of the month, we will start sending out our calendar of events. These events will be within the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania as well as any pertinent information from the National Federation of the Blind and the Pennsylvania blind community. If you or anyone you know have any upcoming events or information that can pertain to the blind community in Pennsylvania, please send them to Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com by the 29th of the month so it can be added to our calendar for the following month.   For those using screen readers, you can use your heading navigations to skip around the email.   A Message from our Affiliate President March 1st, 2023 Hello Everyone, Happy March, Spring will be here soon and we will all feel better about getting out and about!   There are several Outreaches and Conferences coming up in the next few months and I hope to see many of you there.   Please visit our Calendar of Events for more information.  - Lynn Heitz, NFB of PA State Affiliate President   Membership Dues for 2023 We are still collecting dues for 2023! Please contact your chapter and divisions for membership dues as each chapter and division has different amounts.    Google Calendar Links The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania also has a Google Calendar that can be viewed either through the web or subscribed to your calendar apps.  You can view the calendar without subscribing to it and view it on your web browser by clicking the following link: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=7jgal0nrodbmg61a8aar0o3i2g%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America%2FNew_York However, if you wish to subscribe to the calendar and get the events on your calendar apps, please click the following link and go through the steps to subscribe:  https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/7jgal0nrodbmg61a8aar0o3i2g%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics   Member Spotlight” Denice Brown Each month, we will highlight someone within our affiliate. The goal is to allow other members to learn about other members within the affiliate. We hope you enjoy this little spotlight!   Denice Brown serves within the National Federation of the Blind in many capacities. She serves as the President of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter going on 20 years this year. She also is one of the Board Directors for our amazing affiliate. She was recently elected to the role of Treasurer of the National Association of Blind Black Leaders and has been on the Scholarship Committee for several years. She volunteers her time teaching iPhone skills at Liberty Resources and is a proud sister of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She does so much more than we might not even be aware of. While her schedule might be tight, she finds time to attend jazz concerts, travel across the country, and hang out with her mother. If you ever get a chance to meet her in person, do not hesitate to say “Hi”.   Calendar of Events The following events are also on our Google calendar with the Zoom information. If anyone within a chapter, division, or group see any errors or misinformation, please contact Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com or text her at 215-776-6741.     The below information is correct as of the first week of the month. The information is most up-to-date on the Google Calendar so please check back periodically to ensure the right information.   Jigsaw Chapter monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for those does not have a local chapter in their geographical area. This is our at-large chapter. Saturday, March 3, 2023 at 10AM   Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants (PABM) Monthly Meeting  a monthly meeting for those who are or wish to be involved with the Business Enterprise Program, entrepreneurship and their supporters.    Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 6PM     Greater Berks Chapter Monthly Meeting A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Bucks County of Pennsylvania    Friday, March 10, 2023 at 10AM   Leadership Seminar 2023 Selected individuals will meet in State College, PA for the annual Leadership Seminar. For more information, please contact our State Affiliate President at president@nfbofpa.org Friday, March 10, 2023 – Sunday, March 12, 2023 in State College, PA   State Board Meeting This meeting is held quarterly. The PA State Affiliate Board convenes to discuss matters relating to the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania. Typically, this meeting is held virtually but for this month, we will convene in-person at the Leadership Seminar. Saturday, March 11, 2023 at 1:45PM at State College, PA   Keystone Chapter Monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Greater Philadelphia area. The other chapter is the Greater Philadelphia Chapter. There will be no March 2023 meeting due to the Leadership Seminar that is happening at the same time. The Chapter will reconvene in April 2023.   Deaf Blind Division Monthly Meeting  a monthly meeting for those who consider themselves to be Deaf Blind and their supporters.          Monday, March 13, 2023 at 6PM   Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children (PAOPBC) Monthly Meeting  a monthly meeting for parents of blind children and their supporters  Tuesday, March 14, 2023 at 11AM   Pittsburgh Chapter Monthly Meeting A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Pittsburgh area. Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 6PM   Clusive Workshop We have invited the team at Clusive to come and talk about their program and services. Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 11AM      Capital Area Chapter Monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Harrisburg area.   Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 10AM     Erie County Chapter Meeting   a monthly meeting for those who live in Erie County Pennsylvania. Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 2PM     Blind Parents Group Monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for blind parents, grandparents, and their supporters   Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 7PM     Blind Seniors Group   a monthly meeting for those who are seniors or almost seniors as well as their supporters.   Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 7:30PM     Brandywine Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for those who live in the Brandywine Valley.   Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 10AM   Greater Philadelphia Chapter Monthly Meeting a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Greater Philadelphia area.  The other chapter is the Keystone Chapter. Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 10AM     Pennsylvania Association of Guide Dog Users (PAGDU)   a monthly meeting for those who have or are considering getting a guide dog as well as their supporters.   Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 4pm     Pennsylvania Association of Blind Students (PABS) Monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for blind students of all ages and their supporters.   Monday, March 27, 2023 at 7PM    White Canes Connect Podcast  Did you know that the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania has a podcast? It is hosted by members David Goldstein and Lisa Bryant. It features interviews with our PA members as well as interviews and resources for the blind community. You can listen to it wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, IHeartRadio, and on Twitter @PABlindPodcast. Contact White Canes Connect at whitecanesconnect@gmail.com if you have any show ideas or wish to be on the podcast.   National Convention 2023 Registration is now open for the 2023 National Convention. Tickets are $25 and banquet tickets are $70. The convention will take place in Houston, Texas from July 1-6, 2023. Hotel information and registration links are at www.nfb.org/convention   Special Shout-Outs! Birthday Wishes The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania would like to wish all those who were born in March a very happy birthday!   Congratulations to Dexter Cooper on his award! Congratulations to Greater Philadelphia's member Dexter Cooper for his upcoming award sponsored by the Men of Jericho within his Masonic organization. He will be presented with his award on Saturday, March 11th at 12PM During a luncheon. Here is the information, if you are able to attend. The tickets are $50. It will occur at: Saint Nicholas Banquet Hall 817 N. 7th Street Philadelphia., Pa 19123   There are also opportunities to place an ad in the booklet. The prices are $20 for a half page, and $30 for a full page. For ads you can contact Kelly R. Myers at 610-714-1103, or krmpublishing@yahoo.com Payments can be sent through Cash App at: $ernball For further information and to congratulate Dexter, you can call him at: 267-584-3714 Congratulations to Stacie Leap on Anvaya Feats' featured video! Stacie Leap was featured by Anvaya Feats for her work in accessibility testing and advocacy for the organization. Please check out the YouTube video at the following link: https://youtu.be/v0FWX4D27ms   Our Condolences to Emily Gindlesperger and Angelina Angelcyk We regret to inform our Affiliate family that Emily Gindlesperger lost her mother earlier this week.  Please keep Emily and her daughter, Angelina Angelcyk, in your thoughts and prayers. You may contact Emily at vp2@nfbp.org   Fundraisers Community Service Division Double Good Popcorn Fundraiser Members of the Community Service Division has opened up Double Good popcorn stores throughout the country to raise fund for the division. Previous funds raised were used to host service projects at the NFB National Convention, provide financial assistance to first-time national convention attendees, and many more! Please consider buying this delicious popcorn in a variety of flavors! It comes in a variety of flavors and shipped directly to your house! From flavors like: Butter Believe It, Sergeant Salt & Pepper, Caramel DM, Sweety You Salty, and much more, you definitely cannot go wrong! It is only for four days so please do not wait but order yours starting March 3, 2023! It will be over on March 6, 2023 at 12PM ET!  You can purchase the popcorn with Stacie Leap's popcorn store link which is https://popup.doublegood.com/s/qm57o5h1   NFB of PA April Raffle The NFB of PA is selling $5 tickets for their April 2023 Raffle. Participants will choose a 3-digit number to play during the entire month of April 2023. Each day, a winner is chosen to receive a monetary prize. If your number is selected from Sunday to Friday, you will receive $50. If your number is selected on a Saturday, you will receive $100. Once a winner is selected for the day, their number is thrown back into the pot so a person has 30 chances to win during the entire month of April! Please send all payments to NFB of PA State Treasurer Brian Mackey by March 27, 2023. Each chapter treasurer has some raffle tickets in their possession to sell so please contact your chapter treasurer for more details. If you are not a part of a chapter, such as a family member, friend, co-worker, acquaintance, or supporter of any kind and wish to purchase tickets, please contact Jim Antonacci at jjantonacci@verizon.net   PAOPBC Chocolate Fundraiser The Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children is participating once again with Sarris Chocolate to do some fundraising! 25% of all sales goes back into the division. This is to allow for scholarships and financial assistance that we can give back to the parents who have blind or visually impaired children. Please consider buying some chocolate for loved ones during Valentine's Day! Give someone the gift of chocolate for St. Patrick's Day! Buy some to show appreciation to family and friends during Easter, all occasions and holidays in between! This is the Spring collection and will run from now until April 2, 2023 This is to ensure that your chocolate gets to you by Easter if you wish to eat it then but you can always buy some now and more later. :) This is the perfect gift for yourself or someone in your life! Our Group code is 10-0316. You can also access the following link to get to the website and support our division: https://www.sarriscandiesfundraising.com/Group.aspx?id=10-0316   Blind Parents Group T-Shirts Fundraiser The Blind Parents Group still have some t-shirts left over from our fundraising efforts at the state convention. The t-shirts come in either black with white letterings or white with black letterings. Both shirts say “I Support #BlindParents” with the NFB of PA Logo and “Blind Parents Group” at the bottom. Funds raised will start a scholarship funds to assist blind or visually impaired parents and their family through financial life hardships. To purchase a t-shirt, please contact Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com   SABE THE DATE: Greater Philadelphia Double Good Popcorn Fundraiser Pop, pop, pop it up! The Greater Philadelphia Chapter will be having their Double Good popcorn fundraiser in April 2023. Look out in future emails on how to support!   Other External Events These events are not hosted or sponsored by the NFB or the NFB of PA. However, we think these might be good resources for those living in Pennsylvania. If you have any events that you wish to be in our monthly digest, please email Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com   OVR State Board of Vocational Rehabilitation Quarterly Meeting Thursday, March 2, 2023 Start time: 10 a.m. End time: 3 p.m. Break: noon – 1 p.m. This meeting will be hybrid, with the in-person portion held at the Best Western Premier in Harrisburg (800 E. Park Dr., Harrisburg, Pa), and the virtual portion held via Zoom. The public is invited to attend in person or connect to this meeting using the following information: You are invited to a Zoom webinar. When: March 2, 2023, 10 a.m. Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: PA State Board of Vocational Rehabilitation Quarterly Meeting Please click the following link to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85656724729?pwd=SktvQnZvaEJPcnBBMTZFWE81cy9TZz09#success Passcode: 210559 Or One tap mobile: US: +19292056099,,85656724729#,,,,*210559# or +13017158592,,85656724729#,,,,*210559# Or Telephone: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: 1-929-205-6099 or 1-301-715-8592 or 1-305-224-1968 or 1-309-205-3325 or 1-312-626-6799 or 1-646-931-3860 or 1-669-444-9171 or 1-669-900-6833 or 1-689-278-1000 or 1-719-359-4580 or 1-253-205-0468 or 1-253-215-8782 or 1-346-248-7799 or 1-360-209-5623 or 1-386-347-5053 or 1-507-473-4847 or 1-564-217-2000 Webinar ID: 856 5672 4729 Passcode: 210559 For more information, please visit their website at https://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Disability-Services/Board-and-Committee-Info/Pages/PA-State-Board-of-Vocational-Rehabilitation.aspx   SEPTA Advisory Council Meeting Postponed The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority typically holds monthly advisory council meetings to the public; however, meetings are postponed until further noticed. Please see the letter sent to the Advisory Council and public: Good afternoon, SAC members and general public,  I regret to inform you that the February 9, 2023, SAC meeting is canceled. SEPTA must complete an internal investigation regarding the conduction of SAC meetings.    SAC meetings will resume upon SAC chairs and SEPTA coming to a resolution on their internal issues. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.     Sincerely,   The SAC chairs   Liberty Resources' Blind/Low Vision Support Group Our members Karen Rose and Simone Cooper partner up with Liberty Resources to hold weekly virtual support group at Liberty Resources. The aim is to share resources and provide support to those experiencing blindness or low vision. Meetings are weekly on Tuesdays from 1pm to 2pm ET via Zoom. You do not need to live in Philadelphia to attend these meetings, this is open to all in Pennsylvania! For more information or to sign-up, please email Latoya Maddox at LatoyaMaddox@libertyresources.org   Vision Thru Art Vision Thru Art is a weekly sculpture class for blind and visually-impaired artists that has been running at Allens Lane Art Center for more than 30 years. Our dedicated faculty, staff and volunteers help the students express their inner vision through a variety of media including clay, wood, mosaic, stone and other mixed materials. The students are encouraged to work at their own pace while enjoying the easy-going social atmosphere of the class. In 2014, Allens Lane Art Center made the class completely free for all the students including free art supplies each year. Location: The Fluhr Studio - (downstairs back studio accessible by rear entrance). Many of the students use Para-transit to get to the class. Service dogs are of course welcome. Day/Time:  Wednesday, 10:30 am – 12:30pm and Friday 10:30 am – 12:30pm. Fees: There are no fees for this class. Registration: Contact by phone (215-248-0546) or by https://allenslane.org/vision-thru-art/   Eye See You I love U Eye See You I love U is hosting numerous fundraisers coming up.  You can view their events and get more information on their website at https://eyeseeyouiloveu.org/ On February 20th they will be hosting their family fun night at Chuck E Cheese that is open to parents and children of all abilities. They will also be holding their first Walk A thon in June. On June 10th from 9 AM to 4 PM, individuals can come to Hempfield Park and participate in our Eye Will Walk With You Walk A Thon to raise awareness for Optic Nerve Hypoplasia and children with no vision and low vision. The registration link is below. You can use code EYESEEYOU until April 20th for 15% off of registration. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/eye-will-walk-with-you-2023-tickets 499094815027?aff=ebdsoporgprofile   Women Healed For A Purpose 2023 Conference! Our member Lyvette Byrd is hosting her 2nd Annual Women Healed For a Purpose Conference under her business, For The Byrds Consulting, LLC. The mission of the conference  is to equip and restore the community through a faith-based initiative that we hope will strengthen women holistically; mind, body, and spirit. We are women Living Interdependently in support of Family, Friends, and our Fellow neighbors to Educate and Empower our community. The event will be on Saturday, October 28, 2023. More details about the event will come at a later date!   NFB Pledge I pledge to participate actively in the effort of the National Federation of the Blind; to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.   NFB Message The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams.

Scott Eggen, Randall Crosby and Linda Allison joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio. They are owner/operators in the Business Enterprise Program (BEP) and are here to talk about their experiences and successful careers. The Business Enterprise Program (BEP) was established for Blind/Visually Impaired individuals to create opportunities and careers through food vending services and food and merchandise sales on Federal and state properties. The BEP program is nationwide and if you or anybody you know is interested in owning their own business, wants to work and begin a promising career, share this podcast and let them know about the Business Enterprise program. If you are interested in knowing more about the BEP, contact State Services for the Blind, or your Vocational Rehab agency if outside of Minnesota and ask about the Business Enterprise Program.   Be sure to check out Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America on the web and stay up to date with all the latest news and events.   Episode Web Site we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at info@BlindAbilities.com or give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093

I have been looking forward to this episode of Unstoppable Mindset for several months. Today, please meet the director of the California Department of Rehabilitation, Joe Xavier. Joe has been the Director of this California agency for more than eight years.   He immigrated to the U.S. from the Azores at the age of seven years of age. He has been blind since birth although, at first, he had a small bit of eyesight. Like other children, he went to school, and like other children of immigrants, he learned the value of hard work. As you listen to my conversation with Joe you will see that he has a strong work ethic that he brings to his job.   During our time together we discuss a wide range of topics around disabilities in specific and societal attitudes in general.   I hope you enjoy hearing Joe as much as I enjoyed interviewing him. I also hope you come away with a more positive attitude about people with disabilities and what we bring to jobs, the community and to the world.     About the Guest: Joe Xavier, Director of the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR), has over 38 years of experience in business and public administration as well as many years participating in advocacy and community organizations. As an immigrant, a blind consumer, and a beneficiary of DOR's services, Joe has the experience and understands the challenges and opportunities available to individuals with disabilities, and the services required to maximize an individual's full potential. Joe believes in the talent and potential of individuals with disabilities; investing in the future through creativity, ingenuity, and innovation; ensuring decisions and actions are informed by interested individuals and groups; pursuing excellence through continuous improvement; and preserving the public's trust through compassionate and responsible provision of services.     About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe to your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes Michael Hingson  00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson  01:21 Well, hi, everyone, it is Mike Hingson. Again, and you're listening to unstoppable mindset. Our guest today is Joe Xavier, and he actually has someone with him Kim Rutledge, who we're going to draft to come on a podcast a little later. But Joe, for those of you who have not heard of Joe or met him, he is the director of the department of rehabilitation in California, which is really a fascinating job. I've never done it, but I know what is involved in it. And I hope that you all are becoming or will become as fascinated as I with what Joe's background is and what his job is all about. So we'll get to all that. But Joe, welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Joe Xavier  02:03 Michael, good to be here. Hello to everybody who's listening in on the podcast and looking forward to this afternoon's conversation.   Michael Hingson  02:10 Well, we are as well. So tell me a little bit about you growing up and your your roots and all those things. Let's start with that. It's always good to start with that.   Joe Xavier  02:20 Yeah, always a nice start point. So I am an immigrant to this country. I came here as a seven year old child from the Azores Islands and seven of us and my parents came here I have a brother that was born here. And a date I'm the only one with a disability I grew up in agriculture, milking cows feeding calves are getting crops and went through integrated elementary, high school and got connected with the Department of Rehabilitation entered into the workforce other than on the dairy farm through the business enterprises program. Did that for about 14 years. My wife convinced me to become a civil servant. And so for about 10 years, I did managerial positions within the department. And then since 2008 been in various executive roles, most recently the director of the department now since 2014, had exactly the path you might sketch out for a VR director. It is how I got here.   Michael Hingson  03:33 On the other hand, it gives you different kinds of experiences which have to help you in terms of your your perspectives and all that were you blind from birth.   Joe Xavier  03:44 I was very low vision I have what is called retinitis pigmentosa is and so my eyesight deteriorated from the use of very thick glasses to wear today it's light perception and it'd be extreme contrast for me even though the lights are on.   Michael Hingson  04:04 Yeah, I had light perception but have since lost it because being blind my entire life from now what they call written up the old prematurity. I liked retro lunch or fiber pleasure. I've never understood why they changed the name, but medical science does what they do. So that's okay. But I had light perception and then along the way just because the eyes don't function cataract formed and so no one ever thought it was worth removing them just for like perception.   Joe Xavier  04:32 Yeah. Well, you know, it's, it's part of who we are as part of our lived experiences to get to this point and see things the way we see them.   Michael Hingson  04:42 Yeah. So you went off and did administrative work and then became a civil servant? Was that significant switch for you in terms of mindset and just the way you did things or was it kind of, even though a strange way to get to where you or today? Was it sort of a natural life regression?   Joe Xavier  05:02 In a way? It's kind of interesting. You asked that question, Michael. Because when you first look at it, and you think about it, you go, how do these things connect. But then when you actually put it together, it does really build on itself. So my first exposure at work was really learning how to work and having the expectation and the experiences of working in various roles, I then went off and became a business owner. And being a small business owner, is a really important piece of the work that I do as an administrator, you'll learn the whole spectrum of how things need to, and must work together between policy and funding. And the folks that you're serving, and the folks that are delivering the services, whether they're your staff or entities you're contracting with. But then I guess the other piece that really comes to play is that as I've stepped into the executive roles, you obviously have to really lean on your political acumen and your community engagement from so many different lands, including any entity that has an interest in the work that we do. But think of the business community that also has an interest in what we sow, in a roundabout way. These are all major elements that I've had to draw on and continue to draw on every single day.   Michael Hingson  06:33 How political does it have to be? Or does it end up being as you're you're just dealing with being a small business owner or teaching people to be a small business owner? And as they go through the process? It's politics seems to be everywhere today.   Joe Xavier  06:48 Yeah, I think I think people hear politics, and you can hear so many different things. Yeah, I'll never forget an experience that I had many years ago, engaging with grandma Johnson, who was the Secretary of Health and Human Services here in California. And I suppose so you've had lots of experience dealing with politics? What's your best advice to me? Because well, the first thing you need to understand Joe was what politics is and what it's not. Politics is simply a conversation for the allocation of resources. And when you start with that understanding, it's much easier to navigate all of what you do. So that's a long winded answer, to say that, in the conversation of politics, or better stated, allocation of resources, it lives at every level, with every individual, every organization, every body. And so when you become comfortable recognizing that and then engaging in that becomes a little more practical, a little more doable. So we deal with politics, we do the allocation of resources from the individual, to the organization, and even on some level nationally, and certainly at the state level.   Michael Hingson  08:08 It's amazing how it's been warped the concept of politics has has worked over the years and, and, you know, leaving people like Will Rogers aside who love to satirize politics, it's just really amazing to see how people's views have have changed and how people treat politics today, because I like that definition. And it's all about a conversation, dealing with the allocation of resources. But we've just as a society seem to have warped the whole concept of politics so much.   Joe Xavier  08:44 Yeah, I mean, I think clearly, you know, when you get talking about people's individual preferences and their own beliefs and values that certainly comes to play in the work that I do. We focus on it much more from what are the resources that are available? And how do we best make use of those. So you know, the world we live in today, and you walk those lines and do that dance?   Michael Hingson  09:13 It seems to me if we were to really talk about what the problem with politics is, it's not really politics as much as it is. We've lost the art of conversation, and we've lost the art of listening so much, which is unfortunate.   Joe Xavier  09:27 Well, and then it's a good point, when you bring it down to the level of conversation, because I think that's what's an essential ingredient. In the work that we do. It's, it's being opened to have any conversations. It's listening to the other people's point of views and interests and perspectives. And at the end of the day, I find that most everybody is aligned on the common interest, certainly within the work we do which is essential Li, ensuring that individuals with disabilities get a job, keep a job and advance an employment. And then the other slice of work that we spend a lot of time on is community loving, giving individuals the opportunity to live in their community of choice with purpose and dignity, regardless of how or where they are in their life's progression. Yeah.   Michael Hingson  10:25 And it's fair to think about that for for all of us. And it is something that I would like to see more people doing, of course, what you do is you work with persons who have some sort of disability, and you at the highest level get to represent their interests in the whole state process, don't you?   Joe Xavier  10:51 Yes, that is true. Well, here at the Department of Rehabilitation, we serve everyone, regardless of the disability they have, or how they acquired or whether they were born with that disability. Obviously, you and I is two individuals who were blind. You know, obviously, we come from that understanding of disability, but it could be a physical disability, it could be a cognitive disability. You know, it can be sensory in terms of people who are deaf or hard of hearing as well. So we run the absolute gamut. And I think one thing that's really important for society as a whole to pay attention to is, when we talk about disability, it's not just those of us who have it today. It's that infant that will be born today and unfortunately, not have the life of expectations that we want them to have. It's a person in service of country, service of community that will acquire that disability is the individual that because of an illness, will acquire a disability, whether it's through a brain tumor, or cancer, or in any other type of illnesses. And then you obviously have people require disabilities, such as the person who is going home tonight that will be involved in a severe vehicle accident, and tomorrow morning as a quadriplegic, or a traumatic brain injury survivor. And for us, regardless of who those individuals are, we want them to get the services they need to get into meaningful competitive, integrated employment than just be your full selves, realize that you have lots to contribute in the workplace needs that talent and society needs your contributions.   Michael Hingson  12:38 Just out of curiosity, I know. And I don't recall exactly what year it happened. But at the federal level, they decided that for people who want the job of being homemakers, that would no longer be covered, if I understood it, right under rehabilitation services.   Joe Xavier  12:57 Yeah, let me I'll speak a little bit about that. So the Rehab Act is reauthorized every number of years, the most recent reauthorization was in 2014. Right. And so in effect, a competitive integrated employment becomes the only employment outcome that is now allowed under the Rehab Act. And as a result of that, a homemaker which was otherwise and then compensated employment outcome, the idea being that if I stayed home and was able to care for myself, my wife or significant other would be able to go to work and and, you know, be employed. But that did change. Now, for those that are eligible over the age of 55. There are still independent living services, with categorical emphasis on blindness that enable individuals to get the services they need to remain at home. And if you are in pursuit of employment, then there was no impact to your services whatsoever, because we will provide any service an individual needs to pursue and gain employment.   Michael Hingson  14:09 Yeah. And it's, again, it wasn't anything that happened in California, it was a federal decision. How does it impact you and will not use specifically but how does it impact the whole policy process to not have the homemaker process still covered like it used to be? What is it what does it actually end up doing?   Joe Xavier  14:35 Well, on the policy side, the impact is not what I would call an unnecessarily onerous and effect. What it changed in terms of policy was, and we'll use you as an example, Michael, that if he had come to the department, you were pursuing an employment goal. You received assistive technology because of your blindness. We now because you as as successful homemaker, you got to keep that equipment, or the policy changes that you no longer are able to keep that equipment because you were not successfully employed. So that means you no longer have the use of it. So from a policy side, that's probably the largest shift that took place. From a practical application, my had you been one of those individuals that were coming to us with the idea that you would refresh your assistive technology or get some upgraded independent living skills, you know, now those have to be done, strictly focusing on employment. And if employment is not that outcome, then the ability to retain that equipment is not provided.   Michael Hingson  15:48 Understandable. And at the same time, there are other ways to, to get equipment if you're not going to pursue employment under the definition, because what they're saying basically, as as I understand it, is that homemaking is not considered achieving employment, it has to be something outside the home, that's a job or let's not even say outside the home, but it has to be some sort of a, a job other than being a homemaker. So you could start your own company, as an entrepreneur, and provide either jobs for you and other people that that are part of what a real independent company does. But as far as just providing the ability to do things at home, that we define as homemaking services are not really covered anymore.   Joe Xavier  16:40 Yeah, that's correct. I mean, what's not covered is the ability to retain, either get or retain those services, if that's the ultimate goal. But just to just to put a little bit more of a finer point. Now employment is defined as competitive, and antegrade competitive, meaning you're not earning a sub minimum wage, integrated, meaning you're doing it in a setting where similarly situated individuals doing similar work are found. And so those are the sort of three prongs of employment is that that competitive and that emigrate integrated? approach.   Michael Hingson  17:20 So, you you mentioned earlier and, and, of course, it's one of the things I think a lot of people, I see a lot of blind people thinking about it, the whole concept of starting a business. One of the main ways that departments of rehabilitation in general help people start businesses is through, what we commonly know is the Business Enterprise Program or bending programs, which come under the Randall Shepard act, primarily where people can be matched with places that need vendors to come in and provide services, whether it be a federal building, where you run a cafeteria, or vending stands, and so on. That That, of course, is one way that people can certainly learn a lot about businesses and starting businesses and being real entrepreneurs.   Joe Xavier  18:13 Yeah, it is. I'll talk about that a little bit. I'll talk about self employment. So we because we do have both the business enterprises program, the short version is that it was established specifically for the blind and visually impaired, it is providing food services. In federal, state, local government, by and large every once in a while we have settings in a non governmental setting, but those are more rare. And you are essentially either in a full food service where you're doing bacon, an AES and burgers and fries, or you are in a vending machine. And then of course, a number of settings in between. You go through you get the training, you become licensed, you compete for locations that become available, you're selected, you operate those, it is a public private partnership, public in the sense that it is public funds that establish that facility that maintain and repair and replace the equipment of that facility and provide support services to the BEP Business Enterprise Program vendor. Private in the good sense that the vendor is a self employed and whatever income they have is as a result of the earnings generated from the location once they meet their business obligations. The other one is self employment. We do self employment plans. As long as someone can put together a viable business plan. We provide them with the training and the supports and getting them set up in those self employment plans. And it really depends on the individual All and what they want to do one thing that I always tell people about self employment, you have to have a whole lot of self motivation, because nobody's telling you what to do and when to do or how to do it. And you need to do it in the way that ensures that customers not only only going to come to you the first time, but that they will keep coming back to you over and over again, because that's how you're going to generate the sales. And without the sales, there's not going to be in the income. And   Michael Hingson  20:28 you have to be disciplined to as you point out to keep to keep customers and to keep moving on. It is, is very much a discipline process. And not even just self employment. But I know I've had a number of jobs over the years, where I have not necessarily worked at the company headquarters. So in 1996, a company asked me to go to New York to open an office for them. And of course, that eventually led to another company that asked me to open an office for them, which took place on the 70th floor of Tower, one of the World Trade Center. But in both cases, I was working for companies that were based elsewhere. So it wasn't quite self employment. But it was certainly self discipline. And it's self motivation, as you said,   Joe Xavier  21:18 Yeah. And I think the self discipline part, I'll never forget a little incident that happened to me when I was in the food service. Somebody approached me and wonder that $200 loan, and I pulled up my wall, and I said, I got 20 bucks, best I can do for you. And they said, Well, no, you gotta say for money. I said, Well, that doesn't belong to me. None belongs to the business. Yeah. So when you are self employed, that self discipline really means you eat lattes, you pay all your bills before you know what you have available to you. That self discipline is not only in the financial side, it's on you know, the human capital, how you lead and manage your staff. And then, as you pointed out, are you getting up and figuring out what needs to be done and how it needs to be done? And who's going to do it? Because there's nobody there saying, Hey, Michael, do this next or do that next.   Michael Hingson  22:15 And there are rules that companies should live by, and there are laws that are the kinds of things that you have to comply with. And as you point out, you had 20 bucks, but you didn't have 200? Because as you said, even though you may own the business, and it may be a corporation, and especially when it is your it's not your money,   Joe Xavier  22:37 right? Yep, absolutely. So when you're working for other people, you got to keep that in mind.   Michael Hingson  22:45 Well, and again, the working for other people is a an interesting term, because you may be the boss of the company, and it may only be a one or two person company, but you're still working for other people because you're working for all your customers, and the existence of the business overall. And you can't go fudging that at all. Yep. Well, sad. Which, which makes perfect sense. Well, I'm curious. So you grew up as a blind person, and went through all the processes of going to school and going to college? Right?   Joe Xavier  23:20 Uh, yeah, I had a little bit of college. Not a lot, but I had a year to college.   Michael Hingson  23:25 Okay. And then moving on. What kind of technology did you use growing up? What kinds of devices Did did you have? And, of course, in the logical next question to that is, how's that evolved over the years?   Joe Xavier  23:40 Wow, now we're both going to date ourselves. No. Which is no problem whatsoever. That's   Michael Hingson  23:46 okay. When were you in high school?   Joe Xavier  23:48 I finished high school in 78.   Michael Hingson  23:52 Okay, so I finished 10 years before you but that's okay. We still date ourselves out. Who cares? Experience counts for something.   Joe Xavier  24:02 I am happy to be here and talking about it. Okay. Yeah, so Exactly. So it's interesting you ask that question, Michael. So I first started in school, the technology that I was handed, was magnifying glass, magnifying, not even glasses, but like little bars that you could sit on top of the piece of paper. Bevel them would magnify the printer bit, and then large print whatever have you but my first real piece my two first real pieces of any kind of electronic technology outside of a tape recorder if you consider that. It is. It's true. It was a what they call a CCTV closed circuit TV. And I want to tell you, you needed a whole lot of space, and you needed a pretty sturdy desk to put that stuff up on. And then I had a talking calculator of my first talking calculator cost me 400 bucks   Michael Hingson  25:01 was that the TSI speech plus, it was.   Joe Xavier  25:07 I am the nose. Yeah. Now today I'm sitting here, iPhone and my clip on my belt for the Bluetooth keyboard out of the box doing amazing things notetaking, emailing texting, phone calls, apps to do a myriad of different things just an access, and power I never thought I'd have at my fingertips in front of me is a computer with jaws that enables me to read, write, and do all those functions that I need to do for, you know, my everyday job and as well as is at home. So what's really cool about all this is slow, no doubt. But nonetheless impactful is how much of this is being built in from the ground up. We are far from perfection. But it is noteworthy that we are continuing to make progress, that the assistive part of technology is being built built in, which means you and I as a user don't have to go and pay out of pocket money over and above to get a piece of technology that works for us. And then there's many other things like the echo devices into Google devices, and you know, homes and the access that those can provide. But you know, there's a generational piece to this. You and I started talking about our ages, what I find is my five year old grandson gravitates this stuff, and it's intuitive. And my 91 year old mother looks at an iPad and sees a piece of glass and struggles to figure out what to do with it. So just like any other error and time, I think as generations move on, and as technology evolves,   Michael Hingson  27:05 I think we're in a better place all the time. We're definitely in a better place. It's it's, it's funny what what immediately comes to mind when you make that comparison is of course the old joke. And nowadays, I'm not sure how many people really get it. But how adults really had a hard time manipulating VCRs. And they always had to have their kids or their grandkids work the VCRs because they couldn't. Yep. Well said. And it's not that they were all that complicated. It's just that it is not what people are used to. And we I don't know, I don't know why that is whether we just don't do enough to teach people to be more curious or more explorative or what. But it is unfortunate that we have so many people that have such a hard time migrating as the technological world changes. You know,   Joe Xavier  27:56 monkey, Michael, you bring up a really interesting thought. And it's interesting that you bring this up right now, because I literally have just had this conversation a couple hours ago with a colleague, I think we sometimes stay very comfortable with what we have, and it works. Which means we don't take the opportunity to learn something new. And I think the challenge with that is that at some point, you wake up and you go, Oh, my God, this stuff has also changed. I don't know how to use it. So big word of encouragement, everybody. Yes, it's, it's stressful. It's challenging to learn and keep learning and keep learning. But I think you're better off to keep learning a little bit every day, then you're wired to wait 1020 30 years, and then also and figure out you got to learn how to use something you don't have any concept of how to.   Michael Hingson  28:52 And that has nothing to do with blindness, eyesight ability or person who happens to have a disability. That's societal. And I absolutely agree with you. And it also needs I think, to be said that, what we need to recognize is that technology is a tool or set of tools that we can use, but we still are the ones least the theory is, we are still the ones that need to manipulate the tools or utilize the technology rather than being afraid of it. And I think that fear is one of the big things that we face.   Joe Xavier  29:33 Well, I think that I think that fear is one piece of it. And I think the other piece that I would add to you and I do this quite often with my team. Yes, I do have a pencil box. True. I haven't sharpened the pencils and I don't know how many years but I will reach in the pencil box and grab out a pencil and say look, the fact that I have this doesn't make me Shakespeare, right. And I think so many times we conflate the two Having a pencil makes it a whole lot easier for me to write and maybe some corrections or what have you. But it does nothing in terms of what I write, how I write it. And what I'm trying to convey or say. And I think that's true of all pieces of technology, whether it's an iPhone, or jaws on a computer, or you name it, right, the competence of knowing how to use the technology is essential. But that competence does not mean you're going to be good at your job, or I'm going to be good at my job.   Michael Hingson  30:35 The Writing helps with the concept of knowing a little bit better how to communicate, but it still requires us to do it, and to learn it. And then to learn the other kinds of things that we need, you're right, I carry with me everywhere I go, when I travel, especially pens, ballpoint pens and markers. And sometimes I don't pay attention to which one I grab. But that's okay for for sighted people they can, they can tell me why they would prefer I use a marker in a particular place. And I'm willing to accommodate those less fortunate than I who happen to use eyesight. But still, I wouldn't be caught without having some sort of way of writing in the traditional, I sighted sort of way in, in in my backpack, I have pens as well. I remember once Hallmark sold wooden pens, so they had these, these pens, and the outside was Rosewood. And somebody said to me, it's always the blind guys who have the fanciest pens. And I said, Well, you know, we want to impress you guys. Yeah, makes but it makes sense.   Joe Xavier  31:52 Yeah, yeah, well, people have all kinds of impressions of all day,   Michael Hingson  31:57 don't they though, on the other hand, Mom was able to pull the pen out or pencil and the Hallmark thing came with a pen and a lead pencil. And so I carry them both and use them. And it makes perfect sense. And I wouldn't be caught without them. Just like one of the things that I was very fortunate to learn was Braille. And I see us unfortunately, moving away from that, and a lot of what I see as the educational system that says, Oh, you don't need Braille anymore, because you can listen to books, and you can listen to them on your computer, or you can get them recorded and so on. That works really well until you need to learn how to pass how to spell on a spelling test. Or when you need to be able to compose a document. And if you don't really learn how, or if you want to deal with mathematical equations and so on, you've got to be able to peruse a page, peruse and move around. And you can't do that as easily. And as effectively without Braille if you happen to be blind.   Joe Xavier  33:09 Yeah, you know, Michael, I admire and I haven't know a number of people that are what I would call true Braille leaders. And the way I can always tell if somebody is a real Braille user is their ability to stand in front of a crowd and deliver a speech. I, on the other hand, do not make speeches, I will talk to people. And then part is, I have not a Braille user that has that level of skill. I use Braille in a very elementary way, a rudimentary way. But I admire those individuals that either grew up using it from birth, and had very little other choices and continue to be avid users of it. You know, yes, I think for all the reasons you said knowing Braille is invaluable. Certainly we, you know, will always support the individuals that wants to do that. And yet at the same time, you know, the advent of speech, like what we have with JAWS, has also made it much more interfacing, and much more usable with so many other pieces of technology that we otherwise might not have access to. So I will often say to folks, don't think of it as one or either or it's an it's an How do you do both? How do you become adept at Braille? And how do you leverage the other technology that is here?   Michael Hingson  34:51 I choose not to use a Braille display on a daily basis to interact with my computer. Mm hmm. Because Jaws is faster, until I get to some things that require me to do more to understand formatting. And yes, I could work through some of that with JAWS, or other screen reading technologies. But Braille does make it more effective. Of course, I still don't have multi line braille displays, although we're working toward that. But still, Braille gives me information that I wouldn't get just from speech. And I suppose you could say, for the person who likes to read and sit somewhere and quietly read Braille also add some value, just like reading print, quietly, somewhere adds value, because you get to just really let your mind go and deal with the book. And when you're listening to someone, you're focusing on the reading as much as you are the book, so you can't really let your mind drift and get into the book like you can with Braille or print.   Joe Xavier  36:00 Well, I think that's right. And I also think that it's also interesting to take note of the fact that that the idea of walking around the big braille book as like a lot logging around the big textbook, it's gone a little bit, but it's technology makes it so much more usable, right? You can sure. A braille display and you know, access your electronics in that way. So you know, it's both, right. It's, it's knowing how to use it. And then you have the different options, whether it's the actual paper or braille displays, or what have you. So   Michael Hingson  36:39 yeah, and it is, it is unfortunate that we're not necessarily catching on to that. But I really liked what you said, which is, it isn't one or the other, it is both. And it's nice to have a choice. And the most important that I think I think that any of us can really learn to do is to understand the value of each of the tools, so that we make the best choice with what we have. But if we don't really know all the tools, and that's what makes it more difficult to really make that decision. Yeah. Yeah, great. So it makes perfect sense to take advantage of those choices and then operate accordingly. And it's an it's a lot of fun. I remember when the original Kurzweil Reading Machine was developed. And it had the advantage that we knew there were so many books that were not available. And so giving someone the ability to suddenly have limited access back in the 1970s. But still access to a lot more printed material was reasonably well accepted, which which was cool. But and it evolved over the years. So using your analogy. Now I can just grab an iPhone or an Android phone and run one of many different kinds of apps. Some are better than others. But I can read a whole heck of a lot more than I ever could with the original machine and and Binney being involved with the original machine, I remember how limited it was, in some senses. So much better today.   Joe Xavier  38:25 Yeah, yeah. No it technologists comes such as such a long way. You know, it's funny, you were talking about the iPhone, I have one as well. Now they had these like miniature braille displays that you can just use as a Bluetooth with your iPhone, or what have you ever thought that was going to be possible? Yeah. And it just, you know, the way I always look at it is, how do I gain access to information i Otherwise don't have available?   Michael Hingson  38:53 I see. Absolutely. There's a company called independent science that has made scientific equipment accessible by taking some commercially available products and making them talk but also the ability to solidify graphs and so on. And now independent science is beginning to work on a tactile graphics display so that people can actually work in the laboratory. And in real time, not only get a graph of what is occurring just like a sighted person would be able to do, but they're also able to see it change. So it isn't like it's a static graph, you can actually, like if you, as the creators of it have have done, you can feel a ball rolling around on the screen. And that's really cool that that kind of stuff is happening. And so we're gonna see. And you know, the reality is, I think it's not something that just blind people will be able to use and I think that's an important point about a lot of the technology. It isn't just something that a blind person can use. Look at voiceover I'm still surprised we're not using it as much as we should.   Joe Xavier  40:00 Well, but you know what? It's interesting you bring that up, because what we're learning, I think around all of the, let's call it accommodations. These are actually what I'm going to term more of a universal design. Yeah. And that when you think of a universal, universal mindset, you start to create things that people don't think they need, but they end up using, and not just people with disabilities, let me give you a really quick example. My daughter, who has an iPhone, lost all the sound on her iPhone, could could make calls, could answer the phone. But she didn't know that it was ringing, couldn't hear it. I told her to go into the hearing accessibility feature in turn on alerts with flashes, she turned it on a text came the phone, Flash, voice, or phone call came to text flash, blah, blah, move forward, she gets her phone fixed, and kept that feature on, because she found it so helpful. My wife learned about it turned it on. Curb cuts are another example that we use, yes, they're great for people in wheelchairs. They're also good for moms with strollers, and professionals towing their luggage or office bags, or anybody pushing a cart or a hand, truck, whatever have you. So universal design, think of all users build it for all users. And then the benefit is available to all users.   Michael Hingson  41:36 And Apple set the tone to a large degree with that, although they they were kind of dragged kicking and screaming to it. But they still made the leap and built the technology into the iPhone technology. The only thing that I wish that they would do is now take that last step of mandating that there be some attention paid to accessibility by app developers. And and it's not going to be the same for all apps. If you're, for example, looking at an app that shows star charts, and so on, you're not going to see the charts if you're blind, because we haven't really learned yet technologically speaking, how to use artificial intelligence to describe those. But at the same time, I, as a user, know what I want to look for if I understand the technology, and I'm studying the subject, so I understand what it's all about. And so it's important for me to be able to manipulate the star chart, rather than telling someone else what to do, and then just ask somebody what they're seeing. And Apple hasn't made that leap yet. And no one else has really done it either.   Joe Xavier  42:50 Yeah, and I'm an eternal optimist. And so I often think about these kinds of things. And you know, how to keep grounded in this. So earlier, we talked about what technology was like when we were young folks, and in high school and whatnot. And who would have thought that I would be describing the iPhone just in my lifetime? So you're right. Those things that you're describing are not available today? And who knows what's going to be available in five or 10 years? And frankly, the escalation of progress is geometrical, right? I think what it took to go in terms of the progress made from 1978 to 1998. These days, we can see that same scale of progress made just in a few short years.   Michael Hingson  43:45 Yeah, absolutely, we can. And, you know, and, and some people are going to be dragged kicking and screaming into it, which is unfortunate, but that's gonna happen. I, as you know, work with a company called accessibe that has used artificial intelligence to make websites accessible. And we see opposition from people who, as near as I can tell, haven't totally internalized what the artificial intelligence process can bring. It's not perfect. And in there are things that we can't use technology necessarily to describe like bar charts and some pictures and so on. But the reality is that the technology does an incredible amount. I remember back in 1985, I started a company to sell computer aided design systems to architects and the opposition from architects was really fierce because they said, well, but now we can't, we can't make nearly as much money because we can't build for the same amount of time because now you can do something in three days that maybe took us a month to do and I said, Why has anything changed? It's not the time that it took you to draw it. It's the expertise If you bring that expertise to the cat system, you can still charge just as much as you ever could. And what I've seen with accessibe is that the programmers don't recognize that if they use to access a B, to actually let it do what it can do, which is also evolving, by the way, and accessibe as a company has now started its own process to do internal our to do coding with with people that had hires, but still, the artificial intelligence processes has grown and will continue to grow. And why not let it do all the lifting that it can do? And then a programmer comes in and does the rest? Why do they need to charge any less? It's still their expertise?   Joe Xavier  45:41 Yeah, you're hinting a little bit at sort of the bigger shift that has taken place in society, which is the business model. And what it gets monetized. And then, you know, how to how do companies capitalize on that monetization of these changes underway? I suspect that coming through COVID, over the last three years, we've accelerated tremendously things that were already here, but not necessarily in full swing. But I think the other thing that that got accelerated, is the shift to business models, and ways of monetizing products and services that we have thought about it in the past, I would expect we're going to see an explosion of that in the coming years and decades.   Michael Hingson  46:39 Yeah, we have people who are absolutely opposed to the whole concept of what Tesla is doing with not totally yet totally self autonomous vehicles or automated vehicles, but it's coming. And again, it seems to me the people who resist it are people who are primarily not letting their imaginations and vision really go. Because the fact of the matter is that we got to take driving out of the hands of drivers anyway, the way they drive. I love to tell people, I really don't understand why the DMV won't let me have a license given the way people drive around Victorville. So I don't see the problem here myself. It's kind of funny. But yeah, the the fact is that, that the time is going to come when the technology will really allow for us to take the basics of driving away from people, which hopefully will make the roads and people a lot safer.   Joe Xavier  47:38 Yeah, it's coming. It's coming. There's evolution of what's available and what it can do. And then there's socialization, of what's available and people's acceptance of it. I think you see that changing very quickly. You know, as more and more vehicles have the technology and society will become increasingly more comfortable with it. And it will evolve, it will evolve, but probably not as fast as your I would like but   Michael Hingson  48:13 Right, right. Yeah. I mean, I'd like to see them do it today. But yes, but but it will happen. And I think the very fact that you and I understand that it will happen. helps. And we'll find that more native stuff gets to a note with your your point earlier about Native accessibility is absolutely a very relevant thing. And that will happen more and more as as time goes on, not only for people with disabilities, but just so many other things will become natively available. And that's fine. Yep. So it'll be interesting to see how it goes. So how is the concept of rehabilitation? And the department kind of evolved over the years do you think? Well,   Joe Xavier  49:01 I mean, I think as you just reflect on the conversation that we've been having around technology, and around society and society's attitudes, I think you can also parallel that with the workforce. And so for us, our continuous continual focus is going to be on how do we help individuals get into the jobs? And what does it take to get that job and then what does it take to keep that job and grow in that job? So rehabilitation is also evolving in some significant ways. And yet, not nearly as fast as we all would like for that to be the case. I mentioned COVID-19 A few minutes ago, we have just made a major shift to remote work. And so I don't think that we are as ready as a as a national program. They help people want identity by their skill sets, and they need to work remotely, and to to develop that skill set so they can be competitive and effective employees in this remote virtual world hybrid role that we're moving into. So as an example, you and I are here on Zoom. And so we as blind people, we think Zoom is what you should use, because it's workable. But employers are using teams, and Google meets, and WebEx and any number of other things. And so if we want to go work for that company, we'd better have the skill set that it takes to engage with our product. So rehabilitation has to catch up with what that understanding is, and really start leaning into and developing the technical and the workplace skill competence to effectively function in this world. And then the jobs are changing Silkworth talked quite a bit about artificial intelligence. Big fear is that it's going to do away with jobs, it's going to do away with tasks and activities and cause jobs to be restructured. Because functions to be really thought of in terms of how they're performed. So we have to make that adaptation, we have to make that change, as well, in terms of training individuals for the workforce, and again, there's a generational piece to this, that 50 year old in a workplace is going to be less embracing of that technology, by and large, then you know, that 1520 year old who's showing up tomorrow,   Michael Hingson  51:38 and I think that it won't do away with jobs, it will change how we do jobs, and which is nothing but partly what you're saying. But it won't do away with jobs, because it still takes the creativity and the intellect that we bring to it. And I think that no matter how artificial intelligence grows, there still has to be the human aspect of it. Now Ray Kurzweil will tell you that we're going to integrate humans and computers when and that'll be the singularity. But the reality is that it's still going to be the human that drives it. And I believe that, that it's important to adapt. But the fact is, I think there's just going to be as many jobs as there ever has been. Some of the natures may change, but we should be able to live with that.   Joe Xavier  52:27 Well, I don't know that we have a lot of choice. Because it's here. It's moving fast. These last three years accelerated the heck out of a lot of things.   Michael Hingson  52:39 Yeah. But you know, at the same time, I don't even remember who mentioned this to me, but but somebody said, you know, with all the things that are happening with technology, what really is new, in some period of time, we haven't invented anti gravity or other things like that, that are the real game changer, what we're doing is developing technology to enhance and improve how we do things. But doing something totally new and different, hasn't really happened yet. And that will happen at some point, whether it be transporters to be not too cute, but serious for antigravity or developing the ability to communicate mentally, and so on those things will occur at some point. But they're not here yet. And who knows how long that will be? That will be a real major game changer.   Joe Xavier  53:35 Yeah. And I'm, I'm not one of those people who thinks it's not here yet. I think it's not where I see it, or you see it. And I think a lot of that stuff is people are thinking about these things, people doing these things, and society and technology and everything is moving very quickly. And we develop the line here in your organization as a result of change. Highlighting a little bit of what you're talking about, which is when we moved from giddy up to being the giddy up like you were doing transportation on horseback to beam me up like I think you're just made a Star Trek Star Trek. Right. Right. So we think that we, you know, we think that's all fanciful stuff. It's really not, it's here.   Michael Hingson  54:27 So springs created Jules Verne created the Nautilus back in the 1800s.   Joe Xavier  54:31 Well, yeah, there you go. So, you know, if you think about back to Michael, when you said you were 10 years ahead of me, so between 68 and 70, there was the robot that vacuum the carpet. Yep. Now call it a Roomba. There was a device that, you know, on TV, they walked over put their meal in it and it was done in a couple of minutes. We call that the microwave. Okay. And there was that device on the wall. All that you spoke to, and you could see somebody in it. And now we have, you know, zoom and FaceTime, and so many other things that, that do that. And these things happen.   Michael Hingson  55:12 You mentioned the echo a while ago. And it's a, it is a device that has made a lot of things much more convenient. For, for Karen free well, for both of us, I can tell it to turn the lights on, or I can tell it to turn the lights off. And pretty much although have been a couple of times, it tried to cheat me. But mostly, if I tell it to turn off living room or master bedroom, it will turn off living room Master Bedroom a couple times this is head, okay. And it didn't really do it. But I can pretty much have faith that it's going to or I can tell it to play news or whatever. And I mean, that's not all that old. But now we're getting a generation that is so used to it. They can't imagine just doing the things that we used to do.   Joe Xavier  55:58 Absolutely. Which is okay. Yeah. But But let's think about this. You and I didn't do things in a way our grandparents did. And I'm okay with that.   Michael Hingson  56:09 Yep. But I like to be able to understand what they did, because it gives me perspective. And I think that's the important thing that I wish more people would do is learn a little bit more about history. I mean, we have a generation that doesn't really understand CDs today, as in compact discs. But how about I had to   Joe Xavier  56:32 you mentioned the track, how about the Oh, the reel to reel recordings. And,   Michael Hingson  56:39 and I have, I have some I have actually two sitting on my desk because I used to collect and I still collect old radio shows, and I have a library of stuff on reel to reel tape that one of these days. I'll get industrious and transcribe across. But you're right. And look, we could go back further the wire recorder? Yeah, it's really confounded the Allies during World War Two, because Germany invented it. And they were they didn't understand how Hitler could give two very clear speeches at the same time, when what they were doing was using this wire recorder. And very few people I bet understand that today. Well, you mentioned you mentioned COVID, you meant I'm sorry. Go ahead. No, no. But you mentioned COVID A while ago, how? How did you survive as an organization, you were successful at continuing to keep the department going, and so on, during what was clearly a major change in the way we had to do business?   Joe Xavier  57:39 Well, so I mean, I think there's a few things that we did here at the department that, you know, in retrospect really worked well for us one was, we embrace the times that we were in things like remote work, we had not really moved to remote work in the way that we needed to. And we leveraged remote work to make sure that people were able to continue working, and we will leverage the virtual to make sure that consumers could still continue to get their services, right. And I think that in the long term was really beneficial to us. I think another thing that we did here in the department, and this is not I'm not making any kind of ideological or philosophical statements, just talking about what we did here, is we really left to the experts public health, what to do, and what were the appropriate actions in the workplace when he came to COVID. And so we follow those and apply those very carefully. But we left it to them to decide what was necessary and appropriate. And we felt a very strong responsibility to both life and livelihoods of our 2000 step. So I think I think those things, as we look back on our experience, I think we're very pivotal. We leverage flexibility in so so many different ways to be able to do things we hadn't thought of before. So I think all of those really paid out, paid off over time over the three plus years that we've been doing this   Michael Hingson  59:29 and will continue to grow. Yeah, exactly. You and I have talked a lot about employment and unemployment. The unemployment rate for blind and other persons with disabilities is typically been in the 65 to 70% range and it isn't changing a lot. Why do you think that is and what can we do about that?   Joe Xavier  59:51 Yeah, well, it's funny, it's funny, not funny, like haha, funny like in a weird sense, right? ADA was passed in 90. So you know, do the math, what are we 32 years? And yeah, tremendous progress in so many areas, except for one, unemployment onScale. I think it's done a tremendous amount for, for pockets and individuals of getting to work. But I thought about that over the years. So there's probably a few things that I will highlight here. One is the hire manager, the fear of uncertainty of the unknown when it comes to disability, and being more curious about how I would find a bathroom with the food on my plate, rather than how I might get the job done. And I think there's certainly a society a societal attitude for us to do that, right. And I think in some ways, society's attitude shifting has been slower than we had hoped. Although I see great signs in the last five years, where it's really amping up considerably. So I look at things like even here in California ending sub minimum wage, which has been a long time coming. But that, to me is an example of the shift in the attitudes, right, the other thing that I think we all have to do better at is really start engaging youth at the earliest possible opportunity, about employment. Because the expectation that they will go to work, the question is, when or where, not if, means that they're going to have people around them supporting that development of that competence, they will need to be competitive and to be in the workplace. But it also will be impactful on the rest of society, in terms of ensuring that they are aware of what people with disabilities can do. And at the end of the day, we spent a lot of time working with businesses to understand that hiring individuals with disability is just access to the marketplace. 61 million people in the States with disabilities, you throw when friends, allies, families, that's a pretty large block of resources, or a large block of market, that individuals will be leveraging. And so we just got to keep pushing the envelope on that and, and we will, we will, but it has been stubbornly persistent, and slow and moving.   Michael Hingson  1:02:34 What would you say to employers who are approached by someone with a disability who wants a job, or just as they think about the whole concept of hiring somebody who happens to have a disability,   Joe Xavier  1:02:46 you know, what I'm gonna say to us, I believe in the talent potential of people with disabilities, my five year old grandson does not look at me as a blind person and see any barriers whatsoever, right, and he's gonna grow up and he's going to be in the workplace, and somebody blind in the workplace won't matter to him at all. Right? representation, as I mentioned, really matters. It provides access to the marketplace. And that is invaluable. And so we definitely need to continue to focus on that. So I think those two things are things that I say to employers every single day, right? People with disabilities have amazing talents. And they can bring a lot of talent to your workplace. And they represent a market that you want to access. Because if you're in business, you're selling your product, or you're selling it a service at the end of the day. That's what business is   Michael Hingson  1:03:41 all about. And the reality is that people who have a disability who get hired, are also probably well are more apt to stay because they know how hard it was, is to get a job. And if a company treats them well and recognizes that, that they're part of the company and treats them that way. They're going to want to stay there, probably more than most people because they know how difficult it was in the first place to get there.   Joe Xavier  1:04:09 Yeah, I definitely think that's a that's an element, no question about it. Right. And they can bring some ingenuity and some creativity to your workplace that you probably haven't thought about. With Disabilities, we learned lots of strategic ways of getting things done.   Michael Hingson  1:04:25 Right. And we've we've done that, because we've had to, and that experience counts for a lot.   Joe Xavier  1:04:32 Absolutely. Totally agree. Well, this   Michael Hingson  1:04:35 has been fun. And we've now been doing this for a while. And I really appreciate your time. How do people learn more about wheeling, California or in general about rehabilitation services, wherever they are, what kind of suggestions do you have and do you have a way if somebody wants to talk with you or interact with you? Is there a way to do that or how does   Joe Xavier  1:04:55 that work? So the the probably the easiest way for a Anyone who's out there listening, no matter where you are, go to our , www dot Department of rehabilitation.ca. gov or dor.ca.gov. And you will find our web page here in California, you will find contact information, if you wanted to send me a note, you can do that. If you wanted to figure out where our programs and services are, where our offices are, throughout state of California, you will find all that. And if you're looking for employment, have you had somebody around you who has a disability who is looking for employment, connect them, right, because employment is an essential pillar of good health. And we really want people to get into a family sustaining jobs so that they have the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families just like everybody else and enjoy the same benefits and opportunities they're in. Yeah.   Michael Hingson  1:06:00 And I would only add to that, if you are someone who knows someone who, let's say, is going blind or has a disability, or has just has just just discover that they have a disability or who was in the auto accident that Joe mentioned earlier. Don't treat them like a pariah don't treat them like they can't do things. disability doesn't mean inability. And I think it's a very important thing that we need to learn. I think we need to change what the definition of disability is all about. I haven't come up with a better word for it. So people seem to be able to change diversity because it doesn't include disabilities anymore. So disability doesn't necessarily and shouldn't mean inability at all. Yeah, well said. So please remember, just because someone may lose eyesight or lose some of their ability to move around or any number of other kinds of things, that doesn't mean that they are still not able to be just as productive, just in a different way.   Joe Xavier  1:07:03 No, totally the case.   Michael Hingson  1:07:06 Will again, thank you for being here. I hope people will reach out and learn more about what the California Department of Rehabilitation does and other departments as well. And I hope that you'll all reach out to us here. We'd love to hear from you. You can reach me at Michaelhi at accessibe.com or go to our webpage www dot Michaelhingson. ingson is h i n g s o n.com/podcast. Love to hear from you. And love to hear your thoughts. And Joe once more. Thank you very much for taking the time to come on. I know you spent a lot of time here. I appreciate it very much.   Joe Xavier  1:07:44 Was your Thank you. Good to chat with you and look forward to seeing you down the road.   Michael Hingson  1:07:49 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com. accessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

In this episode of iCantCU, I talk about working at a Business Enterprise Program vending business at a massive US Post Office distribution facility in Northeast Philadelphia. I also discuss my fantasy football drafts and how they differed from last year's when Yahoo! featured our league in a short documentary. I also introduce Just Listen, the new segment where you hear some of what I experienced this past week.  Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/195         Fantasy Football 2022 I'm in two fantasy football leagues this season: the All-blind Fantasy League and the Frenemies League. The Frenemies League consists of six blind teams and six sighted teams from people who work at Yahoo! Most of the league participants had a part in last year's short documentary about the All-blind league. Watch the documentary at https://www.iCantCU.com/football. Good Luck to Esther My friend and fellow Keystone Chapter member Esther Gillyard is participating in this year's Miss Blind Diva Empowerment Pageant. Have a look at Esther's video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlSOk9Lv1Sg. Learn more about the pageant at https://eyeslikemine.org/. We featured Eyes Like Mine on episode 036 of White Canes Connect: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eyes-like-mine-empowers-blind-women/id1592248709?i=1000565256194. Support iCantCU Do you shop at Amazon? I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast In episode 044 of White Canes Connect, Lisa and I talk to Passle Helminski, a blind artist and marathon runner. She tells us how she competes in marathons using a sighted guide. She also tells us of all the different shows where her artwork has been featured. Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI IHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-white-canes-connect-89603482/ Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7dd1600d-05fa-48f3-8a8e-456e30e690bc/white-canes-connect My Podcast Gear Here is all my new gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Support Keystone Chapter Please donate to the Keystone Chapter of the National Federation Of The Blind Of Pennsylvania by going to http://www.SupportKeystoneChapter.org. Scroll down to the text field and enter the amount you'd like to donate. PayPal handles payments, but you don't need a PayPal account. You can donate with any credit or debit card. Thank you so much! I appreciate it. Follow the iCantCU Podcast so you don't miss an episode! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | Google | IHeartRadio Reach Out On Social Media Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Get In Touch If you've got questions, comments, or show ideas, I want to hear from you! Call (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Include your name and town, and let me know if using your voice on an upcoming episode is okay. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.  

In this episode of iCantCU, I talk about some focus issues causing me trouble at the blind bodega. It's not me; it's the iPad POS system. I will also tell you about another workshop I'm participating in at the NYPL. There's also another Hot Dog/Cool Dog story. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/190     That Real Blind Tech Show Episode 93 Listen to my conversation with Brian Fischler and Ed Plumacher on That Real Blind Tech Show episode 93. At https://www.iCantCU.com/zoombomb. We talked about the podcasting workshop we participated in, my blindness journey, fantasy football, the mini-documentary by Yahoo, the Business Enterprise Program, the NFB, and WordPress web design. Fantasy Football With Accessibility In Mind On 8/4 at 7 pm EDT, I will be participating in a workshop on fantasy football presented by the NYPL. Brian Fischler, the reigning All Blind Football League Champ, will moderate. Nick D'Ambrosio, TJ Meloy, and I will be panelists. Registration is free at https://www.iCantCU.com/nypl. Support iCantCU Do you shop at Amazon? I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast In episode 041 of White Canes Connect, Stacie and I speak with Myisha Allen, the author of Navigating This Thing Called Life (buy it at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vdQwXs). She tells us that she doesn't let her blindness or the fact that she only has the use of one arm stop her from traveling and enjoying life to the fullest. She also talks about being a blind parent to sighted kids. Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI IHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-white-canes-connect-89603482/ Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7dd1600d-05fa-48f3-8a8e-456e30e690bc/white-canes-connect My Podcast Gear Here is all my new gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Support Keystone Chapter Please donate to the Keystone Chapter of the National Federation Of The Blind Of Pennsylvania by going to http://www.SupportKeystoneChapter.org. Scroll down to the text field and enter the amount you'd like to donate. PayPal handles payments, but you don't need a PayPal account. You can donate with any credit or debit card. Thank you so much! I appreciate it. Follow the iCantCU Podcast so you don't miss an episode! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | Google | IHeartRadio Reach Out On Social Media Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Get In Touch If you've got questions, comments, or show ideas, I want to hear from you! Call (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Include your name and town, and let me know if using your voice on an upcoming episode is okay. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.  

In this episode of the iCantCU Podcast, I talk about a couple of issues I had while working at the blind bodega (called Grab and Go in the Business Enterprise Program.) I've worked retail for most of my life, starting when I was 10 or 11 at one of my parent's supermarkets. I also discuss a weird iPhone issue while dictating an email. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/186  Support The iCantCU Podcast Some people have asked how they can support the podcast since I don't do Patreon. The easiest way is to use my link when you want to purchase at Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. It doesn't cost you anything extra on the items you purchase. Here's the link: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. Once on Amazon's homepage, you can search and buy what you want. White Canes Connect Podcast In episode 040 of White Canes Connect, Stacie and I talk to author Myisha Allen about her book Navigating This Thing Called Life (available on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3y7DMSO.) She tells us why she created the book and how blind authors can and should write a book. Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI IHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-white-canes-connect-89603482/ Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7dd1600d-05fa-48f3-8a8e-456e30e690bc/white-canes-connect I'm Moving To Italy Podcast I began listening to the I'm Moving To Italy podcast in early June, and I love it. One of the segments that Nathan has introduced is called Surrounding Sounds. I want to do something similar on iCantCU. Check out the show where ever you get your podcasts and at https://www.immovingtoitaly.com. My Podcast Gear Here is all my new gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Support Keystone Chapter Please donate to the Keystone Chapter of the National Federation Of The Blind Of Pennsylvania by going to http://www.SupportKeystoneChapter.org. Scroll down to the text field and enter the amount you'd like to donate. PayPal handles payments, but you don't need a PayPal account. You can donate with any credit or debit card. Thank you so much! I appreciate it. Follow the iCantCU Podcast, so you don't miss an episode! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | Google | IHeartRadio Reach Out On Social Media Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Get In Touch If you've got questions, comments, or show ideas, I want to hear from you! Call (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Include your name and town, and let me know if using your voice on an upcoming episode is okay. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.  

In this episode of the iCantCU Podcast, I talk about starting work at a blind bodega inside the Green Federal Building in Philadelphia to learn how to run the business that is part of the Business Enterprise Program. The hours are long, but if it is helpful in getting me into the program, it will be well worth it. I also talk about my recent visit to my retina specialist, where I heard, I don't know if I've ever had this happen before, from the doctor. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/185       Remembering My Cousin Gary Grunin I was saddened to learn about my cousin's death on Father's Day. You can read his obituary: https://www.iberkshires.com/obituaries/15327/GaryS.Grunin.html?fbclid=IwAR3giBoxKoqoVA_dcfMGkkA-ObPA3GLOanpAXy_5Sk4OkUHN0obm9z12SPE RIP Gary. Support The iCantCU Podcast Some people have asked how they can support the podcast since I don't do Patreon. The easiest way is to use my link when you want to purchase at Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. It doesn't cost you anything extra on the items you purchase. Here's the link: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. Once on Amazon's homepage, you can search and buy what you want. White Canes Connect Podcast It is hard to believe the other podcast I co-host and produce, called White Canes Connectis celebrating its first anniversary! In episode 039, we talk amongst ourselves about our favorite guests, things we can do to improve the show, and what aspects of the show we are most proud of. I also tell my co-hosts, Lisa Bryant and Stacie Leap, about the countries the podcast reached in our first year. Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI IHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-white-canes-connect-89603482/ Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7dd1600d-05fa-48f3-8a8e-456e30e690bc/white-canes-connect My Podcast Gear Here is all my new gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Support Keystone Chapter Please donate to the Keystone Chapter of the National Federation Of The Blind Of Pennsylvania by going to http://www.SupportKeystoneChapter.org. Scroll down to the text field and enter the amount you'd like to donate. PayPal handles payments, but you don't need a PayPal account. You can donate with any credit or debit card. Thank you so much! I appreciate it. Follow the iCantCU Podcast so you don't miss an episode! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | Google | IHeartRadio Reach Out On Social Media Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Get In Touch If you've got questions, comments, or show ideas, I want to hear from you! Call (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Include your name and town, and let me know if using your voice on an upcoming episode is okay. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.  

In this episode of the iCantCU Podcast, I talk about an email I received about voting in the upcoming Pennsylvania Primary from the acting Secretary of State of Pennsylvania. It gave all sorts of different ways to vote if you are sighted, but none if you're blind. I also talk about the final presentations from the University of the Art accessible museum projects. There is also a Business Enterprise Program update. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/179   Support The iCantCU Podcast Some people have asked how they can support the podcast since I don't do Patreon. The easiest way is to use my link when you want to make a purchase at Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. It doesn't cost you anything extra on the items you purchase. Here's the link: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. This will take you to Amazon's homepage where you can search and buy what you want. White Canes Connect Podcast Listen to another podcast that I cohost and produce called White Canes Connect. In episode 033, we talk with Richard Rieman and Chris Snyder from Imagination Videobooks (https://imaginationvideobooks.org/). They tell us about video books for blind and visually impaired kids that not only reads the book, but also describes the pictures in it. They also tell us how they're looking to get more blind and visually impaired voice over artists doing the narration or co-narration. Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI IHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-white-canes-connect-89603482/ Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7dd1600d-05fa-48f3-8a8e-456e30e690bc/white-canes-connect My Podcast Gear Here is all my new gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Senheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Support Keystone Chapter Please make a donation to the Keystone Chapter of the National Federation Of The Blind Of Pennsylvania by going to http://www.SupportKeystoneChapter.org.. Scroll down to the text field and enter the amount  you'd like to donate. Payments are handled by PayPal, but you don't need a PayPal account. You can make a donation with any credit or debit card. Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Follow the iCantCU Podcast so you don't miss an episode! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | Google | IHeartRadio Reach Out On Social Media Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Get In Touch If you've got questions, comments, or show ideas, I want to hear from you! Call (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Include your name and town and let me know if it is okay to use your voice on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com  

In this episode of the iCantCU Podcast, I talk about being called a blink by another patient in my doctor's waiting room. This guy thought I needed to sit instead of stand because I am blind. I also talk about my recent troubles with alarms. I give an update on my Business Enterprise Program progress, too. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/176  White Canes Connect Podcast Listen to another podcast that I cohost and produce called White Canes Connect. In episode 030, we interview Andy Burstein from Accessible Pharmacy Services for the Blind, the largest blind-owned healthcare company in the country. Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI IHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-white-canes-connect-89603482/ Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7dd1600d-05fa-48f3-8a8e-456e30e690bc/white-canes-connect My Podcast Gear Here is all my new gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Senheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Support Keystone Chapter Please make a donation to the Keystone Chapter of the National Federation Of The Blind Of Pennsylvania by going to http://www.SupportKeystoneChapter.org.. Scroll down to the text field and enter the amount  you'd like to donate. Payments are handled by PayPal, but you don't need a PayPal account. You can make a donation with any credit or debit card. Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Follow the iCantCU Podcast so you don't miss an episode! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | Google | IHeartRadio Reach Out On Social Media Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Get In Touch If you've got questions, comments, or show ideas, I want to hear from you! Call (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Include your name and town and let me know if it is okay to use your voice on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com  

In this episode of White Canes Connect, we talk with Pam Baquero and Ron Page from the Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants about the Business Enterprise Program (BEP). There are opportunities to blind and visually impaired people who are looking to run their own businesses. They also discuss the PABM and how to join. Show notes at https://www.whitecanesconnect.com/0278   Run Your Own Business If you've ever considered starting your own business, the Business Enterprise Program can make it happen. You'll get the training you need to have your own vending route, cafe/cafeteria, or grab and go market. Get started by calling BBVS and tell them you are interested in the BEP. Learn more about the BEP and Randolph-Sheppard at https://www.blindmerchants.org. Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants Learn more about this division within the NFB of PA by attending a meeting. The PABM meets on the second Wednesday of every month at 6:00pm on Zoom. Join the Zoom meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4503152944. 2022 NFB of PA State Convention Save the date! This year's State Convention in Pittsburgh will be held from November 10 through November 13. Put it in your calendar and we'll see you at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel! Give Us A Call We'd love to hear from you! We've got a phone number for you to call and ask us questions, give us feedback, or just say, “hi!” Call us at (267) 338-4495. You have up to three minutes for your message and we might use it on an upcoming episode. Please leave your name and town as part of your message.  Follow White Canes Connect Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | IHeartRadio  Connect With Us If you've got questions, comments, or show ideas, reach out on Twitter. We are @PABlindPodcast. You can also email us at WhiteCanesConnect@gmail.com  

~~RSVA® “The importance of the RS15”: Kathy Roet, Director of the Business Enterprise Program, Iowa Department of the Blind, Des Moines, IA will led this deepening discussion following the initial presentation at the 2021 Sagebrush conference. She shared how to use the RSA form to show the details of each state's current program. Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 17~~

Byron Dennis and Rich Dudley, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Best Foot Forward discuss the benefits of the BEP program.  As a participant in the program Best Foot Forward reflects on how the program has given them access to large managed care organizations and more business opportunities.   Guest presenter(s): Byron Dennis and Rich Dudley, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Best Foot

The Business Enterprise Program (BEP) allows entrepreneurs who are blind to manage a wide variety of food-service operations, including cafeterias, coffee shops, vending machine locations and highway area vending sites. Through this program, individuals who are blind receive training and opportunities to become productive, tax-paying citizens and independent business owners. Today we speak with the 2018 participants about their experiences.

Show Summary: (Full Transcript Below) The Business Enterprise Program (BEP) is a great way for interested Blind/Visually Impaired clients of their State Agency/Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) to own their own business and be their own boss. Michael Colbrunn is a business owner in the BEP and joined Jeff Thompson of Blind Abilities in the studio to talk about the BEP and about his work at his campus location and his work on the State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind in Minnesota. Join Michael and Jeff in this brief interview packed with useful information. You can find out more about the BEP and more from Michael Colbrunn on a previous podcast: The Business Enterprise program: Business Ownership Opportunities and a Promising Career If you are interested in knowing more about the Business Enterprise Program, and live in Minnesota, email John Hulet If outside Minnesota, contact your State Servicesand ask about the Business Enterprise Program and how you can learn more about the opportunities available to you. Thank you for listening! You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities Appon the App Store.  

Show Summary: (Full Transcript Below) Blind Abilities presents another guest from the Sagebrush Convention for the Business Enterprise Program (BEP), held in Las Vegas a few months ago. Jeff Thompson caught up with Ardis Bazyn who has written several books on topics including a 3-part series called Building Blocks for Success, addressing how to create and manage a business, Church or organization, with inclusion and accessibility in mind, as well as a book with recipes, tips and tricks which she originally wrote for her daughters. Ardis is currently working on a book about herself in which she describes her journey into blindness in hopes that others might learn to cope with challenges and change. Ardis is an active public speaker, talking to small and large groups on change, entrepreneurship, and a variety of other topics. She also serves as a coach to individuals who take on new challenges, whether in dealing with blindness or undertaking a new business endeavor. You can find Ardis on the web at www.ardisbazyn.squarespace.com If you are interested in becoming your own boss and want to run your own business, contact your state services, your Devision of Vocational Rehabilitation and see what opportunities they have for you. You can find out more about RSVA on the web at www.randolph-sheppard.org Here is a podcast all about the BEP: The Business Enterprise program: Business Ownership Opportunities and a Promising Career   Thanks for Listening! You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Store. Get the Free blind Abilities App on the Google Play Store Full Transcript: Introducing Ardis Bazyn, Motivational Speaker, Author and Coach #SageBrush Pete Lane: Hi folks, this is Pete Lane. Welcome to Blind Abilities. Today, Jeff Thompson and I would like to introduce Ardis Bazyn. Pete Lane: Ardis is a multi-talented individual. Ardis Bazyn: I've written several books, one is a series, Building Block to Success. There's a lot of accessibility throughout it. Pete Lane: She is an author. Ardis Bazyn: I'm currently writing a book about myself. I started when I lost my sight to help people realize the various secrets there are to coping with challenges and change. Pete Lane: ... sharing her business acumen and her life experiences. Ardis Bazyn: I speak to all sizes of audience, I think the smallest group I've spoken to is about eight, and I've spoken for groups as large as 1500. Pete Lane: She's a motivational speaker, talking about coping with challenges and change. Ardis Bazyn: I do a lot of talking on entrepreneurship, what things people should think about before they consider entrepreneurship. Sometimes people hop into it and then aren't successful because they didn't really think of all the business aspects. Pete Lane: ... and entrepreneurship. Speaking from personal experience ... Ardis Bazyn: I was in the Randolph Sheppard program for 27 years. I had six different facilities. Pete Lane: ... and success. Ardis Bazyn: While I was in Iowa, I had gone to college and gotten my BA's in public relations and speech communications, and I also got my master's degree in education. Pete Lane: ... highly motivated. Ardis Bazyn: I feel it's important to continue your classes, even if you're in a job, even if you have a career. Check out the college disabilities services before you sign up for college. Make sure that you go to the one that's gonna help you the most. Pete Lane: And today, she shares her experiences with us. Ardis Bazyn: I keep pretty active, because I think it's important for blind people to show other blind people what they can do if they get out there, network with people. Pete Lane: Jeff had the pleasure of connecting with Ardis at the Sagebrush Convention for the Business Enterprise Program in Las Vegas just a few months ago. So take a few short minutes, sit back and relax, and meet Ardis Bazyn. Jeff Thompson: Welcome to Blind Abilities, I'm Jeff Thompson, and I'm talking to Ardis Bazyn, and she is a speaker, author, coach. She's here with us today at the Sagebrush Convention here in Las Vegas. How are you doing, Ardis? Ardis Bazyn: Fine, nice to be talking to you. Jeff Thompson: Ardis, could you tell our listeners a little bit about the books you've written and the stuff you've been up to? Ardis Bazyn: Sure, no problem. I've written several books, one is a series, Building Blocks to Success. The first one is Does the Image of Your Church Attract Members. The second one is Does the Image of Your Organization Attract Members. And the third one is Does the Image of Your Business Attract Customers and Motivate Employees. Covering all the gamuts of each particular type of organization, everywhere from networking ... Ardis Bazyn: Well, the business one for example, it's everything from getting a database together, how to work with your community, how to do seminars and conferences, how to do a newsletter, PR, customer base, all the different aspects. Being open to all people. Ardis Bazyn: There's a lot of accessibility throughout it, like how to make sure you have an accessible newsletter, an accessible website, accessible activities, like if you have seminars, make sure you think about the people that might be coming and what the audience might need as far as accessibility goes. So all three of those books cover accessibility and involving everyone. Ardis Bazyn: A lot with the blindness perspective, but I also talk about other disability. Accessibility, like if you have a business, you wanna make sure your aisles are wide enough for wheelchairs. Make sure where hold meetings people don't have to climb steps, and that whole aspect. Different disability-related access, that kind of thing. Ardis Bazyn: And then I have a fourth one which is more of a fun book, it's my family favorite. I actually started it by doing it for my daughters, I wanted to know about all the recipes we used growing up, and then talked about healthy tips and tricks and also substitutions, that kind of thing. I started that as just for them, but then I decided, “Well, I might as well just offer it to other people too.” Ardis Bazyn: And then I'm currently writing a book about myself. I started it when I lost my sight, and go from there. Basically I'm writing that to help people to realize the various secrets there are to coping with challenges and change. Some people look at it as a tragedy, but I think there's positives too, because you can teach others how to change, how to do things differently, and how to just be active no matter what your disability. Jeff Thompson: And that's the book that you're working on now? Ardis Bazyn: Yes, mm-hmm (affirmative). Ardis Bazyn: I speak to all sizes of audience. I think the smallest group I've spoken to is about eight, and I've spoken for groups as large as 1500. My most requested speaking topic is Secrets to Coping With Challenge and Change, but a lot of them are on leadership, membership development for organizations, helping people to plan for a successful future, whether that's a career or just being successful in whatever the person does. Ardis Bazyn: I do a lot of talking on entrepreneurship, the value of entrepreneurship, how to get to be an entrepreneur, what things people should think about before they consider entrepreneurship. There's lots of different areas that people should think about. Sometimes people hop into it and then aren't successful because they didn't really think of all the business aspects before they jumped into it. Jeff Thompson: So, without being a spoiler, what are some of the secrets that you have in that talk? Ardis Bazyn: I ask people to think about their resources. If they have money tucked away that they can use for it, or if they know other people with money where they might be able to borrow some money to get started. Also, what other resources they might have, what is their background, what is their previous experience, have they worked at a job where they could use those skills in building a business? Ardis Bazyn: For example, if they worked for a computer tech company, well, maybe they could go on their own and either teach technology, or they could fix computers for people, or work with people on iPhones, etc. Or, perhaps they have a background in bookkeeping, they've worked for an accounting firm. Well, they might wanna go on their own to have their own accounting firm. Ardis Bazyn: So a lot of the skills they can look at, “Okay, what do I have to offer that I could create into a business?” There's also ready-made businesses, [inaudible], Mary Kay, work for a blindness company, selling JAWS, selling computer software access technology. You can look at those, those are already built in, and you just have to know how to be able to network with a lot of people to be able to sell the products, and also to train people under you to sell the products and services. Jeff Thompson: So you help them, before they make the leap, decide if they wanna take that step. Ardis Bazyn: That's correct. And a lot of retired people now want to have something to do once they retire. Let's say they worked for a company 25, 30 years, and they retire, but they're still young enough that they don't wanna just sit down in a rocking chair. So then they might be open to doing some of the things that they had done in their prior business. Ardis Bazyn: Perhaps they do a lot of background checks and stuff for a company. They wanna retire from that company, but they still wouldn't mind doing a little bit of that on the side. So I like to talk to younger people in transition, and then also older people that just wanna consider what they could do later on in life. Jeff Thompson: Older transitioning people. Ardis Bazyn: That's correct. Jeff Thompson: So what kind of businesses have you participated in throughout the years? Ardis Bazyn: I was in the Randolph Sheppard program for 27 years. I had six different facilities, I've had two cafeterias that I managed, one had up to 13 employees because it was the legislative building in Pierre, South Dakota, so it was the cafeteria for the capitol. The other one had five employees, [inaudible] data center in Ames, Iowa, and there I had also about 20 vending machines in another building. Ardis Bazyn: And then I had three different snack bars, I had one in Pierre, South Dakota, one in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and one in Dubuque, Iowa. That one also had a vending route with it. And then my last facility in food service was for the Cedar Rapids Post Office in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There I had 57 vending machines in 13 different buildings at the highest point. Ardis Bazyn: But I moved to California in 1999, and to stay in that field I would have had to go through training all over again and start basically from scratch, because the Randolph Sheppard Program, each state agency has different rules, so you have to just go through the training again whenever you move from one state to another. And some states are more open to that, and sometimes will cut down your training, and other states aren't. It kinda depends. Ardis Bazyn: But while I was in my last location in Iowa, I had gone to college and gotten my BA's in public relations and speech communications, and I also got my master's degree in education. I had decided that I would like to make money. I had been doing a lot of speaking and coaching, but it was more just helping churches and so forth, so I wasn't charging fees. So I figured if I got my education, then I would have the qualifications to be able to actually charge a fee to speak and work with people. Jeff Thompson: We focus a lot on transition-age students that are going from high school to college to the workplace, and a lot of seniors who are, like you just mentioned, transitioning. What kind of tools for success did you use? Ardis Bazyn: I always tell people that it's important to learn as much as you can, and I am a lifetime learner, in fact just this last fall I completed a four-year program to receive an MBA certificate. I feel it's important to continue your classes, even if you're in a job, even if you have a career, because the more you learn, the more you can add to your knowledge base, and the more able you are to transition to something else if you get bored with what you're doing, or if you lose your job, etc. Ardis Bazyn: And I know I've talked to some transition groups for state agencies, and one of the keys I always tell people is be open to anything. Because if you limit yourself, then something might come along and you might decide that that might be the career you want. People sometimes say “Hey, I don't wanna go into that Randolph Sheppard program”, or “I don't wanna go to college”, or “I don't wanna go into technology”. Ardis Bazyn: But you should be open and check out everything, because you might change your mind once you start college and take a few courses. Or, if you decide to go to a technical school, you could start out take a few courses and then decide that that's not for you. So I think you need to just remain open and listen to people around you. Ardis Bazyn: Actually, it's a good idea to shadow somebody. If it's in a career that you think might be of interest, go to that business and follow them for a few days. And there's a lot of people that are in business and in companies that'd be more than happy to have you shadow them for a little while. Because they wanna make sure that any employee would have the right skills, and it's much better to do a shadow position, or do an internship, and then you can decide, “Hey, I really like this,” or “I don't like this.” Jeff Thompson: How about PC or Mac? Ardis Bazyn: I like PC. I do use an iPhone, I bought an iPhone a few years ago, and I've been using it a little bit more. But I still don't like the touch screen as well as I do the PC. Plus, I've noticed people have iPads, but you can't put a thumb drive in them. Ardis Bazyn: I use a BrailleSense, in fact I carry one with me at conferences, and I can take notes, and I like to use braille, and I'm a big friend of thumb drives. I plug in thumb drives and pop it over to my PC, and then I can rewrite, revise, etc. faster on my PC than I can on my BrailleSense. I just really enjoy PC, plus it holds so much more. I like it for that reason. Some people use both, but ... nah. Jeff Thompson: As an author, is there a certain software that you use to do your writing? Ardis Bazyn: I use Word for the most part. Now, I do ... On my note taker it's text for the most part, but then I transition over to Word I usually copy it into Word, because I'm more used to Word and I can search for stuff and check out how many words there are and so forth better in Word than I can some of the other. Ardis Bazyn: I'm an Excel user, I use Excel for different databases. I don't use the other ones too much. I'll read PowerPoint, but when I speak I don't use PowerPoint, I tend to like handouts better. Because I've found a lot of people misuse PowerPoint. They'll be reading everything off the PowerPoint. That's not the point of PowerPoint, the point is to have some key points. Jeff Thompson: Ardis, what advice would you give to someone who's in high school, looking forward to transitioning to college and the workplace? Ardis Bazyn: I would suggest, as far as going to college, make sure you check out the college disabilities service before you sign up for college. If you have three or four colleges you're looking at, make sure that you go to the one that's gonna help you the most. Ardis Bazyn: Some disabilities services are really good, and they'll help you to get your documents put in a format that you can read, they'll help you with testing, etc. And some disability services are not real good about ... They don't wanna be flexible in your schedule. If you're having to take afternoon and evening courses, for example, and you're working in the morning, you wanna make sure that that college can accommodate you. Ardis Bazyn: I did that when I went from community college for two years, and then I had to transition to a four-year, and then when I was checking them out I just wanted to make sure what courses I had in their different majors. Because I found out one of the colleges I was heavily considering for a public relations course, they wanted me to take layout and design, they wanted me to take photography, those kind of things, which, for a totally blind person, is really ridiculous. Ardis Bazyn: And they said, “Oh, we can have somebody help you.” Why would you wanna bother taking a course that you aren't gonna be able to use in the future? Whereas the other college I ended up going to, they gave me a list of courses, and I just had to take so many out of this particular list. They were much more flexible. So it's real important to check that out when you look at a college. Ardis Bazyn: The other thing is decide how far away you wanna be from your parents or your family, and think about all these things ahead of time, before you say, “Hey, I'd like that college, it sounds really great, they're offering this.” But you really need to check it out. Ardis Bazyn: I actually wrote a document for students looking at going to college, it's called A Guide to a Successful College Experience. And anyone that would like to get a hold of that, they can contact me and I'd be glad to send it to them. It covers all the different things you should look at when you're looking to go to a college. It's especially written for blind students, but a lot of the stuff would work for any disabled student. Jeff Thompson: So Ardis, how can someone find you on the web? Ardis Bazyn: I have two websites, one is bazyncommunications.com, B-A-Z-Y-N-communications, with an S, .com. And then under my name, ardisbazyn.com. And on the Ardis Bazyn one I have a blog, whereas the other one is more of a traditional website, and it has a majority of the links and then my Ardis Bazyn one links to that site. Jeff Thompson: So right at the end here you start talking about a blog. You just seem really busy with a lot of writing, you must really enjoy it. Ardis Bazyn: I don't blog as much as I should, I should do it every week or two, and sometimes it's once every couple of months. But I like to share tips and tricks for people of all ages. And I'm on several boards, I'm on American Business Women's Association, I'm active with Business Network International, BNI is for both men and women whereas ABWA is more for just women, although they allow men to join. Ardis Bazyn: Plus I'm real active in blindness organizations, American Council of the Blind, Randolph Sheppard Vendors of America, Independent Visually Impaired Entrepreneurs, as well as the California Council of the Blind and the State Independent Living Council in California. Ardis Bazyn: So I keep pretty active, because I think it's important for blind people to show other blind people what they can do if they get out there, network with people. Jeff Thompson: You're gonna need more than a business card to put all that on. Jeff Thompson: Well, Ardis, thank you very much for taking the time out of your day here at the convention and speaking to the listeners of Blind Abilities. Ardis Bazyn: Thank you for having me. Pete Lane: This concludes our chat with Ardis Bazyn. Jeff and I would like to thank Ardis for chatting with us. Special thanks to [inaudible] for his absolutely gorgeous music. And for all of you, thanks so much for listening, and have a great day. Pete Lane: For more podcasts with a blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com. We're on Twitter, we're on Facebook, and be sure to check out our free app in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

Welcome back to another TBTS as Allison, Brian and Jeff dig into the news and happenings around the tools and gadgets with accessibility in mind. In Episode 12, Skype continues to Un-amuse the Blindness community with broken accessibility and mostly a usability that is failing fast. Delta Airlines enhances its policy on service dogs and basically gets it right. IOS 11.3 Beta brings us more feedback to the life of your battery and it’s shortening of life. Jeff’s battery has dropped 2 more points since the podcast was recorded. Hmm. We touch base with the Business Enterprise Program for the blind. Allison continues to bring us Home Pod news and AirPlay2 is coming to more devices soon. So grit your teeth and bare down as the That Blind Tech Show Episode 12 invades your privacy, and takes away your precious time but hey, it’s all about the moments we have together, the content, the unbelievable audio quality, the conciseness of delivery, the humor and lighter side the show brings and most of all, Bryan’s comedic attempts at being funny. I know, you are trying to recall a funny moment. I am with you. LOL. Bryan never reads show notes so hey, thanks for listening and have a great day. Be sure to follow the show on Twitter @BlindTechShow And send your feedback and suggestions to us via email. Thank you for listening!   that Blind Tech Show is produced in part with Blind Abilities Network.   You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities Appon the App Store.

Welcome to Job Insights Extra, part of the Job Insights Podcast with Serina Gilbert and Jeff Thompson, a podcast focused on the world of employment, career pathways and gainful and meaningful employment. The Job Insights Extra podcasts are success stories, interviews and demos that enhance the experience of reaching that career you want. On Job Insights Extra #5 we talk to Dan Sippl, President of the Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America (RSVA)at their annual Sage Brush Convention in Las Vegas. The RSVA is an organization of Blind venders part of the Business Enterprise Program and under the Randolph-Sheppard Act which allows for business opportunities for people who are blind. Each year RSVA gathers and brings in speakers and business representatives  to help educate and share ideas programs and inovative strategies to enhance the opportunities and possibilities in the highly competitive market of food services and vending operations. If you are interested in becoming your own boss and want to run your own business, be sure to contact Dan sippl and the RSVA and they will surely provide you with the information to get you started on a lifetime career. You can inquire about the BEP in your state by contacting your State Services for the Blind, your Vocational Rehab and ask to speak to your state’s director of the BEP. Here are some links to get you started: RSVA on the web www.randolph-sheppard.org http://www.randolph-sheppard.org Here is a podcast all about the BEP: The Business Enterprise program: Business Ownership Opportunities and a Promising Career Thank you for listening! Follow Job Insights on Twitter @JobInsightsVIP Do you have any suggestions or feedback? Send the Job Insights Team an email Job Insights is part of the Blind Abilities Network. You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Store. Get the Free blind Abilities App on the Google Play Store.  

TVI Toolbox - Tools for Success: Meet Devin and Lisa, Son and Mom, Experiencing State Services and the BEP #SuccessStories Blind Abilities presents the TVI Toolbox. Where the collaboration between Teachers, Counselors, Parents, Agencies and the Students themselves help enhance the opportunities for success. Transitioning from high school to college and the workplace is  a major step and the beginning of lifetime goals and aspirations. As Devin , this month’s featured interview in the Success Stories portion of this podcast, experienced the workforce through an internship with the Business Enterprise Program (BEP). The BEP Director John Hulet talks about what to expect and how to get involved with BEP. Devin’s mom, Lisa Ferguson, takes us through her experience as a mom of a child with vision loss and working with State Services for the Blind (SSB). Her perspective along with Devin’s gives us a good idea of how Devin became a member of the workforce at age 15. Job experience, resume writing, learning the public transit system as a means of transportation and developing a relationship with a business owner and the Transition Team at SSB gives Devin and Lisa a wealth of experience moving forward. Full Transcript Below.  From the TVI’s to the Agency counselor’s and program specialist, working together along with parents as well, is creating more opportunities and successes for Transition age students. Sharing experiences through Success Stories, sharing programs that make a positive impact, sharing ideas, findings, upcoming events and the Tools for Success all play a part in making the transition process a natural progression and better understood by all.   Here are the links to the information we bring to this episode.   Transit Tracker App on the App Store https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/transit-tracker/id659183692?mt=8   Join.Me- Screen Sharing Service on the Web. Getting everyone on the same page is easy – so long as join.me instant screen sharing is involved. When you start your join.me meeting, simply press the “Broadcast” button and you’re ready to go. It’s that simple.   Check out your State Services by searching the Services Directory on the AFB.org web site.   State Services for the Blind of Minnesota We offer tools and training for employment and for helping seniors remain independent and active. As Minnesota’s accessible reading source we also transcribe books and other materials into alternative formats, including audio and braille. We assist Minnesotans who are blind, DeafBlind, losing vision, or who have another disability that makes it difficult to read print. I hope you find what you need here. We've also created a Tips for Using Our New Website page. If you’d like to apply for services, learn more, or have more questions, just give us a call. You’ll find contact information for all of our offices on our contact page, or you can call our main office at 651-539-2300.   You can submit to the On The Horizons segment by emailing jessica Hodges   Full Transcript:   Narrator: TVI toolbox is a tool for teachers, for agencies, for clients, to enhance the opportunities and the understanding of transition services; professionals talking about the services they provide, teachers of the visually impaired talking about topics of transitioning from high school, to college, to the work place. Students talking about their journeys, their successes, and some of the barricades and brick walls that were in their way, and solutions, tips, and tricks, on how they got through it. On this episode of TVI toolbox, we have John Hulet, director of the Business Enterprise program from state services for the blind. We also have Devin and Lisa. Devin is a high school student who took part in the Business Enterprise program internship. And Lisa is Devin's mom, and Lisa's going to talk about Devin's experience, and her experience with state services for the blind. And in tools for success, we have a demonstration of transit tracker, an application for busses, trains, timings, and routs, and it's totally accessible. And for more podcasts with a blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com, on twitter @blindabilities, and download the free app from the app store. That's two words, blind abilities. This podcast was produced in part by state services for the blind, live, learn, work, and play. And now, here's John Hulet, director of the Business Enterprise Program at state services. So John Hulet, what qualities makes a great business Enterprise program operator?    John: some of the most important attributes would be an individual who's motivated, who's a selfstater, who's willing to learn how to do things, who comes into the program wanting to work and is excited about the idea of operating their own business, but recognizing at the same time that there's a lot of work in operating ones own business.    Narrator: That was John Hulet. They opened up an internship in the Business Enterprise program to a high school student, and we got the opportunity to talk to Devin, and his mother Lisa. She's going to give us the perspective of a mom working with state services for the blind and  the Business Enterprise program.    Lisa: My name is Lisa Ferguson, I'm Devin Westmiller's mom who worked this summer for the BEP through SSB   Narrator: mhm, that's great. How did you first get connected with state services for the blind?    Lisa: I was told about it by his vision teacher Sophie Chaven   Narrator: mm, so the school districts teacher   Lisa: yes   Narrator: And when you contacted them you found opportunities? It seems like he really enjoyed the vending program this summer.    Lisa: oh, for sure, I actually enquired to see if he could do the vending, like go to school and get the certificate for the vending, but as far as I know, or what I was told, he is the youngest one to actually utilize and work through the BEP program.    Narrator: That's great   Lisa: Yeah, so he's a very young fifteen year old, he just turned fifteen   Narrator: So with that experience maybe next summer he can do a little more, and have something lined up for him right upon graduation?    Lisa: Oh, definitely, actually one sooner than that now we can actually make him a resume. We actually did make him a resume and he applied for another job at SSB.    Narrator: And did you use the online Minnesota online job application process?    Lisa: Yes, we did   Narrator: How'd that go?    Lisa: It went good. It was definitely a good learning experience.    Narrator: So what's it like for you to experience state services for the blind?    Lisa: It's been really positive and my, I guess our counselor, Tou Yang has just been on top of this and got a new position, and learning himself on the way, ends up being kind of like a mediator,  person who can kind of make it easier for the main counselor Ashlyn to make everything successful for us. Without him I'm not sure what or how I would have done it, so that was extremely important.    Narrator: The middle man    Lisa: yeah, the middle man is very important. And I"am not saying maybe Ashlyn could have done the same thing, I just dealt with Tou   Narrator: Well, in his position, that exactly, what he's there to do. Ashlyn has other clients, so when someone's in the position that Devin was in, he moves in and segways them into companies or other people where the opportunities are. He's kind of that bridge. So he's a tool of Ashlyn's.    Lisa: Yeah, definitely, I mean he's the one that came to the school like every week, for a while, or a couple times a month, and did those intense assessments, so Devin was able to get to know him, and wen Devin first told me about it, he kind of brought it up, and a few weeks went by, and summer was coming, and he said "I really want to do that vending thing.That was really difficult fro me because we're in the suburbs, and had to go to saintpaul every morning, but we made it work, and he learned how to use the bus, so it was a big learning experience as well using mass transit.   Narrator: Experience is one of the best teachers, so this is something that's going to stick with him for quite a while.    Lisa: Yes, definitely.    Narrator: Yeah, the BEP program in Minnesota is a really good, and you learn a lot from it and see just how business is done, all from a machine, or from the store, which ever you experience, so that's great   Lisa: And eh really liked, what did they call it, Eric Farms was his mentor,    Narrator: Oh, Eric   Lisa: Since he had the stores and the vending machines and he really enjoyed working with Eric, Eric was a great mentor, so that was another big part of the connection experience that we had through SSb meeting Eric and having Eric be completely blind. Devin is legally blind, and doesn't need a lot of the adaptations, but  Eric just was incredible with my son, so. And he's very open to let other people come in, you know, there was other people that Eric has working for him through these programs, it's pretty special.    Narrator: So it's worked out pretty good?    Lisa: Yeah, it's worked out great   Narrator: That's good, and now he's going out and resume building, and filling out a job application, and hopefully a job interview coming up, and that experience, and lots of good stuff. That's great. So what advice would you have for other parents who are experiencing a child that is loosing vision or has vision loss?    Lisa: Take advantage of the services that are out there. Take advantage of SSB, and the Bep program, and put your fingers to the keyboard. Ask questions at the IEP meeting, ask questions to follow it all through. I mean, that's really what it is. You have to really be engaged, and partake in helping find the resources that around as early as possible, and once that's done, you get it in earlier, and they kind of have a path to start from.    Narrator: You mentioned the IEP, the individual education plan?    Lisa: Yes   Narrator: Can you explain that to some parents that may not know what that is?    Lisa: It's a plan that's kind of to, it's through the school that has these special education program, and you need, it's an independent education plan that a group of people or support group at the school get together, and it becomes regulated in the school. If your child needs adaptation needs or specific needs, like my son can wear a baseball hat at school if it's too bright in the room. Just certain little tweaks and things like that that can really help your kid. I mean the latest example is Devin is in tenth grade and taking statistics, and he has to get a calculator, and the calculator, even though he can see, he is limited on his certain vision, looking on a very small screen is difficult, and strain. so I said that's not going to work, we need to find a solution, and so the people that were in the group of the IEP helped me to get an application that he can use on his computer. So he can actually look at the graphing app on his computer instead of a tiny little screen. It just makes the people behind him in the special education program on top of it.    Narrator: Keeps everyone on the same page.    Lisa: Yeah, as long as everyone's engaged, that's the best thing for your child.    Narrator: Now I myself am visually impaired, I wouldn't know what it's like to have a child that lost his eye sight, did you know you would be his best advocate?    Lisa: It came as a bit of a peculiar circumstance, because I am deaf. I wear two hearing aids. Without my hearing aids I'd be eighty percent deaf. I have to do ASL, but luckily I have some really good hearing aids, and so I knew also had special education. Back then they didn't call it special education, they didn't call it IEPs, but we had support, and additional person, at least I was given speech therapy and things like that that I had requested through elementary school, and junior high, and high school. So I know some of the difficulties, having a different kind of disability, and I kind of became my own advocate really young. I didn't really have somebody else to speak for me, so I  had to speak for myself,  I can't hear, I need to sit in the front, I don't know what's going on. And the special education tutor outside of the classroom was very helpful! So it was the same type of thing that we go through we need to lift a helping hand.    Narrator: so you've almost become a roll model too, I mean your achievements, he sees as successful, and now he's getting some success, last summer was a big success, it seems like you guys are on the right path.    Lisa: he wants to...I can't get him a job fast enough.    Narrator: There you go. Now, back in the day people looked at state services for the blind as kind of a last resort if you can't do it yourself, like a safety net, and I'd like to think that we're blowing some good, fresh wind into the place, and they're doing a good job. Like Tou is there, and the whole transition department there has really grown and expanded and put some good focus on getting the job experience that is needed, and it becomes a vehicle for your future.    Lisa: I agree. I guess I, when you were first saying that it was a last resort, absolutely not, it's a first resort   Narrator: That's a great way of putting it because it used to be, back in the day like, you can't pull your bootstraps up, then you go there, and the image is really changed, and that's part of why we're doing some of these podcasts to cast, let people see that  by going to state services for the blind you have opportunities that are created and experience, and you set a foot forward on the right path to succeed   Lisa: yeah, definitely, without a doubt   Narrator: If you actually break down that "Can I do it?" and actually say yes I can.    Lisa: Well I think one of the things is I'm here for Devin, so I can help him . I mean obviously I'm getting the resources to him because he wouldn't know how to ask for them, so I'm guessing there's plenty of people who don't have that extra person do you know what I mean, that can't be reached the way that Devin... you know, luckily we have an IEP, we have a vision teacher, we have somebody to connect us. So I can see it being difficult for people who don't have that person to help them out. And if they don't have a parent or guardian or somebody, whoever they're working with needs to really, I guess, share the information.    Narrator: I've got to hand it to you for being effectively involved in his journey. It's really great that you've had the experience kind of knew the ropes a little bit.   Lisa: Yeah, for sure.    Narrator: You've got to get out there and find them too.    Lisa: Yeah, and I keep searching. I mean, it doesn't end with SSB, but SSB is huge and we're going to continue to use them in the future for connections, job opportunities, living opportunities, training,    Narrator: Training, life skills, orientation and mobility, how to use the transit systems, from all levels, to legally blind to totally blind there's something there, a division there that can help anybody, all the way to seniors, and all the way to, I think Devin's one of the younger ones, I think 14 is the start, or fifteen, and he's already done some work in the summer, so he's got a great start, good job to both of you.    Lisa: Thank you. Yeah, he is   Narrator: It's a team over at SSB.    Lisa: Yeah   Narrator: Lisa thank you for taking the time and coming onto the podcast, and you're doing a great job, you and Devin, and congratulations to all the success you guys have had so far.    Lisa: And thank you for what you're doing for my son, and thanks SSB   Narrator: It's always good to get a perspective of a mom of a child going through state services for the blind, especially the business enterprise program. And now, here's Devin, talking about his experience on the job. And today we're talking to Devin Wesmeller, how are you doing?    Devin: Good    Narrator: Good, could you tell our listeners at blind abilities about who you are, what you do, and what you did last summer?    Devin: I'm a tenth grader, sophomore in high school. I just started the school year. I'm trying to focus.    Narrator: What was it like starting school again, fun?    Devin: Yeah, it's actually pretty good so far   Narrator: That's good. What kind of classes are you taking?    Devin: World history, statistics, history, English.    Narrator: While you're in high school do you use any alternative techniques or any devices to help you for accomplishing accommodations?    Devin: I use a web sight called join.me   Narrator: Join.me?    Devin: Yeah, it's a web sight. All my teachers have it. They sign into it, and They give me a code, and it's a screen share app, so I can see whatever's on their screen through my computer   Narrator: Oh, really! Well that's interesting. join.me, I'll look that up. All your teachers have that, so it's just something that you've come to accept as part of going to school?    Devin: Yeah, and it definitely helps a lot, so I actually like it.    Narrator: That's great. When you're in your school district you have a teacher for the visually impaired?    Devin: Yeah, I most of the time will work with my DHH teacher, but it's mostly about my vision.    Narrator: Ah, and what's a DHH teacher?    Devin: Deaf and hard of hearing teacher, because I have a slight hearing loss.    Narrator: Ok, so last summer, you worked with state services for the blind in Minnesota, and it created an opportunity for you to do some work. Can you tell our listeners a little about that?    Devin: Yeah, it was a vending company, and I worked there for like two months during the summer, and learned all about what it would be like to be a vender.    Narrator: For the business Enterprise program?    Devin: Yeah.    Narrator: That's probably pretty interesting isn't it? How'd you like it?    Devin: It was really fun.    Narrator: Does that open up again for you next year maybe?    Devin:  I hope so.    Narrator: Per sue it, maybe it could happen. Being intense and looking towards the future, have you thought about college at all?    Devin: Kind of, not that much so far.    Narrator: Any interests?    Devin: I'll be starting to think out of it my junior year.    Narrator: mhm, growing up with vision loss, how did that affect your childhood?    Devin: It was hard when I was younger because I didn't I wore special glasses, really dark to help with light sensitivity, and I had to wear big sunglass goggles, and I couldn't see very well through them. Other than that, I was fine in class, I did pretty ok.    Narrator: How  do you access your computer today?    Devin: As long as I'm close, or I zoom in a little bit I can see it.    Narrator: Is there any devices such as an iPhone, or a computer...what's your favorite a PC or a Mac?    Devin: I just use a chromebook from my school    Narrator: Ah. So do you like the iPhone?    Devin: Yeah, I like the iPhone 5S   Narrator: Do you use the accessibility feature of the zoom?    Devin: Yeah, sometimes, I need it if I can't zoom in on something.    Narrator: That's pretty nice to have that central zoom from the apple products.   Devin: Yeah.    Narrator: So Devin, what kind of hobbies do you do? what kind of stuff do you do for leisure, entertainment, and all that stuff?    Devin: I like to hang out with friends, and study hard, because I'm starting the year really good.    Narrator: In the business Enterprise program when you got introduced to that, what was your day like? When you started, when you showed up for work, until you got done?    Devin: I just started on the vending machines, started the store, made sure they were nice and stocked for the day. Because they were the best sellers.    Narrator: So you'd have to open them up and pull up the trays, and make sure all of them are full, and...   Devin: Yeah, because e they were all bought from a lot.   Narrator: There was opportunity to make some money there.    Devin: Yeah   Narrator: Did you get into some of the soda machines and the coffee machines that type of thing?    Devin: Yeah, yeah I learned how to go in the back, and stack the right way, and soda machine, and clean the coffee vending machine.   Narrator: It's not all fun and games, is it?    Devin: No, it takes a lot.    Narrator: Mhm, so do you think this will be something that other people might be get interested in?    Devin: Yeah, I think so, I thought it was really fun.    Narrator: What's the suggestions you have for other people who are looking for summer work and are visually impaired.    Devin: I think they should use state services for the blind because of the opportunities they gave me.    Narrator: And how would someone get a hold of state services for the blind?    Narrator: My mom told me she wanted to sign me up for this thing that would help me in the future and it was state services for the blind. I thought it was a good idea, because I hadn't had any work experience so I wanted to get some. We asked if their were any opportunities in the summer.    Narrator: Great. Well, Devin,thank you very much, thanks for coming on to Blind Abilities.    Devin: Thanks , thank you   Narrator: It's really great to know that Devin's got a little bit of job experience now and wants to go back. And if you're interested in getting job experience, contact your state services for the blind and see what they can do for you. Now, here's John Hulet. He's going to tell you a little bit about if you're interested in the Business Enterprise Program.    John: Well first of all, I think it's important that anybody that's listening to this is interested in the program they should contact me to talk about it. One of the things I like to talk about with folks when we're first starting out is to let them know how the program operates. Because their's a list of available vending investment opportunities in the state, and our BEP venders typically stay in the program for twenty, sometimes forty plus years, it can be challenging to know when an opportunity will become available. though this type of challenge exists, we are always excited about meeting potential participants, discussing the program in greater detail with them, and looking at potential vending business opportunities that may exist. The training is a compilation of interviews, assessments, job shadowing, online training, in house equipment training, and on the job training. This business can take six to nine months to complete.    Narrator: There you have it. If you're interested in owning your own business, want to work hard, and be your own boss, contact your state services and enquire about the Business Enterprise program. And now, tools for success. And today, we're going to be looking at an app that helps with bus routs, train routs, something you can pull out, turn it on, and it will tell you when the next bus is coming, or train, in real time. So I've opened up my iPhone, hit the icon   VoiceOver: Transit Tracker   Narrator: And here I am. It starts out, in default, I open it up, and I'm at the left hand corner, so I'm going to swipe  to the right with one finger.    VoiceOver: Transit tracker, MSP, heading.    Narrator: So it's set for Minneapolis and Saintpaul.    VoiceOver: Refresh, button   Narrator: Hitting this button will refresh all the routs populated on your screen.    VoiceOver: N features visible.    Narrator: There is a map provided, which takes up about a two inch square on the screen, and since we're using VoiceOver, it's not going to give us much information, so I will keep swiping, single finger left to right. It comes up to my location that I'm at right now   VoiceOver: East River road and 69th way.   Narrator: So now we'll continue swiping left to right, single finger,, and it starts telling me the routs that the GPS has located for me at my destination.    VoiceOver: 852, north bound 852 A Express/North town Oka tech, next scheduled departure, 1:53 PM    Narrator: So, if I swipe again,    VoiceOver: 852, south bound, 852 south bound 7nnMPLS, next scheduled departure, 1:56 PM    Narrator: So that's pretty nice. River road runs north to south, and it's telling me what's coming, and the time. So, what if I wanted to find other routs? Up in the upper left hand corner, there's a button, four finger single tap near the top will put my VoiceOver cursor right on the top.    VoiceOver: Top of screen.    Narrator: Swipe to the  left,    VoiceOver: Button   Narrator: Now this is not labeled, but I know it's the menu, and you could label this button by doing a two finger single tap and hold and then typing in, menu. So here goes, two finger double tap and hold?    VoiceOver: Alert, text field, is editing, label, insertion point at start. M, E, N, U, save, button.    Narrator: Ok, I'll try a four finger single tap near the top   VoiceOver: Transit tracker   Narrator: and a single finger swipe to the left,    VoiceOver: Menu, button.    Narrator: There it is, it's now labeled. In this method of labeling a button or something that you would like to have labeled works across the board. So remember, a two finger double tap and hold brings up the dialogue box that will label that button. So, let's go check out the menu. Single finger double tap   VoiceOver: Transit Tracker, MSP. Trip planner   Narrator: Trip planner is where you can type in a destination. You have two criteria's, the time you want to leave, and the time that you arrive the destination. So say I wanted to get there by five o'clock, it would then calculate what time I would need to leave on what route to arrive there at five o'clock. Or, if I wanted to leave here at three, it would then let me know when I'd arrive at my destination. Trip planner's a great option if you're not so sure what time it's going to take to get there, and to make sure you're on time.    VoiceOver: Routs/stops   Narrator: If I was to click on this, I could then search for any bus number that I would like. That's called a rout. If I was to choose from a stop, I could type in the stop number, and it would tell me the busses and times, and typically I'd just look for the bus number. Moving down the menu list, It will show me the forms of transportation that I have to choose from.    VoiceOver: Transit type. Selected, bus, train, northstar, amtrack    Narrator: So there you go, those are your four choices. So when you find a rout that you take frequently, or a series of routs that you take frequently, you then have the option to save it, right here in the menu.    VoiceOver: Saved.    Narrator: That's really nice, because typically, with GPS, always looking for the busses that are in your vicinity, wherever you are. So say you're two blocks away at a restaurant or coffee shop, anticipating a bus arrival. you could then go to your saved stops, and see what's happening there. So that's a little overview of Transit Tracker. Download it to your phone, check it out, and I believe for 4.99 you can upgrade to a no advertisement, the ability to save your routs, a little more, robust it makes it. I did it, and it's real worth it, but you can use the free version as well. So thanks for checking out tools for success. And remember, for more podcasts with a blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com, on twitter @blindabilities, and download the free blind abilities app from the app store, that's two words, blind abilities. 

Welcome back to another TBTS as Allison, Bryan and Jeff dig into the news and happenings around the tools and gadgets with accessibility in mind. In Episode 12, Skype continues to Un-amuse the Blindness community with broken accessibility and mostly a usability that is failing fast. Delta Airlines enhances its policy on service dogs and basically gets it right. IOS 11.3 Beta brings us more feedback to the life of your battery and it’s shortening of life. Jeff’s battery has dropped 2 more points since the podcast was recorded. Hmm. We touch base with the Business Enterprise Program for the blind. Allison continues to bring us Home Pod news and AirPlay2 is coming to more devices soon.  So grit your teeth and bare down as the That Blind Tech Show Episode 12 invades your privacy, and takes away your precious time but hey, it’s all about the moments we have together, the content, the unbelievable audio quality, the conciseness of delivery, the humor and lighter side the show brings and most of all, Bryan’s comedic attempts at being funny. I know, you are trying to recall a funny moment. I am with you. LOL. Bryan never reads show notes so hey, thanks for listening and have a great day.   Be sure to follow the show on Twitter @BlindTechShow And send your feedback and suggestions to us via email. You can listen to all the That Blind Tech Show episodes on Blind Abilities on the web at www.BlindAbilities.com   Thank you for listening. You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Store.

The Business Enterprise program: Business Ownership Opportunities and a Promising Career The Business Enterprise Program (BEP) was established for Blind/Visually Impaired individuals to create opportunities and careers through food vending services and food and merchandise sales on Federal and state properties. The BEP program is nationwide and if you or anybody you know is interested in owning their own business, wants to work and begin a promising career, share this podcast and let them know about the Business Enterprise program. Jeff Thompson talks with John hulet, the Director of the BEP in Minnesota, Scott Eggen, a 30 plus year veteran in the BEP and Michael Colbrunn a new comer to the program and he is enjoying the choices and challenges that he has accepted by owning his own business. If you are interested in knowing more about the BEP, email John Hulet Contact your State Services if outside of Minnesota and ask about the Business Enterprise Program and how you can learn more. Thank you for listening. You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Store.

Occasionally, I come across a story that I think fits into a specific category. This latest piece for example was supposed to be about Robert Ott, a blind entrepreneur, but it ended up as so much more. Hear how one two syllabel word helped Robert fight back from a traumatic experience to become a successful entrepreneur in the Business Enterprise Program. Listening on Sound Cloud? Hit the Follow! Subscribe to the Podcast: http://bit.ly/RMMRadioSubscribe/

(See full Transcript Below) State Services for the Blind, (SSB) presented an Opportunities Fair for Blind and Low Vision high school students and parents. The Opportunities Fair allowed students to talk to business leaders and organizations about who they were and what are their expectations. Students went from table to table one on one with directors and admins and learning about the opportunities they offer. Parents met up with other parents and shared experiences and strategies for successful outcomes. The students met others from the metropolitan area and shared their experiences and successes. Panels of parents of Blind children, successfully employed people with vision loss and another panel consisting of transition age students who are working jobs and doing internships spoke to the entire group of participants Blind Abilities was there talking to the students, counselors transition team from SSB and met with the business associates. Join Jeff Thompson of Blind Abilities and take a tour of the Opportunities Fair. If you are interested in more opportunities and want to find out more about transitioning from high school to college and to the workplace, you can contact Sheila Koenig at  651-539-2361. You can find out more about the Transition program on the web.   Thank you for listening. You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Store.   Transcript:   Female Voice: If you're looking for employment right now get out there, looking for a job is a full-time job. Male Voice: What I'm seeing is there's a lot of camaraderie here and there's just a lot of resources and it's just nice to make connections with folks who know what they're doing and and help them realize their dreams. Female Voice: So, it's called Capti, and you can get like any PDF's that you can't see. Male Voice: Well I am a senior right now and I wanted to look into jobs, I never really had any work experience. It's kind of nice to see that I can find the job. Female Voice: Experience experience experience, volunteer, it shows responsibility, it shows that you can commit to something and follow through. Know within yourself that your dreams are possible, that you can reach them. Don't let others limited expectations hold you back. Jeff Thompson: Welcome to Blind Abilities, Iím Jeff Thompson. State Services for the Blind's transition team held an opportunities fair at a local community center giving transition age students an opportunity to meet with the Job Corps employers and talk with others about the tips and tricks that they'll need as they transition from high school to college to the work place. The students were also able to collaborate with each other and share ideas, apps, and other tools for success. There are panels of different demographics sharing ideas and success stories that they had. Parents talking about their successes along the journey, talking about what it takes, what they've overcome, what experience can you share about being gainfully employed, and what it's like to be a teenager transitioning that has a part-time job. And mostly the students had an opportunity to talk to the employers, the workforce, and meet and talk and ask questions about what it is, what they need to do to prepare for the workforce. All this was at the opportunities fair. Sheila Koenig: When I describe my job to people I usually tell them that I help to either develop the programs or connect students with the programs and services that will help them be successful after high school, whether they go to college or directly into work and we're all about helping them to get the skills to be successful while they're still in high school. Jeff Thompson: You're listening to Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig. She along with her transition team put together the opportunities fair to bring all the entities together employers, students, parents, so they all can share in the information and add a few more tools into their toolbox for success. Sheila Koenig: That's actually one piece of advice that I think is so important for students is to learn a variety of tools and techniques so that you can determine what's going to work for you in any given situation. Jeff Thompson: And the transition team was out in full force at the opportunities fair. Male Voice: I am SSB's work opportunities navigator, I work with transition 14 to 21, helping them identify what they like to do, explore potential careers and connect them to resources, activities, and work opportunities, and help make that happen. Mark Groves: Hi, I'm Mark Groves, I'm Voc Rehab Counselor with State Services for the Blind. I really like working with the transition students because they're, there's just so many possibilities that are open for them and they've got a lot of energy and a million ideas and so what I, what I like to do is partner with them, collaborate with them, I've got about five or six young people on my caseload and so I thought I would pick them up and drive them here and leave nothing to chance so they could experience the fair today and just have fun without any worries. What I'm seeing is there's a lot of camaraderie here and there's just a lot of resources and it's just nice to make connections with folks who know what they're doing and help them realize their dreams. Deasha Van Alstine: I am Deasha Van Alstine with State Services for the Blind's Workforce Development unit. When job seekers come in we look at what they have done, what skills they have, what interests they have, what they know, and then we come up with all kinds of different career paths, and we can try to figure out which is going to be the most appropriate for that individual and give them choices. If you're looking for employment right now, get out there, looking for a job is a full-time job, you have to be filling out applications, you have to be asking for help, you have to be updating your resume every time, you have to be doing things that set yourself above the rest of the job seekers. Be invested in it. If you're not looking for a job right now you're looking for a direction, talk to a lot of people, ask for labor market information, visit with your employment specialist that works with your State Services for the Blind counselor. Get as much information as you can and ask lots of questions. Experience, experience, experience, volunteer, it shows a responsibility, it shows that you can commit to something and follow through, do stuff around the house, get a part-time job even if it means it's something that you might feel is below you, get as much experience in the world as you can, be independent. Jeff Thompson: And we're talking with a greeter, Rachel Eggert. She's deaf/blind and we're going to interview her about her job at U.S. Bank. How are you doing? Rachel Eggert: Oh, I'm doing wonderful, thank you. Jeff Thompson: What kind of job do you do at U.S. Bank? Rachel Eggert: My role is Guest Experience Representative at U.S. Bank, I'm actually like an Usher. Jeff Thompson: Is there any alternative techniques that you use to perform your job? Rachel Eggert: I do use my white cane to get around, and I also use a whiteboard for communication so we would write back and forth like if a deaf person or somebody knows sign language and they come up to me then we can communicate but if they don't know sign than I need to use the white boy. Jeff Thompson: Great, when you were applying for this job did you have assistance doing it, or is it something that you took on yourself to seek out a job and gain employment? Rachel Eggert: I did it independently. I did it all myself, because I did need new experience, a new job experience, because I did work at the State Capitol for several years and then I thought you know what, I should get out there and do something else. So, I got online, filled out an application, and I needed to actually print out the application and fill it in by hand, and then they had called me for a screening which I passed, and after the screening I was asked to go to the job fair for a job interview for that position. I did need a sign language interpreter which they did not provide but the person I met with new a little sign language, so we did our best, and then from that I was hired and then we had to do all the paperwork which was the background check and everything else that goes along with it and I've been working there ever since. Male Voice: If you have an app that you would like to talk about, feel free to jump in and say something about your favorite app. It doesn't have to be.... Jeff Thompson: The parents all gathered and talked to the transition team and the counselors while the students gathered around and held their app Smackdown. Male Voice: Hassan, how about you start us off with the app that you want to talk about. Hassan: All right I'm here to tell you about outlook for IOS and Android. (Mixed talking.) Jeff Thompson: A moment where they would share apps amongst each others, some of the apps they mentioned were Outlook for IOS, Voice Dream Reader, Capti, C A P T I, Assist Eyes Wallet, Prayogo, an optical character recognition and object recognition app free. Female Voice: This is Eyes Wallet, it's fully voiceover accessible, it also has some features, if you have some vision that you can..... Female Voice: So, it's called Capti, you can get like any PDF's that you can't see or..... Laurie Thompson: Hi, I'm Laurie Thompson, and I sat on a panel for the Opportunities Fair for State Services for the Blind, and the panel that I sat on was for blind employees and on this panel was Bobby Bentz, and Michael Oday. The panel before me was the parents of blind children, the panel after me was the transitional students that had part-time jobs or had had internships. Some of the advice that I gave the students when it came to talking with employers was to be confident and to explain themselves and how they can use their technology to complete the responsibilities of the jobs that they were seeking out. Be explicit in the explanations and be confident and persistent when looking for work. Jeff Thompson: What did you think of the Opportunities Fair? Male Voice: Wow, it was so wonderful, yeah, talking to different people that I never met before and the wonderful job they do for the blind community. Jeff Thompson: A lot of networking? Male Voice: Yep, I did. Jeff Thompson: Make connections? Male Voice: Yeah, I did, and Iím trying to find more now...... (Mixed voices and laughter.) Jeff Thompson: You're on the prowl to find more connections. Male Voice: Yeah, I'm still on a mission. Jeff Thompson: Well great, thanks for coming, Male Voice: Aha. Jeff Thompson: How you doing? Male Voice: I'm doing all right. Jeff Thompson: So, you go to high school? Male Voice: Yes, I go to Champlain Park High School in Brooklyn Park. Jeff Thompson: And what brings you to the Opportunities Fair? Male Voice: Well I am a senior right now, and I wanted to look into jobs, I've never really had any work experience, it's kind of nice to see that I can find the job. I'm slowly but surely as I speak to you now, I have a couple of bits of information that will actually help me. Jeff Thompson: I'm with Scott Eggen and he's a member of the Business Enterprise Program here in Minnesota. How are you doing Scott? Scott Eggen: I'm doing very well. Jeff Thompson: So, Scott you've been in this program for quite some time, right? Scott Eggen: Yes, I've been in for, been in the BEP program for 30 years. Jeff Thompson: So, someone can make a career in the business enterprise program? Scott Eggen: You truly can, if you've got certain aptitude for it you're going to do well, it's a good program and and I've known a lot of people that have made a good living at it. Jeff Thompson: Being at the Opportunities Fair, what's that like? Scott Eggen: It's been fun to see the youth come in and get a chance to visit with all the exhibitors here and learn about the different opportunities. I was telling someone this morning if I had this chance when I was an 18-year-old, this would have been fantastic. Jeff Thompson: Such an opportunity? Scott Eggen: Well, students here would have a great opportunity. I've been doing this for 30 some years and it's been very good for me, they would have a chance to explore our vending world and find out how it works and now to make some money at it. Female Voice: So, I'm a member of CTEP AmeriCorps CTEP stands for Community Technology Empowerment Project, and we are an AmeriCorps program based out of the Twin Cities that does work with digital literacy education so we work with different various groups including recent immigrants, English language learners, youth, and older adults maybe who haven't worked with computers ever before, or not very much and would like to learn more about them. Focusing primarily on employment opportunities for those individuals so teaching them how to use computers in a way that's beneficial for them in the ever-growing sort of digital marketplace that we live in right now. We are based out of St. Paul neighborhood network so if you go to www.spnn.org you can find more information about CTEP AmeriCorps through that. We have about 16 positions open for the upcoming service year, it starts in early September and goes through mid-August and yeah you can also, so you get a one thousand dollar living allowance every month during your service year and at the end of the year after successfully completing the full term you get a five-thousand-dollar Education Award which can go towards college, loans, graduate school, or just other, you know, classes if you'd like to take sort of on your own after school. Feamle Voice: So, we are a nonprofit organization, Conservation Corps, we actually have folks working throughout Minnesota and Iowa and Missouri. I am the program director for our youth an individual placement program so I have a couple of opportunities for high school students. The first is a summer opportunity, it's called our summer youth corps, so we hire high school students from throughout Minnesota to come work on natural resource conservation projects, that can be anything from pulling weeds, to planting trees, to working on hiking trails. We also have an after-school job for high school students in St. Paul and Minneapolis doing much of the same work but you're not away from home for the whole summer, it's just a couple hours after school, and all of our information is online as well so easy to find out a lot of information about our opportunities there. That is www.ConservationCorps.org. Jeff Thompson: Talking to Jennifer Moore and she's with a Hubert Humphrey Job Corps, how are you doing? Jennifer Moore: Very well happy to be here. Jeff Thompson: Can you tell our listeners what you do? Jennifer Moore: Yes, so I'm the director of admissions for the Job Corps program, and what we are is we are a career training program for 16 to25 year oldís, we have housing on the center, we do career training, if you haven't finished your high school diploma or GED you can finish that with us as well, we have full food services, medical staff, everything you need rolled up right into one program, we are a completely free program, we are sponsored by the Department of Labor, and it's very similar to going to a community college to get that skilled career training. We also have placement services so we work with young people once they're done with the program to make sure that they've got employment, that they've got the housing they need, that they've got the resources they need to live in independent life. Jeff Thompson: Well that's really great, you're bridging that gap from, you know, not everybody is ready for that next step. Jennifer Moore: Yeah absolutely. We even have a program on the center where students can go on and start taking college classes once they're done with their trade, their initial trade, they can take advanced training at a community college and get that four-year degree, or they can enroll in advanced training through Job Corps. For instance, our nursing assistant students can go on to get in LPN, a licensed practical nurse degree, again and this is all free. Nursing programs are very hard to get into right now, there's a three to five-year wait, and it's also very expensive, anywhere from15 to 50 thousand dollars. We are a government program that does that same thing only provided to young people completely free of charge, so happy to be here and, and really excited and Job Corps is a great opportunity for young people. Jeff Thompson: So, someone that is interested in the Job Corps, how do they get ahold of you? Jennifer Moore: You can call our main number 612-823-4516 is our main number and there's someone there that can answer your questions, we also have open orientation every Thursday at eight thirty in the morning and that's at the Job Corps center on Snelling Avenue. We're right across from the State fairgrounds and the address is fourteen eighty so any Thursday morning at eight-thirty please come and see us, you can learn more about the program, see the campus, but you can talk to us any time by calling that number as well so, we're happy to come out to talk to groups, schools, parents, students, staff, anybody who would like to learn more about the program we're happy to come out and talk to you too. Jeff Thompson: Well thank you very much. Jennifer Moore: Thank you. Mackenzie: My name is Mackenzie, I'm with HECUA, the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs, we're a non-profit located here in the Twin Cities, we offer experiential learning for U of M students, St. Kate's students, St. Thomas students, Macalester students, all sorts of colleges here in the Twin Cities, we also offer study abroad programs that are really unique, something that's great about HECUA is all of our programs focus on social justice and social change. We have several programs here in the Twin Cities so it's a great way to get out of the classroom, join your community, get an internship in the community, and explore what's going on around the Twin Cities. We do a lot of different recruiting, we're at a lot of different tabling events around the Twin Cities, but we also do class visits. Our website is www.hecua.org, if you want to find out about all of our different programs we offer. We have a lot of different advisors that will help you choose the program that's correct for you and there's always going to be someone to help you every step of the way, so we have a lot of different programs that really cater to different levels of experience within the field, and what's great about HECUA is you also have the internship component to so there's always going to be someone to help you with your experiential learning. HECUA is here for you every step of the way. Female Voice: Keep expectations high, and know that blindness, or low vision, or deaf blindness, in and of itself, is not a barrier, it really is the misconceptions of other people that can hold you back. Know within yourself that your dreams are possible, that you can reach them, don't let others limited expectations hold you back. (Music) Jeff Thompson: I would like to thank State Services to the Blind, the Transition Team, and all the participants, and parents, and students, and especially the vendors, the workforce that came out to make this happen, and sharing their opportunities. And if you're curious about more opportunities such as the Career Expo or the Opportunities Fair, check out your state services and see what they can do for you. Thanks for listening. (Multiple Voices) When we share, what we see, through each otherís eyes, we can then begin to bridge the gap between dreams and expectations and the reality of blind abilities. Jeff Thompson: For more podcasts with the blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com, on Twitter at Blindabilities, download our app from the app store. Blind abilities, that's two words, or send us an email at info@blindabilities.com Thanks for listening.    

Debbie came to California to live with her parents and heard about the Department of Rehabilitation’s Business Enterprise Program. She graduated from BEP in 2012 and interviewed for the vending route at the High Desert State Prison in Susanville. She was awarded the location and has become a very successful vendor.