THE TEXAS STAR
Vol. 19, No. 2 April 2011
Heather Abel, Editor
President’s Message Carol Edwards
Membership Memos Noelia Dillingham
Come One, Come All to the 2011 ACBT Auction Kenneth Semien, Sr.
Tales from the Treasurer Neil Finley
Alamo Council Shelley McMullen
News From Austin Stephen Kerr
Greater Fort Worth Area Jean Russell
Houston Council Happenings Bob Bartlett
South Plains Council Cindy Finley
Dog Trivia from GDUTX Cindy Finley
ACBT First Timer’s AwardCindy Finley
Resolutions? Bob Bartlett
2011 Scholarships Joyce Watson
Braille Awareness Day Events Held in Three Texas Cities Larry Johnson
Highlights from the 2011 ACB Presidents' Meeting
Kenneth Semien, Sr.
2011 ACB Legislative Seminar Overview Willie Barber
Nominating Committee ReportCindy Finley
15 Ways to Maximize Your ACBT Membership
Kenneth Semien, Sr.
The Carolyn Garrett Legislative Leadership Conference Michael Garrett
ACBT Presents the "Who's Who Among Blind Texans” Award Kenneth Semien, Sr.
Allen’s LandingAllen Dunbar
A Truly Accessible Free Web Browser! Diego Demaya
Transportation Committee Ginger Kraft
Announcing the Opening of the New CrissColeCareerCenter Barbara J. Madrigal
Tribute to Paul Veilleux Karen Eitel
In Memory of Melissa Mann
Toll-free number: 866-929-2228
[Note: Articles printed in The Texas Star are submitted by the
subscribers and are not necessarily reflective of the membership
as a whole. The articles express only the opinion of the author.]
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President's Message Carol Edwards
Hello everybody! Spring is here and after this cold winter I am happy to see it arrive!
I have to start my message with some sad news. On January 26, 2011, we lost our ACBT 2nd Vice-President,Paul Veilleux. Paul had served as President of our Dallas Chapter and was co-coordinator for the 2008 ACBT State Conference. Paul served this past year as the ACBT Webmaster. He was a wonderful gentleman and I know he will be missed. Then on March 22, 2011, I received news that a long time ACBT member, Melissa Mann, had passed away. Melissa was a very active member at one time, but due to ill health she was not able to do as much in the last few years. Melissa had received the ACBT Outstanding Member of the Year Award in 1998.
On a brighter note our Austin Chapter has been working on the 2011 ACBT State Conference. Mark your calendars for August 25th through 28th. It is early this year. The hotel we will be staying at is the HiltonAustinAirport. The room rate will be $79.00 plus tax per night and the phone number is 512-385-6767. Also, the ACB National Convention is being held in Reno, Nevada from July 8th through July 16th. For more information check your Braille Forum. If you plan to attend, please let me know so I have a correct chair count.
In February, ACBT sent three representatives to the ACB Legislative Seminar in Washington,D.C.Willie Barber, Chair of our Advocacy & Legislation Committee, and Kenneth Semien Sr. and Michael Garrett, members of Willie’s committee, were the attendees. This committee has been very busy with the legislative session that is going on in Austin at this time.
Hope everyone has a safe and happy spring. See you this summer!
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Membership Memos Noelia Dillingham
By now, everyone should have turned in their membership dues and information to Neil.The membership total is 341.
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We are working hard in this area to organize a chapter which will be called the Bay Area Council of the Blind. Belinda Skloss from ClearLakeCity is working very hard on this new adventure. They have met several times already.They have had good speakers with information that we can all use; this month Dale Campbell from the Blind Mice Mart will be the speaker, and he will bring some items for all to try out.
In MayCarol Edwards and I will travel to Waco to see about starting a group there.If anyone has a name of a potential member, please email their name and information to me.I have changed my email and I know I will grow to hate it until all the problems get worked out. It is .
Thanks to Kenneth Semien for his article on growing membership. We can use all the help and suggestions togrow state wide.
Come One, Come All to the 2011 ACBT Auction Kenneth Semien, Sr.
Join in on the fun as the ACBT Fundraising Committee gives special attention to the 2011 ACBT Auction scheduled for Saturday, August 27, during the ACBT Conference in Austin. We have great expectations for this fundraising event to be one of the best ever, as we support the furtherance of ACBT's efforts to accomplish its mission.
Each chapter and member can make the auction a success by obtaining donated items that would be of interest and value to the participants of the auction, while considering the size of the items because they will be carried home.
Let’s creatively identify and collect items, such as family games, jewelry, talking products, afghans and throws, collectibles like coins, stamps, and sports cards, monthly Paratransit passes, small appliances, IPods, portable CD or DVD players, cell phones, rolling totes and luggage, tickets to theme parks, symphony performances, museums or season tickets to sports events, vouchers, gift cards from major book and music stores, major restaurant chains, hotels, airlines, Amazon.com, Independent Living Aids and Maxi-Aids.
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As you make plans to attend the 2011 ACBT Conference, be sure to invite others and put extra money aside for interesting items you will want to take home for yourself or give as a gift to someone you care about. Place your bid and the highest bidder wins.Your efforts will be greatly appreciated. Don't delay, collect and send those items right away!
Send items to the attention of Lettie Jackson at Travis Association for the Blind,2307 Business Center Drive,Austin, Texas78744. Contact Kenneth Semien, Sr. with questions or comments by sending e-mail to or call (409) 866-5838.
Tales from the Treasurer Neil Finley
I want to say “Thank You” to everyone who helped me complete the membership list for ACB. ACBT has 341 members as of March 15. While this is the official list for ACB credentials, we can recruit members all year. July 12, 2011, will be the deadline for certified voting members for the ACBT state conference in September. The postmark date will be used for date of membership.
Please remember to send the following information for new members: name, address, phone number, The Braille Forum format (Braille, cassette, large print, and by e-mail), The Texas Star format (large print, CD, and by e-mail), fully sighted (yes or no), e-mail address (optional). The Braille Forum is available on the ACB website and The Texas Star is available on the ACBT listserv. To subscribe to The Braille Forum by e-mail, send a blank e-mail message to .
If you have any questions, please contact me: Neil Finley, ACBT Treasurer, 4831 – 52nd St, Lubbock, TX79414; (806) 795-0216; .
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Alamo CouncilShelley McMullen
Well it looks like spring has sprung, and most people are happy about it with the exception of those of us who suffer from allergies!
We of the Alamo Council of the Blind have been very busy so far this year, and I am sure our amazing progress will continue.
The new officers were installed at our January meeting. They are: Shelley McMullen, President; Larry Johnson, First Vice-President; Curtis Dameron, Second Vice-President; Joe McMullen, Secretary; and Bob Clayton, Treasurer. We continue to meet the second Saturday of each month at the Golden Phoenix Restaurant. The staff there is friendly and helpful, and most members seem to be pleased with this location.
On January 22, we hosted our annual Braille Awareness Day at Barnes and Noble. The event was well attended this year by the general public. Our special guest was radio personality and motivational speaker, Sonny Malendrez. We gave out Braille alphabets, Braille Valentines, and other items of interest. I know that Larry will be elaborating on this exciting event in his BRLT report, so I won’t steal his thunder!
Curtis Dameron is chairing our membership committee. I believe we currently have 62 members, and we are confident that our chapter will continue to grow! We are taking a new approach with regard to our membership. We have volunteers within the organization who remind members and prospective members of monthly membership meetings and other important activities. We are encouraging the callers to get to know the members on their list to find out about illnesses and other concerns that would be considered noteworthy for our chapter. We want our members to know that they are appreciated and are important to us on a personal level.
With regard to our meeting programs, Curtis Dameron has also taken charge of this committee. Our speaker at the Februarymeeting was Tom Cahill, current President of the Blinded Veterans Association,who spoke to us about the history and purpose of the organization.
In March we heard from Scott Ericksen of the Metropolitan
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Planning Organization. He complimented us on our previous advocacy efforts with regard to accessibility, and encouraged us to continue this. He said that he and his organization would be happy to assist ACB with advocacy issues, primarily those related to the development and maintenance of new and existing sidewalks in San Antonio and BexarCounty.
Our speaker in April will be Sarah Villegas who will provide a presentation about diabetic education. It is important to point out that all of our presenters so far are members of the Alamo chapter.
In May we will have Sonny Malendrez who will share his story, his cartoon character imitations, his newly published book, and much more! Our May meeting is likely to be packed!
We are continuing our sensitivity to blindness trainingfor Star Shuttle drivers, and have recently signed a similar contract with Via Trans for the same purpose. Feedback from the drivers we have trained continues to be totally positive.
In February, several of us who serve on the Advocacy Committee conducted a workshop about Para Transit eligibility criteria to prepare blind and visually impaired citizens about policies that may be implemented by Via Trans in the future. We reached beyond our chapter. We invited San Antonio Lighthouse workers, clients of DBS, etc. The turnout was light, but those who attended asked excellent questions and appeared eager to learn more. We are thinking of repeating the workshop, or at least a portion of it, at a later date.
We are participating in the Birdies for Charity as a fundraiser again this year. Pledges are still being collected.
The advocacy committee continues to in my opinion to function as our strongest committee. Our membership voted to submit a resolution to the legislative budget committee encouraging them not to slash the DARS/DBS budgets. We continue to encourage our members to make telephone calls and to submit emails in opposition to service cuts to vocational rehab services and the children’s program. We also strongly suggested that members call and write to support the bill which would prohibit the use of cell phones and texting while driving.
The advocacy committee has requested that members
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submit recommendations for additional Audible Pedestrian Signals (APS). The list of those to be added this year and in 2012 is already in place, so our recommendations will apply to 2013.
The committee is currently attempting to provide a list to members of pharmacies that would be willing to deliver medications to blind and visually impaired customers in our area. Of course it goes without saying that we will continue to push for Via Trans improvements.
Vivian Seki has graciously agreed to serve as scholarship committee chair. The committee is made up of eager professional individuals who want to provide at least two scholarships to deserving college-bound students or students who are already in college.They are developing a new application and have chosen May 15 as the deadline to receive applications.
On the publicity front I have two media events to discuss. The officers of the ACB chapter were invited by Mike Gilliam, CEO of the San Antonio Lighthouse, to participate in a very exciting media event. It is because of the efforts of Larry Johnson, Jim Lawson, and Mike Gilliam, who worked with the Texas Department of Transportation, that there is now an audible pedestrian signal and traffic light at the Roosevelt crossing in front of the Lighthouse.Four local television channels were represented. So we were on the news! A great lunch followed!
On April 4 we will be having another celebration! Joe and I live in a neighborhood where there previously were no audible pedestrian signals, and very few sidewalks. We spoke on at least two occasions at District 10 budget meetings in order to encourage Councilman John Clamp of our District to see that funding be made available for the installation of APS and safe sidewalks. Last year he saw that Audible Pedestrian Signals were installed at the corner of Harry Wurzbach and Eisenhauer, and at the corner of Austin Highway and Harry Wurzbach. There is now a nice safe sidewalk just outside our complex. Because of his concern for us we can walk safely to the closest bus stop without having to walk through wet grass and mud.
I, as Alamo Council President, spoke about the Alamo chapter, what we do, and what we stand for at the Low Vision Expo. My message was well received. I distributed brochures to
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Expo participants and to some vendors as well.
Before I close this article I have something very personal to share. I stepped down as President of the Alamo chapter at our last membership meeting. My reason for this decision is simple. My plate is just too full! I was spending all of my time attending committee meetings, sending out emails, making phone calls and providing Star Shuttle training. I was finding that I was even too tired to attend church, and I was starting to neglect my husband, my dogs, and our home. I believe that in order for the president to carry out responsibilities sacrifices must be made. I have some very exciting personal opportunities in front of me that I believe to be part of God's divine plan for my life. I prefer not to mention them here, but, if any of you are interested, please send me an email or give me a call! I would love to hear from you!
So now Larry Johnson will serve as President, and Curtis Dameron will be First Vice-President. We had an election and the chapter members voted by acclamation to put me back in my previous position as Second Vice-President. This I can handle. I love ACB and I resigned because I couldn’t give it all it needed. I will chair the publicity committee and will continue to serve on the advocacy committee as well.
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News From AustinStephen Kerr
August typically is not a month we look forward to with great anticipation. It’s usually one of the hottest months of the year, and for students, it usually means school is around the corner.
This coming August, however, there is an event we can truly get excited about. The 2011 ACBT State Conference will be here in Austin, August 25-28, so be sure to mark that date on your calendar and plan to be there. It will be held at the Hilton Austin Airport Hotel, 9515 New Airport Drive, Austin, TX78719.
The hotel has graciously agreed to provide us a room rate of $79 per night, plus tax,just as it’s been the past several years. Amenities include: free airport shuttle, a flyer that will take you to downtown Austin for $1 each way, complementary wi-fi service in the hotel’s atrium, 24-hour room service, a 24-hour fitness center,
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and oversized guest rooms with either a kingsize or two double beds. They have also waived the self-parking fee for those of you who will be bringing your own vehicles. If you can’t do without Starbucks, you’ll be delighted to know the hotel has a Starbucks Café, and they have a very nice eatery called the Creeks Restaurant, as well as a bar and lounge.
You will be able to make your reservations through the hotel’s Austin number at (512) 385-6767. Please use the group code ACB; it is crucial you use this code to assure you get the $79 rate.
The theme for this year’s conference is: Employment, Empowerment, and Education, and we’ll have various workshops, student and parent discussions based on this theme. Our Conference Committee, chaired by Judy Jackson, is also working hard to plan some fun social activities this year.
We hope to have registration packets sent out the first part of June. Feel free to visit the ACBT website at: and our Austin Council website: now and the conference for registration information and conference updates.
Special thanks to AT&T, who has agreed to contribute $4000 to this year’s conference. They have been a wonderful sponsor for us in past years, and we’re excited to have them aboard again this year.
If your chapter or affiliate would like to donate door prizes or auction items, please contact Lettie Jackson from the Austin Council for information on sending these items. You can call her at (512) 442-2329 weekdays between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm, or (512) 462-3905 after 6 pm weeknights and on weekends.