“Dots and Dashes” is a short newsletter featuring a variety of topics and ACB stories. This issue features information about the coronavirus, information on a call to help find ways to entertain your guide dogs during this temporary shutdown, ways to take the 2020 census, a reminder about the deadline for applying to become a leadership fellow, what to do if you’re experiencing telehealth and/or e-learning accessibility challenges, and Advocacy Updates.   Coronavirus Information After much thoughtful consideration, ACB has decided to close both offices and move our work to a virtual environment until further notice. This decision was made in order to ensure the continued health and safety of our employees and their families. ACB staff will continue to take calls and emails during this period. When calling ACB’s direct and toll-free office numbers, please use the recorded menu to contact our staff members directly. The health and welfare of our members is of the utmost importance and we are actively working to confirm details and explore alternative options regarding our 2020 convention as the situation evolves. ACB’s Board of Directors will hold a special meeting on March 30th to discuss the impact of the coronavirus on ACB. A recording of the meeting will be available on ACB Radio, and will also be listed under resources on this page: https://acb.org/acb-covid19-response. We recommend that all affiliates follow CDC guidelines for any scheduled events. You can find the most up-to-date CDC guidelines here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/index.html. Join ACB on Friday, March 27, at 8 p.m. Eastern to discuss COVID-19 and its impact on the blind and visually impaired community. This call will be led by ACB member Brooke Jostad, who has a background in social work and counseling. The one-hour zoom meeting will allow attendees to share their feelings as well as discuss several pre-selected topics. We anticipate this being the first of many conversations. The dial-in number is (312) 626-6799, and the passcode is 928464288#.   Are Your Dogs Tired of the Great Indoors? We’ve been talking about all kinds of strategies for humans as we cope with the virus, but what about our guide dogs? Do you and they have the resources you need to keep things going? Is your dog coping with the new routine and new environment? Come share your resources and challenges, ask questions, receive tips from our panel and others on the call. Oh, and bring some friends — canine or human, all are welcome. Join Guide Dog Users, Inc. and Blind LGBT Pride International on a conference call March 31st at 8 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Pacific) for ideas on keeping your guides entertained and interested as we all shelter in place. To join the call, visit: https://zoom.us/j/2064346480 One-tap mobile: 16699006833,,2064346480# Phone: 669 900 6833        Meeting ID: 206 434 6480#   Ways to Take the 2020 Census By April 1, 2020, every home will receive an invitation to participate in the 2020 Census. You will have three options for responding: online, by phone, or by mail. To view and listen to a PSA about how to take the census, visit https://2020census.gov/en/partners/psa-toolkit/how-to-take.html?utm_campaign=20191203msc20s1ccallrs&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery. To fill out the census online, go to http://www.my2020census.gov. To take the census via phone, call toll-free 1-844-330-2020. The 12-digit code sent to your residence by U.S. mail is not necessary to complete the census by phone or online. For a hard-copy braille version of the census information, contact Kim Charlson at Perkins, (617) 972-7249.   Apply to Be One of This Year’s Leadership Fellows! It is not too late to apply for one of the five JPMorgan Chase Leadership Awards to be selected this year – but you’d better hurry! Applications are due on April 3rd! To be qualified, you must meet specific criteria, including but not limited to the following: 18 years of age or older Blind or visually impaired An ACB member in good standing (current on membership dues)  For more detailed information, read the article from the March “Braille Forum” at https://acb.org/join-leadership-inner-circle-apply-2020-acbjpmorgan-chase-leadership-fellow. Send applications to [email protected] by April 3rd.   Experiencing Challenges with Telehealth and E-Learning Technology? Advancements in technology now allow people to receive services remotely from almost anywhere. One does not need to travel to a doctor to receive health advice; one can talk to a doctor over the Internet. Similar technology is being used in a myriad of ways. For instance, universities now offer a plethora of classes online. Such entities use software to provide online lectures and chat programs to talk to students or patients. Now, in light of the coronavirus, such technology is more appealing than ever. Universities have completely shut down and classes are only being offered online. If someone needs healthcare, instead of going to a doctor’s office where he might be at risk of contracting the disease, he can utilize telehealth services. However, many of these online programs are inaccessible to the blind and visually impaired community. Commonly used software programs cannot properly interact with screen-reading software such as JAWS or VoiceOver. ACB is watching closely to find out about such challenges. Please let Claire Stanley and Clark Rachfal know if you have experienced such inaccessibility. You can call the office at (202) 467-5081 or email them at [email protected]. They will reach out to such providers and investigate how to make such services accessible to blind and visually impaired users.   Advocacy Updates The March 26th Advocacy Update podcast focuses on connecting with ACB during the coronavirus pandemic. Clark Rachfal and Claire Stanley talk with membership services coordinator Cindy Van Winkle about the recent changes in everyday life due to the spread of COVID-19 and about the many virtual meetings ACB is holding to keep the community connected. Listen via your favorite podcast player, or online at http://acbradio.org/acb-advocacy-update-3-26-20. To learn more about ACB's community conference calls, visit https://acb.org/ACB-community-conference-calls. On the March 19th Advocacy Update podcast, Claire Stanley speaks with Heather Ansley from Paralyzed Veterans of America. The two discuss the first in-person meeting of the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) Advisory Committee. Learn about the committee members, the topics they will be advising on, and how you can help provide valuable input to the committee. Listen via your favorite podcast player or online at http://acbradio.org/acb-advocacy-update-3-19-20. To learn more about Paralyzed Veterans of America, visit https://pva.org/.

On Friday, March 20, the American Council of the Blind and the American Foundation for the Blind sent a joint letter to Congress opposing language included in the pending Senate stimulus bill, the CARES Act (S. 3548), that requests a report from the Department of Educations about regulations contained in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that should be removed. Please contact your U.S. Senators and tell them that Congress should not consider any waivers that would remove the civil rights of students with disabilities. March 20, 2020 The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker United States House of Representatives 1236 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 The Honorable Mitch McConnell, Leader United States Senate 317 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 The Honorable Kevin McCarthy, Leader United States House of Representatives 2468 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 The Honorable Charles Schumer, Leader United States Senate 322 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Re: Congress Must Protect the Civil Rights of Students with Disabilities Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leaders McConnell, McCarthy, and Schumer: The American Council of the Blind and the American Foundation for the Blind actively work to advance educational opportunities for people who are blind or have low vision. We are writing to express our concern with provisions included in the CARES Act, S. 3548, that would allow the Department of Education to waive civil rights protections for students with disabilities, specifically, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) waiver report provision included in Section 4511(d)(3). Students who are blind or have low vision must have access to the same education opportunities as every other student and to the specialized services necessary to develop a full range of blindness skills. We are concerned that the COVID-19 outbreak will have a uniquely negative impact on the education of students with visual impairments, including those with additional disabilities, and granting waivers to the civil rights protections within IDEA will only serve to exacerbate the current challenges. Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, students possess a right to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE); waivers to the law will wear away at the free and appropriate components of students’ education. Therefore, we do not support the provisions included in Section 4511(d)(3). Congress must ensure that students continue to receive the full rights afforded to them by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Congress may support schools by further investing in students with disabilities. We urge Congress to uplift our students and give schools the resources they need to provide innovative solutions that meet the needs of all students. Congress may do this by including provisions in the COVID-19 stimulus package that would fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. We deeply appreciate the leadership of Congress in responding to student needs during this pandemic. Should you have any questions or wish to discuss the concerns raised in this letter, please contact Clark Rachfal, Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs for the American Council of the Blind, at [email protected] or (202) 467-5081, and Stacy Cervenka, Director of Public Policy for the American Foundation for the Blind at [email protected] or (202) 469-6832. Thank you for taking the time to consider these concerns. Sincerely, Eric Bridges American Council of the Blind Kirk Adams American Foundation for the Blind cc: The Honorable Lamar Alexander, Chairman The Honorable Patty Murray, Ranking Member The Honorable Steny Hoyer, Leader The Honorable Bobby Scott, Chairman The Honorable Virginia Foxx, Ranking Member

ACB is undertaking a major infrastructure update of our server platform and we expect an outage of 72 hours to complete this project. The update will take place Friday, March 20, beginning at 8pm Eastern.  The following services will be unavailable during this outage: Access to ACB web sites, including acb.org and acbradio.org ACB Radio streaming services ACB Link and Amazon Echo skills All email lists and ACB Radio email addresses We are moving all ACB digital assets into Microsoft’s Azure cloud to improve the security and performance of our servers which will help with future needs of the organization. Much time and effort has gone in to preparing for this migration project.  Please check ACB’s Twitter and Facebook pages to get updates throughout the weekend on our progress. Thank you so much for your patience as we build and innovate for the future.

“Dots and Dashes” is a short newsletter featuring a variety of topics and ACB stories. This issue features information about Tony Stephens’ return to the ACB national office, information about Cathie Skivers’ memorial service (and other plans in the works), Advocacy Updates, and the winners of the Benefits of Audio Description in Education awards.   Welcome Back … A familiar face has returned to the ACB national office. Tony Stephens is ACB’s new Director of Development. Tony rejoins the organization after taking a year away from ACB, where he served as executive director for the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance (DBFA). This experience significantly strengthened his background in fundraising and development, ramping up to around 60% of Tony’s workload during the second half of his time with DBFA. This work included significant outreach to local corporate partners and foundations, in addition to developing new revenue streams to assure long-term sustainability for the organization.  His knowledge of ACB’s operations and key stakeholders is deep, with solid relationships still existing with many of our partners. Tony’s email is [email protected].   Cathie Skivers Memorial Service On the early morning of December 12, 2019 Catherine Skivers passed away. The blindness community lost a giant that day. Usually, in the issues of “The Blind Californian” immediately following the death of such an important personage as Cathie, we would publish remembrances and tributes. But we have lots more plans to remember her which are laid out below.  Memorial Service A memorial service will be held on Sunday, May 2, (Cathie’s 95th birthday) from 1 to 4 p.m. at the San Francisco Lighthouse, 1155 Market St., 10th floor, San Francisco. Seating is limited to 110 people, but we will be broadcasting over ACB Radio so that folks around the world can share in remembering Cathie. The Lighthouse has a state-of-the-art sound system so those wishing to be on the speakers’ list can participate in person or by phone. To be placed on the speakers’ list in person or by phone, or to get your name on the in-person seating list, call Connie Skeen at (510) 532-7687 (leave a message if necessary), or email her, [email protected]. Catherine Skivers: An ACB Angel Bayview Chapter got the ball rolling to make Cathie an ACB Angel. If you would like to donate toward Cathie’s Angel status, call the Minnesota office at (612) 332-3242. Memorial Issue of ‘The Blind Californian’ California will publish a special issue of “The Blind Californian” in print and braille as well as our current email and web formats. We plan to gather a number of Cathie’s writings, and this is where you come in. We will publish memories and tributes from anyone wishing to remember Cathie. Pieces may be edited because of space concerns. Please email all submissions to Mike Keithley, [email protected], by Sept. 1, 2020. The web and email versions will be distributed free; if you’d like a keepsake print or braille version, we are asking for a $20 donation. To be placed on the print or braille list for the special BC issue, call Nicole Pacheco at the California office, (916) 441-2100.  Historic Recordings In 2018 Steve Mendelsohn worked with Cathie to create some historic recordings. We plan to digitize them and make them available both on our website and the San Francisco Lighthouse archives. This is a magnificent treasure trove in Cathie’s own voice!   Advocacy Updates On this week’s episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, join Claire Stanley as she speaks with two ACB members about recently proposed amendments to the Department of Transportation’s Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) that will impact those who fly with their guide dogs. Listen via your favorite podcast player, or online at http://acbradio.org/acb-advocacy-update-3-12-20. ACB encourages all guide dog users to submit comments regarding this proposed rulemaking. For instructions on how to file comments, go to https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/02/05/2020-01546/traveling-by-air-with-service-animals. The March 6th Advocacy Update features some of the people and presenters who attended the D.C. Leadership Meetings. Listeners will hear ACB members reflect on their experiences during the meetings, as well as the legislative seminar lunchtime presentation from managing director of the Signal Group, Charles Cooper. Listen via your favorite podcast player or online at http://acbradio.org/acb-advocacy-update-3-6-20. On the Feb. 27th Advocacy Update, Clark, Claire and Eric speak to a very exciting guest - the one and only Tony Stephens! Tony is returning to ACB as our new Director of Development. Join them as they talk about his new position and what he will be bringing to ACB. Listen via your favorite podcast player, or online at http://acbradio.org/acb-advocacy-update-2-27-20. For a transcript of this podcast, go to https://acb.org/ACB-advocacy-update-2-27-20-transcript. In the Feb. 20th edition, Claire and Clark speak with Karen Woon, Vice President of Marketing, Guide Dogs for the Blind, about the new docuseries “Pick of the Litter,” streaming now on Disney+. Karen shares the exciting work that went into filming and accurately representing the long journey for six puppies to become trained guide dogs. Included in this series is ACB’s own Claire Stanley, and her new guide dog, Tulane! Listen via your favorite podcast player, or online at: http://acbradio.org/acb-advocacy-update-2-20-20. To learn more about Disney+, including how to watch Pick of the Litter with audio description, check out the Audio Description Project’s website, https://acb.org/adp/disneyad.html.   BADIE Winners Announced ACB is proud to announce the winners of the 2020 BADIE Awards (the Benefits of Audio Description In Education), a “Listening Is Learning” initiative of the Council’s Audio Description Project (ADP) in collaboration with the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP). The winners of this year’s honors (all young people who are blind) are as follows. Grand Prize Winner: Mina Lamarra – Huntington Beach High School, Huntington Beach, CA - Review of “Curiosity Quest: Guide Dogs” Senior Category (ages 16 to 21): First Place – Zacheriah Allen, West Virginia School for the Blind, Romney, WV – Review of “Drive Thru History: Kosciuszko, Von Steuben & The Revolutionary War” Second Place – Taylor Cox, Huntington Beach High School, Huntington Beach, CA - Review of “Houdini” Third Place – Hunter Ruhl, West Virginia School for the Blind, Romney, WV – Review of “Career Connection: Sound Engineer” Junior Category (ages 11 to 15): First Place – Mina Lamarra, Huntington Beach High School, Huntington Beach, CA - Review of “Curiosity Quest: Guide Dogs” Second Place – Isabella Patterson, West Virginia School for the Blind, Romney, WV – Review of “Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks” Third Place – Eli McCalmont, Pacific Cascade Middle School, Issaquah, WA – Review of “Star Wars Episode Seven: The Force Awakens” Sophomore Category (ages 7 to 10): First Place – Shaelin Shakespeare, Margaret Ross Elementary School, Aliquippa, PA – Review of “Guide Dog” Second Place – Hunter Knotts, West Virginia School for the Blind, Romney, WV – Review of “The Magic School Bus Blows Its Top” Third Place – Searra Kline, Mountainview Elementary School, Morgantown, WV – Review of “Space to Play Perimeter”  

We hope you are having a great start to the new year! Back in July 2019, ACB and OrCam began a cooperation to raise awareness of OrCam’s assistive technology among ACB members in the United States. OrCam MyEye 2 is the most advanced wearable assistive technology that can empower and enable you to be more independent. The MyEye 2 can support you in education, employment and improve quality of life, allow you access to visual information by converting images into sounds and read it to you discretely into your ear in real-time. If you are an ACB member, you are entitled up to a $450 discount when buying OrCam products. OrCam offers an exclusive 10% discount off the OrCam retail price to all ACB members!  The OrCam device can now be purchased online at the OrCam website www.orcam.com or through your local assistive technology distributor. Do not miss this opportunity and take advantage of this promotion!  In order to receive your discount and locate a store close to your home, please contact OrCam rep, Oded Tsin at [email protected], and don’t forget to mention you are an ACB member.

BADIE: Benefits of Audio Description In Education For Immediate Release - Contact: Joel Snyder, Director, Audio Description Project [email protected] - (202) 467-5083                        WASHINGTON, March 2, 2020 - The American Council of the Blind (ACB) is proud to announce the winners of the 2020 BADIE Awards (the Benefits of Audio Description In Education), a “Listening Is Learning” initiative of the Council’s Audio Description Project (ADP) in collaboration with the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP).   The winners of this year’s honors (all young people who are blind) are: Grand Prize Winner: Mina Lamarra – Huntington Beach High School, Huntington Beach, CA - Review of Curiosity Quest: Guide Dogs Senior Category (ages 16 to 21): First Place – Zacheriah Allen, West Virginia School for the Blind-Romney, WV – Review of Drive Thru History: Kosciuszko, Von Steuben & The Revolutionary War Second Place – Taylor Cox, Huntington Beach High School, Huntington Beach, CA - Review of Houdini Third Place – Hunter Ruhl, West Virginia School for the Blind-Romney, WV – Review of Career Connection: Sound Engineer Junior Category (ages 11 to 15): First Place – Mina Lamarra, Huntington Beach High School, Huntington Beach, CA - Review of Curiosity Quest: Guide Dogs Second Place – Isabella Patterson, West Virginia School for the Blind-Romney, WV – Review of Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks Third Place – Eli McCalmont, Pacific Cascade Middle School–Issaquah, WA –    Review of Star Wars Episode Seven: The Force Awakens Sophomore Category (ages 7 to 10): First Place – Shaelin Shakespeare, Margaret Ross Elementary School-Aliquippa, PA – Review of Guide Dog Second Place – Hunter Knotts, West Virginia School for the Blind-Romney, WV – Review of The Magic School Bus Blows Its Top Third Place – Searra Kline, Mountainview Elementary School-Morgantown, WV – Review of Space to Play Perimeter The premise of the BADIE program is simple: kids love movies. If a young person can’t see or can’t see well, audio description provides access to all the visual images of the movies that their sighted peers enjoy. Description benefits children who are blind and others who have learning disabilities and it has been shown to boost literacy and understanding for all children. The BADIE program asked young people who are blind or have low vision to submit short reviews of any described movie. “Audio Description uses words that are succinct, vivid, and imaginative to convey the visual image from television, film, DVDs, theater, museums and many other settings,” stated Dan Spoone, president of the American Council of the Blind. "The young people honored with these awards not only appreciate the ability to enjoy films and television right along with their peers—description helps them and their sighted friends develop language skills through exposure to varied word choice, synonyms, metaphors and similes. I love audio description, and wish I’d had access to it when I was growing up myself!” Additional information about ACB’s Audio Description Project is available at: www.acb.org/adp; more information about the Described and Captioned Media Program is at: www.dcmp.org. About the American Council of the Blind The American Council of the Blind is a national membership organization. Its members are blind, visually impaired, and fully sighted individuals who are concerned about the dignity and well-being of blind people throughout the nation. Formed in 1961, the ACB is one of the largest organizations of blind people in the world, with more than 70 state and special-interest affiliates and a nationwide network of chapters and members spanning the globe. For more information about the American Council of the Blind, contact: Eric Bridges, Executive Director, American Council of the Blind, 1703 N. Beauregard St., Suite 420 Alexandria, VA 22311; phone (202) 467-5081 or toll-free, 1-800-424-8666; or visit the web site, www.acb.org. About the Described and Captioned Media Program The Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) provides premium media designed for students with disabilities and leads as a resource for families and teachers, supported by the Department of Education. Originally known as Captioned Films for the Deaf, Inc. and later known as Captioned Films and Videos and the Captioned Media Program, DCMP is a national nonprofit founded in 1950 and is managed by the National Association of the Deaf. The DCMP provides services designed to support and improve the academic achievement of students who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind. For more information about the Described and Captioned Media Program, contact: Jason Stark, Director, 1447 E. Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29307 Voice: 864-585-1778 visit the web site, www.dcmp.org.

A familiar face is returning to a new post in the ACB national office. We are thrilled to announce that Tony Stephens is ACB’s new Director of Development. Tony rejoins the organization after taking a year away from ACB, where he served as Executive Director for the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance (DBFA). This experience significantly strengthened his background in fundraising and development, ramping up to around 60% of Tony’s workload during the second half of his time with DBFA. This work included significant outreach to local corporate partners and foundations, in addition to developing new revenue streams to assure long-term sustainability for the organization.  His knowledge of ACB’s operations and key stakeholders is deep, with solid relationships still existing with many of our partners. Tony’s first day back will be March 2nd, and his email will be [email protected].  Please join us in welcoming him back to the team!

The Audio Description Project (ADP), an initiative of the American Council of the Blind (ACB), aims to bring more meaning and enjoyment to entertainment, cultural, and educational experiences for blind and visually impaired people. ADP maintains a list of described DVDs, broadcast television, movies, performing arts, museums, and national parks on the ADP website, www.acb.org/adp. As the only repository of all audio described titles on DVD and the three video streaming services (Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, and Netflix), the ADP decided to create an index of all the titles. Here are the described video statistics as of February 1 from the the ADP Master AD List: SUMMARY: 3780 unique described videos and TV Series. 1722 videos were duplicated in more than one service. 22 Current Movies; 1212 DVDs; 13 Apple TV+; 387 Disney+; 71 Hulu; 1208 iTunes; 1120 Netflix; 1675 Prime-Video; 7 Other; 216 TV Series: 31 ABC, 15 CBS, 2 CW, 26 FOX, 21 NBC, 25 DISCOVERY, 21 HGTV, 25 HISTORY, 18 TBS, 10 TNT, 22 USA. The following DVDs and Blu-ray discs were released with audio description tracks last month. The links are clickable and take you to the description on our website. Almost all of them are also available on iTunes and Prime Video. Harriet Motherless Brooklyn Terminator: Dark Fate Black and Blue Countdown Pain & Glory The Addams Family Zombieland: Double Tap Gemini Man Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Joker The streaming services added the following net number of described videos this past month (net = adds minus deletes): Apple+ = 1; Disney+ = 79; Hulu = 3; iTunes = 15; Netflix = 27; Prime Video = 24. The Disney+ number is partially catching up, but truly many titles were added. Prime Video is finally winding down after having added 187 per month in the last six months of 2019! They lead with the total number of described videos: 1675. Other news from the ADP website this month: We announced the availability of FREE movies with audio description on the IMDb TV streaming service. Amazon owns both Prime Video and IMDb TV, and the free videos are a subset of those on Prime Video; so we are listing their titles on the Prime Video AD Titles page. Currently 19 titles are available. The AD Institute will be held this month, but enrollment is full. Your next opportunity to be trained as an audio describer will be in March and April in North Carolina. See our Education page. I posted my “Look Back at Audio Description in 2019” on January 1. Wow, have the numbers grown! The report is still on the main page of our website. Believe it or not, 119 new described videos were added this January alone, a growth rate of over 3%. Many new described TV shows were announced. We noted that 8 of the 9 Oscar nominees for Best Picture have AD tracks, as do almost all movies in local cinemas these days.

­For Immediate Release Alexandria, VA — On Monday, February 3, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice signed into law Senate Bill 94, a bill to ensure that all voters in West Virginia are guaranteed access to the ballot box, at polling locations and when voting absentee. On behalf of our nationwide membership, and in conjunction with the Mountain State Council of the Blind, the American Council of the Blind commends West Virginia for working with us to ensure equal access to absentee voting for people with disabilities. “A critical guarantee of our democracy is the right to privately and independently mark, cast, and verify an election ballot. This right is not always afforded to people with disabilities, at the polling location or when voting absentee. The American Council of the Blind commends Governor Justice and the West Virginia State Legislature for working with ACB to pass S.B. 94 to ensure all residents of the Mountain State may fully participate in the democratic process,” said Eric Bridges, Executive Director, American Council of the Blind. Prior to this law, blind and visually impaired West Virginians could not independently and privately vote via absentee ballot; no alternative method to traditional paper ballots existed to allow those who could not visually read the ballot to vote independently. West Virginia will now implement an alternative absentee voting method that will allow those who cannot visually read the ballot to take advantage of this alternative voting system if they wish to do so. While advocating for this new form of access, the American Council of the Blind, Centers for Independent Living, and West Virginia voters with disabilities were represented by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, and Disability Rights of West Virginia. “Ensuring equal access to the ballot is fundamental to our democracy. Yet, voters with disabilities have been consistently disenfranchised in absentee voting by the requirement to vote by paper ballot. We applaud West Virginia for recognizing the importance of equitable access to the voting process for all voters and the right to cast a private, independent ballot. S.B. 94 will help to remedy the historic disenfranchisement of voters with disabilities by providing an accessible, secure online option by which they can cast their ballots,” said Jonathan Smith, Executive Director, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.   The American Council of the Blind is a national grassroots consumer organization representing Americans who are blind and visually impaired. With 70 affiliates, ACB strives to increase the independence, security, equality of opportunity, and to improve quality of life for all blind and visually impaired people. Together, we make a bright future. Learn more by visiting www.acb.org.

by Kenneth Semien Sr. Let the festivities begin as we roll out the red carpet for the prominent DKM First-Timers of 2020 during the exclusive DKM First-Timers Reception on Wednesday, July 8th in Schaumburg, IL. This year’s DKM experience will be second to none. Continue reading to get the scoop on how to apply to be considered. To be eligible for consideration, each applicant must meet specific requirements, which include being age 18 or older; blind or visually impaired; an ACB member in good standing (current on membership dues), and never have attended a previous ACB national conference and convention. Another step of eligibility for applicants will be the expectation of undergoing a 30-minute interview with a team of DKM committee members during mid-April. In addition, two letters must be submitted for each applicant — a letter of application from the interested member and a letter of recommendation from a state or special-interest affiliate president. Applicants are encouraged to be sure that they meet the award criteria before requesting that their affiliate president write and submit a letter of recommendation on their behalf. The letter of application should begin with the complete name, physical address, email address containing the applicant’s name, along with a home and cell number, then introduce yourself to the committee and include reasons for applying for the award, a brief summary of education and experience related to your community service, contributions to the affiliate and/or chapter, and the significance of the First-Timers award to your personal or career development. The letter of recommendation should include the applicant’s leadership contributions and potential. The DKM program and ACB honor recipients by funding round-trip air travel and supporting transportation, hotel accommodations (double occupancy), per diem allowance for meals and incidentals, leadership institute, reception, banquet tickets, the general convention registration fee, and other activities determined by the committee and ACB board of directors. Optional tours and other fun activities are not covered by the program. The responsibilities of each recipient include but are not limited to attending the full week of convention activities from Saturday, July 4th through Friday, July 10th; participating in daily general sessions, Keys to the Convention Seminar, along with special-interest and committee seminars, while interacting with ACB leaders and fellow members. The application and supporting letter should be submitted separately (the applicant submits his/her letter of application and the affiliate president submits her/his letter of recommendation) to Kelly Gasque, [email protected], and must be received in the ACB national office no later than April 3rd. Incomplete applications will not be considered. The DKM Committee will select the 2020 First-Timers during the latter part of April. Eligible applicants will be notified shortly thereafter. The selection process will conclude with two recipients being awarded as DKM First-Timers — one from east and one from west of the Mississippi River.  The DKM Committee reserves the right to recognize two recipients from the east or west, if there are no qualified applicants from one of the specified areas. All questions should be sent to DKM Chair Kenneth Semien Sr., [email protected], or dial (409) 866-5838.