2021 ACB Elections

Members of the American Council of the Blind are responsible for electing a slate of individuals who will provide leadership in our organization as officers, members of the ACB Board of Directors, and members of the ACB Board of Publications, in coming months and years. Because ACB was unable to conduct elections at our virtual convention in 2020, we will be electing all five ACB officers, five members of the ACB Board of Directors and all three elected members of the Board of Publications at this year’s ACB convention. With so many elections…

The information below outlines the voting process for all ACB members for our 2021 convention. If you have any questions, please email Koni Sims at koni.l.sims@gmail.com.

Recommendations:

• All Vote-Now procedures apply to the 2021 Conference and Convention only.
• ACB will use Vote-Now for Officers, Board, and BOP elections (13 positions) only.
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From the ACB Board of Publications

Attention ACB Candidates and All ACB Members: 

As members of the American Council of the Blind, we are responsible for electing a slate of individuals who will provide leadership in our organization as officers, members of the ACB Board of Directors, and members of the ACB Board of Publications, in coming months and years. Because ACB was unable to conduct elections at our virtual convention in 2020, we will be electing all five ACB officers, five members of the ACB Board of Directors and all three…

2021 DKM First Timers

This year’s DKM First Timer award winners are Kaila Allen from Mesa, Arizona and Belinda Collins from St. Pauls, North Carolina. Learn more about Kaila and Belinda by visiting: https://acb.org/2021-dkm-first-timers-announcement.  

ACB Expands Hours on Be My Eyes!

For the past year, the American Council of the Blind (ACB) has proudly been a part of the Specialized Help on the Be My Eyes platform. We receive calls from folks in search of…

The Durward K. McDaniel (DKM) Fund Committee proudly presents the Class of 2021 DKM First-Timers.

Each applicant met all requirements to be honored with this annual award in which we select one recipient from east of the Mississippi River and one recipient from the west.

Requirements include:

• Age 18 or above
• Blind or Visually Impaired
• An ACB Member in good standing (Current with membership…

The Durward K. McDaniel (DKM) Fund Committee proudly presents the Class of 2021 ACB/JPMorgan Chase Leadership Fellows.

Each applicant met all requirements to be honored with this annual award in which 5 recipients are interviewed by the committee and selected by the ACB Executive Director and ACB President.

Requirements include:

• Age 18 or above
• Blind or Visually Impaired
• An ACB Member in good…

2021 AD Awards Call for Nominations

The Audio Description Project recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of audio description through the Audio Description Awards. The call for nominations ends on Sunday, May 23, 2021, with winners announced during a plenary general session of the American Council of the Blind Conference and Convention in July 2021. To learn more about the award categories and how to submit nominations, visit: https://acb.org/2021-adp-awards-nominations.  

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On April 29, 2021, the FCC released a Public Notice seeking comment on TBS’s petition for limited waiver of the requirement to provide 87.5 hours of audio described programming per calendar quarter. WarnerMedia is requesting this waiver for TBS, because the audio description re-run rule does not adequately count the full quantity of audio description aired by TBS. This waiver request is similar to that sought by NBC-Universal for USA Network in 2019, with two clear differences.

TBS pledges to air at least 1,000 hours of described programming each quarter, equal to that of USA…

The American Council of the Blind is proud to announce the newest member of our team: Jennifer Flatt! On May 10th, Jennifer will join us as Manager of Communications. She will support Tony Stephens, Director of Development, with overseeing the creation and execution of a Content Management Strategy across all communications channels, designed to maximize cross promotion, expand ACB reach, and increase membership.  

Most recently, Jennifer worked as Senior Director of Communications & Engagement for South University. There, she led communications and media…

April 26, 2021

The Honorable Maria Cantwell, Chairman
U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
420-A Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Roger Wicker, Ranking Member
U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
420-A Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Cantwell, and Ranking Member Wicker:

My name is Clark Rachfal, and I am the Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs for the American Council of the Blind (ACB). ACB is a nationwide member-driven advocacy…