THE Braille Forum Vol. XXIX May/June 1991 No. 6 Published By The American Council of the Blind PROMOTING INDEPENDENCE AND EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION IN SOCIETY LeRoy F. Saunders, President Oral O. Miller, J.D., National Representative Nolan Crabb, Editor Nicole Willson, Editorial Assistant National Office 1155 15th St. N.W. Suite 720 Washington, DC 20005 (202) 467-5081 Fax (202) 467-5085 THE BRAILLE FORUM is available in braille, large type, half-speed four-track cassette tape, and MS-DOS computer disk. Subscription requests, address changes, and items intended for publication should be sent to: Nolan Crabb, THE BRAILLE FORUM, 1155 15th St. N.W., Suite 720, Washington, DC 20005. Those much-needed and appreciated cash contributions, which are tax- deductible, may be sent to Brian Charlson, Treasurer, 1155 15th St. N.W., Suite 720, Washington, DC 20005. You may wish to remember a relative or friend by sharing in the continuing work of the American Council of the Blind. The ACB National Office offers printed cards to acknowledge to loved ones contributions made in memory of deceased persons. Anyone wishing to remember the American Council of the Blind in his/her Last Will And Testament may do so by including a special paragraph for that purpose. If your wishes are complex, you may contact the ACB National Office. For the latest in legislative and governmental news, call the "Washington Connection" toll-free at (800) 424-8666, 8 p.m. to midnight eastern time Monday through Friday. Washington, D.C., residents only, tel. 296-3552. Copyright 1991 The American Council of the Blind TABLE OF CONTENTS President's Message: A Staff Addition, Convention/Committee Update, and NAC News News Briefs From the ACB National Office Commemorating 30 Years of Service: The 1991 Convention at Tampa Democracy and Action Affiliated Leadership League Presses for Congressional Support and More The Narrative Television Network: A Modern Twist to Classic Films Chicago Charges Against Grant Mack, Gone With the Wind Breaking the Fax Machine Silence: The Talking Fax is Here Opportunities Open Doors Here and There High Tech Swap Shop PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE A STAFF EDITION, CONVENTION/COMMITTEE UPDATE, AND NAC NEWS by LeRoy F. Saunders It's with great pleasure that I announce that effective May 13, 1991, ACB again has a Director of Governmental Affairs. As most of you know, it has been quite some time since we've been able to fill this opening. I'm pleased to report that a young man named Paul Schroeder has accepted the position. Paul most recently worked in Columbus, Ohio with the Governor's office on Advocacy for the Handicapped. Paul holds a degree in political science and did graduate work in journalism. I hope you'll join me in welcoming Paul as part of the National Office staff. I look forward to the increased visibility we'll gain now that we have another person working full-time in the legislative arena in Washington. As most of you know, this is the last issue of The Braille Forum prior to our convention in Tampa, Fla. I hope that you have made reservations to attend. At last year's convention, I met with the state affiliate and special-interest group presidents. We met again in Oklahoma City later in the year. Since both meetings were very successful, I have once again scheduled a presidents meeting during our convention in Tampa on Thursday, July 4th between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. I hope all of our presidents can attend and participate in this meeting since our state affiliates and special interest groups represent the focal point of much of the activities so vital to the organization. It is important that we have good communication and this meeting is certainly one way to communicate. I look forward to seeing all of our presidents there. I've recently returned from the Affiliated Leadership League of and for the Blind of America's national assembly in Washington, D.C. The speakers were excellent and we were updated on vital issues pending before Congress. Following ALL's general assembly, representatives from more than 20 states attended a legislative seminar. Afterwards, all of the participants visited their senators and representatives, targeting key legislators to introduce them to the fundamental issues. This meeting has become an annual event for ALL and it grows each time. I would like to see ACB's state affiliates and special-interest groups join this coalition and participate in its annual meetings and legislative seminars. Convention Committees As you know, ACB's various committees carry out many of the organization's activities. Some of these committees are mandated in our Constitution and Bylaws, some are established by the president, and others by resolution or through recommendation from the Board of Directors. Following is a list of the names of all of these committees and their chairpersons: Awards Committee, Jack Lewis; National Convention Committee, John Horst; Credentials Committee, Gayle Krause; Constitution and Bylaws Committee, Stephen Speicher; Resolutions Committee, Mitch Pomerantz; Membership Committee, Durward McDaniel; Environmental Access Committee, Gene Lozano and Paul Edwards; Committee on Accreditation, Dick Seifert; Committee for Problems of Deaf-Blind, Michael Byington; Scholarship Committee, M.J. Schmitt; Budget Committee, Brian Charlson; Nominating Committee, M. J. Schmitt. Some 70 to 75 people are involved in carrying out the activities of all these committees. Accreditation Revisited The National Accreditation Council had a corporate membership meeting May 5, 1991. This meeting determined whether NAC would dissolve its corporation and turn its assets over to another non- profit organization or trim its operation and continue to offer accreditation using different procedures from those currently practiced. While I was not at this meeting (I attended a National Industries for the Blind meeting in Orlando, Fla.), I have learned that NAC's membership voted to implement cost-cutting procedures in order to keep the organization going. For further details, see "News Briefs From the ACB National Office," this issue. NEWS BRIEFS FROM THE ACB NATIONAL OFFICE by Oral O. Miller, National Representative The activity which has probably demanded the greatest amount of my time in recent weeks has been, not unexpectedly, the evaluation and preparation of comments and responses to the regulations proposed by several federal agencies and departments in meeting the requirements placed on them by the Americans With Disabilities Act. We commend those readers who have provided input in this extremely important process by submitting comments or presenting testimony at public hearings, but much, much more input is needed! Although we have received copies of comments submitted by a few individuals and organizations, we know that many more have been attempting to obtain the notices of proposed rulemaking in accessible versions--based on the number of complaints we have received to the effect that the responsible agencies and departments have generally not had the braille materials available until several weeks of the comment periods had elapsed. The American Council of the Blind has officially protested to the Department of Justice and the Access Board concerning the unavailability of braille materials on anything like a timely basis, and we have mentioned that unavailability in our official comments. Such unavailability reduces by about 50 percent the opportunities which blind and visually impaired citizens have to read, digest, and respond to regulations which are intended to give meaning to the civil rights recognized by the Americans With Disabilities Act. Even if we have not been able to get the comment periods extended as a result of such unavailability, we recommend strongly that any commentors who do not receive the braille materials on a timely basis should refer to that fact clearly in their comments and then report that fact also to their senators and congressmen. Since it is impossible to provide timely information via The Braille Forum concerning upcoming deadlines and hearing schedules, you should call "The Washington Connection" at least twice a week for possible updates--(800) 424-8666. One of the benefits connected with belonging to an ACB national special-interest affiliate is the extent to which it enables its members to benefit even more from membership in other national professional organizations. This fact was brought home anew recently when it was my pleasure to meet with a representative of the ACB Social Service Providers and an official of the National Association of Social Workers to explore ways in which the two organizations can work more closely together. One decision that came out of the meeting will result in members of the ACB Social Service Providers having much greater access to professional materials which are now only available in print. It is my understanding also that the two organizations plan to cooperate further by providing speakers for one another's national conference programs. Indeed, ACB's concept of forming national special-interest organizations was far ahead of its time when that first special-interest affiliate was formed more than 22 years ago! An issue which has surfaced from time to time throughout the United States over the year and which embodies some of the most stereotypical of negative attitudes concerning blind people is that of eligibility for service on juries. Although many states have clarified this issue by statute, often as a result of lobbying by ACB affiliates, the issue is still muddy and the policies are archaic, inconsistent and discriminatory in many jurisdictions. Within the past few months, at least six blind citizens of the District of Columbia have been summoned for jury duty and, upon appearing, have been politely excused from the pool with the explanation that they might not be able to perform some of the functions of jurors because of their lack of sight. I am one of the six so excused, and during the ensuing discussion with the administrator of the District of Columbia Superior Court system, I ascertained that the practice is not a written policy. No one knows exactly how, why or when it was instituted. The policy is now being "reviewed" but no one knows when the review will be completed, and there are no plans to discuss the policy review with knowledgeable blind people. Court administrators initiated this practice in spite of the fact that many blind citizens have served on juries in the past and a blind judge had served in the D.C. court system for many years until his recent retirement. As part of the advocacy campaign that is being mounted by the American Council of the Blind to correct this absurd policy, the District of Columbia Association of Workers for the Blind (the ACB Affiliate for the District of Columbia) is preparing to enlighten the "city fathers" concerning the political realities of the 1990's and the spirit and intent of the Americans With Disabilities Act. An article which appeared in the April 26, 1991 edition of "The New York Times" said, in part: " ... the latest battle ground is the District of Columbia, where local courts generally refuse to seat blind jurors. Last month at least three potential jurors were excluded from the District's jury pool because they are blind, said Oral Miller, a blind lawyer who is executive director of the American Council of the Blind. ... Stephen Speicher, president of the American Blind Lawyers Association, agrees. 'Blind people also have to decide whether people are lying to them in daily life', Mr. Speicher said. 'There are lots of different cues that can be picked up by listening,' he added, noting the example of a blind judge who refused to fix the squeaky witness chair in his courtroom because 'he wanted to hear it when people moved around.' The survival of exclusionary policies may be largely a matter of inertia. 'Like many things that pertain to the way courts function, its origin is lost in the mists of time and it is easier to keep it than to change it,' Gerard Treanor, a former prosecutor who is now in private practice here said today. ... The rules governing jury selection in federal courts are ambiguous, excluding those who are 'incapable, by reason of mental or physical infirmity, to render satisfactory jury service.' Each federal judicial district--and sometimes each federal judge--determines for itself whether people with impaired vision or hearing fall into that category. Most state court rules are equally ambiguous, but advocates for the blind and deaf have won some legislative victories over the past decade. ... A number of other states, including California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon, Virginia and Washington, have laws that preclude the summary exclusion of blind people from juries." Both Nolan Crabb and I had the pleasure of taking active parts in the 1991 National Delegate Assembly and National Legislative Workshop of the Affiliated Leadership of and for the Blind of America, held in Washington in mid-April. The workshop, which attracted scores of dedicated people from more than 20 states, focused on the reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act, the creation of a commission dealing with the education and rehabilitation of blind people, defeating efforts of commercial developers to encroach on employment opportunities for blind vendors at interstate highway rest stops and the establishment of a formula-driven program for providing services to elderly blind people. Following the conclusion of the ALL delegate assembly and legislative workshop, a delegation from the American Council of the Blind (including, among others, the National Representative, the Editor of The Braille Forum, the President of the Library Users of America, and the newly-appointed Director of Governmental Affairs--who was not yet officially on board) met in the national office with Frank Kurt Cylke, director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, and several of his staff members from NLS. Among the important issues discussed were the possible centralization of braille and machine maintenance service and the preparation of an accessible, affordable central index of recorded and braille books. Those and other subjects will be discussed further with NLS staff members at the upcoming ACB National Convention. The close connection between services for blind people and services for elderly people was underscored recently when it was my pleasure to address a workshop conducted by the National Council on the Aging. The needs of elderly people with impaired vision underscore the fact that many of the accommodations that probably will be provided by regulations implementing the Americans With Disabilities Act will be especially helpful to older people with impaired vision who have not had an opportunity to develop good mobility and other compensatory skills. It is my pleasure to welcome Paul W. Schroeder, formerly of Columbus, Ohio, to the staff of the American Council of the Blind as its Director of Governmental Affairs. Paul, who majored in political Science at American University and subsequently studied journalism at the graduate level at Ohio State University, was an active member of the National Alliance of Blind Students while a student himself and is, therefore, already very familiar with many of the operations of the American Council of the Blind. For the past several years, he has been on the staff of the Ohio Governor's Committee for Advocacy for the Handicapped. We're glad Paul is on board and are looking forward to working with him. During the coming summer, another helpful, cheerful voice which many readers will hear by calling the ACB National Office will be that of Sarah Haiby, many of whose duties will be in support of the new Director of Governmental Affairs. Sarah, who is a senior at George Washington University, first joined the ACB national staff as a volunteer two years ago and has been working on a part-time basis for the past year. On May 5, 1991, the membership of the National Accreditation Council of Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped rejected the recommendation of the board of directors and voted to continue operations as the only accrediting body specializing in services for the blind in the United States. Because of recent reductions in funding commitments, the National Accreditation Council will undergo considerable restructuring and further streamlining in its operations. The new interim president is Dr. N. Ed Miller of Reno, Nev., a recognized expert in accreditation in the field of education and related fields. The board of directors will meet in the next 60 days to implement the new operating plan. In short, NAC has been battered, but it is on its feet and moving forward in continuing efforts to improve services for the blind. COMMEMORATING 30 YEARS OF SERVICE THE 1991 CONVENTION AT TAMPA, by John A. Horst, Convention Coordinator The time for the 30th Convention of the American Council of the Blind is almost here. All ACB members, friends and associates should be making final plans to attend. The dates are June 29 to July 6, 1991. The place is the Airport Holiday Inn in Tampa, Fla. If you haven't made room reservations, you should do so immediately by calling (800) 272-7756. Airline travel reservations can be made by calling International Tours , Inc., of Muskogee, Okla. at (800) 847-7676. Oklahoma residents call (800) 722-9822. You will find this travel service very willing to work with you in providing the lowest fares and the best travel arrangements. Also, ACB will benefit from your patronage. This convention completes three decades of great ACB conventions. For 30 years, ACB has been a dynamic, growing organization providing blind persons with opportunities for learning, growth and fellowship. This year's program will be no exception. U.S. Attorney-General Dick Thornburgh and Florida Governor Lawton Childs have been invited to address the convention. Additional presenters include Alexandre Neumyvakken, President of the All Russia Association for the Blind and member of Parliament of the Republic of Russia; Carl Augusto, Executive Director of the American Foundation for the Blind; Tamara Bibb, Regional Commissioner, Rehabilitation Services Administration; Ritchie Geisel, Executive Director, Recording for the Blind; Jim Stovall, founder and president of the Narrative Television Network; and Wendy Pava, specialist for self-defense techniques for visually-impaired women. ACB's 21 Special Interest Groups have planned many one-session functions. On Saturday afternoon, June 29, there is a membership development meeting planned by ACB's Membership Committee. On Sunday morning, June 30, CCLVI has scheduled a discussion on the "Keys to Success for Career-Oriented People with Low Vision." On Sunday afternoon, there are sessions on "Searching for Employment and Job Enhancement," VIDPI's Micro-Computer Seminar, a meeting on environmental access issues, and a Baseball Fanatics' Luncheon, where Tom Hume, former Cincinnati Reds pitcher, will be the featured speaker. On Thursday afternoon, President Saunders is conducting an Affiliate President's meeting. Women's Concerns has scheduled noted author Deborah Hazelton as their featured speaker. There will again be a Candidate's Forum. On Friday afternoon, seminars on legislation and diabetes will occur. The training for Affiliate Treasurers mentioned in the March-April Braille Forum has been postponed to 1992. Again this year, there will be activities for children. Nola Webb, president of the Council of Families with Visual Impairment, has planned two craft and movie sessions on Monday and Thursday, two museum tours, Tuesday and Wednesday, and a pizza party Friday evening during the banquet. Children's activities are limited to ages 5 to 12 except for the pizza party, which is ages 5 to 16. Tours have been well organized by Patricia Beattie, Assistant Convention Coordinator. Snacks will be provided for longer bus trips. All tours depart from the main entrance of the Holiday Inn. Shuttles will operate between the three hotels and the Jefferson High School, where the Exhibit Hall will be located. This service will begin Friday morning, June 28, and continue through Saturday midnight, July 6. Most activities will take place at the Holiday Inn and the Omni Hotel just one block away. The intersection in front of the Omni at Cypress Street and Westshore Drive is a very busy one, and while police patrols will be present to provide assistance, conventioneers are urged to use caution when crossing. The opening ceremonies will be held June 30 at 8 p.m. While this session does not constitute the official opening of the convention, it is an important part of the convention process. Along with the outstanding convention program by ACB and its Special Interest Affiliates, there will be many opportunities for relaxation and fun. There is a Welcome to Tampa Party hosted by the Florida Council of the Blind Saturday evening and a CCLVI 1950's party Sunday evening at which all are welcome. Monday evening is the RSVA Auction and Dance, Wednesday evening the Cruise on the Gulf, Thursday evening the NABS Comedy Hour, Friday evening the ACB Banquet followed by CCLVI's Farewell to Tampa Party, and Saturday Evening the Spanish Dinner with a Flamingo Dance Show at Ybor City. This 30th ACB Convention will be outstanding in every way. You won't want to miss the many opportunities that are available. ACB continues to grow and get better and better because of its democratic principles of operation, its openness in dealing with blindness issues, and its commitment to better living for blind people. Please join with us in commemorating 30 years of service and in looking ahead to a bright and challenging future of continued growth and excellence. A WELCOME TO TAMPA by Vince Mistretta, President, Florida Council of the Blind On behalf of the more than 1000 members of the Florida Council of the Blind, I wish to welcome you to the 30th annual convention hosted this year in Tampa, Florida's Treasure City by the Bay. We hope to meet many of you during the week of June 29 through July 6. I will be on hand from June 29 to July 1. Terry Blessing, our FCB vice president, will be in attendance throughout the convention. Please take the time to enjoy Busch Gardens, historic Ybor City, and many other exciting attractions available in the Tampa area. DEMOCRACY AND ACTION by Stephen Speicher, Constitution and Bylaws Committee Chairman The first time I stayed for the whole convention week I got hooked-- by exposure to democracy ACB-STYLE. Do we have our own style? As we say in Nebraska: "You betcha!" Is it quirky? Absolutely. Does it impede the accomplishment of business? Not infrequently. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily: the process by which we reach a decision and whether those affected see that process as fair may have greater impact on ACB'S long-term health than the particular decision itself. Yet to be an effective organization we must act, and the ability to act can be lost if procedure becomes an end in itself. To a large extent, wise use of our time together at the annual convention depends on our ability to strike the proper balance between the rights of individuals and affiliates on the one hand and, on the other, the organization's need to accomplish an increasing amount of business in the limited time available. Here are some thoughts about possible changes in the ways we now strike that balance in two areas: the scope of the Credentials Committee's authority and the way we determine whether a quorum is present. As Chair of your Constitution and Bylaws Committee for the coming convention, I know that these two issues will be addressed by proposed amendments. Bylaw 6 C 1 says the Credentials Committee "shall determine that each member and/or affiliate desiring admission to and participation in the annual convention ... shall have complied with the requirements set up in the Constitution and Bylaws by ... Bylaw 2 B now requires affiliates to mail their updated membership lists and annual dues on or before March 15. The final sentence of Bylaw 2 B begins: "If an affiliate fails to comply with this section, the first year of non-compliance shall result in the loss of voting privileges ... ". This language has been understood to give the Credentials Committee only two choices--recommending to seat or not to seat a particular delegation. Last year, however, the Committee recommended that all delegations be seated, but that those who had filed or paid late should have their vote count reduced according to a certain formula. The Constitution and Bylaws neither expressly authorized nor expressly forbade such a recommendation, so people of good will and intelligence could disagree as to whether the Committee had authority to make it. But this approach offered a novel and appealing compromise which the Convention accepted. One proposed amendment addresses this issue in two ways. First, it would add the following two sentences after the part of Bylaw 6 C 1 quoted above: "If the Committee determines that one or more of such requirements has not been met, it may make to the Convention such recommendations as it thinks appropriate under the circumstances of the particular case. Such recommendations may, but need not, include a partial or complete reduction in the number of votes which an affiliate is entitled to cast at the convention then in progress." Second, it would divide Bylaw 2 B into subsections (1) and (2), the first dealing with the annual updating of membership lists and the second dealing with what happens when an affiliate fails to update for three consecutive years. The language quoted above which requires mandatory loss of voting privileges would be in subsection (2), and the phrase "fails to comply with this section" would be changed to "fails to comply with this subsection B(2)". This would limit the mandatory loss of voting privileges to the case where an affiliate had failed to update its membership list for three consecutive years and had then failed to comply with a recertification order from the Board of Directors. These changes should clarify the scope of the Committee's authority, allow the Committee more flexibility than last year's formula and reduce the amount of time spent on credentials issues by the full Convention. But do they strike the right balance between the competing needs for flexibility and predictability? Your Constitution and Bylaws Committee needs your thoughts and suggestions. We also solicit your help in reviewing the way a quorum is determined. Article VI of our Constitution now says: "A majority of all votes certified and seated at the convention shall constitute a quorum to do business." This sounds simple enough, until you consider the way ACB conventions actually work. How should the phrase "all votes certified and seated at the convention" be converted into a particular number? The affiliate vote total can be determined early in the week when the final credentials report is approved. But the total number of certified individual voters who have attended a convention will not be known until the last day of registration, while the number present at a convention at a particular time can vary considerably as the tides of special-interest affiliate meetings ebb and flow. Does the Constitution require individual votes to be counted at the beginning of the convention, at the end, at some time in the middle or just before each vote? Does "seated" mean registered at the convention, present in the convention hall when a vote is taken, or something else? If we avoid perpetual counting by taking a credentials "snapshot," when should we take it? Monday or Tuesday might be the peak day for actual attendance; but many important votes occur late in the week when use of a high total from earlier in the week could make assembling a quorum difficult. The total achieved by the close of registration could be seen as an inappropriately high figure to use, because it includes many eligible voters who may have expressed a certain disinterest in the business sessions by going home early. As an alternative to the present rule (whatever it is), one of our members has suggested using some minimum number that assures decisions will be made by a fair cross-section of ACB'S membership. Such a number should probably include some minimum number of individual votes and some minimum number of affiliate votes with a requirement that affiliates of all sizes be fairly represented. Speaking of fair representation, how many votes should one individual be able to cast, counting the affiliates for which he or she acts as delegate? Using last year's credentials figures, consider a low vision (25) parent (5) who is a vendor (25), a Lion (5), a guide dog user (21), a braille user (25), a library user (5) and comes from California, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma or Pennsylvania (25). Counting an individual vote, this person can cast 137 votes. No person can represent more than one affiliate on the Nominating Committee, but there is no parallel rule against casting the floor votes for as many affiliates as have selected you to be their delegate. Should there be? If so, what should the limit for one individual be? Thirty-five, for example, would allow you to serve as delegate for one large, one medium, and one small affiliate and still cast your individual vote. But such a rule could restrict some affiliates' ability to choose the delegates they really want. Where should the balance be struck? Any attempt at a more manageable quorum rule should address this question. ACB'S annual convention already presents a fine example of democracy in action. But if we can simplify procedural issues while still protecting everyone's rights, we might increase our ability to cover essential ground while we're all still together at the convention, and that would help ACB throughout the rest of the year. If you'd like to talk about any of these issues, please call me between 6:30 and 9:30 P.M. central time at (402) 489-7836. See you in Tampa! AFFILIATED LEADERSHIP LEAGUE PRESSES FOR CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT AND MORE by Nolan Crabb Members of the Affiliated Leadership League of and for the Blind of America from throughout the nation converged on Washington April 12- 16 for four days filled with informative meetings, announcements about new ventures in audio description, and award presentations. The session culminated in a flurry of legislative activities in which ALL members visited representatives and senators to urge their support on critical issues. Michael Maney, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Foundation for the Blind, addressed the opening dinner session of the conference on April 12. Maney warned against fighting among organizations of the blind, especially where accreditation is concerned. He called for the establishment of a "working group" made up of representatives from the blindness field, including consumer organizations. Carl Augusto, president and executive director of the American Foundation for the Blind, echoed Maney's accreditation theme. "There were so many resolutions, there were so many speeches, there were so many promises, and as Mike Maney mentioned, there was so much lip service," he said. "But the bottom line is we lacked that passion for excellence, we lacked the courage to stand up and be counted, and we lacked the perseverance to pursue a goal which just wasn't that easy to achieve." There'll be more activity in the field of audio description in the near future, according to representatives of the National Captioning Institute. ACB Member Albert Hecht of New Jersey, founder of Audio Optic, a company which provides audio description of visual events on home video, approached the National Captioning Institute to invite them to enter the audio description business. NCI hopes to have audio described programs available on network, cable, and home videos over the next few years. It also plans to encourage the manufacture of television sets capable of receiving audio described programs. Richard Douglas, executive director of the President's Committee on People With Disabilities, kicked off the April 13 morning session of the conference with a plea for greater integration among disability groups and more cooperation in training the business community to implement the Americans With Disabilities Act. Douglas envisioned a media blitz designed to educate the public and break down stereotypes. The blitz would include ongoing media campaigns and the implementation of a task force which would educate producers of various television programs and the film industry on disability. He encouraged ALL members to organize community forums in conjunction with their mayors' and governors' committees which would involve various segments of the disability population and local employers. Such a forum, he said, would "calm the fears of employers." Justin Dart, chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People With Disabilities, gave four Americans With Disabilities Awards to ACB Members Durward McDaniel, ACB National Representative Oral Miller, Kathleen Megivern, executive director of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, and Grant Mack. Dart called the four "heroes in the struggle for ADA." Following Dart's presentations, ALL members heard about a bill that would make voter registration easier for people with disabilities by allowing rehabilitation agencies or independent living centers to register a disabled person to vote. Denise Rozell, associate director of the National Association of Developmental Disabilities Councils, updated ALL members on the current civil rights legislation scene. She said various versions of a civil rights bill exist today, including one sponsored by members of the U.S. House of Representatives and one put forward by the Bush administration. She said civil rights legislation is vital to blind and partially sighted Americans because the civil rights bills are linked to the Americans With Disabilities Act. Paul Marchand, chairman of the Consortium for Citizens With Disabilities, called on ALL members to work with local business leaders to help them implement the ADA in a positive manner. "Frankly," he said, "we were lucky that the business community wasn't ready for us a couple of years ago, but I can tell you they're getting ready for us now. You can bet your life that there's an awful lot of the so-called training and education that's going to go on in the next year that will be aimed not so much in getting business interests invested in doing it right, but instead on helping business bail out." Stan Greenberg, executive director of the Westside Community Center for Independent Living in Los Angeles, told conference attendees that while specific services to specific groups are vital, disability groups must unite to succeed. But not all is peace, love, and unity where blind people and the independent living movement is concerned. ACB Board Member Robert J. Acosta, president of the Affiliated Leadership League, recalls life in California when Ed Roberts, the founder of the independent living movement, directed disability programs there. "We lived under Ed Roberts," Acosta recalled. "We cheered when he was director, the first disabled one in California, and he called us the enemy and tried to ruin the blind. He didn't show love; I'm all for love, but 10 years ago I was where Stan was. I was picketing. I believed that the halo was around us as consumers. I guess I started learning when Ed Roberts, who called himself a consumer, went after consumers and declared us the enemy." Conference attendees were given a close-up look at the Javits- Wagner-O'Day program via a panel of experts; they also heard about the future direction of state agencies for the blind as seen through the eyes of Creig Slayton, executive director of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind. Dr. William Wiener, president of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, concluded the afternoon session of the conference. He said AER plans to develop "potent continuing education programs" for educators specializing in blindness. He also announced the implementation of a training program that could make life easier for people needing mobility and orientation services by providing "orientation and mobility assistants." Later that evening at an ALL-hosted banquet, ALL members heard from Liz Savage, national training director for the Disability Rights, Education and Defense Fund. Savage expressed pleasure at the progress that has been made where the Americans With Disabilities Act is concerned in the last year. Savage said that while the ADA deals with many types of disabilities, it offers much for blind and partially sighted people. "Automatic teller machines in all new banks will have to be accessible to all people with visual impairments," she said. "There will be probably more audio signage than there's ever been before in this country. There will be better elimination of things." The April 14 final session of the conference began with an address by Dr. Sally Mangold, professor of special education at San Francisco State University. She was followed by ACB Member Janiece Petersen, an instructor of visually impaired children in Washington, D.C. Mangold focused on "The Selection of a Proper Reading Medium for the Blind or Visually Impaired Child," and Petersen talked about "Personal Experiences in the Strategies of Teaching Braille." The afternoon session of the ALL Legislative Seminar began with a discussion on enhancing legislative success through media contacts. ACB National Representative Oral O. Miller took participants on a talking tour of Congress, detailing how bills are introduced and acted upon. The conference concluded April 16 with a legislative luncheon in which attendees were able to report their experiences during their Congressional visits. THE NARRATIVE TELEVISION NETWORK: A MODERN TWIST TO CLASSIC FILMS by Nicole E. Willson Like many people, Jim Stovall enjoys classic films. However, when Stovall lost his sight three years ago, he found that he had difficulty following even those movies that he'd seen several times. "I put on a tape of an old Bogart film that I'd always enjoyed," the Tulsa native explains. "I thought I could follow it, but I watched it for an hour and a half and somebody shot somebody and the car sped away and the girl screamed and I lost the whole plot of the movie; it was very frustrating." Stovall thought that with a little narration, something could be done to enhance film viewing for blind and visually-impaired people. That "something" eventually became the Narrative Television Network which went on the air in October 1989. The weekly program now airs on more than 800 broadcast stations and cable affiliates and reaches 25 million homes in the United States and Canada. NTN also received an Emmy award in October of 1990. Stovall, the founder, president and host of NTN, says that in addition to providing a useful service for the blind, the program's success has had another important dividend. "This (NTN) is not a charity deal or a government deal. Some of the largest companies in America advertise with us, not because they like blind people but because they are beginning to recognize blind people as legitimate consumers who are worthy of spending dollars to advertise their products and services." Stovall considers this recognition of the blind as a viable consumer market, by retailers such as K-Mart, to be one of NTN's most significant achievements. The program consists of a classic film with audio description, followed by a talk show in which Stovall interviews actors who have appeared in the featured film. Ironically, the celebrity interviews, which began as a fluke, became a strong selling point for NTN. "At first, we hadn't planned to do a talk show. We were just going to do movies, and we had to fit (perfectly) into a two-hour time block." Six to eight weeks before the program's debut, Stovall discovered that the first show was 32 minutes short. "Someone said, 'What are you going to do?' and I said, 'We're going to have a talk show and I'm going to interview the people in the movie.'" With the help of his assistant Kathy Harper, the public library, and a book entitled "Addresses of the Stars," the interviews became a weekly feature of NTN. They also helped Stovall to sell NTN to cable operators who were initially reluctant to pick up the program. "Our big fear was that cable operators would say 'We're going to lose our audience.' Now we can show them, 'Not only are you going to have classic films, but I'm going to bring you a classic film that you can't get anywhere else, with an exclusive interview with Charlton Heston.' This service that they thought they were going to have to do to appease the blind people is now great programming for them...they're not losing their traditional audience and they're gaining a whole new audience." Indeed, Stovall says that sixty percent of NTN's viewers are fully-sighted people who enjoy the films and the interviews. Asked why NTN specializes in classic films, Stovall replied that in most areas, NTN is the only programming for blind and visually impaired people: "It would be terrible if we were the only accessible programming and all we did was one TV show that you didn't like ... This way, I can do drama, comedy, a musical, or a western, and hopefully sooner or later get something that everyone likes." Demographics also play a factor in the choice of classic films. NTN is carried primarily (though not only) by the Nostalgia Channel, which targets the 55-and-over age group. Classic films are most popular with that particular age group. In the past two-and-a-half years, Stovall has interviewed such legendary actors and actresses as Katharine Hepburn, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Helen Hayes. Stovall understandably considers these interviews to be the most enjoyable part of his job. The celebrities, he says, "are fascinated by what we do with their films. They realize that there's a whole new audience that has never seen their work." They also appreciate the inobtrusiveness of NTN's descriptive style. Because NTN's audience encompasses both sighted and blind viewers, Stovall tries to ensure that the description is as minimal as possible. The narration primarily serves to keep people "up to speed" on the plot: "I have never felt the need to go into details such as that the guy's wearing a blue-stripe tie with pink polka-dots with patterns." He feels that excessive description would intrude on the viewer's enjoyment of the film: "I don't want to be reminded all the time that this is a movie." In the past years, NTN has carried such films as "His Girl Friday," with Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Stovall considers the audio description on this film to be some of the best work NTN has ever done. NTN has also done a Christmas special featuring "It's A Wonderful Life." Asked about the criteria used in selecting a picture for NTN, he mentions factors such as awards a movie has won, the stars of the film, and the availability of the actors for an interview. He also candidly admits, "Frankly, I pick films I like." Stovall plans to return to the home-video market, which is where he originally wanted to begin his work. He intends to use NTN as a vehicle to promote his pending home-video offerings. With NTN's audience on the rise, Stovall feels he will be able to reach more viewers than ever with announcements about home-video programs. Although NTN has no home videos currently available, Stovall has the rights to programs such as "Big Valley," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," and "Matlock." Additional plans include interviews with Liza Minelli and Charlton Heston. Also this fall, NTN will triple its programming to Saturday, Sunday, and a midweek special. Those who would like to receive the Narrative Television Network should call their local cable operator to see if they receive the Nostalgia Channel, which carries NTN on all of its affiliates. Otherwise, contact the NTN office in Tulsa at (918) 627-1000. No special equipment is needed to receive NTN and there are no charges for the service. In addition, ACB members will be able to see Stovall in person at the national convention in Tampa this year. Stovall credits the Nostalgia Channel, the National Library Service and such NTN supporters as Ted Turner with helping NTN to grow and gain recognition in the industry. "This time last year we were only in 10 million homes. Now, we're in 25 million. We're no longer some little joke oddball thing in the TV industry -- we are recognized as a legitimate cable television network. We aren't government-supported, we don't do charities or telethons; we are a commercially viable network." CHICAGO CHARGES AGAINST GRANT MACK, GONE WITH THE WIND In December 1990, ACB Board Member Grant Mack of Salt Lake City was accused of assaulting Steven Hastalis, a member of the National Federation of the Blind, who appeared without invitation at a meeting of the National Committee for the Advancement of Accreditation in Chicago. Hastalis attempted to electronically eavesdrop on the proceedings, and Mack grabbed the microphone from his hand, throwing it to the floor. (See "NFB Blows Hot Air in the Windy City," January/February 1991). While The Braille Forum isn't generally in the practice of reprinting lengthy letters and endless affidavits, we feel a reprint of a letter is in order here. Following the confrontation at Chicago's Bismarck Hotel, Hastalis attempted to charge Mack. As for the outcome, the following letter from Mack's Chicago attorney is self-explanatory. RE: Proceedings in the Circuit Court of Cook County Dear Grant: As I have previously advised you I appeared in court on your behalf on January 3 and filed our motion to quash the summons that had not been personally served upon you. The court granted my motion to quash the summons and further gave the state until February 11, 1991 to personally serve you with the summons. The Court further ordered that if personal service was not so obtained, that the action would be dismissed without the necessity of our appearing in Court. Since we understand that you have not been personally served, there should be no further proceedings relative to this matter. I might further add that it is my opinion that not only are the allegations of the complainant ludicrous from a factual standpoint, even if accepted as being true, that does not set forth legal grounds for charging you with any criminal offense. It has been my pleasure assisting you in this matter. Very Truly Yours, George Weaver, Esq. Based on the above letter, it's apparent that the Cook County Court felt much the same way about Hastalis's summons as did Rhett Butler when he uttered that now famous line in Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With The Wind." "Frankly, my dear, ... " BREAKING THE FAX MACHINE SILENCE: THE TALKING FAX IS HERE by Nolan Crabb While fax machines have revolutionized the way the world communicates, these beeping whirring little boxes have remained stubbornly speechless, keeping blind people out of the fax revolution-- until now. Berkeley Speech Technologies of Berkeley, Calif., has obtained a patent on a system that would force fax machines to speak up and allow blind and partially sighted people to independently access their fax messages either in person or by phone. Elizabeth Peters, general manager of Berkeley Speech Technologies, says the system her company has designed would allow a blind or visually impaired person to call his fax machine from a remote location using a touchtone telephone. By tapping in a sequence of numbers, the user could hear all of his messages or search through them to find one in particular. The talking fax machine could be made to search on key words or it could replay sentences or paragraphs. She says the machine could also be designed to allow the blind user to hear the messages while standing next to the machine. "We think this is going to be used by people who want to check on an expected fax," Peters explains. "People won't necessarily have the whole thing read to them, although they might; the real key here is text-base faxes give people some powerful searching abilities." According to Peters, the talking fax machine BST envisions includes a Calera scanning board similar to the one used in the Arkenstone Reader. With a talking fax machine, the blind person could receive a fax which would automatically be converted into text which could be read aloud by a voice synthesizer. In fact, people who use the Kurzweil Personal Reader or the Arkenstone Reader already have access to fax messages. The big difference, Peters says, is that within two years, all the technology to translate a fax to speech and have it read to you in person or via telephone will exist in a single desktop package. BST isn't in the business of developing scanners that recognize characters. But Peters says optical character recognition is constantly improving, and the day may not be far off when blind users will even be able to read hand-written faxes. BST's talking fax machine can't describe pictures or diagrams, but it is reasonably accurate when translating high resolution faxes. Peters says the components that will ultimately go into the talking fax machine include a microprocessor similar to those found in personal computers, some memory, some chips that would interact with the telephone line, and printer capabilities that would allow the user to print the fax as well as hear it. "One way of thinking of the design is just like the fax machines that they have now, adding this one chip of ours and some additional code," Peters explains. "We've built several prototypes of this, but so far it consists of parts strung together with cables. We're not the manufacturer. We would have to license it to the people who make the plastic wrapping and stuff. We'll most likely get someone else to build the single unit design. But we can provide the system right now for people who don't mind an integrated system approach where separate parts are wired together." BST currently licenses its speech technology to two companies which make products for the blind, one of which is Personal Data Systems,a Campbell, Calif., company which produces the Audapter speech synthesizer. The other company is headquartered in New Zealand and makes internal synthesizers for Toshiba laptops. "Most of your readers already have access to the best leading edge technology," Peters affirms. "It's very interesting for us to work with our customers who make products for the blind, because they always want the very best, and they want it yesterday. It really keeps us on our toes." Just what BST's patent will mean to blind and low vision fax machine users isn't clear. It could mean cheaper, commercially available talking fax machines. Those who develop talking products for blind users agree with Peters that the technology already exists to wire together a talking fax machine. Many of those developers will be watching BST closely to see whether the company will use its patent to stop them from creating low-end talking fax machines. Since the patent is relatively new and BST has yet to sign license agreements with any manufacturer, Peters can't give any clear signals. "It's always expensive to buy custom systems," she says. "But if one of the mass production companies gets into it, they can build it very cheaply and they should." OPPORTUNITIES OPEN DOORS by Kathleen Gallagher Rehabilitation Specialist, National Industries for the Blind According to many experts, society still fears blindness more than any other physical disability. I believe it is this fear that is the cause of the discrimination that keeps employers' doors shut to those of us who are blind. Being aware of the discrimination that exists, I knew finding a job was going to be a challenge. I realized that my disability would limit my options and opportunities. However, I did not realize how many closed doors I would have to walk away from before finding an employer open to hiring me. We must change society's attitudes towards persons with disabilities. Laws and technology have opened many doors for us, and have given us opportunities we did not have 20 years ago. But this is not enough. Many have begun eliminating attitudinal barriers by educating the public about disabilities. More importantly, we must be persistent in our efforts to get employers to hire us. We need to take advantage of the opportunities provided to us through laws and the advancement of technology, and be innovative in seeking other openings that could lead to employment. National Industries for the Blind is dedicated to creating employment opportunities for persons who are blind or blind with other disabilities. We believe that every blind person who wants to work should be given the chance to do so. Adhering to this philosophy, NIB offers a unique opportunity to a recent college graduate, who is legally blind, and has a bachelor's degree in an area that relates to the operation or management of a business. Through its Internship Program, the individual receives training and gains experience in his or her field of interest. This program was developed to give blind individuals the chance to get actual work experience and validate their value as productive members of the work force while seeking competitive employment. Presently NIB has two interns participating in the program. One is a graduate of Southeastern Missouri State University, and the other a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, N.j. These gentlemen have just completed six months as interns. One is working on marketing projects for the St. Louis Lighthouse in St. Louis. The other intern spent three months working in the area of marketing analysis for NIB, and is now working in our Public Relations Department. NIB is currently reviewing other intern candidates for participation in the program. It seems that many legally blind persons aren't looking for business careers. However, as technology advances, this trend may be slowly changing. As more people become aware of our program, we hope to find many individuals looking for the kind of internship which will open a door into the corporate world for him or her. NIB believes that the Internship Program is valuable for blind and visually impaired people; and, as with all of our other programs, we are committed to working toward expanding and improving the opportunities the Internship Program offers. (For more information about NIB's Internship Program, contact Kathleen Gallagher, National Industries for the Blind, 524 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne, NJ 07474-0969. Tel. (201) 595-9200.) HERE AND THERE by Elizabeth M. Lennon LET'S PARTY The Tennessee Council of the Blind celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and ACB members are invited to join in the festivities. The celebration will be held in Nashville between August 30 and September 2, according to Affiliate President Penny Pennington. The celebration includes a trip to the Grand Ol' Opry, ($18 per person), and a banquet, ($17 per person.) Those prices include transportation and registration fees. Send money to Treasurer Herbert Jared, 4210 Raven Dr., Knoxville, TN 37921. The deadline for registration and for hotel reservations is July 15. You can reserve a hotel room by calling the Doubletree Hotel toll-free at (800) 528-0444. Hotel room rates weren't available at press time. ACB MASONS? ACB Member Donald Moore of New York is exploring the possibility of establishing a special-interest affiliate comprised of members of the Masons, Eastern Star, and other concordant bodies of the Masonic Fraternity. More is considering a luncheon or dinner meeting at the next ACB National Convention. Attendees would hear remarks from a Mason residing in Florida. Persons interested in joining Moore in the establishment of a Masonic special-interest affiliate should contact him at 36 Holland Ave., Albany, NY 12205. Tel. (518) 456-1264. CompuServe mail, 71041,654. If writing, please do so in braille, on computer disk or cassette. VETERANS TO CONVENE The 46th annual convention of the Blinded Veterans Association will be held in Reno, Nev., August 20 through 24, 1991. Blinded veterans from throughout the nation will gather at the Sands Hotel. Room rates are $37 for single, double or triple rooms. For more information, contact the Blinded Veterans Association, 477 H St., N.W., Washington, DC 20001. Tel. (800) 669-7079. CONFERENCE ON BLINDNESS A conference on the history of people with blindness, assimilation/separation, and blind pride will be held August 21 through 25 at Wilder Forest, Marine on St. Croix, Minn., according to a press release. The conference explores such topics as Dig for Our Past, Share Our Present, and Shape Our Future. For more information regarding fees, transportation, and other activities, contact Lolly Lijewski by calling (612) 561-9243. TO RUSSIA WITH EVERGREEN Evergreen Tours has planned a tour of "The Best of Imperial Russia" for July 24 through August 7, 1991. The group also plans "Marvelous Mexico" in November. The tours include one sighted guide for every three visually impaired people. For more information, contact White Cane Tours, Evergreen Travel Service, 4114 198th St., S.W., Suite 13, Lynnwood, WA 98036-6742. Tel. toll-free (800) 435- 2288. SCOURBY AWARD WINNERS Yvonne Fair Tessler received the Alexander Scourby Narrator of the Year award in the category of fiction. Presented by the American Foundation for the Blind, the Scourby awards reflect the votes of recorded book readers who participate in the Library of Congress lending program. Patrick Horgan, who records books for AFB, was named the 1991 Narrator of the Year in the nonfiction category. The winner of the Periodicals category was Bruce Huntey, a narrator at the American Printing House for the Blind. Pam Ward, who narrates for Talking Books Publishing in Denver, walked away with the Children's Literature Narrator of the Year honors. According to a press release from AFB, the 1991 presentation marks the fifth year the awards have been given. The recipients were honored during ceremonies at Lincoln Center in New York in mid April. BLIND ATHLETES HONORED Two members of the United States Association for Blind Athletes were honored as "Outstanding Disabled Athletes of the Year" during the third annual National Disabled Athletes Awards Banquet sponsored by the Colorado Amateur Sports Corporation in November. James S. Brady, former press secretary for Ronald Reagan, keynoted the event and was the first recipient of the James S. Brady Award, which will be presented to outstanding Americans who have overcome major challenges in their lives. Luanne Burke and Lynn Manning were the USABA members honored at the banquet. At the 1990 World Disabled Ski Championships, Burke won the gold Medal in both the Giant Slalom and the Super Giant Slalom. Manning was promoted to the rank of black belt in Judo and won the World Championships for the Disabled in Assen, The Netherlands. BRAILLE PRESS HONORED National Braille Press, the producer of the braille edition of The Braille Forum, is the recipient of the Literary Market Place award, honoring excellence and innovation in the book publishing industry. The award was presented to NBP earlier this year in ceremonies at the United Nations Delegate Dining room in New York by Ira Siegel, president and CEO of R. R. Bowker, publishers of "Literary Market Place," a directory for use by publishers and related industries. VET AWARD Elizabeth Carr, a member of the Blinded Veterans Association, is the 1990 recipient of the Irving Diener Award. An Air Force veteran, Carr lost her sight in 1970. The Diener award is given to a BVA member or associate member who makes an outstanding contribution to the growth and development of a BVA regional group, according to "The BVA Bulletin," September/October 1990. SEEING EYE/BUSH HONORED President George Bush honored The Seeing Eye, Morristown, N.J., as his 138th Point of Light, according to the summer 1990 edition of "The Seeing Eye Guide." To mark the occasion, The Seeing Eye promptly named a nine-week-old German Shepherd puppy after the president. "This is tremendous recognition for our volunteers and staff," said The Seeing Eye President Dennis J. Murphy. "It salutes their dedication to breeding, raising, and training Seeing Eye dogs." President Bush's One Thousand Points of Light program recognizes individuals and organizations who successfully address our most pressing social problems through direct and consequential acts of community service. MIGEL MEDAL Donald H. Wedewer and Abram Claude, Jr., are the 1990 recipients of the Migel Medal awarded by the American Foundation for the Blind. Wedewer received the award in the Professional category; Claude was awarded the medal in the Layperson category. Wedewer has recently retired as the director of Florida's Division of Blind Services. Claude is managing director of Russell Reynolds Associates, Inc., a leading executive recruiting firm in New York. AWARD GIVEN The Mississippi State University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision has given its Outstanding Service Award for 1990 to Dr. Norma E. Tedder, an expert in the field of deaf-blindness and the Randolph-Sheppard program. She has co- authored six publications in professional journals and three monographs at the RRTC. ROYAL HONORS King Olav V of Norway has honored ACB Member Raymond "Bud" Keith for his many years of dedication to health through sports for blind Americans and Norwegians. The King, who died in January, instructed that Keith should be honored with the highest decoration which can be given to a non-Norwegian, the order of St. Olav. Former Norwegian Ambassador to the U.S. Soren Sommerfelt made the announcement at the annual Ski for Light event earlier this year in Cable, Wis. King Olav was an avid skier and royal family members and embassy staff have served as guides for blind skiers in American and Norwegian programs. Keith, who became blind at age 11, is an equal opportunity specialist in the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services. He serves as treasurer of the Northern Virginia chapter of the Old Dominion Council of the Blind. NEW APPOINTMENT ACB Member Mary Jane Owen, a frequent contributor to The Braille Forum, has been named as the new executive director of National Catholic Office for Persons With Disabilities. Owen holds a masters degree in social work and is currently studying for Theological Certification from Georgetown University. HIGH TECH SWAP SHOP FOR SALE: Optacon II, less than two years old. Braille and print manuals included. Used for 60 hours. $3,225. Contact Sagi McCleary, 639 N. Spring St., Ukiah, CA 95482. Tel. (707) 463-3967. (Leave a message on the machine). FOR SALE: VersaBraille P2C, includes charger/power supply, overlay tapes, and braille manuals. Currently covered under service contract, has had moderate use, and is in good working order. $2,000 or offer. Contact Kevin Utter, 2034 W. Plum, Apartment A3, Fort Collins, CO 80521. Tel. (303) 221-4809. FOR SALE: Classic VersaBraille (Cassette based), charger and cables, $700. Call office (713) 744-8152 or home (713) 937-6419 and ask for Irene. CORRECTIONS In "Descriptive Video at the Smithsonian," (November/December 1990), we incorrectly stated that no fee is charged for viewing the movies mentioned in the story. In fact, there is a charge for the movies, but there is no additional charge for the audio description. The "Here and There" item entitled "New Book on Tape," (January/February 1991), incorrectly stated that the National Library Service has added a new book to its collection entitled "The Professor's Family." In a letter to The Braille Forum, NLS Director Frank Kurt Cylke said the book has not been recorded, nor is it eligible to be included in the national collection. The story "Award-Winning Book Offers Winning Job Strategies," (January/February 1991), incorrectly stated that the term "rehabilitation custodian" is used in a discussion of rehabilitation employees. Stated more accurately, the book encourages its readers to break down the custodial attitudes some in society take toward blind job seekers. The error resulted from notes which were overly concise. The term is not actually used in the book. ACB Member Christina Brino's address was incorrectly listed in "Here And There," (January/February 1991). The correct address should be: Adjustment to Blindness Project, New Jersey Self-Help Clearinghouse, St. Clares Riverside Medical Center, Pocono Rd., Denville, NJ 07834. In "A Synthesizer That's Great for People on the Go," (January/February 1991), the prices for the Verbette line of synthesizers were incorrectly listed. The actual prices are: Verbette Mark I (the internal synthesizer) is $249. The Verbette Mark II (the external synthesizer) costs System costs $550. Any coupons offered are still valid. The Company reports it also offers a Sony speaker which plugs into the synthesizers for $50. In the story entitled "Affiliate Profile: A Success Story in the Northwest," (March/April 1991), we stated that the Washington Council operated the toll-free number prior to the merger of the two groups. In reality, the Washington Council operated both the toll-free number and the equipment loan program. The United Blind of Washington operated the scholarship program and the affiliate newsletter "newsline." ACB OFFICERS PRESIDENT LEROY SAUNDERS P.O. BOX 24020 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73124 FIRST VICE PRESIDENT PAUL EDWARDS 170 N.E. 123rd STREET NORTH MIAMI, FL 33161 SECOND VICE PRESIDENT CHARLES HODGE 1131 S. FOREST DRIVE ARLINGTON, VA 22204 SECRETARY PATRICIA PRICE RILEY TOWER 2, APT. 2300 600 N. ALABAMA STREET INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46204 TREASURER BRIAN CHARLSON 57 GRANDVIEW AVENUE WATERTOWN, MA 02172 CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ELIZABETH M. LENNON