The President's Corner
By Jim Jirak, President
And so the ending of one era passes and
the dawning of a new era in organizational history begins. For those that were not at our state
convention this past April; for those with short-term memory; or for those that
are bad with names, permit me to introduce myself as your new ACBN State
President---Jim Jirak.
I would like to now turn my thoughts,
briefly, to five issues. First, several months ago, Mary Susan Orester received
a telephone call from an individual requesting information about ACBN. After mailing the information, another call
was received by the individual’s attorney informing her that the individual had
passed on and that the organization was in line to receive roughly 20% of the
estate, once probated. And shortly
before this past convention our treasury saw a healthy increase to it. Mary Sue's efforts in providing such
information about ACBN resulting in such a healthy bequest, without question,
is greatly appreciated.
Secondly, as everyone is aware Dr. James
Nyman, long time director of the Nebraska Services for the Visually Impaired,
retired March 27. As mentioned in the
last newsletter, ACBN put personal differences aside and honored him with a
retirement dinner at the Lincoln American Legion on March 19, with thanks to
the coordinated efforts of Bob Doulas.
Among being presented other small trinkets, he was presented with a
plaque on behalf of the organization thanking him for 25 years of service. It was further announced at the ceremony
that Dr. Pearl Van Zandt, on March 30, would become the new director of the
agency. It goes without saying that Bob
Doulas did a tremendous job in planning the evening. Thanks Bob for your efforts.
Thirdly, even though the situation has
already been dealt with by the previous executive committee and discussed at
the convention, I feel it needs to be re-addressed here to point out the need
to establish guidelines to eliminate the inconsistent policy ACBN has on this
issue. A member in good standing paid
their registration for the just concluded convention. Then, some time later, informed me that a family member was
requesting to partake in only the Saturday evening banquet. It was the feeling of the member that the
registration fee should be reduced. If
this were not possible, then a partial refund was being requested for the
member. Then during the convention
itself, another member inquired as to the registration fee for their child who
wanted to come for only the banquet.
At a special executive council meeting
prior to the convention, it was decided not to reduce the registration fee nor
refund any portion of the convention registration. However, at the convention, the child of the member was permitted
to eat for the cost of the meal. And
when the hypocrisy and inconsistencies of the situations were pointed out
during the Sunday morning business meeting, the response provided was "A
child is different."
While it makes no difference to me that
the child was permitted to eat for the cost of the meal, what concerns me is
the perception of inconsistent practices and favoritism by this
organization. If we discount one
persons banquet registration and that person is not attending the convention,
then we should discount everyone's banquet registration regardless of age and
organizational affiliation. And if this
were done, what would be the purpose for a banquet? Yes, no convention banquet is worth the price charged, but the
organization has expenses associated with sponsoring a state convention and deliberately
inflating the registration for the banquet is one way for the organization to
recoup some of the expenses incurred.
And as a result of these situations, I am urging the convention
committee to establish written guidelines that deal with these problems to
prevent any future conflicts and/or hurt feelings.
Fourthly, congratulations are in order to
your new elected officers. Bill Orester
and Shirley Allen were elected to serve as treasurer and corresponding
secretary respectively. And due to the
resignation of Rick Agman as secretary, Don Pohlmann was elected to fill out
Rick's remaining year.
Fifth, there is no organization greater,
or more democratic than The American Council of the Blind. That is why we need to concentrate on
enhancing membership within the organization.
Figuring out how, then implementing the task to do this just became
easier than I had anticipated. During
the Saturday morning program, Dr. Pearl Van Zandt indicated the potential for
increasing awareness by the visually impaired of Nebraska. She hinted that she believes in consumer
choice. That is, tell everyone about
all available options and consumer organizations, then let them pick what best
suits them. Dr. Van Zandt hinted that
one possible way of increasing awareness about ACBN might be a public forum
during a portion of the convention inviting any and all interested citizens
within the community to attend. This
idea is so realistic and practical that time will be set-aside during next
year’s convention to accomplish this.
Why didn't we think of this sooner?
And lastly, as I complete this article on
the eleventh day of May my parents and I, having left May 1, are readjusting
our body clocks to central time. We
just returned yesterday from having spent 5 days in Maui on Kaanapali Beach
with my cousin, her husband, her three small kids and my aunt and uncle. From there, we spent 3 days in Honolulu on
Waikiki Beach before returning home.
And yes, thanks for asking, we had a relaxing and pleasant trip. But now the work begins to make ACBN the
best organization of and for the blind it can be.
Until next time, remember there is a kid
inside each of us. Let him out and
enjoy life to the fullest.
ALOHA!