Blinded
Veterans Association
Chartered
by the United States Congress
Florida
Regional Group
3801
Coco Grove Avenue
Miami,
Florida 33133
BVA-FRG Web Site:
bvafrg@bellsouth.org
FRG NEWSLETTER - MARCH 2012
FRG President's Message: Hello Blinded
veterans. The final District
Informational Meeting will be held on March 31st. A meeting reminder is later in this
Newsletter. vice
President Gigi Mathis has done what many have not. Gigi jumped out of an airplane at 13000
feet. We are all so very proud of her. She is showing the world that just because we
are blind does not mean that we can't do exciting things. The state convention will be here soon. You should make your reservations as soon as
possible. It is a great time to receive
valuable information and have fun and meaningful fellowships. with your fellow blinded veteran. I hope to bump into you at the convention in
Daytona Beach. Darryl goldsmith, FRG
President
FRG AUXILIARY PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE: Did you know that March is Women’s History Month?
The theme for 2012 is Women’s Education-Women’s
Empowerment. Women now outnumber men in American colleges but it wasn’t always so.
When our country was founded, any
education given to women was only to prepare them to be
mothers. When Harvard
was established in 1636, it was strictly for men. It took two
centuries before a college admitted women, Oberlin in 1833. Nowadays, education is vitally important for
both sexes. That is
why the FRG Auxiliary is proud to offer two scholarships to
children or spouses of blinded veterans.
Applications are due April 1. Please contact me, at the following address, if you would like an application. Fran Thomas
, FRG Auxiliary President. (239) 283-1708 or email pghfran9@aol.com.
National Legislative Up-Date: The President
has sent a budget request of $140.3 billion to Congress for the Department of
Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2013.
This proposal includes $76 billion for the Veterans Benefits
Administration for compensation, Pension, DIC, and other benefits
programs. The Veterans health
Administration (VHA) is proposed to have $52.7 billion an increase of 4.1 %
over FY 2012 and $165 million over the Advance Funding for VHA already appropriated. Since medical inflation has been running from
6 to 8 % in recent years, it actually results in a reduction in funding for FY
2013.
Free Bus Transportation to FRG
Convention: For several years the
Blinded Veterans in the southwest and the Lakeland area have raised money to
hire a bus for transportation to the FRG State Convention. Well, they have done it once again this year
with a lot of hard work. There shall be
a 55 passenger bus fully equipped with a bath room and plenty of conversation
during the trip from Fort Myers to the state convention at the Daytona Beach hotel. The bus will leave the Fort Myers VA Out patient clinic on Thursday May 3rd at 9 AM. It will then be making stops at the various
Cracker barrows along I75 to pick up veterans and those that are accompanying
them. Then turning on to I4 and making
its way on to Daytona Beach. It should
arrive at the hotel around 3 PM, in plenty of time for Thursday evening Pizza
party. Those on the bus will take a vote
as to where they will stop for lunch.
The bus will leave the hotel for its return trip back to Fort Myers on
Sunday May 6th at 9 AM. There
is absolutely no charge for any one desiring to take this bus to the State Convention. We also are extending an invitation to any
and all VIST and BROS that may like to join us on the bus. Those desiring to travel on this bus, please
contact Terry or Joanne King at: (941) 505-7747. You may also contact Bob Walczak at (941) 875-9876.
FRG
State Convention Reminder: This is a
reminder that The FRG State Convention will
be held at the Plaza Ocean Club Hotel , 640 North
Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach, FL 32118 May 3-6. Your Convention Committee secured the low
guaranteed group rates of only $80 per day, for 1 to 4 persons per
room. In the Plaza Ocean Club Hotel, all
rooms are equipped with refrigerators and microwaves and All
rooms have ocean view balconies. These low convention rates will be in effect
3 days before and/or 3 days after the Convention. You may come early or stay late for an
extended vacation. The low Convention
rates are guaranteed for reservations made on or before April 13th. Reservations made after April 13th, will be
at the low Convention rate but only on a space available basis. We encourage you to make your reservations immediately
to insure your accommodations as another group is at the hotel that weekend. You may cancel your reservation and receive a full
refund of your deposit, if you cancel 24 hours before noon on the day you were
scheduled to arrive. Send your
reservation to the Hotel along with your check for one night's room rate and 12.5%
tax or you may use your credit card number to guarantee your reservation. Other than your deposit, the hotel will not accept checks for
your remaining charges. You must have a
credit card or cash. Better yet, as time
is short, you should make your reservation by calling the toll free reservation
number at: (800) 874-7420.
There are 22 hotels using that reservation number. Be sure to specify
the Plaza Ocean Club Hotel and that you want the guaranteed group rate for the
Florida Regional Group Blinded Veterans Association Convention. If you have any problem ,
call George Stocking at (305) 446-8008.
Convention Registration Fee: The Convention Registration Fee will be $35
per person (for each BV, family member, or friend attending). However, an early registration fee of only
$30 per person will be in effect for registration received on or before April
13th. The registration fee will cover
general Convention activities, including the dinner-dance on Friday night,
Hospitality Room, and the Banquet on Saturday night. Please make your check payable to the BVA and
send it to: 3801 Coco Grove Avenue,
Miami, FL 33133. Please include the
first and last name of each person registering, so that we will be able to make
name tags prior to the start of the Convention.
It is important for you to send your registration fee in advance to speed
up the registration at the Convention.
For those who get to Daytona Beach on Thursday,
May 3rd, the BVA Hospitality Room will be open from 6 to 10 PM. Lesa Kretschmer
from Florida Reading and Vision Technology will host a Pizza Party from
6-8. If you plan to take part in the Pizza
Party add that information to your early registration information so that we
can plan properly and have enough pizza. AT 9 AM on Friday, the fifth annual horseshoe
pitching contest will be held on the beach behind the hotel. If you wish to
participate call Contest
coordinator Paul Kaminsky (904) 291-0576 or email
pkaminsky@bellsouth.net. Last
year there was a good turnout and competition in the two categories was heated(totally blind and partially blind). John Palmer from Magnify America will provide
snacks at the Horseshoe Pitching Contest.
The
Convention Late Registration Desk will open at 1 PM on Friday, May 4th, in the
hotel lobby. If you have not
pre-registered, you may pay your late Registration at that time. If you have pre-registered, please pick up
your name tags and Convention Program. We
need everyone to check in so that we can give the chef the proper count for the
dinner dance and Banquet. The opening
session will be held in the second floor Ball room at 3 PM on Friday, May 4th. The Informational Seminar will be open with a
presentation on Prosthetics and Sensory Aids for the Blind by VISN 8 Prosthetics Representative. That will be followed by presentations presenting information
about specific low vision and sensory aid devices for the blind. The Dinner dance will begin with dinner at 7
PM followed by dancing. Again, this
year, Marsha Summers will provide the music, both during the dinner and for
dancing afterwards. A cash bar will be
available for liquid refreshment.
Saturday, May 5th, The Annual Florida
Regional Group Business Meeting will be held at 9 AM in the 2nd floor Ball
Room. In addition to reports on the past
year and planning the FRG Program for the coming year, you will have the opportunity
to share your thoughts and comments on future FRG activities. Elections for FRG Officers and District
Directors, for the coming year, will be held.
According to the BVA guidelines and the FRG By laws, The election and
instruction of a Delegate and Alternate Delegates to the 67th BVA National Convention in Galveston,
Texas in August, will also be held. Possible
Amendments to the BVA and/or FRG By-Laws may be considered. The FRG Auxiliary will also hold its Annual
Meeting at 9 AM on Saturday in the Osprey Room.
Following the FRG Business meeting, John
Palmer of Magnify America will display Low vision and sensory aids and provide refreshments in the
Board Room adjacent to the Ball Room.
At 2 PM on Saturday, the second
Informational Seminar will be held, starting with a presentation by Susan
Roberts, the Chief of the Bureau of Brail and Talking Book Services, who will bring
us up to date on Talking Book Program. Michael
Healer the VA Regional Office Liaison for the Florida VIST Program will provide
information on veterans benefits. Then, Douglas Brooks, the BVA Southeast Field
Representative (FSP) from Atlanta will describe the BVA FSP Program.
The Hospitality Room will be open from 5
to 7 PM. At 7 PM, the Installation Banquet
will be held in the Ball Room. The
Banquet will close with the Installation of FRG Officers and District Directors
and FRG Auxiliary Officers. Join us in
the hospitality Room, after the Banquet, for more socializing and refreshments.
VIST and BROS Training: For many years the FRG has shared its
Convention facilities and speakers with the VIST Coordinators and BROS in
Florida for their in-service training.
This year, that in-service training will begin at 8 AM on Friday and
continue until the opening session at 3 PM that afternoon. This will give you the opportunity to meet
your VIST and BROS in an informal setting.
Since time is short, call (800) 874-7420
to make your reservations at the Plaza Ocean Club Hotel. Please send your registration fee to the
BVA-FRG in Miami. We look forward to
meeting you there.
FRG Southeast District Meeting: This is your final notice that The FRG Southeast
District meeting will be held at the Tropical Acres Steakhouse 2500 Griffin
road in Ft. Lauderdale, on Saturday, March 31st. The meeting will begin at 11:30 AM with a
period of Socializing followed by lunch at noon. For lunch you may have either
Sliced Sirloin of Beef or Breast of Chicken and salad, baked potato,
vegetable, rolls and butter, iced tea or coffee and dessert. The price of the lunch will be $5 per person,
including tax and tip. There will be an
Informational Meeting following lunch.
Come join us. For information or
to make reservations, write
to George Stocking, 3801 Coco Grove Avenue, Miami, FL 33133 or
call (305) 446-8008. In Broward County,
call Jim McCoy at (954) 748-9428. In
addition, you may call: Roberta
Goldstein, Miami VAMC VIST Coordinator, at (305) 575-7000 ex 3607, April Barnes , Broward VA Outpatient Clinic VIST Coordinator,
at: (954) 625-8730, or Jackie Yoshimura
West Palm Beach VAMC VIST Coordinator, at:
(561) 422-5260. Please be sure to
make your reservations before March 28th, as the restaurant needs this
information in order to plan properly for our meeting. Jackie Yoshimura and Roberta Goldstein are
attempting to arrange transportation to the meeting from Palm Beach and
Miami-Dade Counties, respectively. This
transportation will leave from the West Palm Beach and Miami VAMC. If you need such transportation, contact
Jackie or Roberta at the numbers listed above.
Message from Mike Taylor, FRG Past
President: It was just before
Christmas, 1968, when a Telephone Pioneer brought a Talking Book machine to my
parents' house, in Jacksonville. The
Veterans Administration had sent me home to recover from my wounds, before they
could begin a rehab
program. The Telephone
Pioneer probably hadn't confronted a more pitiful person, than I was at that
time. Nor, had that Pioneer found a
person more in need of something to divert their attention from their own
problems. There weren't a lot of
materials available at that time to play, but what there was available was most welcomed. The books were recorded on hard disc, and
were large and heavy. I got put on a list
to receive Talking Books and Newsweek Magazine.
Newsweek came on a single long disc that played at eight and a third
RPM's, and played for two and a half hours on each side. I listen to what was sent to me, although the
subjects discussed;
the language employed; and reading to past the time, all required
adjustment by me. There were articles in
Newsweek that held little interest for me.
At that time, I could not imagine that anyone else could be interested
in some of the events and issues that were being written in the late
sixties. Having few other options for
passing my time in a meaningful pursuit, I persevered with listening to
materials that were over my head. There
was nothing else to do. And no better
way to pass my time, so I listened to books from beginning to end and Newsweek
from cover to cover, week after week. I
don't think that it will ever be possible for me to look back on that time with
humor, but listening to my Talking Books doubtless saved what little sanity I
have left. I was grateful to that first
Telephone Pioneer who brought me my first player. I am grateful to all the Telephone Pioneers
that have repaired, and replaced machines for me over these many years. I add my appreciation to all the Telephone
Pioneers for the many hours of service they have provided to the blind, and for
the difference it has made in my life. I
hope for future generations that the Telephone Pioneers will be around for
another hundred years. Editor's
note: Mike Taylor was wounded in Vietnam
being left totally blind and a lower leg amputee. He served as FRG President from 1990 to 1992
and represents the FRG on the Talking Book Advisory
Council. The Telephone Pioneers was
founded 100 years ago by a group of ATT employees to provide service to their
communities. When the Talking Book
Program was founded in 1931, the Pioneers accepted the responsibility to repair
the Talking Book machines. .
BVA-FRG Meeting Schedule
March 31 FRG
Meeting Tropical Acres Steakhouse in Ft. Lauderdale
May 3-6 FRG State Convention Plaza Ocean Club
Hotel Daytona
August 20-24 BVA
National Convention in Galveston, Texas