by Sharon Maneki
The twentieth annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland was held during the weekend of September 5, 6 and 7, at the Hilton Hotel in Columbia. It was a time of both celebration and planning for the coming year. We had much to celebrate. On Friday evening, we had a legislative party to celebrate our victory of convincing the Maryland General Assembly to pass four bills. Thanks to our efforts, the law prohibiting insurance discrimination on the basis of blindness was strengthened, a law guaranteeing the payment of the minimum wage for workers at BISM was passed and two proposals to strengthen the White Cane law were also passed. These were: injunctive relief for a person who is being discriminated against, and the establishing of a task force to study the White Cane law to find better methods of enforcement, etc. The convention banquet on Saturday evening was also a time of celebration. As an expression of appreciation and pride in Dur new national President, Mr. Marc Maurer received an engraved door knocker. Through his leadership, the National Federation of the Blind will continue to open doors of opportunity for blind persons.
Several other awards and scholarships were presented. Two service organizations, the Knights of Columbus, Columbia Council, and the Laurel Lions Club, received special awards for providing transportation for members to attend meetings of our Central Maryland Chapter. The Equal Employment Opportunity Award was presented to the National Security Agency for its record of offering employment opportunities to blind persons for more than
20 years.
This year, we had three scholarship winners. Diane Vaughn, a junior at UMBC, received $1,000. Stephanie Brown, a freshman at Towson State University, received $700. Lily Lee, a freshman at Welsley University, received $500. We are very proud of these winners and are sure that they will be successful in their endeavors.
Funding our movement is vital. Therefore, everyone who participates in the PAC plan received a carnation at the banquet to recognize their valuable assistance. We are especially glad that several people joined PAC for the first time, while many others increased their monthly contributions.
The high point of every banquet is the address of our national representative. Fred Schroeder gave an extremely inspiring address that gave each of us much to think about. Fred described the challenge of living Federation philosophy every day. Do our actions show that we believe that blindness is really only a nuisance? Fred accepted the challenge of living Federation philosophy and his words will help each of us to become better federationists.
Some of the goals of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland are outlined in the seven resolutions in the Braille Spectator 1986 October issue. The following officers and board members were elected at the Sunday morning session of the convention. President Sharon Maneki; First Vice President, Althea Pittman; Second Vice President, Ron Metenyi; Secretary, Mary Ellen Reihing; Treasurer, Judy Rasmussen; Board Members, Ron Burns; Al Carter; Carlene McKenzie; Brenda Williams. The two remaining Board Members are Leroy Benny Bagwell and Pat Weinbrenner.
There was one somber note at the convention. On September 4th, Kevin Worley of Missouri was arrested simply because he wanted to buy a full fare ticket rather than a half fare ticket at a Trailways bus Station. This incident is a sober reminder of how much we need to do and how important the National Federation of the Blind is to us. As we left the convention, our spirits were renewed and we were ready to face the challenges ahead.