Jessie and All Dreamers of Democracy,
If the NFB still counts its membership the way they did
when I belonged, there is no proof that they are growing or shrinking. We paid $30 per year as a state affiliate. The National Office kept no list of our members. We kept our membership list in-house.
When I joined back in 1969, the NAB bragged that they had 40,000 members. It was not too long before we began boasting that we were 50,000 strong. And then, for a brief period, Jernigan upped the figure to 60,000. But for whatever reason he set it back to 50,000. I've not checked, but it's been at that figure for years.
Still, think of it. That would average 1,000 members per state. If you take Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and Hawaii, you might arrive at about as many members as our WCB affiliate of the ACB has. We are right around 450 dues paid members.
So right away the other 44 states have to come up with an extra 5,550 members to make the 50,000.
Are there really 1,000 plus NFB members in New Mexico, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Kansas? Name the states that have 2, 3 or 4 thousand NFB members?
Remember the Emerald City? When Dorothy threw back the curtain she discovered that the mighty Wizard was a sham.
And just out of curiosity, how does the NFB always work it around to where they have a nice round figure? It's never 49,386 members. Just 50,000 strong.
Well, excuse me for not buying it. I didn't buy it as a member, and I'm not buying it now.
The American Council is now, and has been for many years, the nation's largest and only Nation-wide membership organization.
I've said it before, the NFB has morphed into a National Agency *For* the Blind. They may be doing some positive stuff in the name of the blind, but they are no longer, if they ever were, the Blind Leading the Blind...a grass roots organization.
The NFB leadership has chosen to take on the appearance of a successful national corporation.
I was a member when Jernigan and company made that decision. Washington and California fought it and we were thrown out for our trouble. Washington, a state-wide membership organization long before the NFB was organized, was told that we no longer could make our own decisions. All decisions were made at the national level and we would carry them out without question.
I remember questioning. I told Jernigan that if we were to be controlled by the national board, then we should at least have a representative on that board, elected from our region. Jernigan told me that he did not delegate authority. That rocked me back a bit. But he made it very clear that he, not the board, ruled. That dinner in Seattle's university district was the last face to face conversation I had with that dictator.
So regardless of what the NFB tells the world and their own corporate employees, the ACB is the only last hope for a democratically run membership organization.
There is only one way to ensure that it remains a membership organization. Each of us must be active in some way or other. We cannot leave it up to our leadership to do it for us. If we do that, the day will come when we will look very much like the NFB.
So my friends, let's get busy.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----From: J.RaylTo: Acb ListSent: Saturday, May 04, 2013 4:07 AMSubject: Re: [acb-l] A Question for Ron MillimanExactly Carl. And very good work. If you already have 6 members and other interesteds, you did well ...very well.We should all be doing things and having things to cover ...and if not, that in itself is a problem. We should all, then, be writing about, talking about, and publicizing about them ...not just waiting for Mitch and Ron to do it or give us permission to do it. Or, even for the chapter / affiliate presidents to do so, or for our PR Committees to do so ...because many times, they're not or they're not giving chapters / affiliates leeway to release information (which is another huge problem!).If the chapters / affiliates have these committees, they should indeed be far, far more actively involved ...finding out what is going on, looking for information (and I'm not just talking about the newsletter ever 3 or 4 months). It goes to include newspaper articles, radio-TV opportunities, etc., etc.But in my affiliate, it sure has not.And then, they wonder why NFB is growing ...and we're really not. Well, no one knows about us ...how can we grow? No one knows what we do -- among other factors that apply to this, and all, organizations.----- Original Message -----From: Carl JarvisSent: Friday, May 03, 2013 8:23 PMSubject: Re: [acb-l] A Question for Ron MillimanSure, these PR releases are good for Show and Tell among the membership, and perhaps a curious glance from the general public, but they do not have the impact of a good local action story. Recently we had two articles in our Port Townsend Leader. One covered our Jefferson County Council meeting at which our state Talking Book and Braille librarian spoke. We had local librarians, public school teachers and a school district superintendant present. From that story we gained two new members.A few weeks later we elected our new president. She contacted the Leader with an article that talked about the impact of the JCCB in our community, as well as our Peninsula Rehabilitation Services, the service provided by Cathy and myself.From that article we have added four new members and have several others coming to find out whether they want to join.Today Cathy and I spent the day at an Senior Independence Fair in Port Angeles. This event was well covered by the local Peninsula Daily, as well as by the popular local talk jock, Mark Harvey. Besides the half dozen folks we signed up for our rehab services, we'll most likely receive additional calls about our Council chapter when the paper hits the streets.In a rural county of about 24 thousand, and only one incorporated town, under 10 thousand residents, we have 24 members in our JCCB chapter, with another 6 or 7 visiting regularly.My point is this, we can sit around and wait for Mitch and Ron to hustle out press releases that will probably not net us a single new local member, or we can get out and prove that this organization really is a people's movement, and make some local noise.And now I'll clamber down off my soap box...until next time.Carl Jarvis----- Original Message -----From: Ronald E. MillimanTo: acb-l@acb.orgSent: Friday, May 03, 2013 7:19 AMSubject: Re: [acb-l] A Question for Ron MillimanMitch,
Considering how much NFB invests annually in their marketing and PR efforts
compared to the ACB, I'd say we are definitely getting maximum bang for the
invested buck, especially if we compare approximately $1000 out of pocket
dollars for ACB against Approximately $250,000 or more for NFB.
Ron M.
At 11:51 AM 5/2/2013 -0700, you wrote:
>Ron:
>
>Thank you for your response. What you're basically saying is that ACB seems
>to be getting more bang for the buck, as the saying goes.
>
>I also think you are suggesting quality over quantity, a point of view on
>which I agree entirely. Given current realities, that appears to be the
>road ACB will be traveling for the foreseeable future. And yes, I'd like to
>see your research.
>
>
>Mitch Pomerantz
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Ronald E. Milliman [mailto:rmilliman@insightbb.com]
>Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2013 11:23 AM
>To: Mitch Pomerantz
>Cc: acb-l@acb.org
>Subject: Re: [acb-l] A Question for Ron Milliman
>
>Mitch,
>
>In response to your question, I can tell you that media releases are still
>effective, but the distribution mix has changed considerably over the recent
>several years. Like in all media news situations, the first source to scoop
>the story gets the most coverage. In the case of ACB verses NFB in these
>situations, NFB tends to get the scoop on us most of the time. In
>this very latest news about the Kindle app, in my opinion,
>we had people
>in our organization that were fully informed about this development and
>could have given us a heads-up, in a completely ethical manner, to allow ACB
>to scoop this story. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
>
>Aside from expediency being vitally important, it is also important to
>include all types of media outlets, including social media and internet
>sources.
>
>Too many media releases will work against the organization sending them out.
>NFB tends to put out entirely too many media releases. That actually hurts
>ACB as well because as much as we don't like it and as much as it is
>difficult for us to accept, many media sources that receive all of these
>releases tend to toss us all in the same bag; that is, they take one glance
>at the release, and their reactions are often: "Oh, it's that blind
>organization again," whether it comes from the NFB or ACB. They just zero in
>on the word "Blind." I did some research on this a few years ago, and I am
>trying to find the study to share with you, but so far, I haven't been able
>to find it. If and when I do, I'll send it to you.
>
>I've tracked the results of the media releases ACB has sent out and the ones
>the NFB has sent out, and frankly, we do as well, and in some cases even
>better, than the NFB. They send out lots more than we do, but when we send
>one out, it tends to be more important and news worthy, in my humble
>opinion, than most of the NFBs. Our distribution service does a good job of
>hitting all of the media sources, and while there is quite a bit of
>redundancy, our media releases usually are picked up by at least a few key
>wire services and media sources.
>
>We need to keep producing media releases, but we especially need to focus on
>timing, getting them out very quickly. That is why the PR Committee has felt
>it is important for the ACB office to get them produced and out; they tend
>to know about important news and are in a better position to act on it than
>our committee.
>
>Ron M.
>
>
>
>At 09:36 AM 5/2/2013 -0700, you wrote:
>> Ron: Nonetheless, since this is your area of expertise, I'd be
>>most interested in your feedback. Mitch Pomerantz > National
>>Federation of the Blind Comments on Amazon Kindle App > > Baltimore,
>>Maryland (May 1, 2013): The National Federation of the > Blind (NFB),
>>the nation's leading advocate for access to technology and education
>>for the blind, commented today on Amazon's incorporation of new
>>accessibility features into its application for the iPhone and other
>>devices using Apple's iOS operating system. > > Dr. Marc Maurer,
>>president of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "We are
>>pleased that Amazon has taken advantage of the inherent accessibility
>>of Apple products and Apple's clear guidelines for creating accessible
>>applications by finally releasing a version of its Kindle app that
>>allows blind readers to access Kindle content on Apple devices.
>>Continued improvement of this app is needed, however, in order to make
>>it appropriate for use in educational settings, and Amazon must also make
>its Kindle devices fully accessible.
>>Amazon should also make its future software, devices, and content
>>available to the blind when these products are released to the general
>>public rather than implementing accessibility at an unspecified later
>>time. Today's app release is a significant step on the journey to full
>>access to Kindle content by the blind, but that journey is not over,
>>and the National Federation of the Blind will not rest until its
>completion."
>>> > The National Federation of the Blind has advocated for full access
>>> to
>>Kindle devices and Kindle e-books since Amazon introduced the Kindle.
>>Most recently, NFB members staged an informational protest in front of
>>Amazon's Seattle headquarters to explain why Kindle e-books should not
>>be used in schools because they do not provide equal access to all of
>>the same information and features by both blind and sighted students.
>>For more information on this issue, please visit
>>http://www.nfb.org/kindle-books. >
>> > > > ### > > > > About the National Federation of the Blind > >
>> > The
>>National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the oldest, largest, and
>>most influential nationwide membership organization of blind people in
>>the United States. Founded in 1940, the NFB advocates for the civil
>>rights and equality of blind Americans, and develops innovative
>>education, technology, and training programs to provide the blind and
>>those who are losing vision with the tools they need to become independent
>and successful. We need
>>your support. To make a donation, please go to www.nfb.org. > > >
>>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>>_______________________________________________ acb-l mailing list
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>Dr. Ronald E. Milliman, retired Professor Western Kentucky University
>Ph: 270-782-9325
>Email: rmilliman@insightbb.com
>
>Chair, American Council of the Blind Public Relations Committee
>
>Chair, American Council of the Blind's Monthly Monetary Support Program
>(MMS) Committee
>
>President: South Central Kentucky Council of the Blind (SCKCB)
>
>
Dr. Ronald E. Milliman, retired Professor Western Kentucky University
Ph: 270-782-9325
Email: rmilliman@insightbb.com
Chair, American Council of the Blind Public Relations Committee
Chair, American Council of the Blind's Monthly Monetary Support Program
(MMS) Committee
President: South Central Kentucky Council of the Blind (SCKCB)
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