2024 Holiday Party Review
What a wonderful time was had by thirty-three of our members and invited guests on December 7th at Rini’s Restaurant in Elmsford. We enjoyed a great meal, lots of fun socializing with each other, and some even went home with a door prize. It was a great way to close out the year on a strong note and look ahead to what we want to make our best year ever. Click here for details, photos, and more.
Sponsorship
We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Waymo for their generous sponsorship of our holiday party. While they are not yet doing regular business in our area, they are heavily involved in the development of autonomous vehicle technology, which could be a real game-changer (and playing field leveler) for blind and visually impaired people everywhere. WCBNY certainly supports their work. And with this sponsorship they are helping us to combat social isolation, which is part of their mission as well.
WCBNY Book Club
The long-awaited return of the WCBNY Book Club took place on November 20th. The book was “The Dutch House” by Ann Patchette. It was selected by Audrey, who enjoyed it with Rich before his passing. The assembled readers seemed to all have enjoyed the book. And the renewed book club was welcomed by members who had missed it during its hiatus. Members should watch the Email list for announcements on dates and books for future meetings.
Congratulations to Election Winners
Our annual business meeting took place on Saturday, November 16th. The result of this year’s election of officers and directors was that we elected Christopher Smith as Secretary, and both Audrey Schading and Donna Venuti as At-large Directors (All terms run from 1/1/2025 to 12/31/2027). Congratulations to the winning slate.
Congratulations to Martin
On Wednesday, October 30th, Martin and Rodney participated in the first in-person meeting of the new session of the Executive Board of the New York State Commission for the Blind. You can follow the progress of this effort at the board’s website by clicking here.
In addition to a wide-ranging discussion of issues such as infant vision screening, recruitment of O&M and VRT professionals, Braille education, technology, and funding for older blind New Yorkers, the Board elected Martin as its Chair.
Frankenstein
Sunday, October 27th, was another super-fun afternoon of audio theater. Over a dozen of our members, and a couple of friends, gathered at the Larchmont Village Center for an entertaining and educational program, featuring a recreation from historic radio, along with other live and recorded content about the author and the story.
“The Witch’s Tale Frankenstein” was co-sponsored by the Larchmont Library, the
Sandbox Theater, SPERDVAC (The Society for the Preservation of Radio Drama,
Variety and Comedy), The Westchester Council of the Blind, LMC Media and the
Larchmont Mamaroneck Lions Club.
If you missed this, or if you can’t wait for another fun experience, a Holiday production is in the works. More details to come.
Estate Planning Webinar
Click here for the audio recording from our October 19th webinar on estate planning. Local attorney, Veronica Mcilraith, joined us for an hour-long presentation and Q&A session on this important topic, with special attention given to aspects of the topic that are of particular interest to our members. We were also joined by members of our sister chapters around the state. And the recording was distributed through a brand new YouTube channel for WCBNY Media.
White Cane Awareness Day – Press Coverage
National White Cane Awareness Day was October 15th. This year, the Westchester Council of the Blind observed the day in Sleepy Hollow. We gathered at the Village Hall with local government and media to commemorate the installation of an accessible pedestrian signal, which was requested by Rita Pulsoni. Rita is a Sleepy Hollow resident and a longtime member of the WCBNY. Click here for video from News 12, including footage from the event and interviews with Rita and Rodney.
Resource Link
Resume and Employment Guide for People With Disabilities
This is a great resource with tips for job seekers with disabilities. There are also free tools for creating resumes, cover letters, etc. Thanks to the site for reaching out and sharing this with us.
WCBNY at the ACBNY Convention
Our chapter was represented live by Audrey Schading, Martin Cahill, and Rodney Stanford, with others joining in on the virtual convention line. The chapter donated to the scholarship auction, and represented Westchester by winning the Jeopardy game on Friday night. On Saturday, Audrey led a presentation on the META smart glasses. And perhaps the highlight of the convention was the absolute blast everyone had playing Braille BINGO, which was also led by Audrey. (Fitz Martin, from Greater New York was Audrey’s partner in crime for both those events.)
Next year’s convention will be in the Buffalo area. More details coming soon.