THE BRAILLE FORUM Volume LI July-August 2012 No. 1

February 25, 2014

THE

BRAILLE FORUM

Volume LI July-August 2012 No. 1

Published by

the American Council of the Blind

The American Council of the Blind strives to increase the independence,
security, equality of opportunity, and to improve quality of life for all
blind and visually impaired people.

Mitch Pomerantz, President

Melanie Brunson, Executive Director

Sharon Lovering, Editor

National Office:

2200 Wilson Blvd.

Suite 650

Arlington, VA 22201

(202) 467-5081

fax: (703) 465-5085

Web site: http://www.acb.org

THE BRAILLE FORUM (TM) is available in braille, large print, half-speed
four-track cassette tape, data CD, and via e-mail. Subscription requests,
address changes, and items intended for publication should be sent to Sharon
Lovering at the address above, or via e-mail to slovering at acb.org.

The American Council of the Blind (TM) is a membership organization made up
of more than 70 state and special-interest affiliates. To join, contact the
national office at the number listed above.

Those much-needed contributions, which are tax-deductible, can be sent to
Attn: Treasurer, ACB, 6300 Shingle Creek Pkwy., Suite 195, Brooklyn Center,
MN 55430. If you wish to remember a relative or friend, the national office
has printed cards available for this purpose. Consider including a gift to
ACB in your Last Will and Testament. If your wishes are complex, call the
national office.

To make a contribution to ACB via the Combined Federal Campaign, use this
number: 11155.

For the latest in legislative and governmental news, call the "Washington
Connection" toll-free at (800) 424-8666, 5 p.m. to midnight Eastern time, or
read it online.

Copyright 2012

American Council of the Blind

All content made available in publications, in any media on any
web site domains administered by ACB, or as a broadcast or podcast on ACB
Radio, archived or not, is considered to be the property of the American
Council of the Blind. Those responsible for creative content may allow their
materials to appear elsewhere with prior notification to the ACB national
office and with appropriate attribution.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

President's Message: Some Thoughts on Independence and Blindness, by Mitch
Pomerantz

An Exciting Update on Video Description for Prime-Time TV, by Melanie
Brunson

Discovering Madrid with ACB and RoadScholar, by Sandra Sermons

A Visit to La Maison Natale de Louis Braille, by Candy Lien

>From a Stigma to a Stick, Ma, by Ken Stewart

We Starred in Our Own Lives, by Ron Brooks

Passings

Benefits of Special-Interest Affiliates to ACB and State Affiliates, by
Ardis Bazyn

Succession Planning: Stewardship and Mentoring, by John McCann

Affiliate News

Here and There, edited by Sue Lichtenfels

High Tech Swap Shop

** FORUM SUBSCRIPTION NOTES

You can now get "The Braille Forum" by podcast! To subscribe,
go to "The Braille Forum" page on www.acb.org. If you do not yet have a
podcast client, you can download one from the Forum page.

To subscribe to "The Braille Forum" via e-mail, go to
www.acb.org/mailman/listinfo/brailleforum-L.

** ARE YOU MOVING? DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION?

Contact Sharon Lovering in the ACB national office,
1-800-424-8666, or via e-mail, slovering at acb.org. Give her the information,
and she'll take care of the changes for you.