CONTENTS:
Page
2 From
the President
3 Gebhard
Greetings
4 NDAB
Family News
News Flash from
Williston Area News
8
Think
Camp
9
Bev
and Bob’s Banquet Plans
A Quilt
Herberger’s Community Day Event
NDAB Walkathon 2008
10 Award
Received
Legislative
Report, Winter 2008
13 NDAB
Board Meeting
14 NDAB
Board Meeting
15 Candy’s
Corner
17 Dakota
AER/Vision Conference
19 Sporting
Chance Fishing Event
From the President
Hello my fellow NDABer’s:
I hope everyone survived the holidays and is
starting the New Year on the right foot.
What a fabulous winter it has been here in the
I do not have much to report. It won’t be long now and the NDAB State
Convention will be upon us. It is being
held in
Also, before you know it, camp will be upon
us. Co-director Loris VanBerkum has
already started getting ready for camp.
Not much grass grows under her feet.
The Ski for Light takes place this month in the
Black Hills of South Dakota. I’m sure
Dave Sundeen, the chair of sports and recreation, has been busy getting ready
for the big ski trip. He always does a
great job.
Let me end my article with a few “light”
thoughts for you:
· Yesterday’s stress is past tense.
· I used to be full of the wonder of it all. Now I’m just full of it.
· Don’t feel too bad. You still have everything you had when you
were 17. It’s just a foot lower than it
used to be.
· Once you pass age 40, your “big break” will probably be a
bone.
· If you take castor oil first thing in the
morning, the rest of the day will move smoothly.
· And last – If you’re going to run with the big dogs, you’re
going to get stuff on your shoes.
Happy New Year to all of
you and may everyone have a very prosperous year.
Rick Feldman
Gebhard Greetings
Christmas
was great at the Gebhards this year. Our
three married sons, their wives and our two grandchildren, Gabriel and Gretta came home to help Steven and me
and our son, Alex celebrate our Savior’s birth.
While attending church together, we found that our family doesn’t all
fit into one pew anymore! The big news
is that we will be blessed with three new additions to the family in 2008! Alan and Joy are the parents of Gabriel and
they are due to have their new baby boy any day now. After six years of marriage, Bryan and Sara
will have their first in July. Clark and
Lindi, parents of 8 month old Gretta, just called to announce they will be
having their 2nd in September.
That means, when we get together next Christmas, we will have five
grandchildren – all under the age of 3!
WOW! I am still trying to comprehend all of this! I guess grandma better get busy making baby
quilts!
The sport
of the season is wrestling in this family.
We have been busy running to various towns watching Alex wrestle. Last week it was a dual at Ellendale on
Tuesday, the Kindred Brawl on Thursday and a tournament in
It is a
very small world! One day as my husband
and I were having lunch at the local café in Edgeley, I got to talking to a
lady and found out that she is Hazel Nerrson’s friend, the one who sews the
lovely outfits for the dolls Hazel brings to the
2008 looks
to be an exciting year! I don’t know
about you but I have to write lists or this grandma forgets stuff!
Your 2008 “To Do” list might look
like this:
1. Send in NDAB dues;
2. Make plans to get
pledges and walk in walkathon in April;
3. Register to attend
AER/Vision conference in May;
4. Plan to attend NDAB
Convention in
5. Call for info
about Sporting Chance fishing event in June;
6. Schedule for time
off work for Summer camp August 10-17.
7. Send or email
article for May Promoter by April 10th.
Zelda
“Grandma” Gebhard, editor
NDAB FAMILY
NEWS
By Connie Springsted
The
We met on
December 18th for our Christmas luncheon. Santa gave each one of us a 20/20 pen and a
note pad.
Some of the
group rang Salvation Army bells in the mall.
Many have
done some traveling, usually to warmer climates. The skiers are waxing their skis as they get
ready for Ski for Light.
Keep a
lookout for the spring robins.
Also
reporting from Minot, Mary Stip and
Ernie Yuzicapi shared the following news:
On December
8th, a group of us got together at the
News Flash from
By Olga Neal
Would
someone please tell me where the time goes?
I thought I had just sent my GF news to Zelda. Do some of you have the same problem with
time, or is it my advancing age?
Christmas
has passed. All the wrappings, boxes and
bows are gone, but the bright lights and other decorations are still up. I always wrap my pictures on the walls with
Christmas paper and red bows, so packages are still on the walls. I really, really love decorating for holidays,
especially for Christmas!
Our NDAB
display in the EGF library was a huge success.
I thought it was pretty nifty.
Those who had sight enough to really enjoy it were impressed. It was a good piece of publicity for NDAB.
On November
30th, NDAB members gathered for our Christmas party. About 27 individuals were in attendance. The meals were excellent. The program was fantastic, a presentation by
the Masters Chorale, followed by a gift exchange. The evening ended with door prizes. I suppose, in all honesty, the evening didn't
end until we finished cleaning up and leaving the place as we found it.
Rom
Thielman has been in very poor health the last six weeks. Doctors just can't seem to discover her
problem. She and Lee are presently in
The Husebys
are enjoying somewhat warmer weather at
This was
perhaps the first year I did not prepare Christmas dinner. Always before, we had a big feed and friends
in. This was very different. We had our gift exchange out at the nursing
home with Don, and had dinner with him that evening. At least we were together, and it was as good
as we could have made it under the circumstances.
Don had an
uninvited guest in his room this week, a friendly little mouse Don called
Archibald! A ten-apartment addition to
the building is being constructed, and we suspect that the little guy didn't
like the cold, so came into the main part of the home. He made himself comfortable under Don's
recliner. Many of the staff were scared
silly of Don's little guest. Someone set
a trap with peanut butter on it. A few
days after Archibald moved in, he got hungry.
As he began to enjoy the peanut butter, Don heard him say,
"Farewell, cruel world!"
My New
Year's Eve was spent working Christmas in the Park from
If any GF
members want to include something in the Promoter, please get the items to me
by April First, so Zelda can have them by the tenth.
May the New
Year bring you love, joy, peace, and contentment!
Williston Area News Winter 2008
By Loris Van Berkom
How strange
it is to write 2008! Where does the time
go? The Williston Area Vision Support
Group continues to meet once a month in the library of the
I try
really hard to get news from all of our local NDAB members and they all say
that they don’t have any news so most of what you hear will be about my
family. I did find out that Helen Howard
just celebrated her 85th birthday.
Sheryl and Dan Gerhardt spent Christmas with their daughter and family
in
Bob and
Marlene Nelson in
Janelle and
Jeff Olson will be going to
Kathy and
Stan Larson are going on a two week Mediterranean cruise the middle of
February. They now have three of their
four children living in
Nurse
Karlyn Frantsen gave us all a scare in December when she noticed floaters and
wavy vision. She had two tears on one of
her retina. Lazar treatments were
performed and so far, she is doing okay.
We love having her at camp but as our nurse, not a camper! She put her grandma hat on for a week in
January taking care of three of her grandkids in
I took the
train to
We in the
northwest send greetings to all of our friends around the state! Happy 2008!
By
Shereen Faber
December 8th we had our Insight Support Group
Christmas party. We had lots of potluck food that was shared and a gift
exchange. Then on December 14th we had our Brail Group Christmas party. Snacks
were shared and also again a gift exchange. Between the two Christmas parties I
saw all of our
I have a lot to catch up on. July 21st our daughter
Chelsa was married to Patrick Nelson. They both live and work in
As far as our plays this summers Trolllwood
production was "Thoroughly Modern Millie" which is always an
excellent performance. At FMCT we have had "How the Other Half Loves"
and "Scrooge the Musical." At our TIn Roof Theater we have had
"The Glass Menagerie" and the "Odd Couple." All of these
performances were great. We have a lot of excellent talent in
In November, I went to a Jazz Arts Concert with
a guest musician that played the baritone sax and the flute. This was my first
time to a Jazz Arts concert but it won’t be my last.
We have quite the group planning the NDAB convention
in June. Things are really coming together and we can guarantee everyone an
interesting and fun weekend. Details will be coming soon.
In conclusion, I hope that everybody stays warm this
winter and before we know it the snow will melt and the flowers will bloom.
Until next time...
Think Camp!
Can you
believe that it is already time to start thinking about the 38th
annual NDAB Summer Camp? Before we know
it, winter will be a distant memory and we’ll be packing our bags and heading
to the Elks
Bev Austin
and
The camp’s
mascot, Whiskers, will be greatly missed this summer. After fifteen years of guarding the camp
grounds, being on mouse patrol, and keeping all of the dog guides in line, our
four-legged furry black and white feline friend left this earth. We know that Dan misses him and we will miss
him too.
We are
always looking for suggestions for new classes so contact Loris at 774-3399
with any ideas. Watch for more
information in the May Promoter.
Loris Van
Berkom and Rick Feldman,
Bev and Bob’s Banquet Plans
Fellow campers:
Can you believe we are into
2008? This means before we know it we
will gather for Camp!
The banquet theme will be
“Christmas at
The focus will be NDAB’s
gift of our week at camp. We look forward to seeing each of you.
Bev Austin and Bob Vandal
A QUILT
In
commemoration of the 100 years of services for the School for the Blind, a
quilt is being constructed. If you have
a desire to be included on it by having a block on it, please contact Pat Fried
Hill at NDVS/SB at 1-800-421-1181 or Connie Osowski at 701-787-0285 for further
details.
Herberger's Community Day Event
Many thanks
to everyone who bought and sold Herberger’s coupons for the fall Community Day
Event held on
Kathy Larson, Financial Chairperson
NDAB Walkathon 2008
How can it
already be time to be thinking about our annual walkathon, the 10th! The date
has been set for Saturday, April 19th. Packets will be put together and sent to
the chairpersons across the state with pledge sheets and Public Service
Messages. I want to say “THANKS” to those of you who have agreed to chair this
event in your area. Get involved in this fundraiser for NDAB. Plan to collect
donations and pledges and “walk for NDAB”. Thanks in advance for your
involvement and support.
Kathy Larson, Financial Chairperson
Award Received
By Marilyn Nelson
I have been very lax in letting
the editors and readers know of many of my accomplishments in the past.
I just got word that I am the
winner of The Editor's Choice Award for one of my poems, titled "I Have
Faith" which The International Library of Poetry and poetry.com is
publishing in their latest anthology.
Noble House Publishers in
I've been invited to join the
International society of Poets and become a Poet Fellow with Noble House
Publishers in the past month too.
These awards join the many awards
that I have won over the years, including the Poetry competition with the North
Dakota Mother of the Year contest in 1996.
Legislative Report, Winter 2008
By Allan Peterson
Is it true
that time really passes? We probably don’t need a scientific opinion from
someone like Einstein to answer this question – it certainly seems to pass much
too quickly! Another year has passed into history on the Gregorian calendar! So
Happy New Year, everyone! And just in case any of you may have taken one of
those long winter’s naps –2008 is creating a lot of noise because it just
happens to be a national general election year!
At this
time, it looks like we will have a very interesting race for the next person
who will occupy the Presidential chair in the White House at
As you may
guess, for someone like myself, who is a news junkie and who enjoys politics, I
am watching the developments in the election for the party nominations for
President very closely. Do you think that I might have an opinion or two? The
next question you should ask about answers to obvious questions, is, “is the
sky blue”? The bottom line is that whoever is successful in winning the race
for President, will without doubt, strongly influence the direction that our
nation takes over the next four and maybe the next eight years! So listen
closely to what is said, because, ultimately, it will have an influence on the
future of our nation and, in turn, very likely our own!
Will the
election for President have an influence on the direction of vision services in
On the
other hand, it is quite likely that the election for the positions in our state
legislature in each local district may strongly influence what decisions are
made about the availability of vision services! It goes without saying, that
the makeup of the legislature together with our advocacy work, as an
organization, will determine what we are able to achieve toward the goal of
improving vision services!
At present,
I’m encouraged by the progress that we’ve been able to achieve toward our goal
of improving rehabilitation skills training for
I believe
that one of the positive steps, with regard to this most crucial issue, is that
the state agencies, who are involved in the delivery of vision services, are
now meeting to discuss possible ways to improve services! To facilitate
communication, a Work Group has been formed that includes administrators and
professional staff from (1) North Dakota Vocational Rehabilitation and (2)
North Dakota Vision services / School for the Blind. North Dakota Association
of the Blind (NDAB) is represented in this Work Group by Zelda and myself.
Zelda is, also, a member of the State Rehabilitation Council which is an
advisory board to the State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
The Work
Group on Vision Services in
From The
prior articles that I’ve written about the legislative session that took place
in 2007, you know that NDAB’s efforts, as an organization during the session,
helped to establish state funding for one full time employee (FTE) to be added
to the staff at North Dakota Vision Services / School for the Blind; the duties
of the new position are to be devoted to provide vision services to adults. The
person that is now employed in this newly created position is Amy Bruner.
Another
positive step toward advancing vision services in our state has been the
decision by North Dakota Vision Services / School for the Blind to add an
additional two weeks of center based blindness rehabilitation skills training
for adults. The plan, for the additional weeks of training for adults, is to
offer them during the summer in late June and early July. Many of those, who
have participated in this training, have given their endorsements and
testimonials to the value of the training that they have received during their
stay at the School.
Another
significant event, in the endeavor to improve vision services, was a trip that
was undertaken in May of 2007, when six of us from the Vision services Work
Group, traveled to
Our trip to
What I can
say, at this time, is that we need to determine what is possible with regard to
the Vision Service program in
I recognize
and appreciate that there are barriers and challenges in the path toward
improving Vision Services in
NDAB BOARD MEETING MINUTES
MEMBERS
PRESENT: Allan Peterson, Kathy Larson,
Mavis Anderson, Rom Thielman, Karlyn Frantsen,
Sheryl Gerhardt, and Rick
Feldman.
ABSENT: Hazel Nerison and Renae Huseby
Others
present: Loris VanBerkom and Dan
Mimnaugh
President
Rick called the NDAB Executive Board meeting to order at
UNFINISHED
BUSINESS
1. Rick reported that he had gotten an
estimate from Menards for the 10x12 shed that we were planning to build, to
replace the old trailer which stores our camp supplies on the
2. It was noted that we’d put the need
for a different Historian on the October Board Meeting agenda, as we are still
looking for one to replace Rosie.
NEW
BUSINESS
1. Dan indicated that camp fees would
be increased within the next year as per the Camp’s Strategic Plans
2. We will address increasing mileage
at the October Board meeting.
The meeting
adjourned at
Respectfully
Submitted
Karlyn
Frantsen, Secretary
NDAB BOARD MEETING MINUTES
MEMBERS
PRESENT: Allan Peterson, Kathy Larson,
Renae Huseby, Rom Thielman, Karlyn Frantsen,
Sheryl Gerhardt, and Rick
Feldman.
ABSENT: Hazel Nerison and Mavis Anderson
President
Rick called the NDAB Executive Board meeting to order at
1.
There
was a discussion on Scholarship guidelines.
2.
Al
reported on the status of the ad that we’ll be airing on the TV networks
regarding information about NDAB. Dean
Olson, from Concordia, is working on the 30 second spot, and the script is
being developed. The cost of preparing
this ad is about $200, but the airing won’t cost anything, as it is a public
service announcement. Renae read the
script, and it was decided that we’d like to add that NDAB offers
scholarships. The Board requested that
we be able to give final approval prior to the airing, to which Al assured we
would be able to.
3.
Kathy
moved to accept for membership the names of Corey Hall from Belcourt and Susan
Jorgenson from Williston. The motion was
seconded and carried.
4.
The
Board gave Kathy approval to have more NDAB brochures made, with the
updates. She will have 1000 more made.
5.
All
Board members are expected to be at the Family Adjustment Seminar in
6.
There
was a discussion on what the slush fund for camp covers, as there were
additional expenses noted.
7.
Karlyn
asked whether the resolutions which were passed at the convention, be included
in the next Promoter, as they are part of the minutes, which haven’t been
approved yet and can’t be published until they are approved. Since the resolutions were published in the
last Promoter, they will not be included with the Convention minutes in the
next newsletter.
8.
Sheryl
informed the Board that she had sent thank you notes to Martinson Flooring for
their donation of tiles for the craft projects, and to Sharon Blotsky, for a
blanket which she donated for the camp auction.
The meeting
adjourned at
Respectfully
Submitted
Karlyn
Frantsen, Secretary
Candy’s Corner
By Candy Lien
The January
2008 edition of “AccessWorld,” a publication of the American Foundation for the
Blind, provides information on two blood glucose monitors that are very
accessible for those who have vision loss or who are blind. One, the SensoCard,
is not yet available in the
An ear
phone jack, which provides the use of a headphone for privacy or to connect a
speaker to amplify the speech; and a data port, allowing one to download the
meter's test results to a computer using Prodigy's download software.
The process
of obtaining a blood glucose measurement is fully accessible, with speech
output supporting the process the entire way and speaking your test results
using high-quality recorded human
speech, rather than synthesized speech,
And
providing test results in only 5 seconds.
The control
buttons are easy to identify tactilely, and a small sample of blood is required
for reliable results.
The Prodigy
Voice uses test strips with a tactile notch for orientation purposes. If you
incorrectly insert a test strip, it will not prompt you to apply blood, so you
will know something is wrong. The Prodigy also has a Repeat button to announce
your reading again if you did not hear it the first time.
The memory
function of the meter is fully accessible and is supported entirely by speech
output. The Prodigy Voice can store up to 450 readings and provides 7-, 14-,
21-, 30-, 60-, and 90-day averages. It is easy to scroll through the averages
and the individual readings, voicing the glucose level, date, and time of each
reading.
One of the
most convenient features of the Prodigy Voice is that it eliminates the need to
set a code number to calibrate it to the test strips each time you open a new
container of strips.
All the
Prodigy Voice settings functions are accessible; they include time and date,
measurement unit, speech volume, and the delete memory function. The Prodigy
Voice speaks all warnings and error messages that appear on the meter's display
screen, such as a warning that your blood glucose measurement is too high or
too low. And there is an audible warning when the battery life is getting low.
The U.S.
Distributor of the Prodigy Voice is
Diagnostic Devices, 5900-A Northwoods Business Park, Charlotte, NC
28269; phone: customer service, 800-366-5901, or technical support,
800-243-2636; e-mail: customer service,
customerservice@prodigymeter.com,
or
technical support, techsupport@prodigymeter.com; web site:
www.prodigymeter.com. Price: $79.99.
Dakota AER/Vision Conference
“Celebrating Excellence”
May 7, 8, 9, 2008
Holiday Inn
Junction I-29 and Highway #2
Grand Forks, ND
Sponsored by:
NDVS/SB Professional Team
Dakota
Rehabilitation Consulting and Services
NDVS/SB
Target Audience:
Parents and Family Members
Consumers
Teachers of the Visually Impaired
Rehabilitation Therapists/Counselors
Orientation & Mobility Specialists
Paraprofessionals
Low Vision Specialists
Other Interested Persons
Agenda
Carmen Grove Suminski, Superintendent, NDVS/SB
and Dianne
Giessinger, President, Dakota AER
Keynote Speaker:
Jim
Gandorf, Executive Director of AER
"Vision Professionals and AER: The State of the
3:30 to 4:30 Kevin E. O'Connor, Former President
of NAPVI
"Mom Always Did Like You Best: Navigating Family Issues With
Impact"
6:00
Social Hour
7:00
Gala Celebration Banquet,
Kevin O'Connor, Banquet Speaker
"Discovering What Lies Within Your Child . . .
And Within
You"
2008 Dakota AER Worker of the Year
Dakota AER 25th Anniversary - Rikki Nitz
Thursday, May 8, 2008
8:30 a.m. Vicki
Klemme, Diabetes Educator and
ND American Diabetes Coalition
"Living and Working with Sometimes
Different (and Difficult) People"
"Comprehensive Vocational Evaluation System for Persons with Visual
Impairments"
Hosted by Terry
Nelson
Dr. Joseph Miller and Caitlin Schultz
Ken Dockter, Helen Baumgartner, Candy Lien, and Virginia Miller
A block of
rooms has been reserved at the Holiday Inn, I-29 and US Highway 2,
One unit of credit from UND and ACVREP credit will be available for an additional
$50 pending approval. Participation certifications will also be
available.
Any registrant who requires an auxiliary aid or special considerations,(i.e.
large print, Braille, dietary, other), please indicate thus.
The fee for the conference is $60 which includes handouts, refreshments, and
Wednesday evening's banquet. Banquet only $25.00.
Please make checks payable
to Dakota AER and
mail check and registration information to ND Vision Services/School for the
Blind, Attn: Jane Glander,
1-800-421-1181, (701)795-2700;
www.ndvisionservices.com
Sporting Chance
Fishing Event 2008
Submitted by Robert Westemeyer
The 2008
Sporting Chance Fishing Event is scheduled for June 7th from
For more
information about this or other Sporting Chance events, contact Sporting Chance
at:
Phone: 701-391-4857
Website: sporting_chance.com
E-mail: sporting@sporting_chance.com
Snail
Mail: