by David Kingsbury | From BayLines Express, December, 2024
This has been a year of notable accomplishments for BSCB. Our Board and committees have been hard at work addressing priority issues of benefit to our members and the Commonwealth’s blind and low vision community. While preparing this article, I reread the BayLines Express article I wrote last December. There I mentioned several priorities for the coming year in the areas of advocacy, communications and outreach, and social activities. I am happy to say that we have made substantial progress on each of these fronts.
On the advocacy front, in the Spring, BSCB successfully advocated for healthy Fiscal Year 2025 funding levels for MCB and library services. As in previous years, an earmark was also passed to increase funding for MCB technology training and equipment.
We actively Monitored the accessibility of the fall elections, as well as looking forward to the next generation of accessible in-person voting devices. We invited Democracy Live to our Fall Conference in November to demo their hardware and software which is in development.
With regard to accessible transportation, we continued our dialogue with the Massachusetts Association of Regional Transit Authorities (MARTA) in efforts to standardize and streamline procedures for renewing ADA eligibility for accessing paratransit services. We are just about finished on the design and adoption of an accessible PDF form for initial signup and renewal of paratransit services
We have been in steady dialogue with the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind (MCB) on seeking ways to expedite authorization of placing Board members on the Rehabilitation Council, the community advisory board to the MCB on vocational rehabilitation programs and priorities. Historically, this has been a slow and frustrating process, and we hope that our advocacy efforts will lead to durable improvements.
The Membership Committee began rolling out its Ambassador program this year to increase outreach and awareness of BSCB to community groups. Committee members spoke to a low vision clinic and group of pharmacy interns in Worcester, a home for seniors on the North Shore, and clients at the Carroll Center.
The Communications Committee has made significant progress redesigning the website, making it more visually appealing, among other things. Committee members continue to regularly produce quality content via BayLines Express, Third Thursday Zoom calls, Council Connection, and social media posts. We hope to soon launch a web page where members can pay their annual BSCB and affiliate dues, making the process quicker and less confusing. Those who wish to continue renewing dues directly with their affiliates will still be able to do so.
This year, the Social Committee organized a jam-packed calendar of fun and entertaining activities, including an afternoon at the Scores Restaurant in Boston, a pool party in Waltham, apple picking on the North Shore, and a social call on Zoom to talk about holiday traditions. We are always looking for new ideas for social events, and if you have any, don’t hesitate to contact our Social Committee chair, ElizabethAnn Johnson.
On a personal note, this fall, I found it very rewarding to serve as the principal instructor of a twelve-week Microsoft Office class of over 400 members, sponsored by the Blind Information Technology Specialists (BITS) affiliate of ACB. I felt deeply honored to be awarded a BITS lifetime membership in recognition of my role leading the course.
Let me conclude by thanking all those who, through their efforts, contributed to make 2024 a very successful year for BSCB. Here’s hoping that we will do even better in 2025.