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NYC Chapter Speaker Series Audio Files Have Arrived!

We want to extend a huge thank you to the chapter’s new Communications Chair, Steven Fialkoff, for recording the September 22nd Speaker Series presentation, “The Challenges of Having Low Vision in the Workplace”. Due to file size, the audio portion of the panelists’ presentations has been divided into segments. Please click the links below.

• Panelist Steven Fialkoff, Former Profession: Film and TV Post Production (Listen)
• Panelist Terri Peters, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Monmouth University (Listen)
• Panelist Mark Ramnauth, Disability Advocate, Secura (Listen)
• Panelist Howard Turman, Attorney, The Legal Aid Society of New York City (Listen)
• Q & A with Panelists (Listen)

* To download this audio, please right click the link to 'Listen' and select, Save Link As...

Great Article About Developing Technologies to Assist the Blind

On October 14, the Wall Street Journal shared an article by Te-Ping Chen about new technologies being developed that will assist the blind. Click here to read the full article.

Celebrating Excellence

The Northeast Region’s Volunteer of the Year, Sherry Rogers (second from right), accepts her award and is joined by Maria Costa, Mrs. America 2011 April Lufriu, and Mel Moskowitz.

Chapter President Sherry Rogers was presented with the Foundation’s Member Excellence Volunteer of the Year Award for the Northeast Region at the VISIONS 2012 national conference in Minneapolis in June. The honor recognizes her excellent service in support of the Foundation’s mission in 2011. A leader with the chapter since 2007, Sherry is determined to raise awareness locally and drive research toward treatments and cures. In 2008, she started a networking group in Queens for people living with retinal diseases, which has flourished and provided invaluable support for those looking to connect with others experiencing similar challenges. In addition, her “Vision Warriors” team has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the annual New York City 5K VisionWalk. Congratulations Sherry!

SAVE THE DATE

Baruch College’s 6^th Annual Conference:
“Living and Working in a Connected Community – Accessible Technology for All”

April 19, 2013
9 am – 4 pm

Admission is free including lunch and refreshments.

Baruch College Conference Center
55 Lexington Avenue (Between 24th and 25th Streets)
New York, NY 10010

For more information about this conference from Baruch College, please click here to sign up for updates.

A New Yorker’s Thoughts on VISIONS 2012
By Mel Moskowitz

To all who attended Visions 2012 in Minneapolis Minnesota:

Well, you did it again!

Sherry and I went to the Minneapolis conference with some apprehension. It was our first time in Minnesota, and also the first time going to a conference without really knowing any of the other attendees.

Our initial concerns were quickly dispelled after running into (not literally, well almost, but you know how that is!) a few of the early bird attendees. They immediately made us feel welcome. We tend to forget how warm, wonderful and caring, not to mention knowledgeable, the conference participants always are. To be able to meet and be befriended by people from all over the country, Canada and even some from Europe, is always an added bonus.  We found ourselves remembering quite a few faces from previous conferences as the days went on.

The conference itself lived up to the high expectations we always have. The “Science and Information” sessions were educational, enlightening and extremely HOPEFUL. The “Doctor Is In” sessions allowed us to get answers to our personal questions and answers to questions we hadn’t even thought of
But, as always, the “Meet & Mingle” sessions (couples for us) were the most fulfilling and inspiring! To hear the personal stories of other couples of various ages and backgrounds, and how they cope with the ongoing changes we all face as our diseases progress, is priceless.

After attending nine Vision Conferences (including September 11, 2001 in Dallas – cancelled of course),  I’ve been thinking about what makes "Visions" so different from any other conference. I have developed an ever evolving theory on what happens to make them so special. So here goes:

• We leave the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, arrive at the Conference hotel, enter, and seem to be transported into an alternate universe or, for the older folks, turn over our control and enter “A Twilight Zone” – except instead of it being scary, it is pure delight. It is as if we are enveloped in a cocoon where we are shielded and protected from all things external and threatening, and instead are surrounded by warmth, safety, love and “a surrogate family”.
• When the Conference ends, we regain control and emerge as if “butterflies”, free, energized, and rejuvenated (just as FFB researchers are trying to rejuvenate lost vision), with an attitude that all things are possible, and ready to take on the challenges set forth during the Conference.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this theory.

As I have said in the past, we in America are always creating false and undeserving heroes.  The real heroes are all of us (Sherry said to include myself) who face the most difficult challenges day after day, keep putting one foot in front of the other (not always in a straight line) and “keep on keepin” on!

I left the house this morning, and nobody said hello, or smiled or asked "How ya doin?" (forgive my Brooklynese).  Well, it's back to reality I guess, “Where nobody knows your name” (with permission of “Cheers”). Wow, I miss the conference already!!

My heartfelt thanks to all of you for making this another spectacular Conference!

Hope to see you in Baltimore next year, even though I always hope the just-ended conference will be the last!!!