President's Message

by Frank Welte

March will be a busy month for SMCCB members. March 3 during our monthly meeting we shall hear a presentation by Dr. Leslie Weill, a local ophthalmologist,

who will explain the effects of aging on our eyes. If you have begun experiencing vision loss or you've been blind for many years your eyes still experience the

effects of aging. Having one eye disease doesn't prevent you from other eye

disorders. Don't miss this chance to speak with an eye doctor free of charge without sitting around in some boring waiting room or dealing with those nasty eye drops.

At our last meeting I shared information on Senate Bill 105, a proposed state law

that would create a separate commission to serve the California blind community. There wasn't enough time to fully discuss this matter. I'm pleased to report that

there will be a town hall meeting about the commission Saturday, March 24, 10am

to 3pm at the Lions Silicon Valley Center for the Blind and Sight Impaired, 101

North Bascam Avenue in San Jose. During this meeting members of the Blind Alliance for Rehabilitation Change, BARC, the state-wide coalition of blindness agencies and organizations backing SB105, will give more detailed information

about the commission. Time will be provided for participants to ask questions

and raise concerns. The seminar is free, and lunch will be provided. Please

RSVP by contacting Donna Sanchez at 408-377-8311 or dsanchez99@juno.com.

While I haven't confirmed it as yet it is likely that there will be a van to shuttle

us between the San Jose Caltrain station and the blind center.

Thanks to all of you who attended our February meeting. During the meeting

the following chapter officers were elected; President, Frank Welte, First Vice President, Judy Hemmer, Second Vice President, Bill Hobson, Secretary, Jean Ackerman, and Treasurer, Terry Stoker. I am delighted to serve with such a group

of talented people. Also, let me take this opportunity to thank Terry Coney and

Bill Hobson for their many years of service as Secretary and Treasurer respectively.

The ski bug is spreading. I'm not certain about this yet, but there may be as many

as four SMCCB members attending the Sierra Regional Ski For Light ski event in

a couple weeks at the Tahoe Donner Cross-country Ski Center near Truckee.

Be sure not to forget that we meet on the first Saturday of each month at 10:30 AM.

at the Bank of America on El Camino Real and Third Avenue in San Mateo at

the beautiful Board Room.. Do feel free to call me for further information.

Frank Welte, SMCCB President

(650)508-8329

Your Chapter in Action

Our branch now has its own domain name we have our own website.

Under the leadership of Bill Hobson, we started a fundraiser. Worlds Finest Chocolate comes in four varieties, and we will be having them available at our meeting. Bill and his committee have made a substantial start by selling these chocolate bars outside the cafeteria at the San Mateo Community College.

The bars cost us fifty cents and they are sold for a dollar.

In April SMCCB will have its own booth at the San Mateo Community College Health Fair. We shall be demonstrating assistive technology equipment. There

will be a demonstration of Braille and one on guide dogs. This is the first of

several presentations and exhibits we hope to have this year.

Margie Donovan has undertaken a fundraising drive. Remember to bring in

the names and addresses of people to whom Margie can write and ask for contributions. Margie is undertaking the responsibility of making our SMCCB Bulletin available in cassette form. This bulletin is also available online. A dozen

of our members have requested that it be sent as e-mail. Be sure you get the

Bulletin in the form you desire.

Dues for 2001 is due now. It still is only ten dollars a year.

We shall be talking about having our picnic, and the possibility of having refreshments at our meetings or going out to a nearby restaurant.

What You Can Find on Our Website

The homepage has our mission statement and tells where and when

we meet. One can click on Bill’s e-mail address and contact our chapter.

We have created meta-tags in the hope that more search engines will pick

up our site. http://www.smccb.org

As you can see on the next page, as of this writing, it is divided into 8

sections. There is a list of San Mateo County Ophthalmologists divided

by cities and their phone numbers.

There is a list of our chapter resource people. We’re available for consultation in many areas–computers, Braille, Guide Dogs, etc. You don’t have to wait for a meeting to get your information.

Calendar of Events shows an exciting information-crammed schedule.

Our members are doing exciting things. See if you can guess who is doing what.

All of our SMCCB Bulletins are now online in their entirety. Last year we

published seven issues.

Vision links are an excellent source for up-to-date information. Frank Welte has compiled a vast listing and they will also be added.

A list of publications that our members receive shows the broad coverage and interest in vision that we have. If you receive a journal, newsletter, bulletin or magazine not listed, please let us know.

Finally, there is a cute article on how the blind perceive the sighted. You will

have a chuckle.

SMCCB Launches Website

SMCCB

San Mateo County Council of the Blind

The San Mateo County Council of the Blind was organized

September 1992 as a chapter of the national organization,

American Council of the Blind. We also are a member

chapter of the California Council of the Blind. The

council strives to promote employment, independence,

education, advocacy and resources for people who are

the blind and visually impaired. We have several members

who are especially computer literate and a great resource!

The monthly council meeting is on the:

First Saturday of the month

in the beautiful Board Room

10:30 A.M. - 12:OO P.M.

The Bank of America Building

300 El Camino Real San Mateo, CA

Membership is not limited to blind and visually impaired

individuals. All interested parties and volunteers are

welcome, and needed.

For details, contact Bill Hobson:

william.hobson@worldnet.att.net

| S.M. Co. Eye Doctors | Our Officers and Resources |

| Calendar of Events | What Our Members Do |

| SMCCB Bulletins | Vision Links | Publications |

| Help the Sighted |

SMCCB Calendar of Events —2001

Tentative Schedule

January Cross-Country Skiing

Braille Literary Month

February Annual Meeting

March Dr. Weill--Ophthalmologist

Town Hall Meeting

Fundraisers

April Vision Anew--CCTV

CCB State Convention

CSM Health Fair

May Access Technology

Bank Appreciation

June Voting Machine Access

July ACB National Convention

August Annual Picnic in the Park

September Freedom Vision

October League of Women Voters

White Cane Day

November CCB State Convention

Resource Awards

December Holiday Party

Organizational Publications Received

by SMCCB Members

ACB–The Braille Forum

California Council of the Blind

The Blind Californian–Periodical

Calif. Foundation for Independent

Living the Assistive Tech. Journal

Council of Citizens with Low Vision

Vision Access–Periodical

Glaucoma Research Foundation

Gleams–Periodical

Library of Congress–Bibliography

Peninsula Center for the Blind

Shared Visions–Periodical

Prevent Blindness Northern California

Coping With Sight Loss in No. CA

Rose Resnick Lighthouse

The Lantern–Periodical

SVCB–The SVCB Newsletter

Calif. Rehab. Dept.–Client Info Booklet

Visually Impaired Data Processors Intl.

VIDPI Views–Quarterly Magazine