From: Harvey Heagy 
Subject: Re: Why The NFB
Hi Bennet.  Everything you said is true and sounds nice, but
unfortunately it
does not deal with the issues raised by people on this list.  It
may be true that national leaders do a lot of reading and
information dissemination to arrive at their positions, but so do
others.  Dr. Jernigan and Marc Maurer got where they are by
unconditionally following the national's lead without question.
Marc Maurer cost me and the organization a winnable case with his
inept so-called legal representation by getting involved too late
to be effective and then having the audacity to try to collect
$3625.00 in legal fees from the Texas affiliate.  It was only
when I pointed out his shoddy legal work that he agreed to cancel
the bill and then not because of his ineffectiveness but so hurt
feelings could be mended.  He never once admitted to poor legal
work or apologized for same even though the attorney of record in
the case was very
unimpressed with the lack of support she received from the
national even though she sought such support even before the suit
was filed and didn't get even token help till we were into the
appeals stage.  My case was not a high profile one in which Mr.
Maurer could get a lot of millage so he ignored it but provided
token representation just so he could say later that the national
got involved.
And maybe Mike Freeman does take annual leave time to go to the
Washington state legislature, but what about the people who do it
with no jobs and only S.S.I. income?  I have gone to Washington
Seminars while out of work and with no assistance from the state
affiliate.  I know another person who came home sick from a
Washington Seminar because our state president and national board
member thought it would be nice to save the affiliate money by
cramming 6 people in a room designed for 4.  This woman was
forced to sleep on the floor next to the air vent in the dead of
Washington winter and came home sick and became worse before she
got better.  And all because the La. Center must have all of our
attention and finances.  Is it too much to ask that a person have
a bed to sleep on if they are giving up their time?  Apparently
Joanne Wilson thinks so.  I think there should be a 4 person
limit to any room unless the hotel grants a rate for anything
above that.  This is an abuse of the rate structure.
And what about people who have spent good money on N.F.B.
products that don't perform as promised?  Should we not have more
of an obligation to stand behind our products if we are going to
expect others to do so?  Why should these people have to absorb
the cost for the movement's sake and have to fight to get their
money refunded?  We would expect Nac and the A.F.B. or the New
York Lighthouse to do it.  I attended 9 Nac Tracks from 1978
through 1986 to help stop this kind of tyranny which was being
inflicted on the blind.  Have we merely swapped taskmasters
rather than changed anything?
Finally, it certainly is the right of everyone to have his or her
own opinion and I am well aware of the difficulty in putting
together
all elements of a convention both state and national.  I did a
lot of foot work in  Texas in the early 80's to collect proposals
for prospective state conventions.  I think a hotel facility away
from the downtown area is fine as long as proper facilities are
near-by and that we are not held hostage by overpriced hotel
facilities and have a choice as to where we will go to eat, shop
Etc.  The Hyatt-regency D.F.W. does not offer that.  People are
at the mercy of hotel facilities which we all know are over
priced.  The only reason I am even considering going back to that
hell hole is because of the possibility of it being Dr.
Jernigan's last convention.
Conversely, I know of state affiliates who have tried to hold
conventions at hotels that had the opposite problem of inadequate
convention facilities.  They may have the bed space, but don't have
restaurant or banquet facilities and their meeting facilities were
totally inadequate for our needs.  Rates are important but so are
other consideration.
Harvey
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