From: hheagy@delphi.com
Subject: The Rest of the Story
I thought some of you might be interested in some facts which you
weren't told at the convention.
Many of us witnessed what I feel to be the most disgusting display
in the name of unity that I have ever seen at a national convention
during the Friday afternoon session when Mrs. Joan Wilson
introduced May Nelson, Director of Louisiana Rehabilitation
Services (L.R.S.) to the convention and presented her with an award
for her help to the La. Center for the blind and for outstanding
service to the blind of La. or something to that effect.  This only
served to confirm what I believed to be the case all along; that in
every state where there is an N.F.B. run center, that is all the
affiliate's leadership cares about.  I know for a fact that this is
the case in La., and If I had any doubt whatsoever that it is a
conflict of interest for an N.F.B. state leader to have anything to
do with the day to day operations of an N.F.B. run center, that
doubt has now been completely eradicated.
What Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Nelson will not tell the N.F.B.
membership is that we have possibly the worst B.E.P. program in the
country which continues to get away with giving good locations to
poor operators largely based on their visual acuity not their work
records and that totally blind persons have no chance of getting
any good locations.  
They also will not tell you about a New Orleans area councilor who
has done absolutely nothing for his clients in the nearly 25 years
he has been employed and of the dependent image he portrays; and
that he is so inept that clients have asked that their cases be
shifted to other councilors because he sits on his back pockets and
does nothing and that his behavior is not only tolerated but
condoned by both the agency and the N.F.B.L. leadership.  
Nor will they tell you that councilors are having a hard time
getting adaptive equipment and other services for their clients
and that rehab services in general in La. are at an all-time low
because of the horrible shape of La. Rehabilitation services with
one notable exception sending clients to the center.  That
particular service seems to proceed right along without any
hitches.  
Or that when we bring all these concerns to Mrs. Nelson, her pat
answer is always, "you have only the blind to worry about; I have
all the disabled to worry about."  
When anyone has proposed a resolution calling for a separate
commission for the blind in La. which is now more than ever the
federation's position, thereby relieving Mrs. Nelson of that worry,
Mrs. Wilson has always found some convenient
excuse to circumvent national policy and sidestep it.  
It is quite obvious that Mrs. Nelson has figured that by keeping
the La. Center happy she keeps the N.F.B.L. leadership happy and
thereby secures her job, and the rest of the blind related issues
can go to hell, and the N.F.B.L. is doing nothing to stop it.  Our
leadership obviously learned nothing from the Iowa experience and
that's strange since Mrs. Wilson is originally from Iowa.  
We also do not have a La. Randolph-shepherd Act for the same
reasons.  And they say it's not a conflict of interest for a state
officer to be involved with the day to day operations of
a federation run center.  And these are only a few examples of what
is going on here.What a shame!
I have nothing against N.F.B. run centers as such.  They have
positively changed the lives of many blind people as have all of
our centers.  But they are not the only game in town and it's time
we realize that.  If having these centers means sacrificing
everything else than we shouldn't have them.  that's why I will not
vote for a national rehab center at our headquarters in Baltimore
at this time.  We must do some reforms within existing programs. 
We don't have the resources to create individual programs in every
category for blind persons just because there are problems within
the system.
As Paul Harvey would say, "now you know the rest of the story." 
  
Harvey
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