Spring 2020 NEWSLETTER
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THE FRIENDS OF THE NEW JERSEY LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND AND HANDICAPPED, INC. Spring 2020 NEWSLETTER |
Greetings Friends of the Library members and prospective members.
2020 has been a year unlike any we have ever known. We ended 2019 saying good-bye to one of our most long-standing members and a very active person in the blindness community in NJ Bernie Zuckerman. A moment of silence will of course be observed at our next meeting. Details below. Then of course the incredible events surrounding the coronavirus and the whole world literally being brought to a standstill. It is truly beyond anything we have ever experienced. Even the national convention plans of the two major blindness organizations have changed radically, as no in person face to face meetings can be held. Many of the restrictions will likely still be in place by the time we get together for our next meeting. I had anticipated this so I have decided that our next meeting will be via conference call only. Never-the-less, the work of the library does go on and so does the work of the Friends of the Library. I am hopeful that we will have a large roster of new members joining us at our June 6, 2020 meeting. With all that is happening certainly reading is an activity that will get people through uncertain times. So onward and upward. I look forward to being with you on June 6th.
Ken Lawrence, President
The next meeting of the Friends will be held on Saturday, June 6, 20 from 10:00 AM until 12:00 PM. With respect to our safety and stay at home restrictions in place at the time of writing this newsletter, we have decided to conduct this meeting via conference call. We hope you will consider joining us for an informative and important meeting.
Please note that this is not a toll-free number. Please dial 605-468-8005. Enter the access code 425 373#. You will be asked to press 1 after the access code is repeated correctly.
Our new fiscal year starts on July 1, 2020. Annual membership dues are now being collected. Dues should be mailed in. A membership form is attached to this newsletter. Individual member dues are $10.00 and $25.00 for a family. For those that normally pay at the meeting please pay by mail.
As this is our Annual Meeting, we will be holding the election of the Executive Board. Our current executive board are all willing to stay on for the new term beginning July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2022.
The slate of officers is as follows:
President – Ken Lawrence
Vice President – Jim Dougherty
Secretary – Bea Olivetti
Treasurer – Joyce Sowa
Officers may be nominated from the floor at the time of elections. We do ask that anyone being nominated from the floor be approached in advance of the meeting and he/she must agree to run for the office in question. Please make every attempt to attend this very important meeting.
Bernard “Bernie” Zuckerman unexpectedly passed away on Wednesday 12/25/2019 at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital from cardiac complications.
A tremendously genuine and kind man with a beautiful smile and wonderful sense of humor, Bernie will be terribly missed by his caring family and friends. Bernie was predeceased by his loving wife Fran and son Bob, and is survived by his son, Alan. Bernie was born and raised in the Bronx by his parents Max and Eva Zuckerman, since deceased.
Bernie was a proud graduate of James Monroe High School in the Bronx, subsequently earning his bachelor’s in business administration Degree in 1957 from The College of The City of New York (Baruch College), with a concentration in Accounting. During his professional career, Bernie held various accountancy positions in the public sector.
Always giving of his time and expertise, Bernie was an active volunteer (and sometimes Board) member of numerous organizations including: New Jersey Council of The Blind, Alliance Center For Independence, Middlesex County Low Vision Group, Computer Talk of Central New Jersey, and New Jersey Friends of The Library.
This year’s Golf Outing that was scheduled for June will be postponed. New dates are being discussed. More information will be announced in the near future. As this is a very important fund-raising event and a lot of fun, we hope all will work out. The Friends enjoy supporting the event and will continue to do so.
Because the building is closed, they cannot send out or receive any mail. Please hold onto your books and your talking book machines.
The building may be closed, but they are still working! If you want to get in touch with TBBC, please call the 800 number, 800-792-8322, and dial extension 861 to leave a message.
Because returning calls to you are coming from staff working outside the library, they will be marked as "private" or "anonymous." If you block private or anonymous numbers, we will be unable to call you back.
All returning calls will only be made by staff on weekdays from 9 AM until 3 PM.
Or, you can email TBBC at tbbc@njstatelib.org
More information is available in TBBC’s weekly newsletter. The newsletter is available on TBBC’s website, by email and on Newsline.
The newsletter is available in Large Print, E-Mail, on our website http://friendsnjlibraryfortheblind.org/ and for those who do not have computers, by telephone on Newsline. You can access these Newsletters with a Newsline subscription and a touch-tone telephone. If you do not have a Newsline subscription, contact Reader Services at the New Jersey Talking Book and Braille Center at 1-800-792-8322 to get signed up for a Newsline subscription. If you have a Newsline subscription, but do not remember your login information, contact Christian Riehl at the above number extension 821. Once you have secured your login information, dial in to the service by calling 1-888-882-1629, or the local dial up number provided to you for accessing the service. Follow the prompts for logging in and reading the Newsletters. Choose option 2 off the main menu for your state’s information channel, followed by option for the blindness groups, then the option for the Friends Newsletters. Happy reading.
Please check out our website for information on community services as well as present and past copies of our newsletters at http://friendsnjlibraryfortheblind.org/
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