Scholarship

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND 2007 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Each year at its national convention in July, the NFB gives a broad array of scholarships to recognize achievement by blind scholars. All applicants for these scholarships must be (1) legally blind and (2) pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time, postsecondary course of study in a degree program at a United States’ institution in the fall of 2007, except that one scholarship may be given to a full-time employee also attending school part-time. In addition, some scholarships have been further restricted by the donor. Each applicant will be considered for all scholarships for which he or she qualifies. The scholarship application deadline is March 31, 2007. Scholarships to be given at the 2007 National Convention are listed with special restrictions noted:

1 SCHOLARSHIP FOR $12,000

Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship – Given by the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, a nonprofit organization which works to assist blind people, in memory of the man who changed perceptions regarding the capabilities of the blind in this country and throughout the world. Kenneth Jernigan is viewed by our field as the most important figure in the 20th century in the lives of blind people. The Action Fund wishes to keep fresh and current in the 21st century the understandings he brought to the field and thus has endowed this scholarship dedicated to his memory and to the continuation of the work he began. No additional restrictions.

1 SCHOLARSHIP FOR $10,000

Charles and Melva T. Owen Memorial Scholarship – First established by Charles Owen in loving memory of his blind wife and now, along with a second scholarship in a different amount, endowed by his last will and testament to honor the memory of both. In founding the scholarship, Charles Owen wrote: “There shall be no limitation as to field of study, except that it shall be directed towards attaining financial independence and shall exclude religion and those seeking only to further general or cultural education.”

2 SCHOLARSHIPS, EACH FOR $7,000

Two National Federation of the Blind Scholarships – No additional restrictions.

4 SCHOLARSHIPS, EACH FOR $5,000

Hank LeBonne Scholarship – Hank LeBonne was a man who loved life and loved the National Federation of the Blind. His last wish was that his remaining assets be used to help young blind men and women have the same opportunities in life he enjoyed. No additional restrictions. Jennica Ferguson Memorial Scholarship – Given to keep alive the memory of a young woman who dealt with her blindness and terminal illness with a grace and strength she frequently assured others she drew from the Federation and from her faith in God. No additional restrictions. Michael and Marie Marucci Scholarship – Given by two dedicated and valued members of the NFB of Maryland. The winner of this scholarship must be studying a foreign language or comparative literature; pursuing a degree in history, geography, or political science with a concentration in international studies; or majoring in any other discipline requiring study abroad. The winner’s file must also show evidence of competence in a foreign language. Sally S. Jacobsen Scholarship – Endowed in loving memory of a longtime New York State leader by her husband Carl and family and by many others who wish to commemorate Sally’s indomitable spirit; education (education of disabled youth preferred); no additional restrictions.

22 SCHOLARSHIPS, EACH FOR $3,000

Hermione Grant Calhoun Scholarship – Dr. Isabelle Grant endowed this scholarship in memory of her daughter. Winner must be a woman. Kuchler-Killian Memorial Scholarship – Given in loving memory of her parents, Charles Albert Kuchler and Alice Helen Kuchler, by Junerose Killian, dedicated member of the NFB of Connecticut. No additional restrictions. Charles and Melva T. Owen Memorial Scholarship – First established by Charles Owen in loving memory of his blind wife and now, along with a second scholarship in a different amount, endowed by his last will and testament to honor the memory of both. In founding the scholarship, Charles Owen wrote: “There shall be no limitation as to field of study, except that it shall be directed towards attaining financial independence and shall exclude religion and those seeking only to further general or cultural education.” E. U. Parker Scholarship – Endowed by his wife, who joined him in a lifetime of Federationism, this scholarship honors a longtime leader of the National Federation of the Blind whose participation stood for strong principles and strong support of the Federation’s work. No additional restrictions. Howard Brown Rickard Scholarship – Winner must be studying or planning to study in the field of law, medicine, engineering, architecture, or the natural sciences. National Federation of the Blind Computer Science Scholarship – Winner must be studying in the computer science field. National Federation of the Blind Educator of Tomorrow Award – Winner must be planning a career in elementary, secondary, or postsecondary teaching. Fifteen National Federation of the Blind Scholarships – No additional restrictions.

PROGRAM RULES AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CRITERIA:

All scholarships are awarded for academic excellence, community service, and financial need.

MEMBERSHIP:

The National Federation of the Blind is an organization dedicated to creating opportunity for all blind people. Recipients of NFB scholarships need not be members of the National Federation of the Blind.

REAPPLICATION:

Those who have previously applied are encouraged to apply again. It is the intention of the NFB to award at least three scholarships to men and women who have already received one Federation scholarship in the past if enough strong and worthy candidates apply.

WINNERS:

The Scholarship Committee reviews all applications and selects the scholarship winners.

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Public Relations

How Public Relations Changes Minds

Public relations changes minds in the process of delivering what business, non-profit and association managers need more than almost anything else – the kind of key stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving their managerial objectives. It happens when the right kind of public relations alters individual perception, thus doing something positive about the behaviors of those outside folks that MOST affect a manager’s organization. Minds end up changed when managers follow a blueprint something like this: people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is usually accomplished. Sure, as a manager, your goal is to show a profit for your business unit, or meet certain expectations of your association membership, or achieve your non-profit’s operating objectives. A blueprint like this can make it clear to you that the right public relations really CAN alter outside audience perception and lead to the kind of behaviors that help any manager win. The payout for the manager can be very satisfying. For instance, prospects reappearing; customers making repeat purchases; rebounds in showroom visits; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; membership applications on the rise; new community service and sponsorship opportunities; enhanced activist group relations, and expanded feedback channels, not to mention capital givers or specifying sources looking your way. But you need a quality PR team behind you, one that pursues more than special events, brochures and news releases as you seek your PR money’s worth. The reason being, you want your most important outside audiences to really perceive your operations, products or services in a positive light. So be certain that your PR staff has bought into the whole effort. Convince yourself that they accept the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit. Talk with your public relations people about how you will gather and monitor perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? How much do you know about our services or products and employees? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the how things went? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures? The perception monitoring phases of your program can always be handled by professional survey people IF the budget is available. However, you are fortunate that your own PR people are also in the perception and behavior business and can pursue the same objective: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors. Now, you’ll need to spend some time considering what the goal of this activity should be. You need one that addresses the problems that cropped up during your key audience perception monitoring. Chances are, it will call for straightening out that dangerous misconception, or correcting that gross inaccuracy, or doing something about that damaging rumor. Obviously you’ll need the right strategy to show you how to reach that goal. But you have just three strategic choices when it comes to handling a perception or opinion challenge: create perception where there may be none, change the perception, or reinforce it. Unfortunately, selecting a bad strategy will taste like mint sauce on your eggs Benedict, so be certain the new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. For example, you don’t want to select “change” when the facts dictate a “reinforce” strategy. Preparing the right, corrective language is a must. Especially when you need to persuade an audience to your way of thinking. You need words that are compelling, persuasive, believable AND clear and factual. This really is a must if you are to correct a perception by shifting opinion towards your point of view, leading to your desired behaviors. So, meet again with your communications specialists and review your message for impact and persuasiveness. Here, you need vehicles certain to carry your words to the attention of your target audience, so you select the communications tactics most likely to reach them. Happily there are dozens of available tactics. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. Just be sure that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members. Here’s an alert: because the credibility of your message can depend on its delivery method, consider introducing it to smaller gatherings rather than using higher-profile communications such as news releases or talk show appearances. In due course, the subject of progress reports will come up strongly suggesting that it’s probably time for you and your PR folks to return to the field for a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. Using many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session, stay alert for signs that your communications tactics have worked and that the negative perception is being altered in your direction. If you feel the program is dragging, things can always be accelerated with a broader selection of communications tactics AND increased frequencies. As your program inevitably changes individual perception, and thus minds among your important target audiences, you will, just as inevitably, create behavior change among those key outside audiences that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly [at] TNI [dot] net. Word count is 1035 including guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2005.

Entrepreneurship

Preparing For Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs? Who are they? What do they want? Why are they special? "Entrepreneur" is the one of the hottest word in town now. What does it really mean? Why do people want to be associated with this word these days? Being an entrepreneur means you are your own boss. This brings lots of glory and fame to individuals. Imagine you are a boss, reporting to nobody, leader of the company. None of your staff dares to argue with you and you earn the kind of income that you will never earn working for people. Isn't it wonderful? That's life, isn't it? If that is what you want to get out of being an entrepreneur, sorry folks, that is not really true. Are you dreaming of sitting on an armchair, giving instruction and waiting for profit? Then probably the army is a better place for you. The truth is, being an entrepreneur is no glory and fame. In fact, many a time entrepreneurs have to do the dirty jobs. These dirty jobs are usually done when no one else is watching. Our youth want the best of being an entrepreneur, they want fame, yet they are not ready for the worst. Once you have decided to embark on the entrepreneur's journey, prepare to roll up your sleeves for the tough times ahead. A few things to take note when you are preparing to take on the road less travelled. Mindset Do you believe that mindset alone can kill any business? Having a weak or negative mindset is the first step to failing in a business. Anyone who wants to become an entrepreneur must first learn to shift his mindset from an employee mindset to an entrepreneur mindset. An employee waits for things to happen, an entrepreneur makes things happen. An employee waits for instructions, an entrepreneur gives clear instructions. An employee waits for someone to solve problems, an entrepreneur takes charge of the situation, to solve problems. An employee is reactive, an entrepreneur is proactive. Taking Responsibility You have to prepare to take up great responsibilities. Being a successful entrepreneur is more than writing a business plan and managing cash-flow. You have to take responsibility for what goes around, in and out of your business. When the business is not doing well because of the economic downturn, instead of blaming the market, economic climate, competitors, environment and expecting the government to help them, a successful entrepreneur will take control, take charge and take responsibility to improve business in whatever ways he can. Successful entrepreneurs don't lay blame on the environment or find excuses for the mistakes that they made, they simply take responsibility and learn from the mistakes. Belief Many a times there is no right or wrong in entrepreneurship. It is what you believe in that determines the right and wrong. You must have good belief system in order to make the journey much easier and interesting. If "A" believes that he needs at least $50,000 to start a business, he will always start a business with $50,000. And "B" believes he can start the same business with only $1,000, he will find ways to start it with only $1,000. In "A's" reality, he is unable to see how he can start a business with less than $50,000. However "A" is not wrong. In fact he feels that he is right. There is nothing wrong with starting a business with $50,000 or $1,000. It is just your belief system that makes it right or wrong. You decide what kind of belief system you want to hold for yourself. Serving Be ready to serve the people around you. Only by serving others, helping them get what they want, then will they give you what you want. Go into business with the intention of serving and giving, and you will receive. Serving doesn't means serving your customers only. Serving your staff and partners will encourage communication and improve team synergy. How can you create a superb team when you keep scolding your staff? Keep Learning Be prepared to upgrade yourself. While you may think that upgrading is for employees, an entrepreneur should keep upgrading and educating himself. There are many attributes and skills that an entrepreneur needs. The fastest way to learn all the skills is to keep attending seminars and workshops But why pay that kind of money to learn? There is a saying, "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." Instead of dwelling upon the cost of education, think of it as an investment. The skills and ideas that you learn from books, seminars and workshops can serve you for a lifetime. Therefore it is a worthwhile investment. In conclusion, before embarking on the exciting and challenging journey, you need to make a few adjustments to your life. You need to start doing what the majority are not doing.

By: Joe Lee