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The MJ Schmitt First Timers Award was created in March of 2008 to honor one of the founding members of the American Council of the Blind for her grass roots advocacy, lifetime commitment and inspirational leadership. MJ Schmitt, originally from Rochester, New York, has dedicated a lifetime of work toward improving the lives of blind and visually impaired Americans. For over forty years, MJ Schmitt has held numerous board positions and served on various ACB committees on a state and national level.

The purpose of this award is to enable members from across New York State to attend the annual ACBNY legislative seminar or state convention for the first time. The intent of this award is to provide members with an opportunity to gain the knowledge and inspiration to continue the work of the organization demonstrated by the ACBNY leadership.

 

Application criteria and guidelines

 

APPLICATION ELIGIBILITY

• Applicants must not have previously attended the ACBNY annual Legislative Seminar or ACBNY State Convention, depending upon which award is sought, in any capacity.
• Applicants must be a blind, vision impaired or deaf-blind member of an affiliate of ACBNY or a member at large for at least six months.
• Applicants must be a New York state resident for at least six months.
• Applicants must have a strong interest in advocacy and becoming a more involved, active member of the ACBNY state affiliate and local chapter or community. The applicant’s desire and explanation of this criteria will be highly considered for the award.

APPLICATION CRITERIA

Applicants must submit a letter of interest, no less than 2 pages and no more than 5 pages, including:

• Name, address, phone number and email address (if available)
• A short autobiography including life experience with blindness, hobbies, school and/or work. Include involvement with ACBNY activities on a state or local level.
• The reason for applying for the ACBNY M.J. Schmitt First-timer’s award for the Legislative Seminar or State Convention and expectations of the event in question.

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

Applicants must obtain a letter of recommendation based on membership status:

Affiliated members must obtain a letter of recommendation from their local affiliate President.

At-large members must contact the ACBNY delegate at-large and obtain a letter of recommendation from one of the following:

• • CBVH counselor
  • Vision Rehabilitation Therapist (VRT) or Orientation & Mobility Instructor (O&M)
  • Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) or Itinerant Teacher
  • High School teacher or College Professor
  • Community leader
  • Boss or supervisor
  • friend or ACBNY member

APPLICATION SUBMISSION

ACBNY Legislative SeminarApplications will be accepted until February 1 of the year in which the seminar is held. ACBNY State Convention applications will be accepted until July 1 of the year in which the convention is held.

Application material will only be accepted in electronic format via email. If the applicant is unable, then another person is permitted to submit on the applicant’s behalf.

In the Subject line of email submissions, write the following: ACBNY MJ Schmitt First Timers Award application

Attach letter of interest and letter of recommendation and email to the ACBNY Awards Committee Chairperson, whose email address is: awards@acbny.org.

Awardee RESPONSIBILITY AND EXPECTATIONS

All awardees will be assigned a mentor to provide guidance and support before, during and after the ACBNY Legislative Seminar or State Convention. The mentor will contact the awardee within one week of award notification.

AWARDEE RESPONSIBILITIES

• • • Maintain ongoing communication with mentor prior, during and after the event.
    • Obtain ACBNY Legislative Seminar or State Convention information and preregistration instructions.
    • Obtain, read and understand the Legislative Agenda or State Convention Program and any informational documentation provided before the event (to the best of the awardees’ ability).
    • Obtain, read and understand meeting Minutes from the immediate past ACBNY Board meeting.
    • Obtain, read and understand the ACBNY Board meeting agenda.
    • Plan to attend the ACBNY Legislative Committee meeting (at legislative seminars) and contact its chairperson about time and place of the meeting prior to the event.
    • Inquire about any expenses that are not included in the award. Plan to bring extra spending money.

TRANSPORTATION

• • • • Travel to the event and transportation reservations are the responsibility of the awardee
      • Awardees will not be reimbursed for door to door car service, or for trips otherwise accessible via public transportation

    li>Receipts must be submitted for transportation reimbursement within 1 week of the close of the event

REGISTRATION

• • • Awardees are responsible for completing preregistration.
    • Complete the pre-regisration form including all meals and hotel room. Expect a roommate to be assigned whose name will be provided prior to the event.
    • Include the total cost and note MJ Schmitt First Timer’s Awardee. Do not pay.
    • Check in at the ACBNY registration table upon arrival to the hotel.

Expectations OF AWARDEE

• • • Arrive to the hotel by 12pm of the first day of the event, check in and register.
    • Meet with mentor as previously planned.
    • Attend all scheduled meetings, training and activities.
    • Attend the ACBNY Legislative Committee meeting (at Legislative Seminars).
    • Attend the ACBNY banquet and accept the award certificate during a brief introduction.
    • Participate in all seminar advocacy activities, which may or may not include visits to legislators at the Legislative Office Building (at Legislative Seminars).
    • Write an article for Insight, the ACBNY newsletter about the Legislative Seminar or ACBNY State Convention experience as the awardee. Submit within one month of the event’s conclusion.
    • Continue advocacy efforts with local affiliate/community including visits to local legislators.

EXPENSES

• • • This award includes registration fees, hotel sleeping rooms, meals and travel to and from the event, excluding noted restrictions
    • Meal expenses are eligible for reimbursement
    • Total expenses that exceed $500.00 are the awardees’ responsibility
    • This award does not include expenses for alcoholic beverages, spa treatments, room service, or any extra amenities in the hotel or outside of the hotel.
    • Receipts must be submitted for transportation and meal reimbursement within 1 week of the close of the event
    • Awardees unable to fulfill the above award obligations, or who leave the event early for any reason are not guaranteed reimbursement. Each situation will be considered on an individual basis.
    • Preregistration is not permitted until a signed agreement is received.

The MJ Schmitt First Timer’s Award Committee
American Council of the Blind of New York, Inc.

Guidelines and Procedures

The Paul J. Sauerland Braille Literacy Award is a memorial honor bestowed annually upon a member of ACBNY or a person of national prominence who is a Braille student or a student training to become a professional braille instructor or a professional residing or working in New York State whose career or volunteer endeavors has significantly promoted the cause of braille literacy amongst the public or within the educational or blindness rehabilitation systems. The recipient of this prestigious award has learned Braille or improved the lives of persons who are blind or visually impaired within New York State or nationally through effort or example by encouraging non-braille-readers to learn and use braille, or through administration of or direct instruction in the skills of reading and/or writing braille, or through transcription of braille reading material or through the development of the braille code itself or of technology used to read, write, transcribe, produce or distribute Braille, or is actively enrolled in an educational program which will lead to becoming a professional who will provide Braille instruction.

Nominations of candidates for the Paul J. Sauerland Braille Literacy Award may be made by ACBNY members in good standing, members of the committee administering the award, administrators or professionals in the field of education or rehabilitation, parents or guardians of students who are learning braille, or recent students of braille instruction professionals. Nominations will not be accepted from parents or students for their current braille teachers, nor from braille teachers for their current students. Parents and students are encouraged to nominate their former braille teachers and vice versa. This award is a once-in-a-lifetime honor. It may be awarded post-humously. Nominees may be submitted for consideration more than once, but only one time per annual award cycle per nominator. Nominators may make more than one nomination. Multiple nominations for the same nominee are acceptable from multiple nominators during a single award cycle, but will not improve the nominee’s likelihood to receive the award. Nominees for the Paul J. Sauerland Braille Literacy Award will be considered by the members of the ACBNY committee charged with its administration, who will select no more than one student nominee and/or no more than one professional nominee annually to receive the award. All decisions of the committee are final. The award will be presented to its honoree(s) at the ACBNY Annual Convention during the convention Banquet. Nominees who are not selected to receive the award may receive Certificates of Honorable Mention.

The Paul J. Sauerland Braille Literacy Award consists of a plaque or certificate accompanied by a braille slate and stylus and a modest honorarium to be determined by the committee charged with its administration.

Nominations for the Paul J. Sauerland Braille Literacy Award shall be submitted electronically or in writing and include the name, address and phone number and email address of the nominator, along with a description of his or her standing to make the nomination, i.e. ACBNY member or braille instructor or education /rehabilitation professional/administrator and his or her relationship to the nominee, i.e. former student, administrator, parent or guardian. Each nomination shall also include the name, address, telephone number and email address of the nominee, along with his or her title and the name of the organization under whose auspices he or she has advanced the cause of braille literacy as a professional or volunteer, or the age of the student nominee and the name of the school or agency or college which he or she attends or has recently graduated. Each nomination shall furthermore contain a description of not less than the length of one nor more than five standard typewritten pages detailing the nominee’s achievements in learning to read and write Braille or learning how to teach others to read and write Braille or his or her career or volunteer efforts and contribution to furthering the cause of braille literacy. This is the most important element of the nomination. Braille or electronic submissions via email are welcome and should be sent to the awards committee chair or the ACBNY Secretary. Nominations must be received by the awards committee chair no later than July 1 prior to the start of the convention at which the award will be presented. All nominating materials become the property of ACBNY and will not be returned. Nominations received by the committee will be acknowledged to the nominator.

The Paul J. Sauerland Braille Literacy Award is funded by the proceeds of the Paul J. Sauerland Braille Literacy Award Endowment held by the American Council of the Blind of New York, Inc. It was established by ACBNY at its 2008 annual convention to honor the memory of our long-time member, Paul J. Sauerland, who was a lifelong champion of myriad causes promoting the health, welfare, education, vocational training, employment and rights of people who are blind or visually impaired throughout New York State and the United States. Paul was an avid and highly skilled braille reader who used braille in all aspects of his daily personal and professional life.

This award is intended to promote braille literacy through public awareness of braille and the chain of professionals and volunteers involved in its instruction, production, and distribution and most importantly, use. It is furthermore intended to encourage the mastery of braille by students and a high quality of braille instruction through recognition of braille students and their instructors.