PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE


     First of all, I'd like to welcome our new CCB Treasurer, Roland Soucy.
During the past several months, Roland has been working very hard for us.
In addition to efficiently carrying out the many responsibilities of
treasurer, he delivered candy to several people in the Hartford area, and
duplicated and mailed out the tapes of Nolan Crabb's speech.  Thanks,
Roland!  We certainly appreciate everything you're doing!

     Our fall convention turned out quite well.  We kicked it off Friday
evening with Game Night, which was a rousing success, and it was wonderful
to spend a couple of days together.  We accomplished a lot, had fun, and
learned a great deal from each other and from our speakers.  Many thanks to
Alice Jackson, Cheree Heppe, and their committee for putting it all
together.  Shirley Phelon has graciously offered to take over the
chairmanship of the Convention Committee, so be sure to contact her if you
have ideas for the spring convention.

     Prospective members often ask me, "What does CCB stand for?"
Thankfully, our brochure gives a very clear description of our mission and
goals, but as for philosophy--well, I find that hard to articulate. Judging
from our discussions at conventions and board meetings, I know that some of
you have thought about this as much as I have, so I hope you'll read Paul
Edwards's "President's Message" in your January _Braille _Forum. I think
you'll approach this question with a whole new perspective.

     I'm happy to report that all of our candy has been distributed.  If we
receive the money from candy sales by the end of February, we will have
sufficient funds to award our fourth annual scholarship.  Thanks very much
to all of you who participated in this important fundraising effort.

     CCB is certainly starting off the new year right!  We are the
beneficiary of a wonderful surprise, which you'll read about elsewhere in
this issue.  Also, our outreach efforts are paying off.  I've spoken to
several people who found us on our Web site, and we're starting to receive
response cards from our brochures.

     I hope you were as inspired as I was by Nolan Crabb's speech.  I
really appreciated his affirmation, encouragement, and suggestions, and he
certainly gave me a lot to think about.  I am very proud of CCB, and I hope
you are, too.

     It's hard to believe that I am embarking on my final year as your
president.  We will be electing a new slate of officers in October, which
will be here sooner than you think.  We need new blood--people with fresh
ideas.  I have appointed Steve Dresser chairman of the Nominating
Committee, so if you'd like to nominate someone, or are interested in
running for office yourself, please contact Steve.  Think about it!

              --Marcia Dresser