Welcome to
the ACB Maine Newsletter for October 2025
The newsletter is designed for accessibility and contains very few graphics. In the lower left hand section of the page is an accessiblity icon to change elements of the page.
Please forward the newsletter to any interested people or relevant agencies.
Hello to all,
Below in
our newsletter, you’ll find some exciting news about the convention. We
are going to have some great guest speakers this year: for example,
Coretta Cooper - Mobility Instructor; Chris Boynton - from
Library services; Diane Frigon - From Division For The Blind and
visually impaired; and last but not least - Deborah Erickson from the
Blind Kitchen.
There will be some great giveaways, such as a pair of metta glasses, some specially designed kitchen tools, and baskets filled with cozy treats. We will also hold a 50-50 raffle.
Please join us for a fun filled day with lots of
valuable information, learning and catching up with old friends. So far I
have over 20 individuals attending. Please remember to RSVP yourself bye
e-mailing me at amandafrostvpacb@gmail.com
I'm looking forward to seeing
you there!
Webpage updateThe webpage transition is largely complete. There is some editing to finish and a few articles to add, but the process is essentially all set.
You can find the web page at this link - http://acbmaine.org
Over the next few weeks, we will be adding the security feature, but the site is certainly safe to use.
This new website will allow us to share a calendar, our meeting mintues, updates and news. You are reading a news article right now from the website.
The Exchange is our digital
commerce system on the website. This is a service of North Star
Works, and can be reached at The
Exchange.
The Exchange was designed with simplicity in mind. You first choose the "product" and then the "organization," and then submit your payment choices. Your payments are secure and handled by Stripe, an international secure payment processing system.
To pay your dues and conference registration for this year, follow these instructions.
Go to - The Exchange
Under product - select "Other"
Under Organization - select ACBMaine - last one in the list
Then select - Next-Proceed to Payment
Once at the payment options - enter the amount of money you are submitting.
Dues are $20.00 and the conference is $10.00. It's easiest to enter $30.00 and cover both at the same time.
Then you can select "Pay with Amazon" or choose "Card." You will need to fill in the details for the card and submit a payment. I like to choose the "Pay with Amazon" option. It's easiest.
ACB of Maine
2025 Annual Convention
When:
Saturday, November 8, 2025
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Where: Homewood
Suites Hotel
377 Western Ave. Augusta, ME
04330
Program Schedule
9:00 - 9:15AM - Welcome and introductions - Amanda Frost, President ACB Maine.
9:15 - 9:40AM- Awards and scholarship recipients.
9:40 - 10:00AM - Remembrances.
10:00 - 11:00AM - Tools and strategies for independent travel -Coretta Cooper, COMS, Orientation and Mobility Instructor.
11:00 - 11:40AM - Updates from DBVI - Diane Frigon, Director of Business Enterprise and Independent Living Programs.
11:45 - 12:20PM - Update from LBPD Library services. Chris Boynton, Library Director.
12:20 - 1:30PM - Lunch.
1:30 - 2:30PM - Has your fear of cooking with vision loss kept you out of the kitchen? Debra Erickson, creator of The Blind Kitchen, will discuss and demonstrate simple tools to help us banish those fears
2:30 - 3:30PM - Annual business meeting and elections.
3:30 - 4:00PM - Where we go from here. Renewing our commitment and planning for our future.
From Linda Richards
October is white cane awareness month.
I once knew a lady who was losing her sight; she was born with an eye disease that would gradually take all her sight away someday. She was legally blind, had some good usable sight, was married and raised five children. She was told she should learn to use a cane before she lost the rest of her sight. She absolutely refused. She was too proud. She didn't want to let people know.
But she couldn’t see; she faked it; She acted. She became a really good actress. Most people that met her never knew she couldn’t see. She was really good at her acting, until she wasn’t. The day came when she couldn’t act anymore, and she had no more sight at all. She had to swallow her pride and learn how to use a white cane. She did so for the last four years.
She has learned how to get around her town where she lives. She has learned to not let her pride get in the way anymore. I know - that’s because she is me.
Please don’t let your pride stop you from learning how to function as a blind person. It’s just a lot of wasted years for nothing.
When it comes down to it we need that white
cane.
From Bruce Archer
When we met he was standing on his hind legs like a
horse. It was love at first sight, I think.
To be
continued.
Stay curious
Stay silly
