Category: Mac

Todd E. Stephens, President of the NFB Kentucky Technology Assistance Division shares the success of the 2015 TAD Symposium, as well as upcoming plans for the 2016 event. Here is what Todd has to say…
We had another fabulous turn-out for the NFBK TAD Symposium that took place on Friday, September 25, 2015 at the Galt House in Louisville, KY. I want to take this time, once again, to express our gratitude to our awesome presenters: Barbara Penegor with Kentucky Talking Books; Danielle Burton (TAD Board member) presenting on the KNFB Reader app; Roseanne Hoffman and Larry Skutchan from American Printing House; Jim Fortman from Vision Aid Systems; Dave Wilkinson from Hims Inc.; VaShaun Jones and Damashe Thomas from Fedora Outlier, LLC; Jimmy Brown and Jerry Wheatley from Kentucky Assistive Technology Service (KATS) Network; MacArthur Darby, Chris Stewart, Danielle Burton, Cindy Sheets, and Jennifer Hall (Moderator), NFB-NEWSLINE Roundtable Panelists; and last, but not least, Tonia Boyd-Gatton, Extraordinaire Mistress of Ceremonies!
Where there is a will, there is a way!
VaShaun Jones and Damashe Thomas traveled from Atlanta Georgia on the Megabus, on their own dime arriving in Louisville about 8:30 p.m. on the eve of the TAD Symposium. On the morning of, VaShaun called me at 6:00 a.m. to ask me how he could help with the set-up. I was thoroughly impressed by this gesture of friendship, kindness and support. I’ll have you know that VaShaun and Damashe Thomas stole the show with their usual presentation of excellence on all things Apple. They presented, answered all questions and departed about 45 minutes after their presentation to catch Uber to get to their Megabus stop, which departed for Atlanta a little after 4:00 p.m. They arrived safely in Atlanta early Saturday morning. When I asked VaShaun to be a part of this symposium, he said, “you ask and I’m there.” Over the years, I’ve heard those words too many times to count, but VaShaun didn’t leave us hanging and he certainly backed it up!
VaShaun is the President of Fedora Outlier. His firm is the first nationally-recognized firm delivering consulting, teaching, and support in blindness-related assistive technology for Apple. To learn more about Fedora Outlier, VaShaun Jones, Damashe Thomas and the rest of the Fedora Outlier staff, you may find their website at Fedora Outlier
The Technology Assistance Division has gotten an early jump of exploring funding options for the 2016 TAD Symposium. We are excited about as well as hopeful that we can deliver an impactful symposium in 2016. The focus will be a bit different from those in prior years. Our content has been in training the trainer. The objectives in 2016, however, is to identify those training opportunities that are most in demand from NFBK members and others in the community that are affected by vision loss, so that we can offer break-out training sessions.