THE FRIENDS OF THE NEW JERSEY
LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND AND
HANDICAPPED, INC.
SPRING 2015 NEWSLETTER
Message from the President
Welcome to the Spring, 2015
Newsletter of the Friends of the
New Jersey Library for the Blind
and Handicapped. In this issue of
the newsletter, you will find an
interview with former NJ
Commission for the Blind and
Visually Impaired (NJCBVI)
Director Vito DeSantis discussing
his experiences as a blind golfer
and another article with information
concerning this year’s Golf Outing
fundraiser.
The next meeting of the Friends of
the Library will be held on
Saturday, June 6, from 10:00 AM
to 12:00 PM followed by lunch from
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM at the Joseph
Kohn Training Center (JKTC)
located at 130 Livingston Avenue
in New Brunswick, N.J. 08901.The
meeting room in the basement for
this meeting. Directions will appear
at the end of this
newsletter. Anyone wishing to stay
for lunch will be asked to contribute
$5.00 toward the cost of the
food. Please call Mary Jo Partyka
at (609) 888-5459 by May 31 to
advise her of your
attendance. This call helps the
Friends plan for lunch. I hope you
will consider joining us for an
informative meeting.
Please mark your calendars for
Saturday, October 10, 2015 which
is the date of NJSLTBBC’s biennial
Fall Festival. TBBC will again
partner with the Grounds for
Sculpture to host this exciting
event. Details on the day’s events
will be announced in the coming
months.
This is a friendly reminder that our
annual dues for FY 2015 should be
sent in now. Please send your
dues and donations to the Friends
mailing address and write your
check out to the Friends of the
Library for the Blind and
Handicapped. The Friends
appreciate your efforts and your
participation in helping the
NJSLTBBC meet its goals. A
membership form is attached to
this newsletter for those who wish
to join the Friends or pay
dues. Dues are $10.00 for an
individual membership and $25.00
for a family membership. These
dues cover the 12 month period
from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016.
Mary Jo Partyka, President
choirnfb@gmail.com
Meet Vito DeSantis, Golfer
Extraordinaire
Editor’s Note: Vito DeSantis is the
immediate past Director of the NJ
Commission for the Blind and
Visually Impaired (NJCBVI), where
he served for 12 years. Now
retired, he spends as much of his
spare time golfing as possible and
is an ardent supporter of
NJSLTBBC’s annual golf outings.
“Even if you think you can’t
accomplish something, try it,”
enthused Vito as he spoke of his
love of golf.
According to Vito, he decided to
play golf five years ago because
it’s a popular game. He finds that
golf allows him to play as an
individual rather than as a member
of a team where each person is
dependent on the strength of its
members in order to score points.
Vito views golf the same way that
he sees other things in his life. He
has done many things; is not afraid
of a challenge and has an
eagerness to learn. “Golf is a great
equalizer in the sense that whether
you have sight or not, you’re not
hitting the ball if you don’t swing
properly.” As a blind golfer, Vito
explained that he is dependent
upon the person coaching him. He
pointed out that the coach is
responsible for making sure that
the club face is behind the ball and
that the blind golfer is set up
properly to hit that little white ball.
According to Vito, a coach must
also provide a blind golfer a good
description of the fairway and how
to play each hole so he can have a
good feel of the course. Vito noted
that golf is not always relaxing and
that it can even be frustrating
sometimes. However, he
concluded our interview by pointing
out that “a bad day on the golf
course is better than a good day at
the office.”
TBBC’s Fourth Annual Golf
Outing
TBBC is excited to announce its
fourth annual Golf classic to be
held on Tuesday, June 16, at the
Hopewell Valley Golf Club.
Registration and lunch begin at
11:00 AM with a 1:00 PM shotgun
start. Registration for individual
players is $150.00 and a foursome
can register to play for $580.00.
The cost includes cart, greens
fees, lunch, and refreshments on
the course, cocktails, dinner,
contests, prizes and auction! The
Friends will be donating $1,000.00
for this year’s fundraiser. Our
donation will be split between the
luncheon and prizes. Each year,
this fundraiser nets more money for
TBBC services not covered by
federal and state funding. If you
know anyone interested in golfing,
sponsoring, or volunteering, please
contact Linda Cerce in the Library’s
Development Office at 800 7928322, extension 835 for more
information, or go on line at
www.njstatelib.org/tbbc
TBBC Book Club
TBBC hosts a wonderful Book Club
facilitated by Karen Carson. The
discussion groups meet quarterly
both at TBBC and on the phone.
Below are some titles that have
been recommended and the last
two were chosen for book
discussions. If interested in
participation, call Karen at (800)
792-8322.
Unbroken: A World War II Story
of Survival, Resilience, and
Redemption DB72129
Laura Hillenbrand. Reading time:
16 hours, 32 minutes.
Read by Faith Potts.
Biography, War and the Military
Author of Seabiscuit (DB 51968)
details the life of Louis Zamperini
(b. 1917), an Olympic runner and
World War II bombardier, who
survived a plane crash and fortyseven days adrift at sea only to
become a POW in Japan. Relates
Louis's later religious awakening
under Billy Graham's ministry.
Violence. Bestseller. 2010.
The TBBC’s Book Club selection
for March was:
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and
Sweet: a novel DB71540
Jamie Ford. Reading time: 10
hours, 15 minutes.
Read by Barry Bernson.
Historical Fiction, Family
Seattle, 1986. Newly widowed
Chinese American Henry Lee
reminisces about his World War II
boyhood when he was in love with
another student, Japanese
American Keiko Okabe. Henry
recalls visiting the Okabe family,
despite his father's objections,
during their internment in Idaho
and waiting--in vain--for Keiko's
return to Seattle. 2009.
The book selection for Monday,
June 1st is
Guilt: An Alex Delaware Novel
Jonathan Kellerman DB76256
Jonathan Kellerman
Reading time 11 hours 20 minutes
Read by David Hartley-Margolin
A toppled tree reveals a baby's
decades-old skeletal remains. As
LAPD detective Milo Sturgis and
psychologist Alex Delaware search
for a way to identify the victim, an
oddly polished, more recent infant
skeleton is found nearby--as is a
female corpse. Strong language
and some descriptions of sex.
2013.
A Heartfelt Thank You
The Friends would like to thank the
following people for their very
generous donations: Mary
Gleason, Carolyn Woodhead
Options for Reading The
Friends’ Newsletter
Since the NLS cassette players are
being returned to TBBC and many
patrons no longer have the means
to play even standard speed
cassettes, The Friends are
discontinuing this format of our
newsletter as of the this issue. The
newsletter will still be available in
Large Print, E-Mail, on our website
http://friendsnjlibraryfortheblind.org
and for those who do not have
computers, by telephone on
Newsline.. You can access these
Newsletters with a Newsline
subscription and a touch-tone
telephone. If you do not have a
Newsline subscription, contact
Reader Services at the New Jersey
Talking Book and Braille Center at
1-800-792-8322 to get signed up
for a Newsline subscription. If you
have a Newsline subscription, but
do not remember your login
information, contact Christian Riehl
at the above number extension
821. Once you have secured your
login information, dial in to the
service by calling 1-888-882-1629,
or the local dial up number
provided to you for accessing the
service. Follow the prompts for
logging in and reading the
Newsletters. Choose option 2 off
the main menu for your state’s
information channel, followed by
option 4 the New Jersey
information channel, and then
option 11 for the Friends
Newsletters. Happy reading.
Please check out our website for
information on community services
as well as present and past copies
of our newsletters at
http://friendsnjlibraryfortheblind.org/
Directions to the Next Meeting
Address:
JKTC
130 Livingston Avenue
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-2421
Cross Street: Seaman Street
From the North
South on Route 1 to Route 18
heading toward New Brunswick.
Get off Route 18 at the New Street
ramp.
Turn slight right onto New Street/
NJ 26.
Take the 2nd left onto Livingston
Avenue/NJ 26.
Turn left onto Seaman Street and
left into the JKTC parking lot.
From the South
North on Route 1 to Livingston
Avenue/NJ 26 toward New
Brunswick.
Turn right onto Seaman Street and
left into the JKTC parking lot.
THE FRIENDS OF THE NJ LIBRARY for the BLIND MEMBERSHIP
FORM
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Please return this form together with your check payable to:
The Friends of the NJLBH
PO Box 434, Woodbridge, NJ 07095
LP 5/15