ACB has deadlines! These are coming up pretty soon! They relate to things that will happen at the ACB convention. It is a tradition of this program that,

at this time each year, we invite folks to tell us about what is on offer. We know we will hear from the Durward K. McDaniel First Timers Committee who

will tell us about a chance for several people to come to our convention free. They will actually also tell us about a leadership effort, past winners

and plans the DKM has for the convention.

In the past several of ACB'S current leaders at the state and national level have received either the DKM First Timers Award or have been Chase fellows!

Some of the recent winners will join us to share what impact these awards have had on their lives. It is our hope that we will hear about other opportunities

for awards but that is not firmed up as I send this to press.

Join us to learn about the work of a committee that honors the memory of Durward K. McDaniel one of the founding fathers of ACB whose memory is used to

help foster leadership in today's ACB.

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Two weeks ago we spent time looking at new technology that is making sporting events more accessible. How are things now? Are they better than in the past or worse? Do most blind people listen to sports on the radio or use television? How do you think radio sports have cha'nged over the past few decades and why?

Sports have been a huge part of the lives of many people who are blind! Tell us how you feel that sports have contributed to who you are!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

we will explore romance on Tuesday Topics. We have talked about dating before but this time we thought it would be interesting to go a little further. How do most relationships between people who are blind get started? Is it on line? Is it because of meetings locally? How did you celebrate Valentine's day? What are some of the most romantic things you have done or have had the opportunity to receive? What advantages or disadvantages do people who are blind or have some vision face in a relationship? We would like to hear about advantages!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

I think particularly people who are born blind often assume they know a lot more about how sports work than they actually do! I know that I take formations in football for granted and don't have a good understanding of how players are placed in cricket even though these are sports I follow. It will be interesting to see how two folks who have been blind all their lives (I think) experience new technologies that make football and basketball more accessible.

I don't have a clear idea of what I am missing from tv! I know there are stats that appear! I know that there are replays and diagrams! I am aware that those who can see have much more information about what is going on than I do! Should broadcasters do more for people who are blind? I worked with the then Florida Marlins to create better access! They promised to make devices available that would provide audio description to those who attended the game but never followed through. What would we want audio description to include?

Should we expect more from radio? I think that a lot more information used to be included in radio broadcasts! Was that because there did not used to be tv versions of every game? Should we expect more? Should we write a resolution that should be sent to sports leagues asking for particular things? What ought they to be?

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Tuesday Topics will take a big risk! Lots of our shows depend on hearing from guests. We sometimes invite several guests to join us! This time we are making a different sort of invitation! We are inviting affiliates to tell us what they do to build membership! Virtually everybody knows about BITS and its hugely successful effort to increase its membership. We heard last night that it's important for ACB to get new members! We heard that, in spite of what we might have heard, at large memberships only constitute about 1 percent of our group!

What are affiliates doing to encourage new members? What more could they do? Can they learn from BITS? Are there state affiliates that are doing cool things? What about local chapters? If this program is going to be successful we need to hear from affiliates who are doing cool things! If your affiliate isn't making special efforts, perhaps you need to listen to our program to discover some approaches that other states and groups are trying!

Do you take special steps to assure that those who joined last year come back? Have you ever reached out to those who don't return to ask them why? These are just a few of the many questions we want to explore on our program that explores the other side of membership! We heard what ACB is doing! Now let's hear what our affiliates do!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

This is the time of year when our affiliates are getting ready to send in membership lists so we thought it might be a good thing to talk about the good, the bad and the ugly about how we are doing at the local, state and national level at encouraging new members. It's generally accepted that our membership numbers are falling. Why is that? Are there particular reasons it is happening to ACB? A few groups are growing! Who are they and why is it happening? What does falling membership mean? How is it affecting ACB'S ability to do what it's supposed to do! There are lots of other questions we will explore surrounding recruitment and retention and how we can do better!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

It is still January so many people will still have a pretty good memory of what happened last year! We thought it would be fun to ask you to think back to last year and tell us about some cool things you found last year. We would like to hear about the best book you read! We want to know about the best movie you saw! (It doesn't have to be a new one!) We want to know about what you think the best song or album from last year was! Finally, we would love to know what the coolest thing you did last year might be! You are our audience and you are what makes Tuesday Topics vibrant and compelling! Help us again by sharing the books, movies, songs and events that made 2025 outstanding for you!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Tuesday Topics will encourage folks to consider an issue that could potentially create some interesting disagreements. As

we take to the internet and a range of devices too numerous to mention, we will explore together a question that everybody has thought about but many have

avoided discussing!

Many people attempt to persuade us that there is only one sort of person with visual impairments. That person is "blind". In reality, according to some

statistics I have seen, only ten percent of those with vision loss are totally blind. That leaves 90 percent of those with some loss of sight who have

some usable vision. How do the two groups interact? Is either group privileged? Do people with some vision get treated fairly? Do people with no vision

get treated fairly? Obviously I am talking about how folks are regarded by others with vision loss! All of us know that people with vision loss are treated

unfairly by those without it! What does the attitude of partials look like? Do they perceive themselves as superior? Do totals feel that they are the only

ones who are truly "blind"? Is there friction between the two groups? Are "partials" caught in the middle so that they are disparaged by those who can

see and those who can't?

These are just some of the questions we will encourage folks to explore next week on Tuesday Topics!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Usually on Tuesday Topics we attach our predictions to other elements like "how to keep your resolutions" or something similar! This time we are flat out

prognosticating! We are gazing blindly into the future with the hope that something from the chaos of what is to be will trickle back to us! I would argue

that these times are as hard as any time ever during which to look ahead! The art of extrapolation says that we ought to be able to take what has just

happened and assume that these events will help us unerringly identify those actions that the events that have happened portend. Lately, friends, it does

not appear to work like that!

I will be fascinated to see what the team comes up with and what you believe will be the big events of 2026.

From 7 to 9 PM Eastern time January 6 2026 Tuesday Topics will once more take to the internet. It is time for all of us to look ahead to 2026 and predict

what we believe is in store for people who are blind, our country, the world and whatever other things we are minded to predict. With the new year less

than a week old we will gaze into our crystal balls and dare to extrapolate from the present what we believe the next twelve months will hold. What will

new technology look like? What will preoccupy ACB?

Last year went in directions none of us managed to anticipate! Will wars end? Where will our economy go? How will artificial intelligence evolve? Dare

we look ahead to the mid-term elections? Maybe not! What do you, our Tuesday Topics audience, see in the future? Join our effort to penetrate the unknown

with bold predictions where no internet podcast or live program dares to go!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Those of you who have been long time listeners to our show can

probably guess what our topic is. At the end of each year we like to review the events that those of us on the team and you think are the most significant

things that have happened during this year. We are pretty loose about what can be included but want to talk about blindness things, technology, movies,

books and whatever else seems to come up. There are some things we know we should be thankful for and we like to look at some of those. There are probably

some trends that are not so great and we will probably talk about some of those. The bottom line, dear topickers, is that we want to end up with a sense

of 2025 that we can take forward with us to 2026.

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co