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October 26 Vet Tech Explores iOS Update, App

Vet Tech Launches Fourth October Session Spotlighting iOS 16 Favorites and VA’s Health and Benefits Mobile Application Join the Blinded Veterans Association’s Vet Tech Team this Wednesday, October 26, at 2:00pm Eastern Daylight Time. Together, we will explore our favorite iOS 16 features and then discuss the VA Health and Benefits mobile application. The advent of iOS 16 brought many positive updates and changes to iOS devices: people detection, door detection, navigational gestures while typing, […]

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October Dog Handlers Committee Meeting

The Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) invites and encourages you to attend next week’s monthly Zoom meeting of the organization’s Dog Handlers Committee. The Tuesday, October 18, session is open to all veterans with sight loss who are interested in topics and issues associated with guide dogs. Veterans who do not currently have a working guide dog are still welcome to attend. The discussion is also not limited to a particular group of dog handlers already […]

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October 19 Vet Tech Features Eschenbach

Vet Tech Launches Third October Session Spotlighting Optical and Electronic Vision Aids Join the Blinded Veterans Association’s Vet Tech Team this Wednesday, October 19, at 2:00pm Eastern Time. We will welcome Timothy Gels, Director of Marketing at Eschenbach Optik of America, as he presents the company’s innovative and high-quality magnification and vision-enhancing devices for veterans with sight loss. The award-winning array of devices can enhance independence, productivity, and quality of life. In this session, participants […]

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BVA Vet Tech Presents Vispero

Vet Tech Launches Second October Session SpotlightingVispero’s ZoomText, Fusion, and JAWS Join the Blinded Veterans Association’s Vet Tech Team this Wednesday, October 12, at 2:00pm Eastern Time. We will welcome the Freedom Scientific Podcast Team of Rachel Buchanan, Director of User Education and Technical Support, and her colleague Liz Whitaker, for an overview of ZoomText, Fusion, and JAWS. The three software solutions enable any individual with vision loss to access a Windows computer through screen […]

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Blinded Veterans Association Expands Criteria for Organization Membership

Voting in convention assembled at the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) 77th National Convention in Washington, DC on August 26, the organization’s membership elected to align its membership policies with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Blind Rehabilitation Service (BRS) Directive 1174, Blind and Visual Impairment Rehabilitation Continuum of Care. The alignment includes any future updates or revisions to Directive 1174. There were no dissenting votes in the adoption of a newly […]

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BVA Vet Tech Presents OrCam Read

BVA Vet Tech Launches with a Spotlight on the OrCam Read, the new way to read! Join the Blinded Veterans Association’s Vet Tech Team this Wednesday, October 5, at 2:00pm Eastern Time. We will welcome Michelle Mendez, OrCam’s National Director of Sales, who will explain the many ways you can use the OrCam Read’s award-winning Artificial Intelligence technology to read printed or digital text anytime, anywhere. Specifically, the session will teach:      • Basic […]

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VETERANS WITH SIGHT LOSS TO REUNITE IN NATION’S CAPITAL

Veterans from across the United States will gather in Washington, DC, next week, August 22-26, for the 77th National Convention of the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA), a congressionally chartered Veterans Service Organization dedicated exclusively to supporting veterans and their families coping with sight loss. Leaders and members of the organization serve as ambassadors and mentors to their fellow veterans. The annual convention, held this year at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill with some […]

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National Convention Schedule of Events Now Live

Attention BVA 77th National Convention Attendees! We greet you from sunny and very warm Washington, DC, as we anticipate the organization’s upcoming 77th National Convention at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. In anticipation of the opening of this historic gathering, now just 14 days away, we call your attention to the convention schedule now posted on the BVA website here. The links to both a Word and a PDF document are located at […]

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BVA Applauds U.S. AbilityOne Commission Final Ruling

The Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) has released a statement lauding the U.S. AbilityOne Commission’s final rule issued last week that prohibits payment of subminimum wages on contracts within the AbilityOne Program. Under the rule, individuals who are blind or have significant disabilities and who work on AbilityOne contracts will earn at least the federal minimum wage, the applicable local or state minimum wage, or the applicable prevailing wage – whichever is highest. “This final rule […]

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BVA To Host Final Pre-Convention Townhall August 4

The National Board of Directors of the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) has scheduled a final virtual townhall to review refinements to the revised national bylaws based on member input during the three sessions held last week. Please plan to attend the August 4 meeting via Zoom at 2:00pm Eastern Time. The townhall will be limited to a single meeting to include blinded veterans from all four districts nationally. “We are pleased to report that our […]