Friday, July 11, 2014

It's going to be a busy few weeks

On Monday I'll be in  Jacksonville. In order to file documents electronically for my disability clients I have to physically meet with a Social Security officer. Not only do I need to show up in person, but - to gain access- I must bring an SMS enabled phone for some reason. It's a bit of a drive so my friend and I decided to get there the night before to explore the city a bit. I still don't understand why I couldn't do all this remotely- over my cell, the internet or some form of webinar. I guess Social Security doesn't quite realize, that some of the attorneys may have disabilities just like their clients do and travel is always a great hassle. As a sidenote- SSA definition is of course a bit different and includes inability to work, so by their standards I'm not "disabled". That Thursday months of preparation for my first disability clients will culminate in a hearing here in Gainesville in front of a judge that is actually in California. It's my birthday two days later and my friends are beginning to ask where I want to go and what I want to do. Did you know that although I've lived in Florida for ten years I've never been to any of the Disney theme parks here? It would be quite an expedition, but it sounds like fun. On the 24th our Foundation will be making its debut at the American with Disabilities Act Expo in Gainesville. For us it's an urgent call to show our work and what we have been doing so far. I like having hard deadlines- it forces us to deliver, but it also makes us figure out where we are and what we are missing. And things have been quite exciting- we have a new creative manager, a recent transplant to Florida from Poland- and a pretty successful artist. I wish I could show you some of her designs, things that she seems to pop up so effortlessly, in no time at all, in the middle of the night. It tells you that presentation really is key, that strong visual presence is important. If you want to be treated as a professional, you've got to look professional. When I looked at her preliminary designs my jaw drops. And with every new entry it continues to drop. It's amazing to see how our ideas that may had sounded lofty and ambitious finally taking shape and materialize. And I see, but then again I always new this- were we failed with this project before. And where Jordan Klausner Foundation's efforts - although you got to applaud them for trying and determination- has failed prior to that. Delivering a well executed, powerful, visual message. I found their old brochure today. It was informative and has a lot of text, but it just didn't grab me. And I started to wonder- how many other nonprofits lose out because the fail to grab people's attention and attract them to the cause. It's a collaborative proccess- so we all look at things and read and discuss and comment. Things seem to be going well in that department. Our presence will be accompanied by new materials- flyers and business cards that follow that same design. We also expect to have some kind of a video presentation also edited by her and perhaps the accessibility app itself in some early stage. We're meeting to film again tomorrow. All this between phone calls from acquaintances to help them write a will or get their inheritance. I apologize for not writing as frequently recently.  Give me two weeks. I do have a bit on my plate right now.

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