The Stylus: February, 2026

Table of Contents

Presidential Ponderings: Together, Let’s Grow ACBO

By: Carrie Muth

As your president, I have pondered a great deal about where ACBO has been & where we are going. A few months into my first term (2020-2021), Covid changed all our lives. ACB started community calls over Zoom, and, ACB of Oregon stepped up with weekly chat calls that still run every Tuesday evening at7pm co-sponsored by ACBO & Coaching in the Dark. Many of our members continue participating in calls, facilitating some, & hosting. It has been an amazing adventure for the blind community.

I began my 2nd term  (2022-2023) excited to move back to in-person events & grow as an affiliate. That July/August, I was diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer. I am grateful for the amazing support from my ACBO family during all of the treatments & surgery. I am especially appreciative of the amazing ACBO Board that stood behind me and stepped up to see that ACBO continued. I realized how dedicated we are all to ACB of Oregon.

ACBO saw growth in 2024-2025. Blindskills & Southern Willamette chapters joined ACBO thanks to the hard work of Leonard Kokel & his dedication to chapter development. We had some great skill building Leadership events led by Peter Altschul. And, the Fun Squad put on some great conventions.

Over the past 6 years, participation has also changed. Our meetings and conventions went from in-person, to virtual, to hybrid. Despite the devastation of Covid, it has brought a wonderful sense of community to us and advanced how all of our members can participate.

Looking ahead in 2026-2027, I ponder what legacy to leave when I am o longer your President. What can we do to develop leaders? What can we do to help ACBO grow? How do we work together to “Make change VISIBLE (Valuing Independence, Supporting Inclusivity, and Bettering Lives for Everyone)? 

During our April Leadership event, we will ponder those questions to come up with some goals & plans to work on over the next 2 years. I will be holding a couple of Zoom meetings prior to then to get feedback from all of you (watch your emails to find out dates & Zoom info). I really hope we can set some goals & work together to move forward.

Let’s get excited & move ACBO forward!

Carrie Muth

carrie.muth.acbo@gmail.com

541-269-1993

Stylus Memories – Joke of the Quarter

Summer, 2001

Returning home from work, a blond was shocked to find her house ransacked and burglarized. She telephoned the police at once and reported the crime. The police dispatcher broadcasted the call on the channels, and a K-9 patrolling nearby was the first to respond. As the K-9 officer approached the house with his dog on a leash, the blond ran out on the porch, shuddered at the sight of the cop and dog, and then sat down on the steps. Putting her face in her hands, she moaned, “I come home to find all my possessions stolen. I call the police for help, and what do they do? They send me a BLIND policeman.

Legislative Report

Submitted by James Edwards, legislative committee.

The Oregon legislature is in a short session at the time of this writing. The session started on February 2 and will end in thirty five days. The session is packed with bills submitted by folks , most with no chance of even being heard, or if they are, they don’t get enough votes to move them to the next phase there were a little over two hundred bills this session but the main issues are the state budget, the transportation bill, and affordability of living. For a list of all the bills submitted this year, go to Oregon legislature.gov, and for a more comprehensive review of what’s happening in Salem, subscribe to the Oregon Capitol Chronicle newsletter. You can get a daily, or weekly update via email.  On another note, one of our former ACBO. Members , Art Stevenson, is running for a district seat for the House of Representatives in his district. His campaign slogan is ‘be smart, vote for Art.” If you want to speak to him, let me know and I will provide his phone number. Good luck, Art!

A 2026 Leadership Opportunity

Originally Published in the February Braille Forum

from the Durward K. McDaniel Fund Committee

Are you hoping to build your leadership skills or get more involved in ACB? Maybe you’re already taking on leadership roles and want to connect with others who share your passion. If any of that sounds like you, we’ve got a great opportunity you won’t want to miss.

This year, the Durward K. McDaniel (DKM) Fund Committee is proud to reach two major milestones of helping drive leadership in ACB! Thirty years ago, the DKM Committee launched the First-Timer program. Meanwhile, this year marks 10 years since we celebrated the inaugural class of ACB/JPMorgan Chase Leadership Fellows. 

As tradition holds, the DKM Fund Committee will select two ACB members — one on each side of the Mississippi River — to be our DKM First-Timers this year. Five members will also be chosen to take part in the ACB/JPMorgan Chase Leadership Fellows program. Both programs are designed to help you grow, learn, and experience ACB in a deeper way.

If you’re chosen, you’ll get to attend the 65th annual ACB Conference and Convention from July 24–31, 2026, in St. Louis, Mo. You’ll meet other leaders, spend time with past recipients, and take part in a wide range of convention activities that can help you build confidence, skills, and lasting connections.

Who Can Apply?

You must be blind or visually impaired, at least 18 years old, and a current ACB member.

DKM First-Timer Award:

  • You must have never attended an in-person ACB Conference and Convention.
  • You need at least two years of continuous membership in an ACB state or special-interest affiliate, or you must be a member-at-large serving on an ACB committee.

ACB/JPMorgan Chase Leadership Fellows Award:

You need at least three years of continuous membership in an ACB state or special-interest affiliate, or you must be a member-at-large serving on an ACB committee.

If you qualify, you’ll just need to fill out the online application and ask the president of your affiliate — or your committee chair if you’re a member-at-large — to submit the recommendation form.

Important Dates

Applications open January 1, 2026.

2026 DKM/Chase Award Application: https://forms.gle/U64TKDkxSiRbmwYs8

2026 DKM / Chase Recommendation Form: https://forms.gle/EqfMsJMuQncdj6mm8

Everything is due by April 1, 2026.

After applications close, the DKM Committee will schedule a 30-minute interview with each applicant in mid-April. Once interviews and reviews are complete, we’ll make our selections in late April. Two First-Timers and five Leadership Fellows will be chosen. If there aren’t eligible applicants on one side of the Mississippi, both First-Timers may be selected from the same region.

Everyone will be notified soon after decisions are made.

What’s Covered?

If you’re selected, ACB will cover round-trip airfare, transportation to and from the convention, double-occupancy hotel room, per diem for meals, registration, and tickets for certain events like the reception and banquet. Optional tours and activities aren’t included. You’ll be responsible for arranging any personal accommodations you need so you can fully participate throughout the week — including attending all general sessions and required events.

If you have any questions, reach out to Zelda Gebhard, DKM Committee Chair, at zgeb@drtel.net or (701) 709-0262.

Cookies Anyone?

By: Carrie Muth

My sister has been raising money to go on a missions trip to Scotland through her church; it is her first missions trip & first time traveling to another country.One thing she has sold are cookie kits. These are homemade sugar cookies with homemade buttercream frosting & sprinkles. For Valentine’s Day, she sold 22 kits & gave 4 away. She also sold them at Christmas time & will sell Easter themed ones. It is a lot of fun to have a kit ready to go. My grandkids were blessed with cookie kits & this Grandma was extra blessed to participate in the fun. 

These are the recipes my family has used for years. I believe the buttercream frosting recipe came from the back of a box of powdered sugar. 

SUGAR COOKIES

This was my Mom’s Recipe

Cream together:  

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

Add & mix to creamed mixture: 

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ cup milk

Add & combine: 

3 ½ cups flour

3 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

Roll & cut into shapes

Bake 350˚ for 8-10 minutes

** Before cutting into shapes, I have sprinkled the rolled dough with colored sprinkles (red or green at Christmas time) when I did not plan to frost them.

Buttercream Frosting

** This frosting is white, you can easily change the color by adding food coloring. My sister puts some into smaller bowls to have different colors depending on the season (red/green for Christmas, pink/purple for Valentine’s, etc.)

1pound (3 ¾ c) powdered sugar

1/4 c milk (gradually add)

2/3 c butter or margarine (at room temperature)

It tastes better with butter, but is still good with margarine

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream all ingredients together.

Gradually add the milk for the desired consistency – if the frosting becomes too runny, add a little powdered sugar

Variations – 

Peanut butter frosting – Add 2-3 heaping tablespoons of peanut butter – (This is how my sister makes it – My Mom used to substitute peanut butter for the butter – I think adding the peanut butter makes a creamier frosting)

Chocolate frosting – Add 2-3 tbsp baking cocoa to the recipe

Chapter Update: Southwestern

Submitted by James, Vice President, Southwestern chapter

Hello from the Southwestern Chapter of ACBO. We are located in the city of Coos Bay just a stones throw from the ocean beaches. If you like winter storms, the sound of huge waves crashing on the rocks, feeling strong winds blowing rain in your face, or listening to sea lions barking from the rocks, this is the place to be. As a chapter we meet the second Saturday of the month for our business meeting and lunch at a nice restaurant on the grounds of a retirement home. We currently have twenty three members, of which fifteen were present and one guest at our February meeting. Our guest was present as a result of an ad placed in a local paper seeking voluntary drivers for our group. We are fortunate to have several well known acb members in our group. Michael Babcock is our president,, Leonard Kokel is our treasurer, Mallory Babcock is our secretary, myself, James Edwards is vice president. We also have our state president, Carrie Muth. Along with her husband, Peter Altschul as members. Our newest members, Jim and Judy Huston joined last year as a result of an ad advertising our meetings placed by Diane Beggs, our public relations person. Diane is also our event coordinator, starting a monthly bowling league which is well attended, with lunch afterward at eh bowling alley cafe. As with all chapters fundraising is always an issue. We do participate in the bottle drop recycle program,, Leonard and Tony Clausen manage a donation box setup, and of course, Tony collects money for the fifty fifty drawing each month. To try and keep our meetings interesting and informative we have special speakers and programs at times throughout the year. Our chapter is doing good because we are engaged. Frequently Peter invites us to a concert he is singing in. We talk about issues concerning the blind community, or assistive technology. Personal interactions within our membership to keep united, for any and all chapters.       

Chapter Update: Willamette

Will Emma chapter met in January with its new officers. We had many discussions about our new vision for this coming year. The membership decided that we would concentrate on local government. In that regard, some of the members will be attending city Council meetings to see what they are doing about pedestrian safety on the sidewalks and other issues. In addition, we have been discussing fundraising and we’ll play Blind bingo in March. We are hopeful that we can do this with the senior center in the future and get others involved. The AVI board, which was the board that handles and distributes the money from the sale of the school for the Blind, made a decision to donate the entire fund to two organizations. We split the money in half, with half going to the Talking book summer reading program for the youth and the other half going to the summer program for youth with the Northwest Association of Blind Athletes. Each should get approximately $4500. We felt this was a very good use of the money and was enough so that they could actually do something with it.