<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<META NAME="Generator" CONTENT="MS Exchange Server version 14.02.5004.000">
<TITLE>Communication suggestion</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<!-- Converted from text/rtf format -->
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Dear Cincinnati NFB memb</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">ers,</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">First, thank those of you who were in attendance and for a fabulous and productive meeting. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Secondly, there was a definite undercurrent of</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">unrest</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">at a few points, and I’ve been</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">trying to figure out how we might fix it. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">We say we are like a family. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Certainly, all families have m</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">oments when all its members have trouble agreeing. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">As your leader, I believe I have accomplished much with our chapter in the last two years – creating three strong committees, adding an email list where we can have conversations outside meetings,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">securing a post office box,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">growing our board to its full complement of seven members,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">and increasing our</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">membership</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> significantly. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">I love the NFB and I love serving each and every one of you. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">If there are things that I or</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">another officer or board member or the chapter as a whole</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">do or fail to do</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">that displease you, I encourage you not to play the telephone game, but to bring it to the entire group. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">There is strength in solidarity a</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">nd only weakness in discord. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">My suggestion is this. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Could we ask one person out</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">s</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">ide the chapter to collect comments, complaints, suggestions from me</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">m</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">bers who submit them anonymously, and then look a</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">t them together, as a group, and figure out how to make our family a stronger one? </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">My suggestion is that perhaps someone at the state level – Eric or Barbara perhaps – would be willing to collect such comments for us, strip th</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">em of the identity of their senders, and compile them into a list. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">We then could look at the list as a group, addr</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">ess the concerns (or praises) raised there, and put negativity on the shelf. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">I have not asked</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> either of them if they would do this for us,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">mind you, as I am thinking this all pretty much at the spur of the moment. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">I just want to put an end to any dissatisfaction that individuals might be harboring, and move forward as</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">the truly dynamic group I know us to be.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">O</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">nly when we work together, collaboratively, and in a spirit of unity can we</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">enjoy genuine progress and accomplishment. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Please tell me privately or on this list what you think of the above idea, and I will ask one of our state leaders to help. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Let’s go build the Federation – together!</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Deborah</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
</BODY>
</HTML>