[Community-service] Thank you for "Shining In Service" with us.

Thu Jul 20 20:38:58 UTC 2017

Dear Friends,
  Thank you very much for attending the activities of the Community Service  division of the National Federation of the Blind..

Our annual division meeting had great presenters who had wonderful, informative and inspiring words to share.  we hope that you learned, contributed  and enjoyed participating.  Personally, it is always a pleasure of mine to have the privilege of putting the agenda together.
 From Patti Greggory-Chang, to Chris Danielson  ,to our  National  Federation of the Blind scholarship Finalists  and the many other  stories that were shared, we found a united message of a belief in the blind and the expectation that we take our positive philosophy about blindness  beyond where we would traditionally go, so that we can individually and collectively Shine in service to our communities and alter the pattern of thought that society has about blind people.  
 We as members of the Federation have a tremendously strong belief in ourselves and our value as  people who’s blindness is simply a characteristic that doesn’t define  who we are and the impact we can have on the world  in which we live.  If you somehow missed our elections, I am pleased to report that we elected the following officers:
 President: Darian Smith
Vice-President: Ronnie Bellomy
 Secretary: Janae BurgMeier
Treasurer:   Kyra Sweeney 
Board member 1: Chris Parsons
Board member 2: Johna Wright
Board member 3: Jeanetta Price

 We look forward to getting to work on  Building the Division, serving our communities, and  in so doing  strengthening the Federation on a local, state and national level.

I want to Recognize outgoing officer and board members Dacia Cole: Vice President, Jonathan Franks: Treasurer,and Tara Abella: Board Member.  for their work as leaders in this division and as most recent past members of the board of directors.
 We would not be where we are today if it were not for their individual and collective contributions.  For this, I thank them. Additionally I want each of them to know that their contributions have made a difference to others at least as much as they have for themselves.

Ms. Pat of the NFB of Texas, Golden Triangle Chapter and Melissa Gerber of the NFB of Hawaii Honolulu Chapter get a special shout out for  springing   into action when we found ourselves in need of counters for the elections during our division meeting.
 This was the first time that our elections required counters, and I thank both of these individuals for stepping capably into the role when it was needed.  I also want to thank those who ran for elected office at our division meeting, as this speaks to the growing number of emerging leaders within our Division.

Thanks goes to Kyra Sweeney for coordinating all things green up service project during the convention, and Tara Abella for working to make the Kids Camp project  possible. Thanks goes to Jonathan for making sure that everything stayed the course  at Kids Camp and thanks to Johna Wright for making sure there were photos of all the great activities over the week. 
Thank you to Chris Parsons who got our website ready  for convention, and made sure our division meeting agenda got on the site for public consumption.  Thanks also go to Ronnie Bellomy for serving as our door prize lady and generally stepping in where it was needed. 

a huge thank you goes to Jeanetta Price for donating her time, talent and resources in order to make our diamond raffle fundraiser a reality.
 Special Thanks and appreciation goes to Ms. Melissa Thomas, Store Manager of Kay Jewelers of Beaumont, Texas for graciously donating the stunning diamond ring and earring set that  we raffled   at convention.  Congratulations to Glenda Alfred, as she was the winner of the jewelry, and thank you to those who supported the division by purchasing raffle tickets.
Thank you to Hiba George, Jarad Plante, and the rest of the Orlando AmeriCorps Alums contingent  who took time out of their Thursday evening in order to assist in various capacities in order to help us put on a successful trivia event.
Thank you to Victoria who entered in the winning bit in our silent  auction. She took home four bottles of Whine, and  probably a few new friends as well.

Thank you to Julie McGinnity and Chris Nusbaum for serving as guest judges. Though we couldn’t get a mic in front of them, I promise you that they sang along to a good portion of the songs and scored answer sheets. 
 Thank you to those who came to trivia night and made it the enjoyable event that it always seems to be, and thank you to those who have given their feedback about the event, both positive and constructive.

I want to thank those who attended our brainstorming meeting, and want to thank Carol Castellano for bringing up the idea and helping us by facilitating the meeting. We look forward to taking the feedback given and improving all that we do with your help.

I also want to thank John Berggren, as every year  he works to make so many things happen at convention. This year along with making  sure that we had a place to hold our division meeting and trivia night, he was able to fit in our last-minute request for meeting space for our brainstorming gathering.  Thank you for all you do, John.
 As you can tell, it takes many people to make these activities possible, and I truly apologize if I failed to recognize you here.  I know that there are too many people to thank for the noticeable and not so noticeable things that occurred, but my deepest gratitude goes to you even still.

 this division is  clearly on the rise and riding a wave of momentum out of convention.  What we do, how we do it and who takes part in the materialization of our  collective aspirations will have everything to do with where our momentum will take us.    ,.  ,.
 .    . 
We look forward to working with you to  expand community service opportunities for the blind of the nation, and  anticipate great success in working with you to create a platform that promotes the recognition of the true capacity of the blind through our intentional efforts in the area of community service.
 Please be in touch should you have any thoughts, questions, ideas or want to become more involved in  our work.
  Thanks,
 Darian
 p.s.
 Join our list serve <http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/community-service_nfbnet.org>.
like us on face book <https://www.facebook.com/CommunityServiceDivision>.

Follow us on twitter <https://twitter.com/nfb_csd>.
Connect with us on Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/nfb_csd/>.

Darian Smith
President, National Federation  of the Blind Community Service Division

Web: www.nfbcommunityservice.org

Twitter: @NFB_CSD, at goldengateace

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CommunityServiceDivision"

E-mail: president at nfbcommunityservice.org <mailto:president at nfbcommunityservice.org>

(415)215-9809

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.
 “We need your service, right now, at this moment - our moment - in history. I'm not going to tell you what your role should be; that's for you to discover. But I am going to ask you to play your part; ask you to stand up; ask you to put your foot firmly into the current of history” — Barack Obama 
 Help drive change for the blind .
Donate your car to the National Federation of the Blind today!
For more information, please visit: www.carshelpingtheblind.org <http://www.carshelpingtheblind.org/> or call 1-855-659-9314
“

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