[DSM-Iowa] Affiliate update - COVID-19 Response

[Scott Van Gorp]

Good Evening Federation Family:

We had a fantastic turnout for the first ever live presidential release
tonight with over 800 people in attendance. That release number 493 should
be posted soon for those who missed it. In response to that, I have some
very important updates regarding Federation activities and our response to
Covid-19.

First, I have been in communication with President Riccobono regarding our
go forward plans for the month of April since the current suspension on
in-person meetings was to expire on April 12th. I let him know of the
Governor's extension of her disaster proclamations through April 30th at her
press conference today. The national board will be meeting this weekend to
discuss the situation, and action will likely be taken nationwide. In the
meantime, as president of the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa, and
in coordination with our national president, I am hereby extending the
suspension of in-person federation gatherings through April 30, 2020. The
Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind will likely
follow suit and may suspend gatherings longer than that, and if it is
longer, we will follow that directive accordingly.

This leads into a discussion of what happens next. As many of you know, our
At Large chapter meets every third Thursday virtually at 7pm, and all of you
will be invited to that meeting. In addition, I will be working with chapter
leadership to see if it would be feasible to hold other chapter meetings
virtually as well. The affiliate will be transitioning to the popular Zoom
platform for our virtual events, and more details on how to join various
meetings by internet or phone will be communicated later once all of the
logistics have been worked out in the coming days, so stay tuned! If you
have an event you would like to see happen, please let me know, and I'll see
what we can do about it.

Now on to national convention. There will be an annual gathering in some
form, and the plan is still to have national convention in Houston, Texas
from July 14-19, but alternative plans are also in the works, and more
information will be communicated through various channels in the not too
distant future if needed. I'm looking forward to Houston, and I know many of
you are too. Hopefully plans don't change, but if they do, we'll still be
together as one big Federation family!

I now have a few action items for folks to get involved with, First, if you
or someone you know is having issues with distance learning at any level,
please let me know and I can help give some guidance and direct you to
resources that can help. Second, if you have, or know of anyone who has had
issues getting Covid-19 testing, please get in touch with me so that I can
get the information documented and passed on. This should not be happening,
and we will not stand for it! Third, watch your email, social media, and NFB
Newsline for upcoming virtual events that others are doing and get involved.
There are a lot of great things happening all across the country, and I'd
hate for people to miss out! Other information regarding Covid-19 is also
available on NFB Newsline and at www.nfb.org/covid19
<http://www.nfb.org/covid19> . Finally, if you can help check on those in
our affiliate who may need a little extra guidance during this pandemic,
please feel free to reach out and help in whatever way you can. One thing
Federationists do really well is help each other out through the most
challenging of circumstances.

I look forward to connecting with all of you soon, and I can't wait to see
how much better we as individuals and as the National Federation of the
Blind of Iowa will bee once this pandemic is all over. In the meantime,
let's go build the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa, and the
National Federation of the Blind!

           

Scott Van Gorp, President
National Federation of the Blind of Iowa
Phone: 515-720-5282
 <mailto:svangorp at nfbi.org> Email

 <http://www.nfbi.org/> Website 
 
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Live the life you want.

The National Federation of the Blind of Iowa is a community of members and
friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day
we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.

 

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