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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Good Afternoon Federation Family:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>First, thank you to all for an amazing virtual convention this past weekend! I was personally wondering how well we would adapt to being virtual, but it went off very well. We couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help from the planning committee, to the zoom hosts and voting team, to everyone in attendance, you all helped make it a convention to remember. Oh, and don’t forget the surprise visit from President Riccobono! He stayed in the shadows, but I could tell he was thrilled with how things were going when he was there. Who can forget the amazing door prizes, the fabulous 50/50 drawings, and the knockout caraoke as well as the awesome banquet speech from our national rep, Adelmo Vigil? <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Now, on to a few updates from convention. First, congratulations to our newly elected members of the National Federation of the Blind Board of Directors. The 2020-21 board is as follows:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> President: Scott Van Gorp<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>First Vice-President: Cindy Ray<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Second Vice-President: Michael Barber<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Secretary: Terri Wilcox<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Treasurer: David Hammel<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Board Members:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Tom Venesky<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sharonda Goode<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Kim Brown<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thomas Topping<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I believe this board will help keep the momentum we’ve built thus far and continue to strengthen us all as we move forward. Thank you also to all who submitted their names for nomination. No that, even if you were not elected, you are no less valuable, and will play an equal role in our success moving forward! We also had elections for the At Large chapter and the Iowa Association of Blind Students, but I’ll let those leaders toot their own horns!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I have more to share, but I’ll do that a bit later. In the meantime, thanks for a great convention, and let’s go build the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Scott Van Gorp, President<br>National Federation of the Blind of Iowa<br>Phone: 515-720-5282<br></span><a href="mailto:svangorp@nfbi.org"><span style='color:#0563C1'>Email</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.nfbi.org/"><i><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#0563C1'>Website</span></i></a><i><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> <br></span></i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/National-Federation-Of-the-Blind-Of-Iowa-372681823082570/posts"><i><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#0563C1'>Facebook</span></i></a><i><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> <br></span></i><a href="https://twitter.com/nfb_iowa"><i><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#0563C1'>Twitter</span></i></a><i><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> <br>Live the life you want.<br></span></i><br>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.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>