<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"><base href="x-msg://783/"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">There was not an announcement. People on the board announced it to their state list serves apparently, and some folks elected to send it to NFBTalk. There is no official announcement. I wasn't sure when you would be back, Susie.<div>CL</div><div><br><div><div>On Dec 5, 2013, at 9:22 AM, "Stanzel, Susan - FSA, Kansas City, MO" <<a href="mailto:Susan.Stanzel@kcc.usda.gov">Susan.Stanzel@kcc.usda.gov</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div class="WordSection1"><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Thanks for sending this Cindy. Peg Halverson called me on Sunday and told me about it. As you know I was in California visiting my sister. I was quite surprised not to see something in my mail. I am not on all the lists. I would have thought the announcement would have gone to every NFB list.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Susie</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></p><div><div style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top-color: rgb(181, 196, 223); padding: 3pt 0in 0in; "><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; ">From:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; "><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Home-on-the-range [mailto:home-<a href="mailto:on-the-range-bounces@nfbnet.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">on-the-range-bounces@nfbnet.org</a>]<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>On Behalf Of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>Cindy Ray<br><b>Sent:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Thursday, December 05, 2013 7:46 AM<br><b>To:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>NFB of Kansas Internet Mailing List<br><b>Subject:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>[Home-on-the-range] Fwd: [nfb-talk] [Nfbv-announce] Retirement of Dr. Maurer</span></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> </p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Here is a message I think all should see if they haven't. I can't explain why the official silence, but the fact seems to be official. The header information that is still there I have left for documentation.</div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> </p><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> </p></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Cindy Lou</div></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> </p><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> </p><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Begin forwarded message:</div></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><br><br></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; ">From:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; ">"Bob Ray" <<a href="mailto:wa0kzb@gmail.com" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">wa0kzb@gmail.com</a>></span></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; ">Subject: FW: [nfb-talk] Fwd: [Nfbv-announce] Retirement of Dr. Maurer</span></b></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; ">Date:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; ">December 3, 2013 9:06:48 AM CST</span></div></div><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; ">To:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; ">"'Cindy Ray'" <<a href="mailto:cindyray@gmail.com" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">cindyray@gmail.com</a>></span></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> </p><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><br><br>From: nfb-talk [mailto:nfb-<a href="mailto:talk-bounces@nfbnet.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">talk-bounces@nfbnet.org</a>] On Behalf Of David<br>Andrews<br>Sent: Sunday, December 01, 2013 12:44 PM<br>To:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:david.andrews@nfbnet.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">david.andrews@nfbnet.org</a><br>Subject: [nfb-talk] Fwd: [Nfbv-announce] Retirement of Dr. Maurer<br><br><br>From: "Fredric Schroeder" <<a href="mailto:fschroeder@sks.com" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">fschroeder@sks.com</a>><br>To: "NFBV Announce" <<a href="mailto:nfbv-announce@nfbnet.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">nfbv-announce@nfbnet.org</a>><br>Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2013 11:12:29 -0500<br>Subject: [Nfbv-announce] Retirement of Dr. Maurer<br><br>Friends:<br><br><br><br>Over the weekend, I participated in a meeting of the board of directors<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>of the National Federation of the Blind. The meeting was held at our<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>national headquarters in Baltimore.<br><br><br><br>As you know, Dr. Marc Maurer has been our national president since<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>1986. He has served as president longer than any of our previous<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>presidents and has guided us through a period of unprecedented growth<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>and change. It was under Dr. Maurer's leadership that we established<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>the Jernigan Institute and all of the programs that have been so<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>successful in demonstrating the truth of our assertion that given<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>proper opportunity and training, blind people can live and work as others.<br><br><br><br>In particular we have developed many programs designed to provide blind<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>children and youth with the skills and confidence they need to compete<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>fully in their education and to develop their life ambitions. We have<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>conducted the Youth Slam, Science Academy, and more recently the BELL<br>programs.<br><br><br><br>In the area of technology under Dr. Maurer's leadership we developed<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>the KNFB Reader Mobile allowing blind people to have immediate access<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>to print with nothing more than a cell phone and special software. And<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>then there was the Blind Driver Challenge. There is no question that<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>lack of access to reliable transportation remains a major barrier for<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>blind people. Yet, the Blind Driver Challenge showed that we could<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>develop the technology to enable a blind person to drive a car, not<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>simply sit passively in a car that drives itself.<br><br><br><br>These are the expressions of Dr. Maurer's leadership. Yet at the heart<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>of his leadership is his spirit and his belief in every blind person.<br>He has inspired and encouraged us, faced the most difficult challenges<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>with resolution and strength, and he has kept us together, and never<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>let us waiver in our belief in our own right to live normal, productive<br>lives.<br><br><br><br>On Saturday afternoon Dr. Maurer told the board that it is his<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>intention to not seek reelection to the presidency next summer at our<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>national convention. He feels the time is right to transition to the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>next president, the next individual who can lead us for a quarter<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>century<br>or more. Dr.<br>Maurer is in good health and believes that it is important that he step<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>down from the presidency while he is able to assist with the transition.<br>Dr.<br>Maurer told the board that he, Dr. Maurer, plans to support Mr. Mark<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>Riccobono as the next president of the National Federation of the Blind.<br><br><br><br>Mr. Riccobono presently serves as the Executive Director of the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>Jernigan Institute. He is an accomplished individual with the strength<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>and wisdom to assume the serious responsibility of leading our<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>movement. He has brought to his work the imagination and competency we<br>demand from our president.<br><br><br><br>We are truly fortunate that within the Federation we have individuals<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>who are able and willing to give all they have to furthering our move<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>toward true equality. The demands of the NFB presidency are<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>unimaginable. We require our leader to give all of his time, all of his<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>imagination, and all of his personal reserve of judgment to leading our<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>organization. This is what Dr. Maurer has done for the past 27 and a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>half years, and it is what Mark Riccobono will do for the time of his<br>presidency.<br><br><br><br>The transition brings to an end one chapter in our history and what a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>glorious chapter it has been. We cannot face the loss of Dr. Maurer's<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>leadership without a sense of sadness; but the transition to a new<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>president is not just the absence of what we had before. The transition<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>heralds a new chapter in our history and with it, new opportunities-the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>chance to take all that has come before and build something bigger and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>more powerful than we have ever known.<br><br><br><br>Please join me in thanking Dr. Maurer for his leadership, his<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>friendship and his faithful devotion to our cause; and please join me<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>in wishing Mark Riccobono the very best as he seeks to take the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>foundation that is all that has come before and build upon it the next<br>great chapter in our history.<br><br>_______________________________________________<br><br></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Nfbv-announce mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Nfbv-announce@nfbnet.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">Nfbv-announce@nfbnet.org</a><br><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbv-announce_nfbnet.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbv-announce_nfbnet.org</a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><br><br>_______________________________________________<br>nfb-talk mailing list<br><a href="mailto:nfb-talk@nfbnet.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">nfb-talk@nfbnet.org</a><br><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org</a><br>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for<br>nfb-talk:<br><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org/theweird1%40mediacombb" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org/theweird1%40mediacombb</a><br>.net</p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> </p></div></div></div><br><br><br><br>This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. 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If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately. _______________________________________________<br>Home-on-the-range mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Home-on-the-range@nfbnet.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">Home-on-the-range@nfbnet.org</a><br><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/home-on-the-range_nfbnet.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/home-on-the-range_nfbnet.org</a><br>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Home-on-the-range:<br><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/home-on-the-range_nfbnet.org/cindyray%40gmail.com" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; ">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/home-on-the-range_nfbnet.org/cindyray%40gmail.com</a></div></blockquote></div><br></div></body></html>