[Mi-abs] FW: Candidates Forum participation Information

[Elizabeth Mohnke]

Hello All,

Simply passing along the information for those who may be interested and do
not subscribe to the national student email list.

Warm regards,
Elizabeth

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mary Fernandez
via nabs-l
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2014 8:50 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: [nabs-l] Candidates Forum participation informaation

Good evening,
Thanks to those of you who have submitted some excellent questions, please
keep them coming!
The forum will take place on
Wednesday June 25
at 8:00 PM EST
It will be moderated by Patti Chang, chair of the scholarship committee.
WE will be using the NABS conference line:
Phone: 605-475-6700
Passcode: 7869673

The candidates participating will be Candice Chapman and Justin Salisbury,
both of whom are running for the President's position.
I know that some of you will be disappointed by the fact that we can't
accommodate other board positions. Though it's something we can accommodate
this year, this is something that, if the membership is interested in, can
probably be arranged for future elections. But that's something to be
decided as a group.
I remember that back in 2011, when we had an amazing campaign from both
presidential candidates, Isaiah Wilcox and Sean Whalen, it occurred to me,
at around 2:00 A.M., that it'd be great to have a debate. People often
complained that no one knew who was running until they showed up at
elections, and at that point, 90- seconds wasn't enough to get to know a
candidate well. That year we had a fantastic election, and the close numbers
as well as the turn out, demonstrated an engagement and interest on behalf
of the membership, and the excellent job both gentleman had done in
campaigning. Lets take this opportunity to get to know both of our fellow
NABS members. But lets also remember what our responsibility as a membership
is. There has been a lot of back and forth about what NABS has and has not
done. And without commenting on the board, I'd like to remind all of us,
that it is our responsibility to shape the organization to what we want it
to be. As citizens, we must vote, that is the only way we have a voice.
IN this organization, not only can we vote, but we have direct access to
those we have elected to represent us. The greatest accountability system is
not put in place and reinforced by the governing body, it is created and
maintained by those who decided who would govern. I hope that the
discussions which have been sparked in lieu of this election do not fizzle
away when there aren't exciting developments. I hope that they continue,
that they grow, and that they energize this organization. Students and young
professionals have the opportunity not only to shape NABS but the NFB at
large, but the only way to shape is to be involved. So please, use all of
that incredible energy, critical thinking, and creativity to change and
improve the organization, and to nurture each other's skills and leadership.
Don't be afraid to think up ideas and call up whoever it takes to have
someone listen to them. Be ready to implement them. Come up with innovative
projects which can benefit the blind, and make them happen.
I hope that one day we will have not two but five or six NABS members who
want to run for president, and that the competition be intense, because each
member has contributed so much, that we as members will have a hard time
choosing.
All of that was to say to submit questions and call in on Wednesday!
But I did get a bit inspired...  --
Mary Fernandez
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what
you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
--
Maya Angelou

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