[Mn-at-large] Weekly Update: June 10

[David Andrews]

>
>Greetings, fellow federationists,
>At the semiannual convention, one of the 
>recurring requests in our development seminar 
>was a desire for more regular updates to the 
>membership about goings-on. It is my goal to 
>send out updates on a weekly basis.
>I welcome any suggestions or feedback you 
>have­both about these updates and the organization in general.
>
>Board Meeting
>               We were pleased to have our June 
> board meeting at the home of Jan Bailey, our 
> Rochester president and a long-time member of 
> our organization. Jan informed me yesterday 
> that this is the 33rd year she has hosted the board.
>For those who haven’t had the pleasure of 
>sampling Jan’s cooking, you are truly missing 
>out. (Take it from me. You will want to bid on 
>her offerings at the bake auction at our annual 
>convention.) Yesterday Jan laid on quite a 
>spread, and for those of you who could not make 
>the meeting in Rochester, she was gracious 
>enough to share her recipes with me to 
>distribute. See the end of this email for some 
>salads you should add to your own repertoire.
>Thank you, Jan, for being such a warm and welcoming host.
>Here are some highlights from the board meeting:
>    * The board has approved holding our 
> convention in St. Cloud for the next two years. 
> This will enable us to keep room rates low for 
> convention attendees, and it means we will be 
> able to hold our 100th anniversary convention in the Metro Area in 2020.
>    * We are exploring the idea of a leadership 
> seminar to build a strong group of federation 
> leaders. I will send out more information about 
> this event as planning gets under way.
>    * We will once again be hosting an exhibit 
> table with BLIND Inc. at our national 
> convention in Orlando. Instead of each chapter 
> selling its own items and keeping track of its 
> own funds, we are going to sell NFBMN coasters 
> this year, and all chapters will receive a share of the proceeds.
>    * Each year, we support BLIND Inc. in 
> assisting students to attend our national 
> convention. I am honored that the board has 
> once again voted to provide that grant to BLIND 
> Inc. Our national Convention is one of the 
> strongest ways we can share our federation 
> philosophy with others, and I am pleased the 
> students will have the opportunity to share in that experience.
>    * The board has also approved funding for 
> members who are not students at BLIND Inc. to attend the convention.
>
>Legislative updates
>               The Foreign Relations Committee 
> of the United States Senate voted unanimously 
> late in May in favor of advancing the Marrakesh 
> Treaty to the full Senate for its advice and 
> consent. This treaty, if adopted, would assist 
> blind people all over the world in obtaining 
> access to books in a specialized format.
>               Our space available bill, which 
> enables veterans with a service-connected 
> permanent disability rated as total to travel 
> on military flights with available seating, was 
> included in the senate’s version of the 
> National defense Authorization Act. This act 
> has passed out of committee and now needs to be 
> voted on by the full senate. The house version 
> of this bill was passed on May 24, and it also 
> included our space available language.
>
>State Convention
>               We are in final negotiations with 
> the hotel in St. Cloud for the next two years. 
> I believe we have nearly everything locked 
> down, but I do not want to send out full 
> details until the contract is signed. I plan to 
> have dates and details to you before our national convention.
>               As part of convention 
> festivities, we are exploring the idea of 
> having a dinner social on Friday evening. It is 
> often difficult to get dinner right after the 
> afternoon meetings and before the division 
> meetings begin, usually because the on-site 
> restaurant is full of people. To solve this 
> problem, we would like to offer a low-cost 
> dinner, provided by the hotel, to be served 
> over the dinner hour. The food and atmosphere 
> would be casual, and federationists would have the chance to mix and mingle.
>               I would like to hear from people 
> who would be interested in attending such an event.
>
>Walk for Opportunity
>               Our annual walk for opportunity 
> will be held on September 22 in Rochester. More 
> details will emerge as the event gets closer, 
> but I encourage everyone to begin fundraising 
> for the event now. This is one of our largest 
> fundraisers for the year, and we want to continue to make it successful.
>
>If you have information you would like included 
>in a future update, or if I can help in any way, 
>please don’t hesitate to email me at 
><mailto:president at nfbmn.org>president at nfbmn.org
>
>Dates to keep in mind:
>    * July 3-8: NFB National Convention in Orlando
>    * August 25: BLIND Inc. Board of Directors meeting
>    * September 22: Annual Walk for Opportunity
>
>Warmly,
>Ryan Strunk, President
>
>And now 
 the recipes
>
>Chicken and Brown Rice Salad
>1 c. brown rice, I used Jasmine
>2 c. chicken broth or water
>1/2 c. sliced water chestnuts
>1 sm. onion, chopped
>1 c. cooked & chopped chicken
>1 c. grapes, red or green, cut in half
>1 c. slivered almonds or cashew halves, I used cashew halves
>
>DRESSING
>
>2/3 c. mayonnaise
>Dash of lemon juice
>1/2 tsp. pepper
>
>boil rice in broth or water until tender and 
>liquid is gone, 40 minutes. Combine mayonnaise, 
>lemon juice and pepper. Mix well and set aside.
>
>Combine all of the remaining ingredients except 
>the nuts. Stir in dressing and chill. Add nuts shortly before serving.
>
>Watergate Salad
>1 package (4-serving size) Jell-O Pistachio 
>Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
>1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
>1 cup miniature marshmallows
>1/2 cup chopped walnuts nuts
>2 cups thawed Cool Whip Topping
>
>Stir the pudding mix, pineapple with juice, 
>marshmallows and nuts in large bowl until well 
>blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. 
>Refrigerate 1 hour or until ready to serve. Garnish as desired.
>
>Makes 8 servings
>Jan’s note: I add maraschino cherries at Christmas time to this salad.
>
>Tuna Macaroni Salad
>
>2 cups dry elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
>one 3 ounce can or packet tuna
>1 can of peas, drained
>1 stalk celery, chopped
>1 quarter medium onion, chopped
>salt and pepper to taste
>5 to 6 tablespoons Helman’s mayonnaise to hold salad together
>
>Mix all ingredients, and thoroughly cool before serving.
>
>Loaded Baked Potato Salad
>•            15MINPrep Time
>•            60MINTotal Time
>•            7Ingredients
>•            8Servings
>Ingredients
>3 lb red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
>1 cup mayonnaise
>1/2 cup sour cream
>Salt and pepper to taste
>1/3 cup sliced green onions
>8 slices thick-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
>1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
>Directions
>1.           Place 3 lb red potatoes, cut into 
>1/2-inch pieces, in large pot; fill with water 
>until potatoes are just covered. Add a 
>tablespoon of salt to water, if desired. Heat to 
>boiling; simmer 7 to 9 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender.
>2.           Drain potatoes; rinse with cold water until cool. Set aside.
>3.           In large bowl, beat 1 cup 
>mayonnaise, 1/2 cup sour cream, salt and pepper 
>to taste with whisk until smooth.
>4.           Add cooled potatoes; stir to coat. 
>Add 1/3 cup sliced green onions, 8 slices bacon, 
>cooked and crumbled, and 1 cup shredded Cheddar 
>cheese (4 oz). Gently stir to combine. Cover and 
>refrigerate until ready to serve.
>
>Source: Pillsbury
>
>
>Ryan Strunk, President
><mailto:president at nfbmn.org>president at nfbmn.org
>www.nfb.org
><http://www.nfbmn.org>www.nfbmn.org
>(612) 872-9363
>Live the life you Want.


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