[MN-at-Large] What's Happening in Minnesota

Mon Sep 12 23:03:58 UTC 2022

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>Hi Everyone,
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>As I write this, it is September 11.  It seems 
>impossible that it was twenty-one years ago 
>today that the events that have affected all us 
>occurred.  On a much lighter note, it is also 
>hard to believe that we are already approaching 
>fall and that our state convention is less than 
>two months away. There is a lot going on.
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>Walk for Opportunity
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>Yesterday, we completed our 41st Walk for 
>Opportunity.  Those of us in Minneapolis walked 
>around Lake of the Isles and Lake Bde Maka 
>Ska.  Our weather was perhaps the best weather 
>that I can remember for our Walk for 
>Opportunity, and I can still say I participated 
>in all of them. We still have pledges that we 
>know are going to be collected, but we have 
>already raised almost $4,100.  I want to thank 
>all who have donated and all of those who 
>participated in making this a success.  An event 
>like this can't happen without a lot of planning 
>and work behind the scenes.  Thank you to our 
>Walk for Opportunity planning committee for 
>their very hard work yesterday and over the past 
>couple of months.  Members of the committee 
>included Jennifer Dunnam, Deanna Langton, Dave 
>Andrews, Jan Bailey, Lina Howard, and Kotumu 
>Kamara.  A number of others stepped up to help 
>make this event successful.  This includes such 
>essential details as getting bottled water to 
>the event, bringing folding chairs, and 
>designing and delivery of walk t-shirts. These 
>include Sharon Momthei, Corbb O'Connor, Jen 
>Sawczyn and Marcus, Harley Acy, Sam Flax, and 
>our driver Ann King. The above lists do not 
>include those who worked at checkpoints and 
>others who helped along the way to make this 
>happen. Over 40 people participated by helping 
>or walking, and that does not include those who made donations.  Thank you.
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>Minnesota Bulletin
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>The summer Edition of our newsletter, the 
>Minnesota Bulletin, is now available.  There are 
>a number of great articles again in this 
>issue.  You can read about our very first 
>fundraising walk back in 1982, how the ingenuity 
>of one of our members is used to do his job at 
>Target Field, get time management tips from a 
>successful blind student, and explore how a 
>blind member found a life-long joy of reading 
>through the texture and the feel of print books.
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>You can receive our newsletter in print or 
>braille, or you can read it on the web.  Read 
>the current issue at 
><http://www.nfbmn.org/minnesota-bulletin/summer-2022>Minnesota 
>Bulletin Summer 2022 or view all recent issues 
>at 
><http://nfbmn.org/minnesota-bulletin>Minnesota 
>Bulletin Recent Issues of our newsletters
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>State Convention
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>Plans continue to be developed for our first 
>in-person state convention since 2019.  It is 
>being held at the Hilton Minneapolis-St. Paul 
>Airport at 3800 American Blvd. East in 
>Bloomington.  You can now make your room 
>reservations using the link 
><https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hilton.com%2Fen%2Fbook%2Freservation%2Fdeeplink%2F%3Fctyhocn%3DMSPAHHF%26groupCode%3DFEDCI%26arrivaldate%3D2022-11-04%26departuredate%3D2022-11-06%26cid%3DOM%2CWW%2CHILTONLINK%2CEN%2CDirectLink%26fromId%3DHILTONLINKDIRECT&data=05%7C01%7C%7C7d1212a46857435ba56908da8d133dfe%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637977411034657222%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=4%2F9udHnjBy0%2FJrSLP%2FgOQfXsT1mMcJq0pkF713Nd2XQ%3D&reserved=0>State 
>Convention Hotel Room Reservation
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>Although the above link is accessible, you might 
>find it easier to make special room requests by calling the Hilton at
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>Hilton National Reservations:  1-800-774-1500
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>Hilton Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Phone: 952-854-2100 and Dial 0
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>To get our $89 room rates, give the operator the 
>code FEDCI.  This is referred to as the Group 
>Code or the Block Code.  There will be more 
>details very soon, but please plan to join us.
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>News from the Legislature
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>When you read the current issue of the Minnesota 
>Bulletin, you will see that a long-time friend 
>of ours in the state legislature passed away on 
>August 11. state Senator David Tomassoni was an 
>early supporter of our on-going effort to secure 
>more protection for blind parents, and he was 
>instrumental in getting our bill passed to 
>require that rehabilitation counselors for State 
>Services for the blind receive some adjustment 
>to blindness training. We will miss his support and we will also miss him.
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>National Strategic Planning Survey
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>The National Federation of the Blind is working 
>on our strategic planning for the organization. 
>An important survey to gather data will be 
>launched from September 19 through 25. This is a 
>short window, but the data is valuable to the 
>process. We want to hear from you. Thank you for 
>helping with this process. Mark your calendar to 
>be on the watch for the survey during that time.
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>New National Diversity, equity, and Inclusion Web Page
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>As announced during the September Presidential 
>Release, the National Federation of the Blind 
>has launched our Diversity, Equity, and 
>Inclusion webpage dedicated to sharing 
>resources, presentations, and publications, 
>including our five-year diversity calendar that 
>is meant to create awareness for planning. 
>Access this page at 
><https://nfb.org/index.php/get-involved/diversity-equity-inclusion>https://nfb.org/DEI. 
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>Dates to Keep in Mind
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>    * September 12 7:00 PM – Chapter Leadership Check-in Meeting
>    * September 17 10:00 AM – In Person Metro Chapter Meeting
>    * September 18 – At Large Chapter Meeting
>    * September 22 7:00 PM – Rochester Chapter Meeting
>    * September 23 – begin voting early or by mail for general election
>    * October 6 5:30 PM – State Rehabilitation 
> Council for the Blind Meeting, with those who 
> are able to meet in person meeting at 2200 University West
>    * October 11 7:00 PM – RiverBend Chapter Meeting
>    * November 4-6 – NFB of Minnesota State Convention
>    * November 8 – General Election
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>Best regards,
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>Steve Jacobson, President
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>National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota
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><http://www.nfbmn.org/>www.nfbmn.org
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>(612) 872-9363
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>www.nfb.org
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>Live the life you Want.
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>
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