<html>
<body>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><br>
Greetings, fellow Federationists,<br>
This weekend, we celebrated the career of Becky Bergmann, the home
management instructor at BLIND Inc. from October 2006 until June of this
year. Becky had a well-attended, lively party, and there she shared her
reflections on her past 12 years. It is worth noting that Becky served
nearly 300 students and more than 80 staff members and SSB trainees. Many
of you, I’m sure, were students of hers. I was myself when I first moved
here.<br>
In addition to her many accomplishments at BLIND Inc., Becky has also
been a strong presence in the National Federation of the Blind of
Minnesota. She has been at numerous metro chapter parties to help run
kitchen logistics, and, perhaps most impressively, she coordinated
numerous students over the years as they prepared items for our annual
bake auction, one of our largest fundraisers.<br>
Thank you, Becky, for being a member of NFBMN. We look forward to
continuing to have you as a strong force in our organization.<br>
<br>
<b>Board Meeting<br>
</b>We held our board of directors meeting on Monday via conference call.
Thank you to everyone who was present. There, we discussed upcoming work
for the organization, our fundraising and membership committees, and ways
in which we can bring our members and leaders closer together. If you
have ideas for other things we can do, I welcome your input.<br>
Our next board meeting will be the morning of August 4 here in the Twin
Cities.<br>
<br>
<b>Walk for Opportunity<br>
</b>The Walk for Opportunity is getting closer. We have now obtained this
year’s flyers, and they will shortly be distributed to whomever needs
them and posted on our website. Our Walk for Opportunity is one of our
biggest fundraisers, so we’ll need everyone’s help to make it a
success.<br>
<br>
<b>Social Media<br>
</b>I now have two volunteers to begin writing social media content for
our affiliate. Be looking on Twitter and Facebook shortly to see positive
messaging about our organization, announcements about upcoming events,
spotlights on our members, and more. Thank you to Sam Flax and Kayde
Rieken for stepping forward and volunteering. Our Twitter handle is
@nfbmn, and you can find us on Facebook by searching for National
Federation of the Blind of Minnesota.<br>
<br>
<b>Member Spotlight<br>
</b>This week we get to know Kia Yang, the new home management instructor
at BLIND Inc. and a long-time member of the National Federation of the
Blind. If you would like to share your own story, please write me.<br>
<br>
Kia came to us from Massachusetts, where she grew up in a house as the
sixth of ten brothers and sisters. Because she and three of her other
siblings were all blind, they attended Summer camps and youth activities
together, earning them the moniker The Yang Gang.<br>
Kia is a graduate of BLIND Inc.’s full-time program, worked the Summer
programs as a counselor, and now has the task of serving as the new home
management instructor. I have no doubt she will be fantastic in that
area.<br>
In her spare time, Kia enjoys playing guitar and singing. She is also a
fluent Hmong speaker.<br>
<br>
<b>Dates to Remember:</b>
<ul>
<li>August 4: affiliate Board of Directors Meeting
<li>August 25: BLIND Inc. Board of Directors Meeting
<li>September 22: Annual Walk for Opportunity
<li>November 16-18: Annual state Convention in St. Cloud
</ul> <br>
Be well,<br>
Ryan<br>
<br>
Ryan Strunk, President<br>
<a href="mailto:president@nfbmn.org">president@nfbmn.org</a><br>
<a href="http://www.nfb.org/" eudora="autourl">www.nfb.org</a><br>
<a href="http://www.nfbmn.org">www.nfbmn.org</a><br>
(612) 872-9363<br>
Live the life you Want.</blockquote><div id="DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2"><br />
<table style="border-top: 1px solid #D3D4DE;">
<tr>
<td style="width: 55px; padding-top: 13px;"><a href="http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient" target="_blank"><img src="https://ipmcdn.avast.com/images/icons/icon-envelope-tick-green-avg-v1.png" alt="" width="46" height="29" style="width: 46px; height: 29px;" /></a></td>
<td style="width: 470px; padding-top: 12px; color: #41424e; font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Virus-free. <a href="http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient" target="_blank" style="color: #4453ea;">www.avg.com</a>
</td>
</tr>
</table><a href="#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2" width="1" height="1"> </a></div></body>
</html>