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Hi Everyone,<br><br>
<br><br>
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.<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Walk for Opportunity</b></h2><br><br>
Yesterday, we completed our 41<sup>st</sup> 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.<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Minnesota Bulletin</b></h2><br><br>
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. <br><br>
<br><br>
You can receive our newsletter in print or braille, or you can read it on
the web. Read the current issue at
<a href="http://www.nfbmn.org/minnesota-bulletin/summer-2022">Minnesota
Bulletin Summer 2022</a> or view all recent issues at
<a href="http://nfbmn.org/minnesota-bulletin">Minnesota Bulletin Recent
Issues</a> of our newsletters<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>State Convention</b></h2><br><br>
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
<a href="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</a><br><br>
Although the above link is accessible, you might find it easier to make
special room requests by calling the Hilton at <br><br>
Hilton National Reservations: 1-800-774-1500<br><br>
Hilton Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Phone: 952-854-2100 and Dial
0<br><br>
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.<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>News from the Legislature </b></h2><br><br>
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. <i>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.<br>
</i><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>National Strategic Planning Survey</b></h2><br><br>
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.<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>New National Diversity, equity, and Inclusion Web
Page</b></h2><br><br>
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
<a href="https://nfb.org/index.php/get-involved/diversity-equity-inclusion">
https://nfb.org/DEI</a>. <br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Dates to Keep in Mind</b></h2><br><br>
<ul>
<li>September 12 7:00 PM – Chapter Leadership Check-in Meeting <br>
<li>September 17 10:00 AM – In Person Metro Chapter Meeting<br>
<li>September 18 – At Large Chapter Meeting<br>
<li>September 22 7:00 PM – Rochester Chapter Meeting<br>
<li>September 23 – begin voting early or by mail for general
election<br>
<li>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<br>
<li>October 11 7:00 PM – RiverBend Chapter Meeting<br>
<li>November 4-6 – NFB of Minnesota State Convention<br>
<li>November 8 – General Election<br><br>
</ul> <br><br>
Best regards,<br><br>
<br><br>
Steve Jacobson, President<br><br>
National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota<br><br>
<a href="http://www.nfbmn.org/">www.nfbmn.org</a><br><br>
(612) 872-9363<br><br>
<a href="http://www.nfb.org/" eudora="autourl">www.nfb.org</a><br><br>
Live the life you Want.<br><br>
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