[NABS-L] Registration, Membership Dues, and Principles of Engagement for the 2021 NABS Business Meeting

Tue Jun 1 19:19:14 UTC 2021

The listserv does not strip anything -- it is happening somewhere else.

Dave

At 12:31 PM 6/1/2021, you wrote:
>Hi Ellen and All, It has been brought to my 
>attention that the listserv strips hyperlinked 
>text before sending out my emails. So sorry for 
>any confusion. The announcement has been sent 
>out again, but here is the registration link: 
>https://forms.gle/D9jKCUTPt6HfPKUK8 Best, Trisha 
>-----Original Message----- From: NABS-L 
><nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of ellen 
>bartelt via NABS-L Sent: Tuesday, June 1, 2021 
>10:21 AM To: National Association of Blind 
>Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> Cc: 
>ellen bartelt <embartelt at gmail.com> Subject: Re: 
>[NABS-L] Registration, Membership Dues, and 
>Principles of Engagement for the 2021 NABS 
>Business Meeting Hi Tricia, I can not find the 
>form to register for the business meeting for 
>national convention. Can you attach the form to 
>an email. Than you, Ellen Bartelt Sent from my 
>iPhone > On Jun 1, 2021, at 12:05 PM, Trisha 
>Kulkarni, National Student President via NABS-L 
><nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote: > > ï»¿ > Hello NABS 
>Family, > > Can you believe itâ€™s already June? 
>2021 is flying by, but the good news is that 
>means Itâ€™s time to get pumped up for the 
>national convention and specifically for what we 
>anticipate will be the largest gathering of 
>blind students to date! > > We are excited to 
>announce that registration for the 2021 NABS 
>Business Meeting, happening on July 7, 2021,  is 
>now live. This year, we have a few items 
>pertaining to membership dues and our election 
>process that we want to share as well. Please 
>read this email in its entirety. > > Registering 
>for the 2021 NABS Annual Business Meeting We 
>invite all > students, life-time learners, and 
>allies to register for our NABS Business meeting 
>using this form. Completing registration will 
>help ensure we have your most up to date 
>information. Not to mention, it will be what 
>qualifies you for amazing door prizes throughout 
>the evening. > > Please note that anyone can 
>register to attend our event up until the start 
>of the convention on July 6, 2021. However, if 
>you intend to vote in this yearâ€™s election 
>process, you must be registered by June 21, 
>2021. > > 2020-2021 Membership Dues > We 
>additionally want to notify all current and 
>potential members of an important note for this 
>yearâ€™s membership dues collecting process. The 
>National Federation of the Blind is 
>transitioning from a fiscal calendar year to a 
>regular calendar year (beginning in January and 
>ending in December.) For this reason, we are 
>making a one-time exception to our dues 
>collecting process in advance of the January 
>2022 deadline in accordance with guidance put 
>forth by the NFB's National Board of Directors 
>. > > Your membership is ensured through the end 
>of 2021, and assuming you register for our 
>business meeting, you are  eligible to vote in 
>this year's election process in the following 
>cases: > > •            Your dues were ppaid 
>last year on or before December 31, 2020 > > 
>•             Youâ€™ve paid your dues since 
>January 1, 2021 > > •            You will pay 
>your $5 dues before June 211, 2021 > > Please 
>note that this change will require all members 
>to renew their membership status starting in 
>January 2022. If you are unsure of your 
>membership status, contact NABS secretary, 
>Mausam Mehta by email  at 
>mausam.mehta.nfb at gmail.com or by phone at (540) 
>466-6033. If you have questions regarding your 
>dues payment, please contact NABS Treasurer 
>Elizabeth Rouse by email at 
>elizabethrouse.nfb at gmail.com or by phone at 
>(563) 210-1854. > > > > 2021 NABS Elections > 
>Given that this meeting will be taking place on 
>Zoom, we want to do our best effort of providing 
>clarity and advanced notice for how our election 
>process will be managed in 2021. Attached, 
>pasted below, and soon on our website, you can 
>find our 2021 Principles of Engagement reviewed 
>and voted on by the NABS Board on May 31, 2021. 
>This language is not meant to change our 
>constitution in any way, but rather share how we 
>plan to accommodate the virtual setting in 
>carrying out our work. These principles will be 
>read during the meeting before moving into 
>official business. > > We know that online 
>elections and conventions can be a bit tricky to 
>navigate, so we invite you to send any/all 
>questions about the above outlined process to 
>NABS 1st Vice President Kenia Flores at 
>kflores at keniaflores.com. > > We cannot wait to 
>celebrate another year of accomplishments with 
>you this July! > > > > Yours, > > Trisha 
>Kulkarni > > President | National Association of 
>Blind Students > > A Proud Division of the 
>National Federation of the Blind > > 
>www.nabslink.org > > > > National Association of 
>Blind Students (NABS) Principles of Engagement > 
>The principles and procedures below were adopted 
>by the NABS Board on May 31, 2021 and are 
>intended to provide clarity and advance notice 
>on how the NABS Business Meeting will be managed 
>this year. This document will be distributed to 
>our membership and housed on our website in 
>June. Additionally, it will be read at the 
>business meeting prior to any official business 
>taking place. > > All individuals who are 
>dues-paying members as of June 21, 2021 and who 
>opted into the voter enrollment system prior to 
>our business meeting will constitute the pool of 
>convention voters. > All voting will be done via 
>text or call, and the results will be viewed by 
>a representative who has been appointed by the 
>President of the National Federation of the 
>Blind. > Any matter must receive greater than 
>fifty percent support of the votes cast by the 
>active members present and voting in order to be 
>affirmed. > Present and voting will mean the 
>subset of active members who actually cast a 
>vote on a given question. Thus, voters who are 
>indifferent to a matter cannot block its 
>consideration by choosing not to cast a vote. > 
>All votes will be allocated two minutes for vote 
>time. > If voting indicates 75 percent support 
>for or against a question prior to the 
>two-minute period elapsing, the chair may elect 
>to move to the next order of business. > An 
>opportunity to practice voting using the system 
>will be offered on a question that has no impact 
>on the policy of the organization. > > > Motions 
>and Nominations from the Floor A member can make 
>or second a > motion by using the raise hand 
>feature on Zoom. The chair will then give the 
>member the opportunity to unmute and verbally 
>state their motion or second. > The membership 
>will be given the opportunity to electronically 
>submit votes in instances where a matter needs 
>to be affirmed or opposed, such as accepting the 
>Treasurerâ€™s Annual Report. > Members may 
>unmute themselves to make a nomination. The 
>individual who is nominated must be present to 
>accept or decline the nomination. > After 
>reading the slated name for a given position, 
>the Chair will continue prompting for any other 
>nominations from the floor until three 
>consecutive calls are made with no response. At 
>this point, nominations will be considered 
>closed. In the case that the slated name for a 
>given position is unopposed, the Chair will then 
>ask for a motion to elect the nominee by 
>acclamation. Otherwise, each nominee will get 
>sixty seconds to address the membership before 
>voting commences. > Miscellaneous > All 
>dues-paying members will have the ability to 
>vote using Swift, the voter enrollment system. > 
>In the event NABS encounters technical 
>difficulties with the Swift platform, all 
>nominations will be collected live. Then, 
>members will be sent a Google form via email 
>with a restricted time frame to cast their votes 
>using a ranked-choice voting process. In order 
>to obtain a majority, members will rank their 
>choices out of the candidates listed. Results 
>will be concluded with the assistance of a 
>representative appointed by the President of the 
>National Federation of the Blind and will be 
>announced no later than the close of 
>convention. > NABS is committed to fostering an 
>inclusive environment for everyone. In the event 
>a member is unable to participate fully in this 
>outlined election process and requires an 
>accommodation to make a motion, nominate and 
>individual, or vote, this individual can contact 
>NABS First Vice President, Kenia Flores at 
>kflores at keniaflores.com to discuss alternative 
>means of engagement. Additionally, designated 
>Zoom moderators will be overseeing the Zoom chat 
>and participant list throughout the meeting and 
>elections to facilitate alternative 
>participation. > > > _______________________________________________ >