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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> NFB-Legislative-Directors <nfb-legislative-directors-bounces@nfbnet.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Walls, Kyle via NFB-Legislative-Directors<br><b>Sent:</b> Friday, January 19, 2024 4:00 PM<br><b>To:</b> State Presidents <StatePresidents@nfb.org>; nfb-legislative-directors@nfbnet.org<br><b>Cc:</b> Walls, Kyle <KWalls@nfb.org>; President, National Federation of the Blind <OfficeOfThePresident@nfb.org><br><b>Subject:</b> [NFB-Legislative-Directors] Ten Days to the 2024 Washington Seminar!<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Good afternoon Affiliate Presidents and Legislative Directors:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We are only ten days away from the Great Gathering-In and the official beginning of the 2024 Washington Seminar. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get to DC and see the advocacy might of the National Federation of the Blind on full display, but before we get there we need to go over a few quick things.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We had our final Zoom training session on Tuesday evening, and you can now watch the <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/u8o0ha7xwtdo6t3osebss/WS-Training-Edit.mp4?rlkey=fp041a05r121aqgg4m7jp2f1u&dl=0">recording of the mock meeting</a> that we did then. Thank you to all of our participants during that meeting. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>As an additional method of preparation, the government affairs group came up with a few frequently asked questions regarding Washington Seminar as a whole and each of our three legislative priorities specifically. The full FAQ sheet is attached to this email. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>As a reminder, all of the fact sheets, the full Washington Seminar Agenda, a description of the Holiday Inn Washington Capitol – National Mall hotel, and a description of the United States Capitol Complex are all available on the <a href="https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/washington-seminar">Washington Seminar Page</a> of our website. We will also have all of these items available in Braille and print at the hotel. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I know there are still a few of you having difficulty with the Washington Seminar Portal. We had our CENA group check the website and unfortunately they have not been able to replicate some of the issues that are being reported. They have suggested that Portal users check if updates are available for their web browsers and see if that fixes the problem. If that does not fix the problem, and you find the Washington Seminar Portal too difficult to use, please send your meeting and rating information to <a href="mailto:hillappointments@nfb.org">hillappointments@nfb.org</a>. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>And now that I’ve finished with the updates, I thought it best to end on a high note to really get everyone excited to be in our nation’s capital. For the first time, the Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act has been introduced in the Senate! Yesterday, Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Senator Mike Braun of Indiana introduced S. 3621. This means that two of our Washington Seminar priorities now have legislation in both the House and the Senate. And we couldn’t have done it without all of you!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thank you for everything that you do. I look forward to seeing everyone in just ten short days!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Kyle Walls<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Research and Regulatory Specialist<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>410-659-9314, extension 2223 | <a href="mailto:kwalls@nfb.org">kwalls@nfb.org</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://nfb.org/"><span style='border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=210 height=76 style='width:2.1875in;height:.7916in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01DA4B17.8DEC8530" alt="Image removed by sender. National Federation of the Blind"></span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind"><span style='border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=24 height=24 style='width:.25in;height:.25in' id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image002.jpg@01DA4B17.8DEC8530" alt="Image removed by sender. Facebook"></span></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice"><span style='border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=24 height=24 style='width:.25in;height:.25in' id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image002.jpg@01DA4B17.8DEC8530" alt="Image removed by sender. Twitter"></span></a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind"><span style='border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=24 height=24 style='width:.25in;height:.25in' id="Picture_x0020_4" src="cid:image002.jpg@01DA4B17.8DEC8530" alt="Image removed by sender. Youtube"></span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>