[NFBA-Phoenix] NFBA Phoenix Chapter Christmas Party and End of the Year

[Kim Parks]

Hello Fellow NFB Phoenix Chapter Members,

	I know we are all busy leading the lives we have set forth, even
through this pandemic. I do not know any of you personally. I may have
spoken to you briefly on the phone a time or two. My name is Kim Parks
and I am just a member, like you, of the Phoenix Chapter within the
National Federation of the Blind. I joined the Chapter just this past
March because I wanted to stay connected to people with similar
beliefs for equality and services for blind people that I hold. I love
the idea of not viewing my blindness as a characteristic that holds me
back from succeeding. Some of you have been Federationists a lot
longer than I have and some of you have become burnt out or tired of
not holding in-person meetings. It leaves a lot of the interpersonal
aspects of a group organization out, at least that’s the way it would
seem. The Phoenix Chapter has been making great strides to remain
active within the Affiliate, the community, and amongst the membership
as well. We would love for all of our members to return and open their
minds to this strange new era of virtual connectivity.

We hold our monthly chapter meetings every 1st Saturday of the month
from 9:30am-12:00pm virtually on ZOOM with your computer
https://zoom.us/j/95091177202, Meeting ID: 950 9117 7202, One tap
mobile +16699006833,,95091177202#, With Your Phone +1 669 900 6833,
Meeting ID: 950 9117 7202.

Every Monday evening, we hold a check-in meeting for anyone who is
interested at 6:00pm, except for the Monday following the Chapter
Meeting or a quarterly Business Meeting. The Zoom link for the Monday
Check-ins is the same.

The Phoenix Chapter is gearing up for a virtual Christmas Party this
Saturday, December 12 at 2:00pm to be held on the same ZOOM link as
well. Joy Harris is our Social Committee Chair this year and she has
planned a fun and entertaining virtual gathering for anyone who wants
to join us in celebrating the Christmas Holiday. At 2:00pm Marc
Schmidt from the West Valley will join us to play some Christmas
carols on his guitar and sing; we can sing along in our homes, but
mute our microphones; Alt+A on the computer or *6 on the phone. Then
we will hear from the Chapter President, Brad Kuhn about the donations
we made for Ellen; a grandmother from the Senior Division, who just
lost her daughter and is now raising her young granddaughter.
Hopefully, our Affiliate has helped to make her Christmas a little
better this year! Then we will each take turns as members and share a
positive experience from this year. Once we have concluded that, we
will take a short intermission from the gathering so friends and
family may grab food or snacks. At 5:15pm we will live stream the
audio described movie, “Dr. Suess’s, How the Grinch Stole Christmas”,
starring Jim Carey. A short break will be taken in the middle of the
movie from 6:15-6:30pm, then we will watch the conclusion of the
movie. We would love for as many members and their families to gather
with us Saturday.

This has been a tough year for many of us. I hate to even mention
money matters, but we have to talk about dues. If you are interested
in continuing on as an NFB AZ Phoenix Chapter member next year, 2021,
$5 dues are due preferably by December 18, 2020. During the January
2nd Chapter Meeting, the Nominations Committee will be announcing
their recommendations for the February Chapter elections. Only dues
paying members are eligible to vote. Voting will be done via a virtual
platform as well; Swift. The Committee is still working out how to
best implement this app for voting anonymously. They need everyone who
is voting to make sure they have current phone numbers on file with
Vicki Hodges, the current Chapter Secretary or you may reach out to me
and I will inform Vicki of any demographic changes.

There are a few options for paying your dues. You may go online to
https://az.nfb.org/dues/ and pay your $5 dues there. Also, there is
the option of making a $5 payment via Zelle to dsilba at cox.net with a
note for the what the payment is for and an email to Donna in both
cases at dsilba at cox.net letting her know that you just paid your
annual dues. Then she will be able to update the roster and the
payments quicker for bookkeeping. You still have the option of mailing
a check to Donna Silba for your dues if that is best, just let Donna
know. And there is one last option for paying dues by Apple Pay to
Brad Kuhn and let him know what it is for and from whom, then he will
send it to Donna.

I really hope you will consider joining us for the Christmas Party
this weekend. Please, don’t forget to pay your dues by December 18th.
Let’s go build a Federation! Be positive and happy with the moments of
goodwill and kindness, if anyone needs help paying their annual dues
please reach-out to Brad, Vicki or myself. I am excited about the
great possibilities the new year will bring to us as individuals and
as a Chapter. I hope you will consider joining in with me in
celebrating the achievements of this year and the possibilities for
the new year.

Wishing everyone the best,

Kim Parks
NFBAZ Phoenix Chapter Member
Membership Committee Member
Community Outreach Committee Member
602-432-9055
kamull13.kp at gmail.com

Brad Kuhn
NFBAZ Phoenix Chapter President
815-501-1153
papa.ks.kafe at gmail.com

Vicki Hodges
NFBAZ Phoenix Chapter Secretary
602-403-9019
vjazz at cox.net

Donna Silba
NFBAZ Phoenix Chapter Treasurer
dsilba at cox.net