<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Below is the banquet speech for the national convention this year and Orlando. Unfortunately this is just a text. When ever the audio speech comes out, we will forward it to the list. This would be great to read before Saturday’s meeting for our philosophy discussion from 1130 until 1230.<br><br><div id="AppleMailSignature">Sent from my iPhone</div><div><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><b>From:</b> Amy Porterfield <<a href="mailto:APorterfield@saavi.us">APorterfield@saavi.us</a>><br><b>Date:</b> July 31, 2018 at 9:19:45 PM MST<br><b>To:</b> Brad Kuhn <<a href="mailto:Papa.ks.kafe@gmail.com">Papa.ks.kafe@gmail.com</a>>, Sharonda White <<a href="mailto:swhite@saavi.us">swhite@saavi.us</a>>, "<a href="mailto:TeresaMullen07@gmail.com">TeresaMullen07@gmail.com</a>" <<a href="mailto:TeresaMullen07@gmail.com">TeresaMullen07@gmail.com</a>>, Megan Homrighausen <<a href="mailto:megsvending@gmail.com">megsvending@gmail.com</a>>, Joe Goode <<a href="mailto:JGoode@saavi.us">JGoode@saavi.us</a>>, Tarik Williams <<a href="mailto:TWilliams@saavi.us">TWilliams@saavi.us</a>>, "<a href="mailto:blindseer@cybertrails.com">blindseer@cybertrails.com</a>" <<a href="mailto:blindseer@cybertrails.com">blindseer@cybertrails.com</a>>, Sami Hamed <<a href="mailto:SHamed@saavi.us">SHamed@saavi.us</a>>, "<a href="mailto:nfb.az.president@gmail.com">nfb.az.president@gmail.com</a>" <<a href="mailto:nfb.az.president@gmail.com">nfb.az.president@gmail.com</a>>, "<a href="mailto:freespiritedguy1@q.com">freespiritedguy1@q.com</a>" <<a href="mailto:freespiritedguy1@q.com">freespiritedguy1@q.com</a>><br><b>Cc:</b> Joe Goode <<a href="mailto:JGoode@saavi.us">JGoode@saavi.us</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>FW: Authenticity, Diversity, and the Synergy of the Organized Blind</b><br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>Hi everyone,</span><br><span></span><br><span>Thanks to Joe for finding the text copy of the speech. It is extremely powerful. If we can capture the spirit of the speech in our activities, we have done our part to build our federation. </span><br><span>When people ask us the question "What is the National Federation of the blind" our <a href="http://NFB.org">NFB.org</a> website directs us to answer.</span><br><span>The National Federation of the Blind is the only organization that believes in the full capacity of blind people, and has the power, influence, diversity, and determination to help transform our dreams into reality. We believe in blind people because we are blind people. Our democratically elected leaders and our diverse nationwide membership are made up of blind people, our families, and our friends. We are bound together by our belief that the blind are</span><br><span>capable of achieving our dreams and living the lives we want, and by the love and respect we have for one another and for all blind Americans. We support</span><br><span>one another, act with courage and determination when we encounter barriers or experience setbacks, and engage in collective action to improve our lives.</span><br><span></span><br><span>I highly encourage us to start with this in our chapter meetings when doing our diversity exercise.</span><br><span></span><br><span>The link for the speech is below.</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span><a href="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/convent/banquet-speech-2018-2.html">https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/convent/banquet-speech-2018-2.html</a></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>-- </span><br><span>BEGIN-ANTISPAM-VOTING-LINKS</span><br><span>------------------------------------------------------</span><br><span></span><br><span>Teach CanIt if this mail (ID 01WhCtJJt) is spam:</span><br><span>Spam: <a href="https://emailfilteringservice.net/canit/b.php?c=s&i=01WhCtJJt&m=f38e235e92a9&rlm=saavi-us&t=20180731">https://emailfilteringservice.net/canit/b.php?c=s&i=01WhCtJJt&m=f38e235e92a9&rlm=saavi-us&t=20180731</a></span><br><span>Fraud/Phish: <a href="https://emailfilteringservice.net/canit/b.php?c=p&i=01WhCtJJt&m=f38e235e92a9&rlm=saavi-us&t=20180731">https://emailfilteringservice.net/canit/b.php?c=p&i=01WhCtJJt&m=f38e235e92a9&rlm=saavi-us&t=20180731</a></span><br><span>Not spam: <a href="https://emailfilteringservice.net/canit/b.php?c=n&i=01WhCtJJt&m=f38e235e92a9&rlm=saavi-us&t=20180731">https://emailfilteringservice.net/canit/b.php?c=n&i=01WhCtJJt&m=f38e235e92a9&rlm=saavi-us&t=20180731</a></span><br><span>Forget vote: <a href="https://emailfilteringservice.net/canit/b.php?c=f&i=01WhCtJJt&m=f38e235e92a9&rlm=saavi-us&t=20180731">https://emailfilteringservice.net/canit/b.php?c=f&i=01WhCtJJt&m=f38e235e92a9&rlm=saavi-us&t=20180731</a></span><br><span>------------------------------------------------------</span><br><span>END-ANTISPAM-VOTING-LINKS</span><br><span></span><br></div></blockquote></body></html>