[NFBMI-Talk] president's message concerning membership status and Michigan At Large chapter

Sat Jun 19 17:23:30 UTC 2021

Hello Fred,
We would love to have you join the BMISAFS / Blind Michigan Seniors
Advocating for Seniors.  Our next meeting will be June 28 at 8 PM.  We meet
the 4th Monday of the month at 8 PM.  Mike has sent you the link to NFB
I-talk and when tou sign up - you’ll receive notifications for our
meetings.
If you have questions - please let me know. My cell number is 989-330-0753.

Hope to see you soon in ZOOM.
Pat Pyle

On Mon, May 24, 2021 at 8:51 PM Alfred Morgan via NFBMI-Talk <
nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Hello Mike, pray all is well with you and family. I want to be member of
> the
> at large and senior chapters. Also, do you know of a member that uses JAWS?
> I need to know a few things about the software. You may share my email with
> them. Thanks and I will be waiting for the joining the chapters
> information.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NFBMI-Talk <nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Michael
> Powell
> via NFBMI-Talk
> Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2021 4:38 PM
> To: nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
> Cc: mpowell7583 at yahoo.com
> Subject: [NFBMI-Talk] president's message concerning membership status and
> Michigan At Large chapter
>
> Greetings federation family.  I hope this finds all of you well this spring
> as we prepare to move into summer and begin another convention season.  As
> we find ourselves preparing to move into active life again as covid shows
> signs of decline and many of us have been vaccinated, time is growing short
> to register for our national convention and we want all to attend.  It is
> once again a virtual event open to all and it is free.  You do not have to
> leave home to participate in it and as many of us found last year there are
> a wide range of activities and programs you can enjoy and experience.
> This year national convention attendees will once again be able to vote on
> resolutions and any other items that will be put to a vote by the
> membership.  To vote our national office must know that your dues to either
> your local chapter or state division have been paid so you can be
> considered
> an active member who is eligible to vote.
>
> Registration closes May 31, 2021.    So, your dues must be up to date if
> you
> wish to vote at the national convention.  As a few of our chapters in our
> affiliate have not met in quite some time their members have not been able
> to remain active and paid up as far as their dues are concerned.  We want
> to
> afford anyone who wishes to vote at the convention the opportunity to bring
> your dues up to date and become active members of the NFB of Michigan so
> you
> can continue to be a part of us and the work we need to do together.  This
> is especially true if you live where there is no chapter of the federation
> near you or the chapter you were a part of has not held monthly meetings
> for
> quite some time and therefore has been inactive and nonfunctional.    Since
> the Zoom platform has made it possible for meetings to continue at the
> national and state level, and since some of our chapters have been using
> Zoom to meet regularly through 2020 and 2021, we would like to reestablish
> our at large chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan so
> all of us who have been members of the NFB of Michigan can remain active
> and
> stay connected to each other.   Those who live where there is no NFB
> chapter
> near them need to be able to join our affiliate.
>
>      State board member Robert Parsons has put out the call to organize
> this
> chapter, so we need to get it functioning especially for those who have not
> paid dues to any chapter or division since early in 2020 or before.  You
> must be an active member to vote on resolutions or any other items put up
> to
> a vote during the national virtual convention.  Once our state convention
> can be held as a live event that we can all attend personally, you would
> also need to be current in your state dues to vote, run for office, speak,
> and be recognized at meetings.  You should know if you have not been to a
> chapter meeting for some time or if your local chapter has not been holding
> regular meetings.    These are the chapters that have been meeting
> regularly
> who are considered current and active.  They are the Detroit Chapter,
> Capital Region Chapter, Wayne County Chapter, Jackson Chapter, Kalamazoo
> Chapter, our new Michigan Blind Seniors Division  and our Michigan
> Association of Blind Students.
>
> This in no way is meant to single out any of our members who worked as
> leaders in the chapters not listed above.  It is a fact of life that we
> have
> not had enough people in certain parts of the state who were able to take
> on
> leadership responsibilities to keep activity going and generate interest
> where there has been declining attendance and little participation.  While
> we all want to remain committed to the federation there are health,
> transportation, and other life issues that have had an impact on some of
> our
> chapters.  Some of our leaders have been running things in their respective
> chapters for a long time and they want to remain as active members without
> having to hold an office and manage the business of running the
> organization.       The shutdown of public activities due to the pandemic
> has also exacerbated the situation not only here in Michigan but throughout
> the country as well.
>
> Our Nfbmi.org website will soon have a form where you can register to
> become
> a member of the At Large chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of
> Michigan.  The dues will be $6.
>
> In the early part of June our national office will send me a list of all
> who
> registered for the convention by May 31 so I can make any corrections
> before
> they finalize the registration results.    You can do your part, if you
> want
> to vote at our national convention, by signing up for our at large chapter
> as soon as you can so your dues will be up to date.     Being unable to
> vote
> will not keep you from participating in the convention but it will limit
> your ability to vote on resolutions and elect members of our national board
> of directors who will be up for reelection this year.
>
> I believe that putting work into developing this at large chapter will open
> the way for our Michigan affiliate to grow in new ways.  Using the Zoom
> platform for our at large chapter will make it possible for people who have
> always wanted to be part of us to join us without restrictions of distance
> and transportation holding them back.  As we find that we are developing
> members who live in a particular part of the state these groups will be
> able
> to branch out and form new chapters that will have leaders and members who
> have a firm foundation in federation philosophy as a result of their
> experience with the at large chapter.  They will also be able to promote
> events and new venues and hotels to hold state conventions in the places
> where they live that have never hosted our federation before.
>
>
>
> All of what I have outlined for you is in keeping with the national
> membership policy I read to you at our March 6 state board meeting.  Our
> national organization along with our national and state divisions,
> affiliates and local chapters are all working together to build the
> federation and create new possibilities and greater opportunities for all
> blind people to live the lives we want.   Let us do all that we can as
> proud
> active members of our Michigan affiliate to be a part of that process.
>
> Michael Powell, President
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Michigan
>
> (586)754-1325
>
> Mpowell7583 at yahoo.com <mailto:Mpowell7583 at yahoo.com>
>
>
>
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