[NFBMI-Talk] Adieu, 2022...

Sat Dec 31 23:56:30 UTC 2022

Happy New Years Eve Federation Friends and Family

What an encouraging, consistent year it has been. With the changes that our membership and leadership have experienced, it is a treasure to be providing the state of the affiliate address to the membership of the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan for 2022.
 Our year began with the affiliate participating virtually in our 2022 Washington Seminar, which is always a prize to take part in during the first week of February. During this time, over 20 Michigan affiliate members met with their elected representatives and their aides to discuss issues important to blind people and offered solutions to making their lives just a little easier. Our elected officials, both in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, are enthusiastic when we speak from experience on these issues each year, which is why it remains a active part of our national programming.
Our return to in-person programming at both the national and state convention levels received a stampede of attendance. Our affiliate gathered in the Big Easy in July for our first in-person gathering for our national convention, where we were able to successfully fundraise at our Michigan exhibit hall table and concurrent virtual auction. In November, our affiliate gathered in Grand Rapids for its first in-person state convention since 2019.
A highlight of 2022 for the Michigan affiliate has been our innovation and advocacy. Specifically in innovation, our membership has been so adept in creating new ways in making their meetings interesting and fresh for casual and dedicated members. During the latter years of the pandemic shutdown, virtual meetings for our affiliate's chapters were beginning to suffer, resulting in many chapters and divisions  no longer being active. Some chapters and divisions, like our seniors, found a variety of different discussion topics, activities and even outings at convention  that keeps the membership engaged without losing focus of why our organization was created. This is amazing work and members like state board member, Darryl Rice, and  Pat Pile are prizes.
Likewise, I commend our Flint-Genessee County Chapter and its president, Sheila Fulmore, for their dedication and innovation in membership building and marketing. Flint-Genessee's use of social media, radio, film and television to promote the positive aspects of the Federation's activities is a welcomed presence to media. During my acceptance speech for presidency at our 2022 state convention, I spoke to our membership about the need for our affiliate to do the work to build some bridges that may have been damaged in the past. Flint-Genessee's work in creating positive representations of what our organization does and what successful blind people look like is one innovative example of this. With love, hope and determination, we can continue the work that Flint-Genessee is doing statewide to make sure that blind people can be represented positively all the time.
We all know that advocacy is a cornerstone of the National Federation of the Blind. With the proper information and tools, a blind person fully is capable of using their voice and resources to successfully make their case to a decision-making body. This is the massive undertaking that our Greater Detroit chapter took on over the past month when the Detroit Department of Transit (DDOT) attempted to cut paratransit service to riders in the city to 30% after failure to provide an adequate contract to the City Council's standards. Our Greater Detroit chapter has some of the most active members in our affiliate, engaging in life in medical, employment, family, personal and other everyday necessities. With the hard work and dedication of leaders like Richard Clay, Stephen Hanshew, Sabrina Simmons, Athere Jammoa, Mike Powell and John Scott, the Greater Detroit chapter co-hosted both a press conference and town hall in Detroit alongside Warriors on Wheels. The chapter contacted our state board, we then contacted our national office. From there, President Riccobono made a call to John Pare, who put us in touch with Michael El-Zein, Assistant District Attorney at the Michigan Department of Justice, who came and attended to town hall in person to hear our concerns. Live coverage of this event from local news has been included in the below link.
NFB US DOJ Detroit Paratransit Town Hall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG2bO1r12p0&t=122s

Though these results make me smile and get our membership excited, the issue is not resolved and there is still much work to do with DDOT. The progress made thus far is commendable and the action done by the members of the Greater Detroit chapter is an example of how the Federation's philosophy works in action. Furthermore, actions of our membership are testaments of how the Federation can also be a family. When the news of the DDOT service cuts became statewide, NFB board member Richard Clay called an emergency statewide virtual meeting to inform the affiliate of the issues that chapter members were facing. Immediately, members of the Flint-Genessee chapter volunteered to call local senior centers to help with marketing the Greater Detroit chapter's upcoming press conference. Likewise, state secretary Rachel Newland and first vice president Jason Meddaugh virtually facilitated the town hall for the chapter to alleviate the leadership while they focused on their in-person guests, despite both of them being out-of-state. Their dedication to our affiliate, much like Mark Eagle's tireless work with our state treasury updates each month and state board meeting, are examples of how this board vows to continue to provide service in different ways to promote equality, opportunity and security for the blind in Michigan.
So, as we end the chapter for 2022, I'd like to open 2023 with a challenge for our membership and any casual readers who are hanging around on this list: GET ACTIVATED!  Our leaders, the ones that were mentioned, and members, are all amazing individuals that all live lives that are worth getting to know. Though our Greater Detroit chapter received support, we can always use more. Though our seniors are active, they would always like more people to be active with. Though we love your suggestions, we'd love your presence. Please, join a statewide committee, local chapter, state division or our At Large chapter. The work of the Federation is never finished and we would love your company. It has been a wonder getting to know each of you as a new student transplant from the NFB of Virginia, as a member of the Michigan student division, as a member of the Kalamazoo chapter and now as your affiliate president. I only hope to continue to bring as much consistency to this position as I did to the ones I served in the past and to keep your faith. I invite you all to join board member Tara Morgan and I as we co-host the NFB Youth and Family Program Planning Committee on January 4 at 7pm EDT. Until then, adieu, 2022!!!

With Love, Hope and Determination

Robert Parsons, Jr., M. A., CRC, CVRT, LLPC
President, National Federation of the Blind of Michigan