[NFBMI-Talk] Adieu, 2022...

Sun Jan 1 17:39:00 UTC 2023

Dear Robert, 
Happy New Year to you too and thank you so very much for the summarization
of last year's events.  It made me swell with pride and recognize that I
must try to do more.  I pray to the Most High that he gives me the strength,
fortitude, and will to help make 2023 a banner year for our State. 

Federationally Yours, 

John

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBMI-Talk <nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Robert Earl
Parsons via NFBMI-Talk
Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2022 6:57 PM
To: NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Robert Earl Parsons <robert.e.parsons at wmich.edu>
Subject: [NFBMI-Talk] Adieu, 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 _______________________________________________
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