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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>I received the below message from the KNFB Reader user list serve.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Steve Cook<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LddWwCJNPHI"><span style='color:#0563C1'>Click here to view the PSA for the National Federation of the Blind of SC</span></a></span><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><a href="http://www.nfbofsc.org"><span style='color:#0563C1'>www.nfbofsc.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><a href="https://m.facebook.com/NatFedofSouthCarolina/"><span style='color:#0563C1'>Follow the National Federation of the Blind of SC On Face Book</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><a href="http://www.rockybottomofsc.com/index/index.php"><span style='color:#0563C1'>www.RockyBottomofSC.com</span></a></span><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><a href="https://m.facebook.com/RockyBottomofSC/"><span style='color:#0563C1'>Follow Rocky Bottom Retreat & Conference Center on Face Book</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><a href="https://m.facebook.com/Computer-Science-Technology-Division-of-the-NFB-of-SC-343263089815304/"><span style='color:#0563C1'>Follow the Computer Science & Technology Division of SC on Face Book</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>District 2 NFB of SC State Board Member<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>1<sup>st</sup> Vice President of the Columbia Chapter of the NFB of SC<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>1<sup>st</sup> Vice President of the Computer Science & Technology Division of the NFB of SC<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>Dear List Members,</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal;min-height: 13.8px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>This is Scott White, Director of Sponsored Technology Programs for the</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>National Federation of the Blind. I want to write to you today to address</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>some of the concerns that have been expressed on the list regarding the</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>performance of the KNFB Reader product and the responsiveness of the</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>customer service. We regret that there is frustration around the product and</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>wish to express the fact that we are listening even if you do not feel you</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>are getting satisfactory information. We hope this note helps address some</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>of the concerns and outlines some of the future steps.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal;min-height: 13.8px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>Those of you who attend conventions of the National Federation of the Blind</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>are well aware that the technology behind the KNFB Reader and KNFB Reader</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>Enterprise products are owned by the KNFB Reader LLC which is a wholly owned</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>subsidiary of the National Federation of the Blind. This has been the case</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>since 2015. The KNFB Reader LLC has no intention of selling the technology</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>to anyone and would never do so without public disclosure to the National</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>Federation of the Blind.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal;min-height: 13.8px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>The KNFB Reader LLC has a partnership agreement with <u>Sensotec</u> NV to develop,</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>promote, and support the KNFB Reader line of products. This agreement has</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>been in place since 2015 and has never changed. Since 2015, the KNFB Reader</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>LLC has received in-kind support from the National Federation of the Blind.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>Were it not for that support, the product would have disappeared from the</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>market two years ago. Despite a number of pressures, the National Federation</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>of the Blind has insisted that the price of the KNFB Reader not be raised</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>and has urged steep discounts in the product when opportunities arose to do</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>so.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal;min-height: 13.8px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>As you are well aware, a number of new innovations have happened in the</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>marketplace for access to information. This was stimulated by the creation</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>of KNFB Reader, going back to the early part of the century when the</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>National Federation of the Blind and Ray Kurzweil sought to bring scan and</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>read technology to portable devices-first, a dedicated device and later,</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>smart phones. The KNFB Reader LLC has attempted to continue development of</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>the product even though there have been limited dollars for further</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>development. In 2018, the National Federation of the Blind announced that it</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>intended to put the core technology of the KNFB Reader into the NFB-NEWSLINE</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>mobile application and distribute that free to all blind people. That move</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>is a significant investment on behalf of the National Federation of the</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>Blind since it will continue to require development and licensing of</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>technologies to maintain the technical components inside the NFB-NEWSLINE</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>mobile user interface. This also means that the core technology would be</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>freely available to every blind person in the United States.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal;min-height: 13.8px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>While the intent has been to continue to maintain a paid version of KNFB</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>Reader, the aggressive development of other products in the marketplace and</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>declining sales of the KNFB Reader product have made it difficult to</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>accelerate progress timelines with our development partner. We recognize</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>that performance improvements are not where our customers would like them to</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>be. We are re-evaluating our strategy and assessing what we can do to make</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>those needed improvements.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal;min-height: 13.8px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>For anyone that needs KNFB Reader or KNFB Reader Enterprise tech support,</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>they should send their concern to</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'><a href="mailto:support@knfbreader.com">support@knfbreader.com</a></span></u><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'><mailto:<u><a href="mailto:support@knfbreader.com">support@knfbreader.com</a></u>>. When you send your</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>concern to that address, it is automatically entered into our ticket</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>tracking system for resolution. We are examining our procedures to determine</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>where support items are getting dropped. You can be assured that common</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>feature requests or improvement suggestions are well documented in our</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>system.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal;min-height: 13.8px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>The National Federation of the Blind is proud that we have been the</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>innovators of reading technology for the blind from the start with the</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>original Kurzweil Reading Machine in the 1970s to the mobile platforms in</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>recent years. Our goal has not been to be a technology company. Our goal has</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>been to stimulate the marketplace to develop solutions where inadequate</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>innovations exist. We believe that this has been the case with the</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>significant investments the National Federation of the Blind has made in the</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>KNFB Reader line of products. If there continue to be gaps in the market, it</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>is our job as an organization to determine how to lead innovation in those</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>places and then let the market take it to a mature level of development. A</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>more recent example of this was the National Federation of the Blind's role</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>in the Transforming Braille Group which was established to stimulate low</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>cost Braille display technologies. Now a number of products are emerging on</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>the market that have the promise of revolutionizing the way refreshable</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>Braille is delivered. We continue to need the help of members of the</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>Federation to determine where those gaps are and how we will provide</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>leadership in those spaces.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal;min-height: 13.8px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>Thank you to each of you for continuing to be passionate about creating</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>equal access to information and to raising expectations for the technologies</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>we use.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal;min-height: 13.8px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>Scott White</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>Director of Sponsored Technology Programs</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.15pt'>(410) 659-9314, extension 2231 | email: <a href="mailto:swhite@nfb.org">swhite@nfb.org</a></span><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></body></html>