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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Thanks to all who served, and I also can not remember everyone but add Martin hagan to this list I hope all of the members of this special group will be at the convention. Yes, the convention is right around the corner let’s build the Federation.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Richard Payne, President<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>National Federation of the Blind of Ohio<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>937/829/3368<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><a href="mailto:Rchpay7@gmail.com"><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Rchpay7@gmail.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> NFBOH-Cleveland <nfboh-cleveland-bounces@nfbnet.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Suzanne Turner via NFBOH-Cleveland<br><b>Sent:</b> Saturday, November 11, 2023 12:59 PM<br><b>To:</b> smturner.234@gmail.com<br><b>Cc:</b> Suzanne Turner <smturner.234@gmail.com><br><b>Subject:</b> [NFBOH-Cleveland] This Veterans Day, we honor Ohio Members of women and men who served and sacrificed<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'>Ohio Members and Friends,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Today in Ohio, the Ohio Membership Committee, ask that you join us in recognizing Veterans Day.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>As we honor our Ohio Veterans, please take a moment to express your sincere gratitude for their bravery, commitment and dedication of the incredible sacrifice and service they made for our nation by protecting and defending.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We honor you! <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>S<span style='color:black'>pecialist Richard Nevling United States Army<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Jose Centeno, Gunnery Sargent (E7) U.S. Marine Core </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'>Chad Thomas, a Boatswains Mate in The United States Navy, and a Civil Engineer in The United States Air Force<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Robert Pierce, Lieutenant, U.S. Air Force <span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Mickie Cooper, Navy Yeoman, Second Class Petty Officer, a YN2<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Harold Jefferson, U.S Army Security Agency, Specialist 5th Class <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Ken Maher, United States Navy, Officer <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Alex French, US Air Force, Officer <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>And those who served, we have not identified. We thank you as well! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Also, thank you to the families who supported their Veteran while serving.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Here is the United States President’s 202 Veteran’s Day Proclamation:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> This Veterans Day, we honor the generations of women and men who have served and sacrificed — not for a person, a place, or a President — but for<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>an idea unlike any other: the idea of the United States of America. For nearly 250 years, our veterans have defended the values that make us strong so<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>that our Nation could stand as a citadel of liberty, a beacon of freedom, and a wellspring of possibilities. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Today, I am thinking of all our Nation’s veterans, who put their lives on the line to protect our democracy, values, and freedom around the world. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We honor our wounded warriors, so many of whom the First Lady and I have met over the years, who are bound by a common sense of duty, courage, and optimism,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>and we remember those who are still missing in action or prisoners of war and renew my pledge to bring them home. Our military families, caregivers, and<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>survivors also answer the call to serve. I remember so clearly the pride I felt in our son Beau during his service in Iraq as well as those mornings I<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>saw the First Lady saying a prayer for his safe return. Our veterans and their families give so much to our Nation, and we owe them a debt we can never<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>fully repay.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> As a Nation, we have many obligations, but we only have one truly sacred obligation: to prepare and equip the brave women and men we send into harm’s<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>way and to care for them and their loved ones when they return home. Since the beginning of my Administration, we have worked to make good on that promise,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>passing nearly 30 bipartisan laws to support our veterans and service members and their families, caregivers, and survivors. That includes the PACT Act<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>— the most significant effort in our Nation’s history to help millions of veterans exposed to toxic substances during their military service. Since I<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>signed the PACT Act into law last year, more than 478,000 veterans and survivors are already receiving benefits — ensuring that veterans exposed to burn<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>pits and other harmful substances and their loved ones get access to the care and support they need. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> My Administration is also committed to ending veteran suicide and homelessness and ensuring that our veterans have the resources they need to live<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>full lives and thrive in their communities. We released a national strategy to reduce military and veteran suicide by improving lethal means safety and<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>enhancing crisis care as well as by addressing the economic, legal, and mental health issues that impact veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>is also funding community-led suicide prevention programs, which help connect veterans and their families to needed services. Every veteran deserves a<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>roof over their head, which is why we have taken bold actions to end veteran homelessness, permanently housing more than 40,000 veterans last year and<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>investing $1 billion to provide supportive services to help homeless and at-risk veterans and their families. My Budget also proposes tripling the number<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>of rental-assistance vouchers for extremely low-income veterans to prevent homelessness. Further, we have taken steps to improve the economic security<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>of veterans and their families by expanding job training programs for transitioning veterans and their spouses and issuing rules to protect them from predatory<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>educational institutions. We are also working to ensure every veteran has access to the benefits and services they have earned.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Earlier this year, I signed an Executive Order directing more than 50 actions to improve access to child care and long-term care for Americans, including<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>military and veteran families, and to support family caregivers, especially those who care for our veterans. Recognizing the talents and contributions<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>of veteran and military spouses, caregivers, and survivors to our workforce, I signed an Executive Order establishing the most comprehensive set of administrative<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>actions in our Nation’s history to support their economic security — increasing training and employment opportunities for military spouses in the workforce<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>throughout the transition to veteran spouses status and encouraging all Federal agencies to do more to retain military and veteran spouses through flexible<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>policies. The First Lady’s Joining Forces initiative is further supporting military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors by improving economic<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>opportunities and expanding resources to promote health and well-being for this community.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> As we mark the 50th anniversary of an all-volunteer force and the 75th anniversary of the full integration of women in the Armed Forces and the desegregation<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>of the troops, my Administration reaffirms our commitment to supporting everyone who serves in our Armed Forces. We have taken steps to ensure that the<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>more than 918,000 women veterans enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs health care have equitable access to benefits and health services, in part<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>by expanding access to reproductive health care. We have worked to proactively review the military records of veterans discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Tell” and to modernize the process of upgrading discharges to help all veterans access their earned benefits. We will continue to support our LGBTQI+<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>veterans and veterans of color who have made innumerable contributions to our Nation and have truly made our military stronger, tougher, and more capable.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> This Veterans Day, may we honor the incredible faith that our veterans hold, not just in our country but in all of us. They are the solid-steel backbone<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>of our Nation, and we must endeavor to continue being worthy of their sacrifices by working toward a more perfect Union and protecting the freedoms that<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>they have fought to defend.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> In respect and recognition of the contributions our veterans and their families, caregivers, and survivors have made to the cause of peace and freedom<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>around the world, the Congress has provided (5 U.S.C. 6103(a)) that November 11 of each year shall be set aside as a legal public holiday to honor our<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Nation’s veterans.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim November 11, 2023, as Veterans Day. I encourage<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>all Americans to recognize the valor, courage, and sacrifice of these patriots through appropriate ceremonies and private prayers and by observing two<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>minutes of silence for our Nation’s veterans. I also call upon Federal, State, and local officials to display the flag of the United States of America<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>and to participate in patriotic activities in their communities.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>