[NFBV-Announce] Participate Virtually or In Person - Please let us know by Sunday January 3 if you can join us for the Richmond Seminar

Fri Dec 31 18:47:37 UTC 2021

Some of you will be receiving this message twice. I apologize for any
inconvenience.

We are having both virtual and in person teams for this year's Richmond
Seminar. We want you to be able to participate in Democracy in Action.

We are still seeking participants for the 2022 Richmond Seminar, to take
place Monday, January 17 and Tuesday, January 18. Please let Stewart Prost
know by Sunday, January 3 if you are able to participate this year and tell
him whether you can participate in-person or virtually. Stewart will be
matching participants with legislators, so please provide your mailing
address so we can confirm your legislators. Stewart can be reached at
sprost82 at gmail.com <mailto:sprost82 at gmail.com> , or on his mobile at
(757)572-6891. 

For those attending in person, chapter presidents will arrange cost
effective transportation for their chapter members, so please also let your
chapter president know you are coming, if you plan to attend in-person. 

If you are attending in-person, you must make your reservations at the Delta
Hotel by Marriott, 555 East Canal Street, Richmond, VA 23219 for Monday
January 17.

Please make your reservation by the hotel deadline of January 3. You can
make your own reservation on-line at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Richmond
Downtown at
https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=163726757
4074
<https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=16372675
74074&key=GRP&app=resvlink> &key=GRP&app=resvlink.  If you have problems
making reservations or have any other issues with the hotel, please contact
our Operations Coordinator, Joe Orozco via email at jsorozco at gmail.com
<mailto:jsorozco at gmail.com> .

Below is revised instructions with clarification on virtual participation
which describes the Richmond Seminar. It provides all the information you
need to participate.

We look forward to seeing you in Richmond, either virtually or in-person.

Please join us for Richmond Seminar to ensure our voice is heard in the
Virginia General Assembly. As discussed below, you have the opportunity to
participate either in person or virtually via Zoom.

Whether you have attended many Richmond Seminars, or this will be your first
one, we strongly encourage you to attend and participate in representative
democracy in action. We are planning for both an in-person and virtual
Richmond Seminar because the General Assembly will be conducting both
in-person and virtual appointments. For legislators conducting virtual
appointments with constituents, we will create virtual teams to accommodate
Federationists who want to participate virtually in our legislative action.

When: 

Monday, January 17, Martin Luther King Day. We will hold an important NFBV
Board Meeting to discuss legislative issues and get organized. On Tuesday,
January 18, we will meet with our Senators and Delegates.

How it Works: 

Please attend the NFBV Board Meeting on Monday to learn about the issues.
This meeting will be available in person and will also be available over
Zoom.  If you are attending in person, plan to stay overnight at the Delta
Marriott Richmond on Monday night and enjoy an evening of conviviality with
your NFBV family. You will be assigned a team to meet with legislators on
Tuesday, sharing our issues and answering the questions of legislators and
their staff. The affiliate will reimburse transportation and hotel expenses.
The National Federation of the Blind of Virginia can reimburse these
expenses through the generosity of the many donors to the Charlie brown
Memorial Fund. We are grateful for these contributions which honor Charlie's
commitment to ensuring we all have a voice in advocacy for the rights of
blind people in Virginia.

Where it All Happens: 

Our board meeting is scheduled for 1:00 PM Monday afternoon, January 17 at
the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired Campus, 395 Azalea Avenue,
Richmond. We will meet in the Library & Resource Center (LRC). This meeting
will also be available for participation over Zoom. On Monday night, we will
stay at the Delta Hotel by Marriott, 555 East Canal Street, Richmond, VA
23219.

On Tuesday morning, we will be going to the offices of the General Assembly
in the Pocahontas Building. Our meetings are typically between 8:00 AM and
11:30 AM. Your team will likely have 10 appointments during this brief time
window. Your team leader will facilitate the process, but everyone will play
a role on the team. By Noon, we are gathering back up to return home. It is
quick, exciting, and the legislators and their staff are happy we came to
speak with them. 

If you are on a virtual team, the appointments will also be scheduled during
this time window but the appointments will be conducted over Zoom. Please
note, we will have many different Zoom access numbers so you will need to
connect with  your team leader to understand what Zoom access link and
number should be used. 

For those attending in person, we look forward to reconnecting in person
while being mindful of and compliant with all visiting requirements observed
at Marriott properties, the DBVI campus, and the capitol.

The Issues:

The issues we will bring to Richmond are still under consideration but will
most likely include:

- Improving the accessibility of education technology used by K-12 students

- Expanding resources for the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision
Impaired

- creating a hiring preference for people with disabilities in local
government jobs. 

We will present the final list of issues and fact sheets at the board
meeting on Monday, January 17. 

What You Need to Do:

Let your chapter president know you will be attending, either in person or
virtually, but also copy Stewart Prost. Your chapter president will be
helping with transportation. 

Stewart Prost is collecting all the RSVPs for Richmond Seminar and helping
to ensure we match participants with legislators. When you tell Stewart, he
will really need your mailing address to confirm your legislators.

Stewart can be reached at sprost82 at gmail.com <mailto:sprost82 at gmail.com> 

Or on his mobile at (757)572-6891.

Chapter presidents will arrange cost effective transportation for their
chapter members. Individuals are expected to share hotel rooms and must
obtain hotel reservations themselves at the NFB of Virginia rate, which is
$142 per night plus taxes. We reimburse based on having two people share a
room, so we ask you to plan for a roommate. If you need assistance finding a
roommate, please call Domonique Lawless: (615) 904-4225, no later than
Friday, December 31 to allow matches to make their reservation by the hotel
deadline of January 3. You may choose to reserve a room by yourself, but as
has always been the case, the affiliate will reimburse only 50% of the room
reservation. 

Please make your own reservation on-line at the Delta Hotels by Marriott
Richmond Downtown at
https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=163726757
4074
<https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=16372675
74074&key=GRP&app=resvlink> &key=GRP&app=resvlink.      You may make your
reservations at any time, but they must be made by January 3. If you have
problems making reservations or have any other issues with the hotel, please
contact our Operations Coordinator, Joe Orozco via email at
jsorozco at gmail.com <mailto:jsorozco at gmail.com> . A form requesting
reimbursement for transportation and your hotel stay is attached to this
email.

Chapter presidents must provide an initial list of the names of the
individuals planning to attend from their chapter to Bonnie O'Day by Monday
January 3 at 5 PM and additional names as they are known so we can establish
and update teams in advance.

Finally, if you are interested in being a team leader, please reach out to
Bonnie O'Day directly and provide your full name, city or county of
residence, email address, and phone number. If you have any questions,
please contact Bonnie O'Day at 703 965-2501 or email her at
bonnoday at gmail.com <mailto:bonnoday at gmail.com> .

Tracy Soforenko

President, National Federation of the Blind of Virginia

202 285-4595

Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com <mailto:Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com> 

www.nfb.org <http://www.nfb.org> 

www.nfbv.org <http://www.nfbv.org> 

National Federation of the Blind. Live the Life You Want

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work
together to help blind people live the lives they want.

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