<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr"><span style="color: rgb(38, 40, 42); font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">From Deepa Goraya</span><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(38, 40, 42);">NFB of Virginia Legislative Director for Washington Seminar </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(38, 40, 42);"> <a href="mailto:deepa.goraya@gmail.com" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">deepa.goraya@gmail.com</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Hello Virginia Federationists,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The 2025 Washington Seminar is fast approaching<span style="color: rgb(38, 40, 42);"> </span>in person <span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">from </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(38, 40, 42);"><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">Monday, </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">February</span><span style="color: rgb(38, 40, 42);"><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">3 through Thursday, February </span></span><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">6</span><span style="color: rgb(38, 40, 42);"><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">, 202</span></span><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">5</span><span style="color: rgb(38, 40, 42);">. </span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">We need you to act this month to book hotel rooms and register online to participate.<o:p></o:p></p><h1 style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 12pt 0in 0in; font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif; color: rgb(47, 84, 150); font-weight: normal;">Schedule:<o:p></o:p></h1><p class="ydp8dd0c7d4yiv8360221087msonormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Hotel Reservation and Registration – Please book your hotel and complete the registration processes listed below by <span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">December 31.</span><o:p></o:p></p><ol start="1" type="1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Virginia Caucus – this Prep Session over Zoom will be conducted <span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">on Saturday, February 1 at 3:00 PM</span>.<o:p></o:p></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Career Seminar and Job Fair – There will be a career seminar and job fair with many employers <span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">on Monday morning</span>, February 3<o:p></o:p></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Student Seminar – There will be student programming <span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">on Sunday, February 2</span> and <span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">Monday, February 3</span> conducted by the National Association of Blind Students.<o:p></o:p></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Legislative Training– On <span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">Monday, February 3</span>, there will be an afternoon training run by our national office for individuals attending appointments on Tuesday and Wednesday. Typically, this meeting <span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">begins at 2:00 PM</span>.<o:p></o:p></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Great Gathering In - <span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The official kick off and rally, the Great-Gathering-In, is scheduled for <span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">Monday, </span></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">February 3</span><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">, 20</span><span style="color: rgb(38, 40, 42);"><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">2</span></span><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">5 at 5:00 PM</span>.</span><o:p></o:p></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(38, 40, 42);"><span style="color: windowtext;">Appointments with our Virginia Congressional Delegation - </span>we strive to make all appointments <span style="color: windowtext;">on just Tuesday and Wednesday (<span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">February 4</span> and 5) so everyone can depart <span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">on Wednesday evening</span> and you should not need to stay <span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">Wednesday evening</span>. All appointments will be conducted in person.</span><o:p></o:p></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(38, 40, 42);"><span style="color: windowtext;">More schedule details will be provided on our Washington Seminar landing page and will be provided to registered participants. <a href="https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/washington-seminar" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/washington-seminar</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></li></ol><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><h1 style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 12pt 0in 0in; font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif; color: rgb(47, 84, 150); font-weight: normal;">Hotel Reservations:<o:p></o:p></h1><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The deadline for making hotel reservations with the Holiday Inn Capitol is <span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">December </span><span style="color: rgb(38, 40, 42);"><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">31</span></span><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">, 20</span><span style="color: rgb(38, 40, 42);"><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">2</span></span><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">4</span>, and the hotel booked up early last year so you will not want to wait. Do not assume rooms in the room block will be available by late December because the room block fills up quickly.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Lato, sans-serif; background: white;">To book a room for the 2025 Washington Seminar please use our dedicated </span><a href="https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/find-hotels/select-roomrate?fromRedirect=true&qSrt=sBR&qIta=99801505&icdv=99801505&qSlH=WASSM&qCiD=30&qCiMy=002025&qCoD=07&qCoMy=012025&qGrpCd=NF5&setPMCookies=true&qSHBrC=HI&qDest=550%20C%20Street%20S.W.,%20Washington,%20DC,%20US&srb_u=1&qChAge=&qRmFltr=" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 90, 163); background: white;">booking link</span></a><span style="font-family: Lato, sans-serif; background: white;">, or call <span dir="ltr" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;">877-834-3613</span> and provide our group code, NF5. The room rate for 2025 is 194.00 dollars per night, plus taxes and fees, and the deadline to make a reservation is <span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">December 31, 2024</span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="ydp8dd0c7d4yiv8360221087msonormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><h1 style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 12pt 0in 0in; font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif; color: rgb(47, 84, 150); font-weight: normal;">Registering for the 2025 Washington Seminar:<o:p></o:p></h1><p class="ydp8dd0c7d4yiv8360221087msonormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The legislative Committee needs to begin creating teams of those who will be attending Washington Seminar and start scheduling appointments with members of Congress. To secure appointments, we need to show we have constituents who will be present. This year, registration has two online steps because both the Virginia affiliate and our national office have registration processes with different goals and these processes are not connected. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Please let us know by <span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration: underline;">December 31</span> whether you plan to attend and which days you are available using the online forms. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">For the Virginia affiliate, please register online at:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><a href="http://archive.nfbv.org/washington" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">http://archive.nfbv.org/washington</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Additionally, our national office has defined a registration process found at:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><a href="https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/washington-seminar/registration" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/washington-seminar/registration</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="ydp8dd0c7d4yiv8360221087msonormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="ydp8dd0c7d4yiv8360221087msonormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Our legislative issues for the 2025 session will be the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act, the Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act, and the Blind Americans Return to Work Act.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The online training schedules will be published in early January. If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact me, your co-legislative director, at <a href="mailto:deepa.goraya@gmail.com" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">deepa.goraya@gmail.com</span></a> or call me at <span dir="ltr" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;">9099643699</span>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Deepa Goraya<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Co-Legislative Director<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">National Federation of the Blind of Virginia</p><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><br><div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Peace,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Jacki Bruce <br><br><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Corresponding Secretary NFBV</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="mailto:jackibruce6@gmail.com" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: 17pt;">mailto:jackibruce6@gmail.com</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="tel:(757)291-1789" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: 17pt;">tel:(757)291-1789</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: 17pt;">Find us on Facebook @NationalFederationoftheBlindofVirginia</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: 17pt;">Find us on Instragram @nfbofvirginia</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: 17pt;">Subscribe to our YouTube: NFB Virginia </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font color="#000000" style="font-size: 17pt; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.nfbv.org/" style="font-size: 17pt; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">www.nfbv.org</a></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">STRONGER TOGETHER</p></div></div></body></html>