[Nfbv-historic-fredericksburg] For Your Most Serious Consideration

[Holly Frisch]

I genuinely, wholeheartedly, look forward to having as many of our chapter members with us as possible at our Sunday holiday dinner/business meeting.  Jody reminded us so beautifully now is our opportunity to usher in this season of peace, regardless of our individual religious faiths.  Equally important, it is a time for all of us to take pleasure in one another's company.  Each of our chapter members has his/her unique talents, experiences and fine character traits.

Our social committee did an outstanding job planning our party.  Please remember it is the first time in a while we have had such a committee.  Come support the efforts of chairwoman Jody Silverberg as well as committee members Kaitlynn Jordan and Mark Ross.  Ed and Marilee Kenlon, as well as Jody's husband Hank, also provided invaluable assistance.

We are voting on our officers and board members for 2017.  Our nominating committee, under the capable leadership of Marilee Kenlon, with members Andrea Perry and Jessie Walensky, worked tirelessly to present a full slate of qualified officers as well as board members.  Part of membership is a willingness to hold office, even when you are asked to serve in a position which is not your first preference.  Most of our positions offer invaluable learning and growing experiences.  Some provide excellent leadership training.  Most important, all of them ask a commitment not only to our chapter but to our organization, the National Federation of the Blind.

This year, we held meetings on Saturdays.  I especially appreciated the efforts of members who worked hard to attend, although weekend meetings were inconvenient for them.  At our last meeting, Kim Walko suggested a compromise.  She suggested continuing our Saturday meetings during at least the winter.  During these cold months, I agree it is probably wise to conduct our meetings when there is sunlight and warmth.  This is safer for those of us who use public transportation to get to and from meetings.  During the warmer, longer summer days, I am told families are not always available on weekends.  We will seriously investigate the possibility of week night meetings during this part of the year.  If we plan the change well in advance, we can provide adequate publicity so no one is left uninformed.

Tracy, our brand new state president, strongly advocates the appointment and use of committees.  We already have a social committee.  In addition, we need membership, program, fund raising, public relations, community service legislative and possibly calling committees.  We won't establish all these committees immediately.  However, I strongly request every single member to give serious thought to the committees on which he or she is willing to serve.  As previously stated, our immediate priorities will be program and membership committees.  Once we acquire more members, we can form the other committees mentioned.  Remember, many committee meetings can take place telephonically.  Others can occur before or after the chapter meeting in the same location.  We can always reserve the room for extra time to accommodate these committee meetings. Working together harmoniously, putting aside our individual differences  for the good of our chapter, we can certainly accomplish all this and more.
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