[NFBV-PWC] Fwd: [NFBV-Announce] Democracy In Action: Join Us at the 2022 Richmond Seminar (January 17 & 18)

Thu Dec 2 14:33:05 UTC 2021

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: tracy.soforenko--- via NFBV-Announce <nfbv-announce at nfbnet.org>
Date: Thu, Dec 2, 2021 at 9:18 AM
Subject: [NFBV-Announce] Democracy In Action: Join Us at the 2022 Richmond
Seminar (January 17 & 18)
To: Sarah Patnaude via NFBV-Announce <nfbv-announce at nfbnet.org>

Please join us for Richmond Seminar to ensure our voice is heard in the
Virginia General Assembly.

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 an in-person
Richmond Seminar in January 2022 because we are hearing that the Virginia
General Assembly will be mostly allowing in-person appointments. For
legislators unable to see constituents in person, we will create a virtual
team to accommodate Federationists who want to participate in our
legislative action but who may not be able to travel to Richmond.

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.
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
<https://www.google.com/maps/search/395+Azalea+Avenue,+Richmond?entry=gmail&source=g>.
We will meet in the Library & Resource Center (LRC). At this writing, it is
not certain if lunch will be available through the cafeteria on the
premises prior to the meeting so plan accordingly. On Monday night, we will
stay at the Delta Hotel by Marriott, 555 East Canal Street, Richmond, VA
23219
<https://www.google.com/maps/search/555+East+Canal+Street,+Richmond,+VA+23219?entry=gmail&source=g>
.

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.

We look forward to finally 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:

We have bills being drafted that will need co-sponsors. Chapter Presidents
should contact their General Assembly members in their local offices before
the end of the year. All Chapter members are encouraged to participate in
these meetings. A meeting with our elected legislators in their home
districts will go a long way in establishing the recognition that is needed
for our visit to Richmond. If you need assistance identifying your
delegate, need help in setting up a meeting, or do secure a meeting, please
contact Bonnie O'Day (my contact information is below.).

Let your chapter president know you will be attending, 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

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=1637267574074&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. 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.

Tracy Soforenko

President, National Federation of the Blind of Virginia

202 285-4595

Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com

www.nfb.org

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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