<div dir="ltr"><div>President Payne,</div><div>I messed up the last email to you regarding the state convention. For some reason I appear to not be getting all of the email sent through Ohio-talk. I did not receive the email you were talking about regarding the 2026 convention. Is there any way you could forward it too me so I can make reservations for the hotel and transportation.</div><div><br></div><div>Thank you,</div><div>Joe Ansman</div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">Email may be composed by dictation. Please, excuse grammar errors.</div></div></div><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sat, Feb 14, 2026 at 8:20\u202fAM rchpay7--- via Ohio-Talk <<a href="mailto:ohio-talk@nfbnet.org">ohio-talk@nfbnet.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><u></u>
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<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"><font face="Aptos">Valentine's Day Greetings</font></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"><font face="Aptos">Happy Valentine's Day to all members of the Federation. I always appreciate the special atmosphere that comes with these occasions, as it tends to foster a sense of peace among people, even if only temporarily.</font></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"><font face="Aptos">Membership Portal Updates</font></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"><font face="Aptos">For chapters and divisions that have not yet updated the membership portal, please make sure to complete this required task. By now, this update should already have been done.</font></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"><font face="Aptos">State Board of Directors Meeting</font></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"><font face="Aptos">The state board of directors meeting will take place on Saturday, February 28, 2026, at 10:00 AM in the Ohio Zoom room. All are invited to attend. Please be punctual so your joining does not interrupt the meeting. When you enter, you will be unmuted, but a few minutes before the meeting starts, everyone except the board of directors will be placed on mute. If you have any business that you believe the board should consider, please send it to me privately.</font></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"><font face="Aptos">State Convention Information</font></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"><font face="Aptos">Suzanne has sent out information regarding the state convention, which will be held in Dayton this year from November 5</font></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"><sup><font face="Aptos">th</font></sup></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"><font face="Aptos"> to November 8</font></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"><sup><font face="Aptos">th</font></sup></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"><font face="Aptos">. Please begin reserving your rooms now, as early reservations can help us secure additional perks for our convention. Make sure to book your room within the block reserved for our group, which allows the hotel to count it toward our group total.</font></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"><font face="Aptos">National Convention Participation</font></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"><font face="Aptos">The national convention will be held in July, and it would be wonderful to see Ohio fill the rows of seats this year. I understand that many members are able to pay their own way, but some cannot. At a presidents' retreat, it was discussed that investing in getting members to the national convention is not a waste of money; instead, it creates opportunities for members to engage in settings that strengthen the Federation, transform them into leaders, and connect them with other members from around the world.</font></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"><font face="Aptos">Final Thoughts</font></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"><font face="Aptos">Until next time, take care of yourselves and let\u2019s continue to build the Federation together.</font></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"><font face="Aptos">Richard Payne, President</font></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"> <font color="#000000" size="2" face="Helvetica">National Federation of the Blind of Ohio</font></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"><font color="#000000" size="2" face="Helvetica">937/829/3368</font></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"></span><a href="mailto:Rchpay7@gmail.com" target="_blank"><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"><u></u></span><u><span lang="en-us"><font color="#467886" size="2" face="Helvetica">Rchpay7@gmail.com</font></span></u><span lang="en-us"></span></a><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"></span><a href="http://www.nfbohio.org" target="_blank"><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"><u></u></span><u><span lang="en-us"><font color="#467886" size="4" face="Aptos">www.nfbohio.org</font></span></u><span lang="en-us"></span></a><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span></p>
<p dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us"><font color="#000000" size="4" face="Aptos">The National Federation of the Blind advances the lives of its members and all blind people in the United States. We know that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, becaus</font><font color="#000000" size="4" face="Aptos">e low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. Our collective power, determination, and diversity achieve the aspirations of all blind people.</font></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us"></span></p>
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