[Tall-Corn] Affiliate Announcement - COVID-19 (Coronavirus) updates

[Scott Van Gorp]

Good Evening Federation Family:

I have received several questions regarding how the National Federation of
the Blind of Iowa is responding to COVID-19 concerns at the local and state
level. I wanted to share some information I received from our national
president, Mark Riccobono, on the national organizations response and what
we can do at the state and local level to keep everyone safe.

Attending a Federation event is a personal decision to be made based upon
your current health status and, when appropriate, in consultation with
medical professionals. For the latest facts about the virus, we encourage
accessing reliable information from sources such as the World Health
Organization (WHO)
<https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019>  or the
Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
<https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html>  Users of
NFB-NEWSLINER can also access the latest information in the breaking news
section. 


National Convention and National Headquarters 


The 2020 NFB National Convention is taking place July 14-19 in Houston,
Texas, as planned. At this time we do not believe there is a need to alter
plans for our annual meeting. We will continue to evaluate the situation and
the needs of attendees. We will update the national convention webpage
(nfb.org/convention <https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention> )
regarding the status of the event and any related precautions to be taken.

 

At our national headquarters, the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan
Institute, we are taking extra precautions and implementing sanitation and
safety measures to keep our members, visitors, and staff safe. We are
evaluating our planned meetings and tours and will communicate with
participants regarding the status of previously planned events. While we
have postponed certain large-scale national meetings, we continue to host a
number of smaller meetings where the risk factors are low. These factors are
being constantly reviewed.


 


At this time, the guidance leadership at the local and affiliate level has
received is to continue with meetings as planned. If there are any changes
to plans that I am made aware of by chapter leadership, I'll get an email
out to everyone and we will also work to update our affiliate's social media
platforms with the information. As always, conditions on the ground will
ultimately dictate what happens at the local level. If we receive word from
local officials, or meeting venue personnel that plans need to be altered,
we will act accordingly.


Chapter leadership and the board have received additional guidance on
measures leadership can take to make sure chapter meetings run as smoothly
as possible during this time. There may be modifications to greetings,
refreshments, or other things in regards to meetings that chapter leadership
may implement. If that is the case, please follow the direction of the
leadership. If anyone has further concerns around this, please feel free to
reach out to your chapter president or to me directly.


The safety of our members is our number one concern now and always. As more
information becomes available, or if there are other changes to plans in the
future, rest assured the information will be distributed in a timely manner
to keep everyone informed. In the meantime, let's not let COVID-19 stop our
progress. We are the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa, and we will
not back down from this, or anything else! Let's go build the Federation!




 

Scott Van Gorp, President
National Federation of the Blind of Iowa
Phone: 515-720-5282
 <mailto:svangorp at nfbi.org> Email

 <http://www.nfbi.org/> Website 
 
<https://www.facebook.com/National-Federation-Of-the-Blind-Of-Iowa-372681823
082570/posts> Facebook 
 <https://twitter.com/nfb_iowa> Twitter 
Live the life you want.

The National Federation of the Blind of Iowa 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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