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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Good Evening Fellow Federationists:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I wanted to share some newsworthy items that came across my desk yesterday. Please pay special attention to the Washington Seminar and National Convention room information. I’ll be sending the fact sheet information for this year’s Washington Seminar in a separate message so that we can all be ready to contact our members of Congress about the three legislative priorities I outlined earlier. I hope this message finds you all well and ready to tackle the new year ahead for the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa. Now on to the news!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><h2>News:<o:p></o:p></h2><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.25in'>Convention Hotel Room Block Open:<br>The room block at the Mandalay Bay is open. To make reservations for the 2019 Convention, you can call the hotel at 877-632-7800. The hotel will take a deposit of the first night’s room rate for each room and will require a credit card or a personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against your card immediately. If a reservation is cancelled before Friday, June 1, 2019, half of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise, refunds will not be made. The room rate is $99 for singles, doubles, triples, and quads. Hotel and sales taxes are 13.38 percent and 8.25 percent, respectively. The resort fee (normally $37 a night) will be waived for NFB Convention attendees. However, fees for internet access, local and toll-free calls, and fitness center access may apply. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.25in'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph>Washington Seminar Hotel Deadline Extended:<br>The deadline for booking hotel rooms for Washington Seminar has been extended to Friday, January 4, 2019. You can call 877-572-6951 and reference booking code NB8. You can also book reservations online on <a href="http://ichotelsgroup.com/redirect?path=rates&brandCode=HI®ionCode=1&localeCode=en&GPC=NB8&hotelCode=WASSM&_PMID=99801505">the Holiday Inn Washington Capitol website</a>. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph>Aira Plans:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph>There are now two Aira plans available to members of the National Federation of the Blind only. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>1.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>Thirty minutes a month for $20.00<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>2.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>One hundred and forty minutes per month for $99.00 (This plan includes the Austria glasses, allows for minute sharing, permits purchasing additional non-expiring minutes if one is running short, and lets members get credit for referrals.)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.25in'>Call an Aira agent (800-835-1934) to subscribe or visit the Aira website at <a href="https://aira.io/nfb/">https://aira.io/nfb/</a>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Cordially:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Scott Van Gorp <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Scott Van Gorp, President<br>National Federation of the Blind of Iowa<br>Phone: 515-720-5282<br></span><a href="mailto:svangorp@nfbi.org"><span style='color:#0563C1'>Email</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.nfbi.org/"><i><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#0563C1'>Website</span></i></a><i><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <br></span></i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/National-Federation-Of-the-Blind-Of-Iowa-372681823082570/posts"><i><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#0563C1'>Facebook</span></i></a><i><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <br></span></i><a href="https://twitter.com/nfb_iowa"><i><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#0563C1'>Twitter</span></i></a><i><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <br>Live the life you want.<br></span></i><br>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.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>