RESOLUTION 2022-3: REGARDING THE ACCESSIBILITY OF WEBSITES SPONSERED AND/OR OPERATED THROUGH THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Virginia offers a great deal of valuable information to the public
through internet websites; and

WHEREAS, persons who are blind, visually impaired, or have other disabilities should have the same
opportunity to benefit from contents of websites developed or operated by entities of the
Commonwealth of Virginia as persons who are not disabled; and

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Richmond and Washington seminar

Hello Virginia Federationists,
I hope you all had a wonderful 2022 NFB of Virginia Convention. Although it may seem like it’s still three months away, Washington Seminar is fast approaching, in person from Monday, January 30 through Thursday, February 2, 2023. I wanted to send out some info to help you begin thinking about reserving your room and making arrangements in your schedule to attend.

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Spring 2021 Board Meeting Minutes

May 1, 2021

The minutes from the January 16 board meeting were read by Mausam Mehta.

The minutes were approved.

Mark Roane delivered the treasurer’s report, stating the affiliate’s general checking account balance as $86696.65

Louise Walch delivered the BELL program report, in which she announced the dates of the 3 upcoming sessions, and reminded us to spread the word to families of blind children.

Renee Valdez provided some details on the supplemental BELL program, which will be divided into 2 1-week sessions, with project RISE students as mentors.

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Ten Tips for a Resume that Gets You the Interview

By John Bailey

Let’s face it, the whole goal from searching online for a job, creating that perfect resume, talking to your career buddies about unadvertised job opportunities is to get you an interview. Getting face-to-face with your potential employer means that you are almost there in terms of getting the job you want. Once in the interview, you can let your skills, knowledge, and personality take over to dazzle so that you will get the offer. Once in the interview, you have all the power.

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The Universal Warped Sense of Humor that Broke Me Down and Built Me Up Again

By Renee Valdez

“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.” - Helen Keller

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To Cane, or Not to Cane...

By Renee Valdez

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Top Ten Benefits of Being a Blind Parent

By Jessica Reed

Editor's Note: Parenting is hard, no matter which way you look at it. In this follow-up piece, however, Jessica points out in no particular order a few items for which we might embrace some advantages as blind parents.

10. When changing a poopy diaper you don’t have to see it.

9. When littles are sleeping, you can still sneak into their bedroom to grab things without turning on a light and unleashing the monster of a woken child.

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Triple Threat Comes to Northern Virginia

From President Tracy Soforenko:

We are thrilled to announce that National Federation of the Blind President Mark Riccobono has agreed to come to our August 17 meeting at the Westin Tysons Corner. All members are welcome to come to the lunch and meeting to meet President Riccobono and engage in an exciting program. We expect there will be significant time for questions and we hope you can help us learn and grow together.

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True North: Discovering the Strength of Your Inner Compass

By Kathryn Webster

Editor’s Note: During the last weekend in January 2019, Kathryn organized a joint conference for Project RISE participants and leaders from the National Association of Blind Students. On Saturday evening, the two groups came together for a banquet and keynote speech that merged the goals of both tracks in one inspirational presentation. Following is the text of Kathryn’s remarks.

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Use of Ballot Marking Tool for Print Disabled Voters

The following guidance is required by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Gary v. Virginia Dept. of Elections (Case No. 1:20-CV860) as the result of a consent decree.

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