[Video description and transcript available below]
Board members share their reports during the Board Meeting in Oregon. President Wagner will also announce the location for the upcoming NLTC Conference in 2017 and NAD Biennial Conference in 2018!
Video description and transcript:
Video fades to a gradient background with dark blue to light blue, a grey National Association of the Deaf (NAD) logo is centered. Video fades to NAD President Chris Wagner. The NAD logo appears as a light watermark in the bottom right corner.
CHRIS: Hello everyone! The NAD Board is here in Portland, Oregon where I grew up actually! It’s nice to be back home. We had the opportunity to visit the Oregon School for the Deaf in Salem and also the Washington School for the Deaf in Vancouver. We had a wonderful experience meeting the students and staff! We thank both schools for being great hosts during our visit. The NAD is visiting these schools because of a commitment to Deaf Education. The Board spent all weekend discussing various topics and issues. We shared reports and updates as we face the future. The Board also approved the Bilingual Education Position Statement along with discussing other important topics. The NAD is also preparing for the upcoming World Federation for the Deaf Congress this summer! I am really proud of the work the NAD Board is doing and how we are communicating with the community. I strongly encourage you to also communicate with the community and us, keeping us all connected.
Video fades to Michelle Cline and Steve Lovi, Board Representatives for Region I.
MICHELLE: Hello!
STEVE: Welcome to Region I! We have several updates to share with you all.
MICHELLE: We’re working on improving our communication with Region I members.
STEVE: In the past four months, we’ve been having monthly VP meetings with the State Association Presidents.
MICHELLE: We’re working on preserving the schools for the deaf.
STEVE: We’re also discussing interpreter licensure bills, and how to approach this issue with state legislators, which we agree is a hot topic to address now.
MICHELLE: We’ve created a facebook page at NAD Region I and we want you to like us! If you have already, that’s great — but if not, like us right now!
STEVE: Yes, join Region I! Thank you.
Video fades to Jenny Buechner and Richard McCowin, Board Representatives for Region I.
RICHARD: Hello! Okay, so right now we’re excited about the upcoming State Legislative Training provided by Kim Bianco Majeri. She’s ready to assist State Associations regarding any bills affecting deaf and hard of hearing people. If you want more information about the training, contact us.
JENNY: That’s right. We’ve been doing monthly VP meetings with the State Association Presidents to discuss various issues that have come up in our region. These meetings are such a nice opportunity to share updates and resources with each other. Richard and I also share updates from the NAD with the Presidents. We also take the time to discuss and clarify any press release that come from the Headquarters. We both love these wonderful VP meetings, it is such a nice opportunity to see everyone once a month and look forward to continuing that in the months to come.
RICHARD: Right now, many of the State Associations are busy planning their Conferences this Summer. If you’re interested in inviting us to present at your Conference, please let us know!
JENNY: Another exciting update that helps with the NAD’s transparency is social media like Facebook and Twitter. Region II has its own FB page and Twitter account. Our posts include not only NAD’s announcements but also from other State Associations in Region II. This way you don’t have to follow everyone, you can follow us since we share their posts as well. All events and updates are available for your viewing. So go ahead and follow us at Region II!
RICHARD: Yes, Region II!
Video fades to Jerry Nelson, Board Representative for Region III.
JERRY: Hello, I’m Jerry Nelson representing Region III for the NAD. My colleague Larry Evans isn’t with me today but we have some updates to share with you. Region III is very busy with legislative activity right now. Starting January, many states from Region III are involved. For example, a few states already have interpreter licensure bills but most states do not. IInterpreting License is an important topic right now in our region. Thanks to the NAD, Kim Bianco Majeri is very active in supporting and advising each state towards success. We wish all State Associations good luck during this time! Thank you.
Video fades to David Reynolds and Sherri Collins, Board Representatives for Region IV.
SHERRI: Hello, I’m Sherri Collins from Arizona and I’m one of the Board Representatives for Region IV.
DAVID: Hi, I’m David O. Reynolds, I’m the other Region IV Representative, and I’m from California. There’s a few things we’d like to share with you. First, Education — we’re excited about LEAD-K which is a national campaign that is about language equality for deaf and hard of hearing children. We’re excited about their progress. Also, I’m a committee member for the Education Strategy Team (EST) and AEBSP. Those committees focus on various things like bilingual position papers and help develop manuals for education. We’re making significant progress thanks to wonderful people on the committee.
SHERRI: We serve different states in our region and today I’d like to talk about two states. In Hawaii– actually I should begin by saying that one of the NAD’s five priorities is about FEMA and emergency preparedness. The deaf and hard of hearing community in Hawaii is struggling with last minute announcements regarding hurricanes and other natural weather disasters. The Hawaii Association of the Deaf contacted us asking for help on how to reach out to the media to ensure accessibility is provided. We shared information and resources to help remedy that situation. Secondly, the other state is Oregon. The Oregon Association of the Deaf is very progressive with legislation this year. They introduced a bill with hopes to develop an Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the state of Oregon. We’re excited for them and appreciate their wonderful progress.
DAVID: We keep in touch with many other states. Some states have different issues than others. Some states are making wonderful progress while others have more challenges. Sherri and I continue our support through the monthly VP meetings. These meetings are critical to help the states thrive and resolve any internal issues that appear. We’re here to support all Region IV states to become stronger and stronger.
SHERRI: That’s right. You can be updated with our information by following us on Facebook on the Region IV page. Like David said, we meet with the State Association Presidents every month. If you want to know what’s going on in your state, please contact your state association or one of us to find out.
Video fades to Alicia Lane-Outlaw, Appointed Board member.
ALICIA: Hello, I’m Alicia Lane-Outlaw. I’m an Appointed Board member focusing on outreach and marketing. The Outreach committee started at full speed with its new members representing you, and these committee members come from various geographical areas of the United States and from diverse groups and backgrounds. The committee will focus on three things: 1) membership, meaning you, and — we want to find out why you join the NAD and understand you better and find out what you hope to see from the NAD. We also want to make clearer the benefits of membership. 2) fundraising — we want to figure out how to better show you where your donations go. We also want to find out what makes you give to the NAD. We want to encourage two kinds of giving, annual and bequests. Bequests are a way for people to give their assets to the NAD through their Wills. Of course, there are many options. Finally, 3) we want to look at building the NAD’s relationship with you, earn your trust, find out your expectations and compare them with our expectations from you to see how they can both fit. So that’s what we’re working on. The committee has a lot of great energy and looks forward to what’s possible in building a relationship with you.
Video fades to Pamela Lloyd-Ogoke, Appointed Board member.
PAMELA: Hello! I’m Pamela Lloyd-Ogoke. As one of the Appointed Board members, I represent the Organizational Affiliates. We’re having an exciting meeting here and I’d like to share my report covering a few things. First, some of you may remember I sent out a mass email in October introducing myself to all affiliates. Following that, I plan on sending out a survey to get a better understanding of how the NAD can support you and your organization and vice versa. My goal is to send out the survey by next week for the affiliates to have one month to fill it out. Please reach out to me if you have any questions. From the results of the survey, you and I can develop a plan of how the NAD can support you and your organization, and you can support the NAD. This survey will help us understand your mission, vision, values, and goals. We know we have one thing in common, we value American Sign Language and the deaf and hard of hearing community. We look forward to a meaningful partnership. With that said, we decided during the Board meeting this weekend that the sign for “affiliates” would change to this. [Pamela signs with one hand under and another hand over and clasp together] That sign symbolizes that it takes two to create this relationship. Again, I look forward to working with all of you. I’ll be in touch.
Video fades to NAD President Chris Wagner.
CHRIS: As you can see, the Board has worked hard on many issues. Their updates reflect their true dedication to the NAD for the deaf and hard of hearing community. I really thank them for their commitment. I’m excited to share two major announcements that were decided during the Board meeting this weekend. First, the 2017 NAD Leadership Training Conference (NLTC) will happen in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, October 5-7, 2017. We hope to see you there!
TEXT-ON-SCREEN: NAD Leadership Training Conference, October 5-7, 2017, Oklahoma City, OK.
CHRIS: Secondly, as you know we plan ahead every four years so for 2018, the Biennial NAD Conference will happen at the birthplace of Deaf Education in Hartford, Connecticut! Hartford is also home of the American School for the Deaf (ASD). We are extremely excited to join ASD as they celebrate their 200th anniversary. This partnership will show others the NAD’s continued support for Deaf Education and recognize that American Sign Language is our language! Hartford will be the place where we will celebrate 200 years of Deaf Education with the rest of America and the world. The Conference will take place July 2-7, 2018. We’re definitely excited about this.
TEXT-ON-SCREEN: NAD Biennial Conference, July 2-7, 2018, Hartford, CT.
CHRIS: So, in summary, I’d like to thank you for your ongoing support of the NAD. Remember, we’re not done and we can’t do our work without you. Thank you.
Video fades to the same gradient background with dark blue to light blue, a grey National Association of the Deaf (NAD) logo is centered. White text below the logo appears, “A production of the National Association of the Deaf (copyright) 2015 All Rights Reserved” with four teal social media icons, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.