NAD News & Information

Passing a bill in Congress requires the effort of hundreds, even thousands of advocates educating their elected representatives about the proposed legislation.  That is where you come in.

One of your state's members of Congress plays a key role on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is the committee with jurisdiction over this bill.  We are asking you to contact this member by September 16 to ask him/her to co-sponsor the bill. 

We have made this very easy for you.  We have drafted a letter from your state association to the member in your state.  All you need to do is fill in the date, write a paragraph describing your frustration with inaccessible technology (you will see where in the letter, it is written in red), sign it, send it to the address on the letter, and then let us know you have sent the letter.  It's that simple. 

Without this bill we will continue to have uncaptioned videos on the Internet, mobile devices that are not even capable of displaying captions, and difficulty turning on the captioning when it does exist.  Please take a moment today to complete and send this letter.  Many industry representatives already are contacting their members of Congress asking them not to support the bill.  We really need your help.

Let me know if you have any questions.  Also, if you can't send the letter can you let me know the reason?  We want to be sure we are proceeding in the most effective way we can. 

The Attachment

Thanks for your assistance.

Delegates at the 49th Biennial National Association of the Deaf (NAD) Conference, held July 7-11, 2008 in New Orleans, Louisiana, elected new members of the NAD Board of Directors.

Elected NAD Board members are:  Bobbie Beth Scoggins, President; Christopher D. Wagner, Vice President; Lynn Z. Null, Secretary; Ronald E. Sutcliffe, Treasurer; Sean Gerlis, Region I Representative; Michael K. Berger, Region II Representative; Liz Hill, Region III Representative; and James "Manny" Johnson, Region IV Representative.

They will join continuing members of the NAD Board:  Julie C. Bourne, Region I Representative; Jack L. Cooper, Region II Representative; Lissette Molina, Region III Representative; and Astrid Amann Goodstein, Region IV Representative.

"The new NAD Board of Directors is ready to take on a more strategic focus," said Scoggins. "This builds on the synergy of the recent and highly successful 2008 NAD Conference, which was very different from previous gatherings, which in turn provides the impetus for the board to advance the civil, human, and linguistic rights agenda of the NAD, also with emphasis on diversity in every way possible."

Scoggins continued, "I also wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to past members of the NAD Board for their leadership, expertise, and commitment during the last term:  Trudy Suggs, Secretary; Thomas J. Dillon, Treasurer; Yerker J. Andersson, Region I Representative; Linsay Darnall, Jr., Region II Representative; Genie Gertz, Region IV Representative; and Nathie L. Marbury and Thuan Thi Nguyen, Appointed Members. I am also delighted that they have expressed their intent to remain involved with and be of support to the new NAD Board."

The NAD Board of Directors will hold its first meeting of the new term from 9 am to 5 pm on Friday, August 22 and from 9 am until 5 pm on Saturday, August 23, at the NAD Headquarters in Silver Spring, MD.  Agenda items include selection of appointed members, 2008 conference wrap up, approval of board and conference meeting minutes, review of conference priorities and resolutions, establishment of strategic and standing committees, selection of committee chairs and board liaisons, fundraising and membership recruitment targets, and selection of 2010 conference site.  As always, board meetings are open to observers.

Board members will undergo a closed all-day orientation session on roles and responsibilities on Thursday, August 21, with review of governance processes, communication protocol, and transparency. That evening, a small fundraiser generously sponsored by CSDVRS will be hosted at the home of Julie Bourne and Matt Lockhart. This will also kick off NAD Across America fundraisers to be held across the country during the new term.

On Friday, August 22 from 4 to 7 pm, a Community Open House will be held at the NAD Headquarters, made possible by the generous sponsorship of Viable. This is a wonderful opportunity for the public to meet and mingle with the NAD Board as well as tour the Headquarters and meet staff. Open House directions/parking information is available at www.nad.org/boardmeetingdates. Refreshments will be provided; please come and join us!

About NAD

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) was established in 1880 by deaf leaders who believed in the right of the American deaf community to use sign language, to congregate on issues important to them, and to have its interests represented at the national level. These beliefs remain true to this day, with American Sign Language as a core value. As a nonprofit federation, the mission of the NAD is to preserve, protect, and promote the civil, human, and linguistic rights of deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States of America. The advocacy scope of the NAD is broad, covering the breadth of a lifetime and impacting future generations in the areas of early intervention, education, employment, health care, technology, telecommunications, youth leadership, and more.  For more information, please visit www.nad.org.

About CSDVRS

CSDVRS, a video relay services provider, launched its inaugural service to the nation in 2000. By 2001, CSDVRS became the nation's only 24/7 provider, and also was the first to offer Spanish VRS, video mail, and personal 800 numbers. CSDVRS was developed by and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals based on feedback from the nation's deaf and hard of hearing community. While other providers have followed our lead, CSDVRS is dedicated to that same spirit of innovation and commitment to excellence that took VRS from a dream to a reality, by becoming the nation's premier VRS provider. Visit us at www.csdvrs.com.

About Viable, Inc.