Acknowledgments for 100th Anniversary Audio Celebration

Acknowledgments for 100th Anniversary Audio Celebration

This commemoration is only possible because of the people who acted to make the history happen. From calling a legislator to leading the rallies; from bringing in a new member to typing up labels for the entire membership roster; from planning a picnic to planning a protest; making a donation to writing an article--we thank all of the many people who have played their part in keeping our Federation going and growing for 100 years and counting.

The working committee for this project consists of Ryan Strunk, Steve Jacobson, Tim Aune, Jennifer Dunnam, Jennifer Wenzel, Eric Smith, and Matt Langland. We are all fascinated by history and the ways it can inform the future, and each of us brought our particular skills, knowledge, and elbow grease to make this happen. After a couple of brainstorming meetings, we settled on the exact nature of the commemoration on April 15, which meant that we had an enormous amount to get done in a relatively short time. Everyone helped generate ideas for the ways we made a difference. Jennifer D. led the writing, with Eric Smith, Matt Langland, and Steve Jacobson helping with additional research. Jennifer W. and Jennifer D. assigned who would speak each sentence and who would record each speaker. It took a whole bunch of us to recruit the volunteers and then gather their 100 recordings, working through a variety of technology adventures. Steve Jacobson, Tim Aune, and Ryan Strunk handled the sound editing. Ryan Strunk composed and mixed the music to synchronize with the voices, and Ted Pollard provided the guitar work. Jennifer D. created the Web pages with links to more details. Steve Jacobson and Tim Aune were in charge of the streaming. Indeed, this committee put in many, many hours, but we had a blast doing so, and we hope you enjoy listening as much as we have enjoyed putting it together to honor the occasion.

We are indebted to people who have made a point to preserved the history, through meeting minutes, writings in the Minnesota Bulletin, telling each other the stories, and more. We especially thank Joyce Scanlan, whose contemporaneous enlightening accounts of our history in her "Les Affaires" columns in the Minnesota Bulletin helped lead to a clear understanding of events and their contexts, both as they happened and now. Thank you, Joyce, for writing things down even while in the midst of leading the charge.

We also owe a special debt of gratitude to Peggy Chong, whose many years of work curating the wealth of resources about the history of this affiliate helped to show us what is available and point out interesting highlights (she also helped us track down a few people for this project). Of course, Peggy was also part of the making of the history; she was the first president of the board of directors of BLIND, Inc. and much more. Thank you Peggy, for the long hours and great love you have given to this work.

Tremendous thanks for the patience and enthusiasm of all of the people of all ages, from all over the state and beyond, whose wonderful voices made this celebration, and this movement, possible:

  • Alex Loch
  • Alycia Howard
  • Alyssa Gourley
  • Amy Baron
  • Becca Erickson
  • Beth Moline
  • Briley O'Connor
  • Brook Sexton
  • Carey Scouler
  • Charlene Guggisberg
  • Charles Vanek
  • Charlie Rush-Reese
  • Charlotte Czarnecki
  • Cody Beardslee
  • Corbb O’connor
  • Curt Johnson
  • Curtis Chong
  • Dale Heltzer
  • Dan Ashman
  • Dan Wenzel
  • David Andrews
  • Deanna Langton
  • Dick Davis
  • Edward Cohen
  • Edwina Franchild
  • Emily Zitek
  • Eric Smith
  • Jack Rupert
  • James Gagnier
  • Jan Bailey
  • Jennifer dunnam
  • Jennifer Kennedy
  • Jennifer Wenzel
  • Jim Sarbacker
  • Jonathan Ice
  • Joyce Scanlan
  • Judy Sanders
  • Justin mcDevitt
  • Kallie Decker
  • Kathy McGillivray
  • Kayde Rieken
  • Ken Trebelhorn
  • Kevin Fjelsted
  • Kotumu Kamara
  • Kyra Decker
  • Laura Aune
  • Lorraine Rovig
  • Mary Hartle
  • Matt Gip
  • Matt Langland
  • Michele Gittens
  • Michell Gip
  • Mike Colbrunn
  • Mike Sahyun
  • Nadine Jacobson
  • Peggy Chong
  • Quinn Haberl
  • Rachel Kuntz
  • Randi Strunk
  • Rocky Hart
  • Ron Poire
  • Russell Anderson
  • Ryan Strunk
  • Samantha Flax
  • Scott LaBarre
  • Scott Tokunaga
  • Shane Wegner
  • Sharon Grostephan
  • Sharon Monthei
  • Sheila Koenig
  • Silas O'Connor
  • Steve Decker
  • Steve Jacobson
  • Steve Sawczyn
  • Stewart Prost
  • Susan Leiker
  • Tara Coyne
  • Theresa Gfroerer
  • Tim Aune
  • Tom Scanlan
  • Tom Tebockhorst
  • Yadiel Sotomayor

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