by Ryan Strunk

(Editors' note: The following is taken from the report delivered by President Strunk at our 2021 Annual Convention, held via the Zoom platform.)

I've seen 21 national presidential reports, and I've seen more than that on the state level. There's a formula for how these speeches go. We talk about how strong and committed we are, show examples of that strength and commitment, and call people to action, to keep up the fight, to keep the faith.

It's a good formula. It calls us to action and helps us understand that, even when times are tough, we still persevere. I'm not going to abandon that formula this year. In fact, I'll tell you how this speech is going to end: "This is my report for 2021. This is our passion. This is our promise. Let's go build the National Federation of the Blind."

But before we get to that point, it would be unfair of me not to recognize the challenge of this moment, especially because, just over a month ago, it was our plan to meet in person. I even took what you might call a victory lap in my May presidential report.

But I've heard from a few of you since we opted to hold this year's convention about how hard things have been for you. "I'm sad we won't be in person," you've said. Or "I'm not a person who gets depressed, but this year is getting to me." Or "I'm really sorry I haven't done more this year."

I get it. Truly I do. One year of social distancing is a lot. A second year, with its ups and downs, can feel like too much.

So to those of you who are struggling right now:

I miss spending face-to-face time with you as well. We'll get together as soon as we can.

None of us, myself included, has done as much as we would like this year. But each of us, and the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota, will endure. And this trouble will end.

Until then, however, I want you all to know that, no matter how you are weathering this storm, what you have been able to give and what you have done has made a difference, and it's that success I want to focus on this morning.

Over our long history, we have been closely involved in ensuring blind Minnesotans receive quality vocational rehabilitation services. We have protested, literally, when decisions were made that we did not support, and we have bestowed honors when they were deserved. Through it all, we have remained involved and engaged.

This year, five of our members have actively served on the State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind, offering advice and direction to State Services for the Blind rooted in our positive philosophy of blindness. In addition, Michael Colbrunn and Judy Sanders have served as Council chair and vice chair respectively. These five members continue a long tradition of stewardship that stretches back decades, and we are grateful for their service, but we are just as grateful for our members who do not currently hold active Council appointments, yet still give their time to attend council meetings and chair council committees.

Through all this involvement, we are not only ensuring quality rehabilitation services, but we are demonstrating the collective dedication of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota.

For decades, we have fought against Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the discriminatory legislation which makes it legal for employers to pay people with disabilities less than the minimum wage. We have advocated strongly against it in both the congress and the Minnesota state legislature, making it one of our core issues for many years.

We have not been alone in this fight either. Even as we have spoken of the need to eliminate section 14(c), others have taken up the call. I am pleased to share that, because of that combined effort, earlier this year, the Minnesota Legislature established the Task Force on Eliminating Subminimum Wages, a group whose goal is to develop a plan and make recommendations to end the practice of paying subminimum wages to people with disabilities in Minnesota, on or before Aug. 1, 2025.

As an organization with a vested interest in fighting for equality for blind Minnesotans, we will be involved in that work, offering our collective knowledge so the work of the task force can be carried out. It is time for the practice of paying subminimum wages in Minnesota to end. We will help close that chapter.

Among those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic have been blind vendors in the Randolph-Sheppard program. The closure of government buildings has meant that vendors in those spaces have been unable to sell any of their products, effectively putting them out of work, even as they appear, on paper, to be fully employed.

I have previously shared how, because of our efforts, vendors in the Randolph-Sheppard program received a 20 million dollar federal appropriation to offset losses they suffered due to the pandemic. But there is another piece of this story I am excited to share with you. After the 20 million dollars was secured by the Rehabilitation Services Administration, it was up to each individual state to determine eligibility and distribution of their portion of those funds to vendors in that state. Should every vendor receive an equal portion? Should vendors who were more heavily impacted receive more money? Should length of time in the program be a determining factor?

Unfortunately, in most states, the process of submitting a distribution plan proved to be a difficult one, prolonging the matter and preventing vendors from receiving much-needed funds. I am proud to tell you that in Minnesota, we had no such problem. Minnesota was the first state to submit a "plan" and be approved by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), and leaders in the vending community and policy analysts alike agree that our state provided a blue-print and paved the way for all states to follow. Not only did this accomplishment put financial relief in the hands of Minnesotans, but it also demonstrated the power of the National Federation of the Blind and our Divisions. Members of our organization, whether they be vendors serving on the Minnesota blind vendor committee or those of us who made phone calls and sent emails, played a part in ensuring blind Minnesotans could pay their bills and avoid going into debt.

Beyond our policy efforts, we have also continued to make a difference through our chapters, divisions, and committees. You'll hear from many of them later this morning, but I want to highlight just a few of their triumphs for you now.

Our membership committee has held two separate recruitment events this year, pulling together Federationists to share the importance of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota with prospective new members. These events featured discussions of why people joined our organization, descriptions of our conventions, advice on traveling with a guide dog, and more. Not only did these events result in us reaching out to new people, but the recordings of these events will provide us with material for future outreach campaigns, social media posts, and Minnesota Bulletin articles.

Our students, no strangers to Zoom, have found creative ways to engage with one another, raise money, and build membership. Whether it was their Super Bowl fundraiser, their Monday madness trivia events, or their consistent, monthly meetings, they have stayed active, providing both social and learning opportunities for one another and the organization at large.

Our seniors, Zoom experts themselves, held a series of sessions to share knowledge with one another and spread awareness of the Federation, sessions which were particularly helpful this year when they could not obtain instruction through SSB or other contract services. Participants discussed how to use Zoom to stay in touch with their friends and family, shared cooking tips, and spoke with a company providing accessible medication labels. These sessions culminated in a Possibilities Fair, held in conjunction with State Services for the Blind.

Building on the success of last year's event, we once again hosted a socially-distanced Walk for Opportunity—our 40th Walk for Opportunity, in fact. Federationists from across the state, solo or in groups, took to the streets and lake paths in Stillwater, the Twin Cities, Mankato, and Rochester to demonstrate our independence. As before, we provided a virtual space for members to gather, discuss our philosophy, and share their experiences from walks past and present. We streamed these discussions live on Facebook to engage with the wider public and raise funds for our organization. I am pleased to report that the total raised for this year's Walk was $5250.

Our chapters continue to hold monthly meetings, providing members with virtual spaces to share knowledge, whether it be places to find accessible games or tips on navigating an airport. They have given members the opportunity to share their diverse, lived experiences, including a panel celebrating Women's History Month and a presentation on observing Ramadan. In essence, our chapters have not only continued their important work, but they have evolved in creative ways, enabling us to reach further than we ever have before.

As individuals, our members have been active at all levels of our organization. They have served on committees and division boards, participated in efforts to make our organization safer and more inclusive, answered emails and phone calls from people seeking help, written articles for the Braille Monitor and Minnesota Bulletin, shared our events and their stories on social media, populated spreadsheets and wrangled data, collected donations and raised money, mentored and supported one another. Whether these contributions took hours or minutes, there can be no doubt that every one of them has made an impact.

I know that sometimes, especially when we talk about big, sweeping projects or multi-day events like this convention, it can be easy to get overwhelmed, or to feel that you don't have the time or the energy to do what needs to be done. Sometimes, especially now, you're just tired. But please remember two important things: First, the big, sweeping projects and multi-day events are the result of the collective efforts of dozens of people working together, and second, gestures which only take a few minutes, like emailing a senator or sharing a post on social media, still matter. They enable us to do more and, as the saying goes, many hands make light work.

So here is my call to action for each of you. Give what you can, when you can. Keep up the fight. Keep the faith. Together, we will overcome the darkness of this moment, and we will build a brighter future for blind Minnesotans. This is my report for 2021. This is our passion. This is our promise. Let's go build the National Federation of the Blind.