For our 2021 Annual Convention, held November 5-7, all participants connected virtually through the Zoom platform just as we did for the 2020 Convention. The agenda was as jam-packed with information and inspiration as always, with presentations from Federationists, public officials, and more. Our students and seniors' divisions held their annual meetings. Many break-out sessions also took place on topics from employment to parenting to games, and everything in between. Again the auction was held on Friday evening to raise funds for the organization. Some of the presentations from the convention are included in this issue and will appear in future Bulletins.

The banquet featured a stirring keynote address from our national representative, Ron Brown, 2nd Vice President of the National Federation of the Blind, as well as scholarships awarded to two deserving blind students: Dee Paw and Joshua Olukanni.

The business session of the convention occurred on Sunday morning as usual, and the following decisions were taken:

Two resolutions were adopted by the convention. One pertained to nonvisual access to educational materials, software, and digital learning platforms; and the other dealt with ending subminimum wages in Minnesota. These are printed elsewhere in this issue of the Bulletin.

The treasurer's report was read, discussed, and approved.

For various important reasons, the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota has held two conventions each year for many decades. Several factors, including recent changes in the timing of our operations, had caused some discussion of whether this affiliate should consider holding only one convention per year beginning in 2022. To accommodate such a potential change, proposed amendments to the affiliate's bylaws were prepared in advance and sent to all members along with the notice of the convention.

As written prior to the amendments, the bylaws required two meetings of the members of the corporation per year. Although an argument could be made that holding one convention and one other type of seminar during the year would meet this requirement, the proposed amendments to the bylaws were meant to provide a clear avenue for the convention to discuss and execute the will of the members on the subject of how many conventions should be held. The section on "special meetings" in the bylaws remained intact in the proposal; if an additional meeting of the members is needed during a given year, a special meeting can be held by following the provisions in that section.

The main change occurred in a proposed amendment to Article VI. This amendment would (1) decrease the number of required meetings of the members from two per year to one per year, and (2) define this one meeting as the "Annual convention". The other seven proposed amendments were intended simply to make the language in other parts of the bylaws consistent with the change in Article VI.

After the proposed bylaws amendments were presented on the convention floor, a motion was made and seconded that they be adopted by the convention. After discussion where several members emphasized the importance of making certain to build camaraderie among our members all over the state year round, the motion was adopted.

The amendments to the bylaws took effect immediately, meaning that no semiannual convention would take place in 2022. The items of business typically handled at the semiannual convention are (1) the decision to match individual pledges to the tenBroek fund and (2) the election of a delegate and alternate to the national convention.

The matter of affiliate giving to the national organization was taken up next. Advice provided from leadership of the National Federation of the Blind indicated that all of our funds (White Cane Fund, Sun Fund, Jernigan Fund, and tenBroek fund) are important, and that there is not a particular need to emphasize the tenBroek fund as was the case at one time. The following motion was made and seconded:

... that, on an annual basis, the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota match individual contributions made by Minnesota Federationists to the White cane, Jernigan, Sun, and tenBroek funds between May 1 and June 30 up to a total of $6,000; and that this affiliate actively encourage and facilitate the making of such donations by individuals.

In discussion, the following points were clarified:

The $6,000 is the amount in individual contributions that would be matched—if individuals from Minnesota contributed $6,000 in total, the affiliate would also give $6,000 for a total of $12,000 coming from Minnesota. The $6,000 cap is more than what has typically been contributed in individual years.

Although the tenBroek fund is a separate legal entity that owns our national center building, all contributions can be received through the National Federation of the Blind. Contributors are encouraged to indicate clearly to which fund(s) they wish their contributions to go.

As has been the case for the past few years, in order to have their donations matched by the Minnesota affiliate, contributors may donate in one of two ways: 1) make the donation online through the National Federation of the Blind's national website, selecting the desired fund, then forward the complete donation receipt to the NFB of Minnesota treasurer; or 2) make a check payable to the fund they wish, but send the check to the Minnesota affiliate treasurer, who will collect the checks until the deadline and then send all the checks, along with the affiliate's matching check, to the national office.

After the discussion, the motion was adopted.

Next, because of the virtual platform, a motion was made and seconded to suspend the rules so that, rather than a secret ballot, the voting in the elections could be done by a voice vote, and, in the event that the voice vote was inconclusive, voters could raise their hands on Zoom for counting. After much discussion, the motion was adopted.

Board Elections were held with the following results: President, Ryan Strunk; Secretary, Briley O'Connor; and board members Jan Bailey, Mike Colbrunn, and Kotumu Kamara.

Ryan Strunk was then elected as the delegate to the 2022 National Convention, and Steve Jacobson was elected as the alternate delegate.

The convention was adjourned at noon.