MRID UPDATE J A N U A R Y - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Board Meetings 2 Committees 3 Editor s Note 3 Regional News 4 Community Events 5 Greetings From The President Hello all! I am excited to take on the new r e s p o n s i b i l i t y a s President of MRID s Board of Directors. I am a Chicago native and received my BA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I worked for over fifteen years at HCMC, working in the Emergency Department as an EMT and later as a S p anish and ASL i n t e r p r e t e r. A f t e r working with many deaf i m m i g r a n t s, w e developed a program to use deaf community health workers to provide education and care coordination. That program is now joining together with other like minded entities to provide deaf centered services for the State. This year, as is happening on the national level, we as MRID are looking for r e l e v a n c e a n d su stainabilit y. W e recently hosted a meeting to address and discuss the formation and charge of the transition team. As a result, we are focusing on calls to action for Social Justice. In April, we will host a workshop that hopes to hosts a m o r e m e a n i n g f u l dialogue as we enter this new time for MRID. I l o o k f o r w a r d t o providing an open door to questions, comments Nathan Ellis and concerns. I also encourage positive feedback, and identifying where we are doing it right in hopes that we c a n r e p e a t s u c h success. Only by providing meaningful access will our work be truly worth the great amount of effort we all put into our craft. Happy 2016 New Year!
P A G E 2 M R I D U P D A T E The Minnesota Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (MRID) is a non-profit organization of professional interpreters, consumers, and interested persons. MRID was established and incorporated in 1971 with the support and encouragement of the Minnesota Association of Deaf Citizens (MADC). Philosophy Statement "The philosophy of the Minnesota Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (MRID) is that excellence in the delivery of interpretation/transliteration services among people who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and People who are Hearing will ensure effective communication. As the professional association for interpreters and transliterators, the MRID serves as an essential arena for its members in their pursuits of excellence." Mission Statement "It is the mission of the Minnesota Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (MRID) to provide state and local forums and an organizational structure for the continued growth and development of the professions of interpretation and transliteration of American Sign Language and English." BOARD MEETINGS What: Board meetings are a place where members can come and see what the Board of Directors are doing and get involved themselves. When: 10:00am-1:00pm Second Saturday of the month Feb 13 June 11 Oct 8 March 12 July 9 Nov 12 April 9 Aug 13 Dec 10 May 14 Sept 10 Meetings are in ASL. Email president@mrid.org to request voice interpreters 2 weeks in advance and 1 week in advance to join us virtually online. We look forward to you coming to join us! 2016 Board of Directors President Nathan Ellis Vice President Megan Bolduc Secretary Janine Schug Treasurer Vacant Member-at-Large Pam Gleason Ex-Officio Sarah Mansager Regional Representatives: Northern Mackenzie Koerner Central Curt Slater Metro Pauline Ballentine Southern Michael Provancha Student Alina Hornfeldt
J A N U A R Y - F E B R U A R Y P A G E 3 Current Committees COMMITTEE CHAIR EMAIL CONTACT Bylaws Susan Sweezo bylaws@mrid.org Camp ASL Vacant campasl@mrid.org Communications David Evans david@cofda.com Educational Interpreters Jenee Petri Cari Sibenaller education@mrid.org Freelance Phyllis Genest-Stein freelance@mrid.org Fundraising Vacant fundraising@mrid.org Membership Carly Fischbeck Nichole Thornberg membership@mrid.org Nominations Darlene Snelson Lynn Joa Wander deafinitely@msn.com wanderstpaul@aol.com Professional Development Liz Crosby Public Policy Convenes as needed professionaldevelopment@mrid.org Scholarship Julie Bauch/Jodi Monson scholarships@mrid.org Website Dee Ramnarine Ezra Kesler webmaster@mrid.org Hello MRID! A Note from the Editor Me again, thank you for reading the MRID Update! Welcome to 2016, this year I hope to hear more from members about what you would like to see in this Update. Some members have sent in reflections on various topics, now it s your turn. Send me something you ve been working on. Send me your thoughts on linguistics, teamwork, private practice tips. If you ve attended a workshop recently and would like to now share your thoughts on the subject, send them in! Please send any reflections to mridupdate@gmail.com. For the March-April MRID Update, submissions are due on February 10th. Thanks!! Sydney Capeling 763-355-7847 mridupdate@gmail.com
J A N U A R Y - F E B R U A R Y Hello and Happy New Year Northern Region! My name is Mackenzie and I am excited to be your 2016-2017 MRID Board Representative! During the months of November and December, I had the opportunity to fill in for the Northern Rep position which has provided me understanding of what MRID is striving to accomplish throughout the organization. As MRID is transitioning to better serve all of you, I am excited to provide updates in form of email on a monthly/bimonthly basis in addition to other updates from the MRID committees and board. As you know, the Northern Region has interpreters scattered throughout northern Minnesota causing distance between us all, this will cause difficulties to make personal contact with each of you, however, I am looking forward to serving each of you and am available to entertain any questions, concerns, and/or ideas about MRID. Please feel free to contact me. Until next time! Mackenzie Koerner MRID Northern Rep northernrep@mrid.org Curt Slater MRID Central Rep centralrep@mrid.org NORTH Hello all! Happy New Year! I am excited about what 2016 and the new board members has in store for us. The past year was my first on the board and it was a wonderful positive experience. I want to wish those departing board members a big thanks for an awesome ride. I hope to work with you again in the near future. I am excited about this year and I am confident we will accomplish much more and also have a clear organizational direction with the help of our 'transition team'. Our first meeting in 2016 would also be our board retreat. My personal goal within MRID is to increase/ improve collaboration with other organizations especially those within the Deaf community. Please do come and join us at a future board meeting - we love having visitors. Have a great 2016 and don't forget to change your smoke alarm batteries and your online passwords. Stay warm, Curt Slater CENTRAL Info from the Board- Hello Metro Members! The 2016 Board Retreat is coming up on January 29-30. Stay tuned with more info about the 2016 Board of Directors to come The Treasurer position is vacant, if you have the skill and are interested, please contact president@mrid.org METRO As the year of 2016 is approaching, I am looking forward to being your Metro Representative for 2016-2018. As a new member of the MRID board, I am learning all that comes along with it. I know MRID's desire is to serve you all well. I am looking forward what I can do for you. As your representative, my goal is to represent you well at MRID board meetings and be your voice. As I am learning and meet who you are. Please feel free to introduce yourself to me. At any time, please feel free to reach out to me to express your questions, concerns or wonderful news. I would love to hear it. Have a great start to 2016! Best, Pauline Ballentine MRID Metro Rep metrorep@mrid.org Mike Provancha MRID Southern Rep southernrep@mrid.org Hello fellow MRID Members! I am very excited to be working with the incoming Board of Directors and look forward to our annual retreat in January. I am confident we will be establishing several goals during our retreat in order to continue to improve on our success as an organization. In the southern region we are all working hard to provide culturally appropriate ASL interpreting services to the region s Deaf and Hard of Hearing population and continue to do this with plenty of windshield time. Because of this heavy amount of travel, to and from appointments, it is imperative that all of us follow public safety recommendations for winter travel. In addition to public safety measures for winter travel I would also recommend everyone check their tires for a tread depth that is more than 2/32, rotate your best tires to the drive wheels, have your battery checked-this usually can be done at no charge at your local automotive parts store, and replace those two year old wiper blades! Southern Minnesota interpreters wish all of our colleagues a happy holiday season and a wonderful new year in 2016! SOUTH P A G E 4
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