Region IV Report

Deb Martinez, Region IV Representative

Deb Martinez, MA, CI and CT, NIC Advanced, SC:L Region IV Representative

Hello from Region IV!

There are so many things to say about the conference. Much appreciation goes out to everyone who participated in making the conference happen- the presenters, participants, tech support, HQ who worked tirelessly, President Webb, Secretary Decker, RIII Rep Johnson, the note takers for the business meeting, and the list goes on!! Thanks to each and everyone who showed up and contributed.

President Webb asked me to share some of the highlights of the conference from my personal perspective. There are a few quotes that still resonate with me from the conference that I will take forward and apply to my work as an individual and collectively within the communities I serve. The first one is from Belinda McCleese, our Day 1 plenary speaker, who so eloquently stated, “we must touch our own pain so that we see the pain of others.” This spoke to me. Too often we disregard our own pain and in disregarding ourselves we in turn disregard others. This becomes a norm that carries over into every facet of our lives. A powerful frame to apply to our work. The second one is from one of our Day 2 plenary speakers, Christopher Robinson, who highlighted the concept of having “a place at the table.” This for me was so visual and clearly stated. We all need a place at the table, how simple does that seem, yet so challenging for many, including RID. We must make space within RID for all. At the same time, independently and collectively as RID members, we have caused harm. How do we as an organization make the necessary reparations so we can begin the healing process? How do we build an organization that people, who we have marginalized, will want to come to the table? What does that look like on a national level and more importantly at the AC level? How do we heal our communities and nurture each other so that we can collectively all have a place at the table? Big questions that need to be asked and continuously explored. I think the conference presenters did an excellent job at highlighting for us where the collective WE need to go towards healing and providing a place at the table.

I am excited about the future of RID. We together are RID.

With warm regards, Deb

P.S. RIV Presidents ROCK!!! I look forward to seeing RIVPC (Region IV Presidents’ Council) do great things in Region IV. I will be cheering you on and I will miss all of your faces! Keep showing up!

FROM THE BOARD

Nebraska - NeRID

Hosted a Spring Fling Workshop with Seth Gore (June 4-5, 2021).

NeRID had a spring conference this year. Turn out was smaller than usual but greater than expected considering

Is participating in an effort to provide a fall week long session for training and testing for local CDIs. Grants are being used to fund the training and logistics involved but ideas for having the testing costs covered and test proctors from RID/CASLI is stillbeing discussed and is needed. Nebraska state has developed an Apprentice license for recent ITP graduates and it should be ready to go live August 2021. -Tina Work, NeRID President

Louisiana - LRID

We are busy updating our PPM. Our goal is to have it completed by September. We are planning our Fall Conference for October 21-23, 2021. LRID is planning to have their fall conference October 22-23. More information to come.

We have been rewriting our old 1990’s PPM and updating it. It’s now going into the final draft. Several members are helping the board to be our editors. Our goal for completion is by our conference.This has been a very big task for our board. We want future Boards to know and understand their tasks and how best to manage LRID. -Dawn Melendez, LRID President

Kansas - KAI-RID

KAI-RID held elections in June and has a new executive board in addition to our continuing district representatives: • President: Lisa Bolding Ballenger • Vice President: Spencer Rizi, who will be on parental leave for the rest of 2021 and for whom Juliana Ladd will be supporting • Secretary: Megan Edwards • Treasurer: Jasmine Vasey • District 1 Rep: Robin Olson • District 2 Rep: Amanda Wittman

• District 3 Rep: Stephanie Ehrlich

In early July, I requested and had a meeting with Kansas Association of the Deaf president Kim Anderson and our two organizations reaffirmed our mutual support. We are scheduling a time to record a joint video to share these sentiments with membership and the public on social media.

The board is also planning a retreat in Emporia on July 31, in which we plan to lay out a vision for the near future of KAI-RID. -Lisa Bolding Ballenger, KAI-RID President

Colorado - CRID

Despite the pandemic, Colorado RID has been working diligently over the past 2 years. With our board members spread across the beautiful state of Colorado, we rely on Zoom for monthly meetings. Our last board meeting was a special treat as we were able to meet in person and have cake!

We have been successful in recruiting Committee Chair positions. I am thrilled to announce on our board: President position is vacant. Jenny Miller as Vice President. Julie (Jules) Berner as Secretary, Haley Hegeman as Treasurer, both Susan Faltinson and Sophia Stone as Member-atLarge, our DMAL position is vacant, Seb Fairbanks as Membership Chair, Lorrie Kosinski as Legal interpreting Chair, Ilah Jackson as Bylaws Chair, Danielle Baucom as Conference Chair, and we recently recruited an Educational Interpreters Chair - Karen Perry.

This past spring, we hosted a workshop with Robyn Dean: "Demand Control Schema: An Introduction to the Normative Ethics of Interpreting." The hybrid-style online format over the course of two weekends with homework in between was successful with a great turn out. We included a student track which included some dedicated time for students to meet with Robyn and get their questions answered.

Additionally the Legal Interpreting Committee hosted 2 Evidentiary Foundations workshops and have been working with the Colorado Commission for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind.

This past spring, we had a successful zoom business meeting - complete with prizes (!) - with both interpreters and Deaf community members in attendance.

The Board also recognized the impact of the pandemic on Colorado interpreters (hearing and Deaf interpreters) and set up the "CRID COVID-19 Relief Fund." We have been able to give financial support to five interpreters. This fund is still active and we have a few applicants in the current cycle.

We will host a spring workshop in 2022 and the conference planning committee has started the wheels moving for the Colorado RID Fall 2022 Conference. -Angela Obrist, CRID President