WEBVTT

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 let them in.

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   >> Hey everybody we're going to get started in

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 just a minute. So jump on in

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.

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   >> Hello everybody. Welcome to the APRIL close

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ing session. I am sierra,

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 I am the director of innovation with APRIL. We made

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 it. We're at the end of the week. So couple

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 of things in case you want to know how to access everything

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 today,

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 first when you -- if you would like to

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 see CART, you can open the CC tab in your menu

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 bar, which can be found at the top or the bottom

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 of your screen. And the CC tab there. And you can

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 show subtitles or do

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 full transcript. For sign language

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 intrerp ret ing

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ing they can be found on the screen. They will switch between

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 Beth and Jorge. And if you have

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 any technical issues, please make sure to use the

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 chat feature. That's the word bubble at the bottom and you can

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 interact there. If you are using a screen reader and would

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 like to turn that off, you can press alt-H

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. And there won't be any Q

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&A time if but if you would like to ask

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 a question, you are more than welcome to drop

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 it in there and we can answer it afterwards

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. And welcome to the closing session. I'm turning it over to Billy

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 now.   >> Awesome. Thank you very much

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 Sierra. Hello everybody. It's me Billy Altom can you

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 believe we have survived another week of conference? Hot dog

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. It's been a great week. Lot of graek workshops

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. Man, and it wouldn't be possible without all of you.

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 So thank you all so much again

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. All of our sponsors, man,

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 Cente

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ne, Anthem, I'll forget everybody,

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 but you're all so valuable to us and we really,

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 really appreciate your support.              In closing today,

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 we would like to always honor folks who have

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 done a tremendous job over the year. And we have a couple of

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 awards that we do. The first is the

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 Earl Walden award. In the early days

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 of APRIL, Earl was a great friend and supporter of our

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 new organization. And as a colleague, he worked

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 at Independent Living Research

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 Utilization. Many of you are familiar with it. And Earl had

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 a heart as big as

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 Texas and a gift for finding resources. That's what we loved about

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 Earl was helping us find resources to become a

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 standing organization and grow into who we are.

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 He took APRIL under his wing when

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 we needed

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 an advocate on our side

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. And this year's winner is

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 Katherine Moore? Katherine if

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 you join me. Katherine is the executive

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 director of disability resource center in Knoxville,

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 Tennessee as well as the disability resource center and

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 hazard -- in hazard,

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 ken tucky. Katherine is a dynamic and caring person and

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 truly concerned about helping individuals with disabilities to

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 achieve their highest goals related to independent living.              

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Katherine is passionate about the I

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L movement and developed a

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 curriculum called live out loud academy

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. LOL. For students with disabilities transitioning to

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 life after high school. The program has had much

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 success, not only in Tennessee but also in

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 Kentucky. It is being taught by DR

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C staff in Kentuck ki schools

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y schools to help educate and in

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spire students to the independent

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 living philosophy. These classes help them move forward with

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 developing short and long-term goals while providing

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 skills training and resources that will help the students

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 achieve. They are encouraged to

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 journey through a self-decision making process

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 while being equipped with tools they need to navigate their

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 own independence. Absolutely out

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standing. Thank you Katherine. And now I present to you,

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 Katherine Moore.   >> Thank you very much

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. I'm very humbled and still shocked that

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 I received this award. And I

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 just can't find the words to --   >> Should

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 I send James the link?   >> How much this means to me

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. Thank you so very much and I want to thank you APRIL

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 for the wonderful work they do. I have been

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 to several in-person conferences, and

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 my favorite part is when I go over to the

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 youth workshops. And I've been so encouraged and

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 excited about the

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 wonderful passion that our young people have in the

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 disability community all over the nation for our

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 IL philosophy. It's just awesome.

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 So thank you so much for what you do and thank you so much for this

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 award. I'm so humbled. Thank you so much.   >> Billy:

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 You are welcome. And thank you for all the tremendous work you do too

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. I am thrilled for you.

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 Our next award will go

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 to Linda gone

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Gonzalez award winner. I don't have to

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 say a lot. But Linda

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 Gonzalez was the APRIL

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 director and then was a true visionary when it came to

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 including youth with disabilities

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 in leaders in the rural disability rights and

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 independent living movement, more spfkly the

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 APRIL movement. This year's Linda

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 Gonzalez award for outstand ing

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ing rural youth to

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 Shikha. Shikha serves on the board for the

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 national federation of the blind of Georgia and won the state

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 NFB scholarship in 2013. She's

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 completed multiple internships including the American

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 Association for people with disabilities AAPD

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. The center for leadership and disability, and the NF

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B, the Atlanta regional

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 commission and disability Link. In April

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 of 2020, Shikha was hired

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 by disability link, a center for independent living in

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 Tucker, Georgia. As a member of the COVID-19

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 team and independent care waiver program team

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. In May of 2021 she got promote

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d to the COVID-19 supervisor. In

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 that same month she received a

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 quarter award for working hard. Shikha is current

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ly serving as President for the youth

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 steering committee and this year they plan the

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 week-long conference. I hope everyone enjoyed that

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. Shikha is a model for youth,

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 advocate for all, and leads with first learning how to follow

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. She believes in IL, lives IL,

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 follows IL, and most of all she is

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 a leader in IL. So congratulations

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 Shikha. Thank you for all your hard work and advocacy. And I turn the

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 floor over to you.   >> Okay Shikha

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. Go ahead.   >> Thank you ([Applause]). Thank you everyone

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. I appreciate everyone's support. I would like to thank disability

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 link and Kim and all the staff and my parents and

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 my sister and cousins and anyone

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 else that I shared the link with. So thank you everybody lt

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, and I appreciate the support and the encouragement. So thank you so much

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. And I got an award -- yeah I got an award and

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 some cupcakes and it was a fun day today. [Applause]

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.   >> Billy:

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 Fantastic. Thank you Shikha.

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 All righty. As we move through our program, what

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 we want to do now is

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 recognize

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 and honor our board members who are

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 no longer on the board with us. And I'm going to start

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 off.. Brittany from the

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 dell Mcintosh

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 center. Scott Burlingame and

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 Melva who have termed off. And I want to give folks an

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 opportunity to address you. And first of all I'm going to see if

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 Mr. Scott Burlingame is there, as he is term

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ing off as our board chair. And Scott

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?   >> Hi everybody. So I just want to say a couple

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 quick words here. And I'll try to be brief. First off,

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 just thank you so much to everybody that all systems

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 change that we do, all the change we do is all

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 built around relationships, and the amount of relationships that I built over

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 time between the staff of APRIL who are

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 all wonderful people, and I'm going to miss the board of APRIL

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 who I've enjoyed working with and all the ones that have come

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 in. And each of the people I've met at conferences.

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 You've all impacted my life tremendously. And I am

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 eternally grateful for you all. And I look forward

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 to -- as I graduate from this phase of my life

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 to seeing you all down the road. So thank you all so much

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.   >> Billy: Awesome. Thank you Scott. Did

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 you receive anything in the mail by chance?   >>

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 I did indeed. And thank you

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 all so much for them. They're fantastic things. And I'll

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 just show you this quick. And I'm putting it

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 on right now. Audio describe: A top

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 hat. I actually have one now thanks to our friends

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 at APRIL. And I'm tipping my top hat to you all

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 as I sign off.   >> Billy: Awesome. Thank you Scott

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. Perfect. And

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 next I would like to ask Melva

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? Melva is with us to say a couple words.   >> Thank you

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 Billy. I appreciate it. I just want to thank the

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 current board and staff of APRIL for their kindness and

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 friendship over the past 6 years. Also for

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 grace and compassion that's been given to all of us when times are tough

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 and we're not performing at 100 percent. I started with APRIL

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 as a member of the transportation committee several years

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 before joining the board of directors. Because of this

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 involvement, many people

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 in this national committee we were able to bring the needs

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 of rural transportation to the attention of national leaders

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 in Washington when Billy testified to

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 Congress about how small rural communities were making a

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 difference for people with disabilities in rural America

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. And after that, I knew I wanted to become more involved with APRIL

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. So I could continue the work of making a difference at the

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 national level. In during my time on the

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 board I've been blessed with working and learning from some of the

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 best and most dedicated people in the IL movement

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. Some of these relationships become second families and I can't

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 say how much they will be missed. I will

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 treasure the memories of working late into the night, putting together

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 conference packets with fellow committee members and then

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 listening to Billy sing long into the

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 night. Other great memories revolve around

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 youth projects which led to young leaders

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 accompanying us to conferences and then watching the excitement build

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 throughout the whole conference. APRIL

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's dedication to involving youth grows every year and I'm proud the

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 CIL and the SILC from

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 Ida ho continue

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 to support youth involvement. I encourage anyone who want

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s to make changes to get involved with a committee and

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 start your journey with APRIL. I'll miss the friends I've made

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 along the way, but I will continue to work for changes in my

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 home state of Idaho.   >>

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 Billy. Thank you so much Melva. I appreciate

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 those kind words. We're going to miss you as

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 well. You're a tremendous, tremendous transportation

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 advocate. Don't be surprised if I call you every now and then for

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 advice. Because I can't let folks with your knowledge just slip a

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way from me. And

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 I was looking here -- do we still have

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 time to do Brittany? Is

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 Brittany wanting to say anything?   >> She's at home with

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 a sick baby.   >> Bill: Oh,

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 well I send her and on behalf

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 of us all, we send that baby some get well wishes

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. What I want to do now is since we had those kind folks

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 as they were leaving, let me talk about some folks coming in

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. Scott, thank you so much for your time served

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 as President. And I want to introduce and welcome into the

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 fold our new

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 board President and that is Kimberly

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 Tso. I'm absolutely thrill

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ed to have Kimberly as our

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 new chair, board President, which ever

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 moniker we're going by. We

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 also have a new treasurer

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. Scott, Mels,

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 Arius, and we have a cup

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 couple people on the board,

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 Stansill and Iman

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. So looking forward to working with all these folks

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. Now that we're moving right on through this

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 program, as Melva was talking about a

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 minute and also Katherine, any time you're

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 a part of APRIL, you just can't

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 help but be impressed by the youth

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. And many in particular,

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 I'm the guy who stopped having

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 birthdays a long time ago, so it's indeed a

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 pleasure for me to watch all these young men and

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 women as they make their way up through -- oh, I

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 just lost one. Oh thank you. And

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 I am so sorry Hsiehlin, you were

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 ShaisLynn you're

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 on the youth seat. My bad

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. But the youth is what APRILs and really what makes the

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 entire country when you think about it. Almost all

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 civil rights actions were led by young people. So

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 I am thrilled with the new group of youth that we have

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. But what I want to do is allow the

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 youth to have some of the final word

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. And

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 I think I'm going to have to ask for some assistance because I can't

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 read what I've wrote down. I have Andy and

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 Andy from Utah and Grace from South Carolina. Who is going

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 first? And also Ari

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?   >> Andy, go ahead.   >>

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 Billy: Go Andy.   >> Thank you

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 Billy. This week has been a great opportunity for me to learn

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 more so I

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 can take the stuff I have learned and help

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 my friends from Utah in our

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 community learn and

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 act on more things

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. We are going to try and make

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 covered bus stops, have

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 people get on and

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 figure out how we can get those covers over

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 bus stops as it rains and snows down here and it's

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 hard. Thank you

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.   >> Great job Andy.   >>

00:16:57.000 --> 00:17:01.000
 Billy: Thank you Andy.

00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:04.000
 Grace?   >> All right

00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:10.000
 Grace you're good to go.

00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:13.000
   >> Hello, can everyone see me and hear me okay

00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:17.000
?   >> We can see you, you're

00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:20.000
 just sideways but you're good if you want to still go. (

00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.000
Laughing).   >> All right. This is my

00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:27.000
 first APRIL conference. I've really enjoyed it

00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:30.000
. I would say what I've most enjoyed about

00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:34.000
 it is just getting to meet everyone. Where I live there is

00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:37.000
 no para-transit or buses

00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:40.000
 or anything like that. So I pretty much

00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:43.000
 don't get to leave my apartment

00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:46.000
 except to go to doctors appointments. Especial

00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:49.000
ly with COVID and it's been really isolating and it's

00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:54.000
 been great to meet other youth with disabilities

00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:57.000
. Discussions

00:17:57.000 --> 00:18:01.000
 about the things that I'm passionate about

00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:04.000
 within the IL movement. So I've had a really

00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:08.000
 great time. So thank you all for having me

00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:13.000
.   >> Billy:

00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:16.000
 --   >> Great job Grace, thank you. Mash

00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:22.000
a, would you like to go?

00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:25.000
   >> Hold on --   >>

00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:29.000
 Sierra, I need sharing capabilities for my video

00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:33.000
.   >>

00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:36.000
 Thank you. Hi everybody. I have had

00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:40.000
 the great pleasure of getting to be your

00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:43.000
 media and outreach koord fa tor for the second year in a row

00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:46.000
. And I just have to say I am so impress

00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:50.000
ed by the youth that are coming

00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:53.000
 up this year. And I have learn

00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:58.000
ed so much from each one of you, and

00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:01.000
 it's just been a great experience for me to get

00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:05.000
 to kind of be in that leadership role and

00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:08.000
 get to learn different learns. We had a couple

00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:13.000
 of really great workshops this year about

00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:16.000
 crushing ablism with some great

00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:20.000
 youth panelists. Then we had another

00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:23.000
 workshop by Rebecca Williams about the

00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:24.000
 transition to

00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:27.000
eism with some great youth panelists. Then we had another workshop by Rebecca Williams about the transition 

00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:30.000
to growing up and moving out that's amazing to listen to. And

00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:33.000
 it's been a really great year. I can't wait to

00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:37.000
 see what the future will hold for you youth

00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:40.000
 youth because it's very, very strong this year. I'm

00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.000
 excited. And thank you so much to the youth and the APRIL

00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:47.000
 board for allowing me to have this opportunity once again

00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:51.000
.

00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:54.000
   >> Just flying by the seat of our pants,

00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:58.000
 Noah, do you want to unmute and

00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:01.000
 share about your experiences this

00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:05.000
 week?   >> Sure. Thank you. I will say

00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:08.000
 that this year was hectic. I

00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:11.000
 am the vice chair for the YS

00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:14.000
C this year. And I will say this

00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:18.000
, you know we had a three-

00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:22.000
man team I'm glad we were able to get everything together and I'm

00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:25.000
 honestly really impressed with my team and everyone

00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:28.000
 here. And I'm really glad that everyone came out to support the

00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:31.000
 conference this year ago. Thank you so much. And

00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:35.000
 it means a lot to me.

00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:38.000
   >> Awesome job. And the youth

00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:41.000
 steering committee will keep doing their work. So if any youth

00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:44.000
 out there are interested, they're going to be need

00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:48.000
ing new faces. All right Billy, back to you.   >> Billy:

00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:51.000
 All righty. Thank you. I think --

00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:54.000
 man, this is totally un

00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:58.000
usual that we are on time

00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:03.000
.

00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:06.000
 Okay. (

00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:09.000
Humming). I think we're at the end. So

00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:12.000
 what I'm going to do now unless any of my colleagues

00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:15.000
 has anything to say last minute? As before we

00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.000
 end out our show, we're going to turn it over to Elissa,

00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:22.000
 who is our

00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:26.000
 jack of all trades around the office, much

00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:29.000
 like all of us, to send us on our way and

00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:32.000
 give us some words of wisdom to live by. Elissa, are

00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:36.000
 you ready? Where are you?   >>

00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:39.000
 I am ready.   >> Billy: There you are.

00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:42.000
 I'll turn the floor over to you. And I'll get my

00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:46.000
 mug out of your way too. There you go.   >>

00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:49.000
 Elissa: Thanks. Hey, I am Elissa

00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:53.000
 Ellis. I'm the director of operations and conference

00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:56.000
 coordinator for APRIL

00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:59.000
. I use she/her pronouns

00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:03.000
. Kudos for yet another successful APRIL

00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:06.000
 conference. I love it when a plan comes together. I would like to start

00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:09.000
 by saying thank you. Thank you for supporting APRIL

00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:12.000
. Thank you -- you guys are the reason we do this. And

00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:15.000
 we couldn't do it without you. And thank you to all

00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.000
 of those who are still wearing a mask and those

00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:22.000
 socially distancing and working remotely, thank you

00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:25.000
 to everyone still following the mitigation

00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:28.000
 actions every day to keep our

00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:32.000
 fellow humans safe. To those

00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:35.000
 who were able to receive the vaccine and have done so, thank you. I want

00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:38.000
 to acknowledge all of us who put in the

00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:41.000
 work to save humanity. Thanks to all

00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:44.000
 of you. We have made all

00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:47.000
 the difference. Our sacrifices

00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:50.000
 played a direct role in

00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.000
 saving lives and we need to acknowledge that. The universe

00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:57.000
 recognizes how much trauma we've endured over the

00:22:57.000 --> 00:23:01.000
 last nearly two years. And the universe recognizes our

00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:05.000
 contribution to saving lives. That is a very

00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:08.000
 big deal. Because let's face it. Who knows where the

00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:12.000
 COVID numbers would be without the sacrifices that we have

00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:15.000
 made and continue to make.

00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:18.000
 COVID has touched every single one of us in some

00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:21.000
 way. Our lives have been forever

00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:24.000
 changed. Many of us have lost loved ones or

00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:27.000
 know someone who has. Our world has been flip

00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:31.000
ped upside down. We've likely seen friends,

00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:34.000
 neighbors, coworkers, maybe even family members

00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:37.000
 who have become the worst version of themselves. But

00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:41.000
 we remain undeterred. We are stead

00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:45.000
fast in our resolve to protect and save lives. And

00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:48.000
 that my friends is IL. That's what IL means

00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:52.000
 to me. Doing the right thing for the

00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:55.000
 collective we. Looking out for our fellow brothers and

00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:58.000
 sisters, caring about each other, protecting each

00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:01.000
 other, showing each other grace and sacrifice

00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:05.000
ing for the greater good. I acknowledge and

00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:08.000
 appreciate the sacrifices made by every

00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:11.000
 single one of you. We built some

00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:14.000
 really powerful generational karma

00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:17.000
. We have shown people around us how it should be done

00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:20.000
. This whole humanity thing. We've

00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:23.000
 impacted this traumatic experience

00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:27.000
 in immeasurable positive ways.

00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:30.000
 Since I'm usually busy sitting behind the registration table

00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:33.000
 at the conference, or zipping around the hotel

00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:36.000
 putting fires out behind the scenes, most

00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:41.000
 of you probably don't know this about me, but I'm very

00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:44.000
 -- hmm -- walk barefoot in the

00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:48.000
 forest with your favorite crystals tucked safely in a bead

00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:51.000
ed medicine bag neck lace while

00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:54.000
 you talk to the animals and trees within it

00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:57.000
. If I wake up more than two days in a

00:24:57.000 --> 00:25:00.000
 row on the wrong side of the bed, I check the planet

00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:03.000
 tear alignment and usually shout,

00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:06.000
 damn it, mercury retrograde. I'm

00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:10.000
 like a small child when I see butterflies

00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:13.000
 fluttering through my yard. I always

00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:17.000
 wish them a safe jour snee. I

00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:20.000
 talk to the moon and stars. I make moon water and charge

00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:23.000
 my crystals. I smudge my house on a regular and

00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:26.000
 I surround people with the white light of protection when

00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:29.000
 I see them struggling or hurting. This has always come very

00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:34.000
 naturally to me. I'm also a proud

00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:37.000
 Scorpio. Shout out to Scorpio season which begin

00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:40.000
s tomorrow. Anyway, the last two years have only

00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:43.000
 strengthened that bond within me. Because we are

00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:47.000
 part of the collective. Every action and

00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:50.000
 reaction has an effect on the collective. We

00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:53.000
 must never stay silent in the face of in

00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:57.000
justice or abuse or bad behavior because that trickles

00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:00.000
 down to the collective as well. When we lift

00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:03.000
 each other up, when we open quietly

00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:06.000
 to ourselves or loudly to others

00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:10.000
 that hope lifts and empowers the collective

00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:13.000
. Our love and light travel outward and

00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:16.000
 permeates the darkness. I promise you this,

00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:20.000
 if you consciously send

00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:23.000
 love and light out to those around you, when you

00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:26.000
 hold space for people who are struggling, you

00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:30.000
 will likely receive instant validation. You just have to pay attention

00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:33.000
. Signs and sin chronicities are everywhere

00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:36.000
. It takes mere seconds to consider the

00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:39.000
 impact your next action will have in any given

00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:43.000
 situation. So choose in that moment tho

00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:46.000
 to respond with love and light

00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:49.000
. Put ego aside. This practice

00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:52.000
 is as much for you as it is for others. We

00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:55.000
 must first love ourselves, show ourselves grace,

00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:58.000
. When you send love and light out, it always

00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:01.000
 comes back tenfold. So change the die namic

00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:05.000
ynamics because the

00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:08.000
 collective desperately needs more love. In a

00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:11.000
 world where screaming hateful rhetoric and hate

00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:15.000
ful information from the nearest bully pulpit

00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:18.000
 has been normalized we

00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:21.000
 must focus our light into that darkness like a laser beam

00:27:21.000 --> 00:27:25.000
. Kindness changes everything. Even the

00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.000
 callousest

00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:32.000
 of hearts

00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:36.000
 so do the unexpected. Knock those mean people

00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:39.000
 off kilter. You never know what kind of impact u you can have

00:27:39.000 --> 00:27:42.000
 on someone, positive and negative,

00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:46.000
 so act accordingly. I've gone back and forth about

00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:49.000
 this next part. To share a personal story of my own,

00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:52.000
 which unlike the above mentioned peek into

00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:56.000
 who I am does not come naturally to me. I'm

00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:59.000
 quite a private person. Truth be told I'm still

00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:03.000
 not totally comfortable with it, but I gez that's the

00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:06.000
 point. Pushing your own bounds ri ris

00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:10.000
 and going outside your

00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:13.000
 comfort zone. So this is me leaning into my vulnerables

00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:16.000
. This is an example of how we never know what kind of impact we have

00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:19.000
 on others. As I was gearing

00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:22.000
 up to head to our conference in Grand Rapids

00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:26.000
 way back in 2019, which seems

00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:30.000
 like an eternity ago, I stopped at my local Wal-Mart

00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:33.000
 gas station to grab a few packs of cigarettes for

00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:37.000
 my trip. As I made my purchase and turned to leave, an elder

00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:40.000
ly man who had to be every bit of 6

00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:43.000
'5 and wearing overall -- in the

00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:47.000
 South, go figure. Said to me, young lady you

00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:50.000
 really need to give those things up. They're so bad for you

00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:53.000
. I replayed to him sheep

00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:56.000
ish lsly but sincerely, I know it,

00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:59.000
 I'm trying. And he said in a stern but care

00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:03.000
ing voice that took me by surprise. Nope

00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:06.000
. You just need to walk away. You just have to do it and you can

00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:09.000
. I went on about my way, but his words

00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:12.000
 stuck with me. Little did I know my world was

00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:16.000
 about to be flipped on its head in more

00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:19.000
 ways than one. As I left Grand Rapids after

00:29:19.000 --> 00:29:22.000
 yet another successful APRIL conference, I was feel

00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:25.000
ing quite unwell. I knew something was off

00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:29.000
. So when I got back home, I made an appointment with

00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:32.000
 my OB/GYN. On

00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:35.000
 January 28th of 2020 I was diagnosed with

00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:38.000
 a medical term I can't even really pronounce, but

00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:42.000
 it was cancer of the uterine lining which is

00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:47.000
 98 percent

00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:50.000
 eradicated with a

00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:53.000
 total hiser reck tomy, and

00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:56.000
 mine was. A lot of folks have let cancer screen

00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:59.000
ings go by the wayside during COVID

00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:03.000
, so I encourage you all to get those screenings

00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:06.000
 done as soon as you feel safe out there. Anyway, to add to the

00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:09.000
 fear factor to have a cancer diagnosis in general, COVID

00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:13.000
 hit. And my emergency surgery was schedules and then

00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:17.000
 rescheduled and

00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:20.000
 rescheduled

00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:23.000
 several times. It was all very scary.

00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:26.000
 I ultimately had my surgery in late May of 2020.

00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:29.000
 I faced that surgery by myself due to the COVID

00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:32.000
 protocols. I'm not going to lie, I felt very alone

00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:35.000
 and uneasy. Until the doctor who was

00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.000
 assisting my surgeon entered the room

00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:42.000
 just before they were going to take me back to the surgery. He had

00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:46.000
 had on a Pittsburgh

00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:49.000
 Steelers surgical cap and that's all

00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:52.000
 I needed to see. I'm a life

00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:55.000
long die-hard Steeler fan. Seriously

00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.000
 my license plate on my car is "

00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:02.000
Steeler fan 1" so I knew this was a

00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:05.000
 sign just for me. I felt an instant calm

00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.000
. Tony, wonderful beautiful Steeler

00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:12.000
-loving Dr. 

00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:15.000
Tone Tony was there just for me. I

00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.000
 also quit smoking on January 9 of 2020. And

00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:22.000
 that stranger's words never

00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:26.000
 left me. I credit him for

00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:29.000
 planting the seed. There was the totally

00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:32.000
 cliche act of a cancer diagnosis shoving me into

00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:35.000
 a life change that was long overdue, but that elt l

00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:38.000
 elderly man crossing my path was

00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:41.000
 no accident. He was there to plant that seed. So whenever

00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:45.000
 you feel the inclination to speak up or act,

00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:48.000
 trust that inclination. That is the

00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:51.000
 connectedness I speak of. That's our

00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:55.000
 divine instinctive oneness,

00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:58.000
 tapping you on the shoulder, urging you to make

00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:01.000
 a connection. I wish I knew who that wonderful man was

00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:05.000
 so I could tell him how much his words impacted me.

00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:08.000
 Long story short, the cancer was removed with the

00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:11.000
 surgery and I'm totally cancer free. And I'm proud to

00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:14.000
 say still cigarette free. That was my COVID

00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:17.000
 silver lining if there is one. In hindsight

00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:21.000
 it all makes sense to me now, the way it all unfold

00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:24.000
ed. So as we close out 202

00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:27.000
1 and move into a new year, I encourage you

00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:30.000
 to lean in. Lean into the universe

00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.000
. Tap into our oneness, our

00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:37.000
 collectiveness, it's all around us. We just have

00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:40.000
 to slow down and pay attention. Find a beautiful

00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:43.000
 crystal or buy that bauble you've

00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:47.000
 had your eye on. Experiment with shack rahs

00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:51.000
 or meditation. Feed your neighbor.

00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:54.000
 Turn your music up and dance in the kitchen. Hang a

00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:57.000
 humming bird feeder. Start recycling if you don't already

00:32:57.000 --> 00:33:01.000
. Plant a garden. I sprouted an avocado

00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:04.000
 pit this summer because apparently they're beautiful trees. I'll let you

00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:07.000
 know how that's going once it's grown up enough to show up

00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:11.000
. But so far so good. Walk barefoot outside

00:33:11.000 --> 00:33:14.000
. Ground yourself to the earth. That's how

00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:18.000
 we level up. March, protest,

00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:21.000
 donate to a good cause. Whatever tool you

00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:24.000
 feel comfortable using social justice is always

00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:27.000
 worth fighting for and we need it now more than ever.

00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:30.000
 Make sure you register to vote and that you exercise

00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.000
 that right in every single election. From presidential

00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:38.000
 down to your local school board. Our

00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:41.000
 voices do make a difference and we can move mountains when we

00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:44.000
 use that voice. Because together we are so

00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:47.000
 strong, capable of remarkable things, so let

00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:51.000
's embrace that oneness. Steer the country out of this

00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:54.000
 darkness and toward harmony. Right the

00:33:54.000 --> 00:33:57.000
 ship. Whatever you do, just pay it forward

00:33:57.000 --> 00:34:00.000
. Find your voice and use it. And empower others

00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:03.000
. Be your authentic selves.

00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:07.000
 You are all welcome here in the APRIL family.

00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:10.000
 There is an undeniable al

00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:13.000
beit painful realignment happening right

00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:16.000
 now in the universe. So step into your power. For

00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:20.000
 some of you this keynote may have been an eye

00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:23.000
 roll moment -- that's okay. But for most of you I'm betting that what I'm

00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:26.000
 saying resinates with you. You feel it. So lean

00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:30.000
 in. I'm very optimistic about the future

00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:33.000
. But we must take an active role in what that

00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:37.000
 future looks like. We must contribute to a

00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:40.000
 more fair and equitable society. We must put in the

00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:43.000
 work. Be a voice for the voiceless

00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:47.000
. Maybe next year we can showcase some of the ways

00:34:47.000 --> 00:34:50.000
 we put these ideas into action. That might be pretty cool

00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:53.000
. So let's keep in touch on that. Share your thoughts with

00:34:53.000 --> 00:34:56.000
 me. Share your stories. I'm here to listen. I want

00:34:56.000 --> 00:35:00.000
 to participate in your levelling up. I'm here to cheer

00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.000
 you on. I will close with this

00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:07.000
 request: If you are still unvaccinate

00:35:07.000 --> 00:35:10.000
d but medically able to do so, please do consider doing

00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:13.000
 that. If you're on the fence, unsure, have questions

00:35:13.000 --> 00:35:16.000
, call the APRIL office. We have

00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:19.000
 some -- we have resources we can refer you to such

00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:23.000
 as the dial-line and can likely answer many of your questions

00:35:23.000 --> 00:35:26.000
 about the vaccine. But we also have an ear that

00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:29.000
 you can bend if you just want to talk your way through it with

00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:32.000
 someone who cares about you.

00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:36.000
 You are family here at APRIL and we will always

00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:39.000
 hold space for you. Thank you for listening. Have a fabulous rest of your

00:35:39.000 --> 00:35:42.000
 year. Happy holidays -- soon. Send

00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:45.000
ing my love and light to each of you

00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:48.000
.   >>

00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:51.000
 Billy: Fantastic. Thank you E.

00:35:51.000 --> 00:35:55.000
 And we are our brother's keeper.

00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.000
 So very, very good words to live by

00:35:59.000 --> 00:36:02.000
. As I always say, treat people the

00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:05.000
 way you want to be treated. And live each day like it's the day

00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.000
 that they'll remember you. So awesome

00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:12.000
. E, thank you again so much for that

00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:15.000
. Mary,

00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.000
 sierra? Anything either of you would like to add

00:36:19.000 --> 00:36:23.000
?

00:36:23.000 --> 00:36:26.000
   >> Just don't forget to fill out the survey that Mary just drop

00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:30.000
ped in the link. Go ahead Mary

00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:33.000
   >> Took it out of my mouth.

00:36:33.000 --> 00:36:36.000
 Fill out the evaluation. And just to followup with what Elissa

00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:40.000
 said, you know, you're with us. You're always a

00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.000
 part of the APRIL family. So use our phone numbers

00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:47.000
. Our e-mails. Our Facebook. You know where

00:36:47.000 --> 00:36:50.000
 to find us.

00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:53.000
   >> Youth, don't forget we still are going until tomorrow,

00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:56.000
 so we'll see all the youth there tomorrow at four o'clock

00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:59.000
 Eastern, one o'clock Pacific.   >>

00:36:59.000 --> 00:37:04.000
 Billy: Perfect. Well ladies and gentlemen,

00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:07.000
 I believe that's a wrap. We will see you all

00:37:07.000 --> 00:37:10.000
 next week. I hope y' all aren't

00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:14.000
 aggravated we'll

00:37:14.000 --> 00:37:14.000
 give you a few extra minutes on your Friday. Anyway,