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Affiliate News

Diabetics in Action Update

I am Dee Clayton from Pleasantville, Iowa.  I was elected as president of ACB Diabetics in Action this July at the conference/convention in Columbus, Ohio.  I am one of the founders, and was the first president of this affiliate.  I am glad to be back as your president.  I am trying to come up with new ideas to put life in the group and get new members.
 
Our past president, Pat LaFrance Wolf, passed away in June right after our last board meeting before the conference/convention.  Pat was a great person and was also one of the founders and first vice president when we became an affiliate.  Pat lived with diabetes for about 68 years.  She was always willing and went above and beyond to help other diabetics with questions or problems if she could.  She wrote many articles for the DIA newsletter.  Pat will be greatly missed by us all.  Perry, we all extend our heartfelt sympathy.  I will really miss talking to her about what we were planning for the affiliate. 
 
The holidays will be upon us before we know it.  If you have a friend or relative that you do not know what to get them for the holidays, why not think about giving them a membership to ACBDA?  A membership is only $10 and will be a gift they will have all year.  They will be subscribed to "The ACB Braille Forum," the DIA newsletter, and much more.  You may not think it is important to belong, but just think if you have a family history or know someone in the family with diabetes, or have a friend who is diabetic, you can learn a lot from our group.  Carol Edwards, past president, joined ACBDA; she wasn't a diabetic at the time, but her husband was, and she had a family history of diabetes.  A few years after joining, she found out she was a diabetic.  She was grateful she had joined and learned so much about what to expect that she recommends you really consider giving a year's membership to someone.
 
In October, ACBDA began its monthly calls.  The number is (712) 432-3675; be sure to follow the instructions to get to room 0.  You will hear a couple of message the first time, but after that you can skip them if you want.  You might want to test out the system before you call for the conference. 
 
We also have a listserv.  To get on the list, send a blank message to [email protected], and you will get a message of confirmation.  I will put a message on the list giving the date and time of the conference call.  You can get a lot of diabetes-related information by joining the list and by participating in the conference calls.
 
Stay safe and eat right over the coming holidays!