by Steve Mallory

We need officers for the Board of Directors for our organization sometime in the near future. The board member position requires devoting several hours/week to develop and implement plans for the development and growth of the organization. We cannot do these tasks by ourselves and need Directors who are committed to our mission. Please let me know if you are interested. We need 15 Directors for the upcoming year. The term of service is for at least one year.

o We also have several volunteer staff positions available. The primary position that we need to fill immediately is for Medical Director. Please email Pat Provost or me if you know of somebody available for this job or if you are interested in helping the organization.

* I want to mention how totally successful the First Annual Golf Fundraiser was last week. The total amount of money raised was close to $10,000 and the total that our organization was able take home after all the fees were paid was over half of that figure. The entire event was very professional in the way that it was organized and carried out.

o I know that the participants thoroughly enjoyed the activities and promised to come back for next year's fundraiser. We have, in one day, achieved the financial resources to almost guarantee a long and successful life of maintaining and hopefully expanding our mission.

* I am forming a committee of stroke caregivers in order to bring awareness to the fact that this responsibility is automatically assumed to be an unpaid volunteer job by the government and the insurance industry.

o Read my interpretation of this problem at http://www.strokecaregiver.org/comp/. If you would like to stay informed of my progress with bringing this issue into focus you need to update your mailing preferences by clicking on the edit link at the bottom of the newsletter.

* I recently installed Windows 2000 and had to purchase a new head pointer. I'm also using a new onscreen keyboard. They are both totally awesome and are so affordable that I would consider using them instead of struggling to use a physical keyboard with one hand. The head pointer is at http://www.naturalpoint.com/ and the onscreen keyboard at http://www.imgpresents.com.

o I'm endorsing both of these for all one handed typists because I'm so impressed with them. The technology is fantastic, the price for both is around $500 and typing is much easier. I am sure that many of our members would benefit with this setup.

* Hopefully, everybody has read that the organization will be hosting a series of conferences on Assistive Technology each month for the next few months. Be sure to check the schedule at http://www.strokesupport.org/chat.htm.

o Corrine Vance, from the Expert Panel will be the hostess. She is a certified Assistive Technology Specialist.

The Stroke Network, Inc.

P.O. Box 492 Abingdon, Maryland 21009