Commission for Persons with Disabilities: Disability Pride and Culture Day Fair Planning - 2026-04-22

AI-generated summary. Written by gemini-3-flash-preview from the transcript below, which is the record. It may be incomplete or wrong; it does not report votes. Every item links to the moment it began.

The Commission finalized logistical arrangements for the May 9 Disability Pride and Culture Day fair and discussed ongoing municipal accessibility initiatives. Members reviewed vendor participation, facility accessibility requirements, and the extension of digital compliance deadlines.

3:33 Meeting Minutes Approval — Approved the minutes from the previous meeting with a correction to the date of a recent site visit.
5:05 Fair Logistics and Accessibility — Discussed venue layouts for the McGlynn School and planned accommodations including a designated quiet room, accessible seating, and non-fluorescent lighting.
19:53 Vendor and Performance Coordination — Confirmed over 20 participating organizations and selected musical selections for inclusive dance performances.
25:49 Mayoral Proclamation and Commission Speaker — Announced a proclamation declaring May 9 as Disability Pride and Culture Day and designated Commissioner Joe Casey to deliver a speech on behalf of the body.
38:11 Police Department Sponsorship and Training — Discussed the police department's role as the performance sponsor and debated the effectiveness of law enforcement interaction training for people with disabilities.
59:50 Grants and Digital Accessibility Updates — Reviewed a municipal grant for ADA self-evaluation and announced that the city's deadline for digital accessibility compliance has been extended to 2027.
1:04:22 Accessible Infrastructure and Trees — Examined the importance of planting accessible tree species that do not damage sidewalks or create tripping hazards.
1:09:23 Interactive Activities and Community Events — Proposed interactive polling activities for the fair and highlighted upcoming local events including a youth summit and Haitian Flag Day.

[Frances Nwajei]: Hello, everyone. This is the April 2026 meeting of the Commission for Persons with Disabilities. I'm Frances Magé, DEI Director and ADA Coordinator for the City. I'm going to popcorn it over to Anthony.

[Andreottola]: Hi, Anthony Andreotila, MAPFED resident, blind resident and Commissioner. Hello, everyone. Thank you, Anthony.

[Susan Bibbins]: Over to Susan. Hi, my name is Susan Bibbins. I am a longtime commissioner. Live in South Medford for quite a number of years. And I'm physically disabled, have a chronic pain situation and neurodivergent and some emotional behavioral things going on. And that's me. Thank you, Susan. Over to you, Kate.

[Kate Ryan]: Kate Ryan, she, hers. I live in West Medford and I have multiple disabilities and I'm a commission member. Thank you, Kate. Over to you, John.

[qy5_Am-xQ_s_SPEAKER_04]: Hi there. Hey, I'm John Shaib. I'm a disabled union organizer. I'm an amputee and I'm a resident of Medford and that's it.

[MCM00001818_SPEAKER_06]: Hi, Joe Casey, lifelong resident of Medford. I have some small disabilities, but I have a son that has major disabilities, and I'm glad to be here to help out.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks, Frances. Hey, everybody. Cam Knapp, Commissioner, and I live in the Heights.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hi, I'm Mark, and I'm a resident of MedFed, just staying in touch with everything.

[Frances Nwajei]: Thank you so much, Mark. It's so good to see you again. And I think, Nick, I'm not sure if your audio is fully enabled.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yes, I can hear you now. Do you want to give a brief introduction?

[Nicholas Karinge]: All right. Let me turn my camera on. Good evening, everyone. It is good to see all of you. My name is Nicholas Cuttinger. I am the disability specialist for the City of Medford in the office of DEI. So I work right with Ms. Frances. It is good to see all of you. and I am happy to work with you all. Let me fix my lighting so I don't look like a whole ghost.

[Frances Nwajei]: Thank you. Thank you, Nick. Take your time. All right. Thank you, everybody. I think the first thing that's on our agenda is a motion to approve, and then somebody would need to second the meeting minutes. I do want to point out an error. There is a section 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The 6th paragraph states the date that we went on the site visit tour. The correct date is actually Friday, April 10th, not the 11th as is listed on the meeting notes. I just made that correction just so that I could share it with all of you. But if there are no questions.

[SPEAKER_04]: I make a motion to accept the minutes with the correction. Thank you, Kim.

[Frances Nwajei]: I second it. Think, oh, was it was it Anthony who motioned? Oh, thank you, Anthony. I'm sorry I was OK. I couldn't cheat and see the box pop up. I was turned sideways. Alright, and Susan, you second. Thank you, Susan. All right. So I hear you're all having a disability fair. I don't think this office has worked on anything else for the past two weeks. Well, I think Nick was able to squeeze in some other items of work.

So far, I will say that things are going really well. I find myself in an interesting situation because I've been watching the weather and initially it looked like it was going to be light showers on that day. But no, now June 3rd looks like it might be 67 degrees for a high.

[Kate Ryan]: Turn around and spit, Frances. You are jinxing us. You know what happened last year. And I know, and the year before.

[Frances Nwajei]: I know, I know, I know. So we are on your behalf making both a primary and a secondary plan, right? The primary plan is our original plan to be indoors. And the secondary plan is, if we should have weather 70s and above, I don't mean like, you know, sweltering mugginess where people can't breathe, but you know, 70s and above. then we will be outside. There really won't be much of a lift for the commissioners to do. It's just a question of me making sure I have the correct things for each plan, which fortunately will be supported with. John and Joe very kindly accompanied me on the tour.

of the space as well as the outside space. I don't know if John or Joe, if either of you have anything that you would like to add about the tour?

[MCM00001818_SPEAKER_06]: Go ahead, John. No, no, I said I don't have anything to say. No, I just see that I understand there's going to be a janitor there. So I assume he'd put the chairs out And I don't think you'd need a table. It's just a setting up outside and we're just going to have to wing it. I don't see any problem because we dealt with being inside. So we already got that down to a science. So, um, we'll just see what the weather's like. And, um, I guess the janitor will just have to hook up the microphone and Maybe put, there's a couple of benches out there. You know, this is for the people that weren't there. Let me say that. I'll try to describe the area. There's like a little outdoor stage area and there's a small play park area around the side. And it's a big open flat area. And there's a couple of benches out there and I believe the janitor of the day will possibly maybe put up extra fold-up type of chairs outside near this little outside auditorium. And let's see, and I would assume the vendors will set up inside, Francis?

[Frances Nwajei]: So if the event gets moved outside, then all of it gets moved outside. So there was that long walkway that the principal suggested that we use to set up the vendors, the very long walkway, just before you enter the park. So it is, there's a little bit of shade, but it's not completely removed. So, what will happen is that there'll be two event forms that will be completed. One event form will be for our typical indoors. It will have the number of tables that are needed, the number of chairs that are needed, that type of stuff. And then the other event form will be for if the weather is above X temperature and blah, blah, blah, then the setup would be outside. Yes, I think principal said that they could bring some folding chairs so that there could be additional seating for folks who choose to come. The nice thing about it being outside is that there is also a, I don't want to say a gate, but maybe it is a gate, but there's an entrance exit area. where the ice cream truck could actually park, which, you know, folks like could just like come in that way if they wanted to. When it's outside, then I guess the ice cream truck will park in front like it did last year.

[Kate Ryan]: I think that if we have chairs set up for people, we need to be certain that we also bring outside some chairs with arms for people who need that type of seating.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yes, definitely. So that's why it's important that there's like two, two different forms that, you know, Nick and I submit. Because, you know, the indoor forms, right, the people are typically moving around. People are not, let's say, seated in a specific place, right? They're going from table to table. And then the auditorium itself is already accessible. Now, if we were to be outside and use the outside stage, we would have to build in that accessibility. So we would have to make sure that, like you said, you know, cheers with arms for people that need that support.

[Kate Ryan]: I also don't think that we have to wait for it to be 70. I think that like 60 is five is plenty warm, like 70s is hot.

[Frances Nwajei]: see what happens, right? It keeps moving, right? I mean, if we're gonna wake up and it's gonna be 65, like, you know, nine, 10 o'clock, then that's perfect, right?

[Kate Ryan]: But like you said, I really won't know until... I think you should hand the weather stuff over to me because I follow the weather more closely. I can pretty much guarantee it more closely than anyone here.

[MCM00001818_SPEAKER_06]: I'm sorry, just one question. Was there some type of entertainment where people would be to do something like yoga or something to lay on the grass and stretch or something?

[Frances Nwajei]: So that's the next part of this is to go through the fair to talk about the different vendors that are going to be on hand and the different interactive opportunities that are going to be available.

[Susan Bibbins]: I just have one quick question. Last year, I remember that we didn't have a quiet room set up. And it was needed by a few people. And we kind of did our best and set one up. But I kind of like to have it somewhere designated and pre-set one up. or to make sure that one is just in case someone needs it, have a designated area if we're outside or have a designated room if we're inside where if somebody needs it to get away from the loud and overwhelming and noisy.

[Frances Nwajei]: You're right. You're right. We talked about it last year, but I don't believe that it was actually formally set up. I do believe that the location for the indoors last year was supposed to be the room off the cafeteria, because that has a door and it doesn't have all the glass where you can actually feel even overwhelmed by people walking by. If you need less stimulation and people are walking by and people are looking at you, that can actually produce the adverse effects. Thank you for mentioning that. I have to make sure I add that to the list. I don't know about where one would be set up in reference to the outside location, but I guess I could go take another trip down and walk around with principal. Yep, go ahead, Nick.

[Nicholas Karinge]: I do have one idea for the front of the room, if we are inside.

[Nicholas Karinge]: If we are indoors, I do have one idea, but it would have to be confirmed with the principal.

[Frances Nwajei]: I prefer that we use the rooms that are on the same level and that we use the room next to the cafeteria, if we're going to be indoors. I prefer to keep it contained to, to the area that we asked for. I don't, I don't want to mix floors know that it would have.

[Frances Nwajei]: It can't be the room next to the auditorium because that room is already going to be used by the performers.

[Nicholas Karinge]: No, it's not that room. It's a room where I'll be... It's behind the principal's office.

[Frances Nwajei]: Oh, behind the principal's office. Yeah, so you'd have to sort of like veer off. When you enter, you go straight down, then you take a left.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah. I like us to be up. The last time, the last time that people were, not our event, but the last time there was an event that was very free flowing. Somebody's child walked away with something that they shouldn't have. I like us to just be in our You know, we're taking over the first floor, but you know, we're not doing an S, we're doing like an L, you know, I'd like us to stay in that area.

[Susan Bibbins]: It should be easy to get to because if a child is having a difficult time or if you, you know, if an adult is having a difficult time, they want it to, be easy to get to and not have to walk around a long time.

[Nicholas Karinge]: That's the thing though, because that's why I was saying if we are indoors, because if we're indoors and we're using the cafeteria, from the cafeteria to that room. Right. Yeah.

[Kate Ryan]: Maybe we could just use the same room for indoor and outdoor scenarios because we're going to have to have the school open anyway for the bathrooms because yeah.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah, I agree with you. I think that's the same the same door for the same spot for indoors and outdoors scenario. I don't recall. John and Joe, I don't recall seeing any sort of like separate area than it would require bringing tents. And I'm not sure that I really wanna get into all of that when we're outside. We would have to actually make a different area. And, you know, yeah. And like you said, Kate, you're quite right. The door's gonna have to be open anyway, because people need access to the restrooms. And the door is right there and you go in and the restrooms are right there.

[Kate Ryan]: I will say that I think it should be a room with a window because then you don't have to have the fluorescent lights on and fluorescent lights are, you know, awful.

[Frances Nwajei]: If there is if there is a room that is not a classroom that does not belong to anybody that is on the area that we can use them that will be fine. But if there isn't, then we're pretty much stuck with working with the space that you know, that we're in because the last thing I want to do too is run around and say, no, don't go in there. Don't touch this. Don't touch that.

[Frances Nwajei]: It's just, it's just unfortunate. And whilst that incident did not occur as a result of our own event, right. It is a space that I booked for a particular group. So I have to, you know, sort of like keep that in mind that even though we're there, we're still guests.

[Susan Bibbins]: Right. And maybe there's a standing lamp or a couple lamps that we could use rather than turn on the fluorescent.

[Frances Nwajei]: Right, and I actually have extra ones here in my office, because that's what I use. I mean, Nick uses the fluorescent light, I can't. So fortunately, it's now changed where he can control the light that's above his work area. and I can control mine. But no, that's a good idea. So bring the lamp. Okay. All right. So that was just supposed to talk about, you know, the walkthrough. Now I just, I want to move through and let you know the vendors that have confirmed.

Each vendor will, receive one table and two chairs with the exception of two vendors and you'll understand why. So these are just vendors that have confirmed for tabling. Best Buddies, Boston Center for Independent Living. The library, the library is going to get like four tables and four chairs. Why? Because the library is actually going to be hosting the crafting station. So, and then, oh, can't read my writing. Communitas, the DPPC, does everybody know what that is?

[Frances Nwajei]: Yes, yes. Family-centered yoga. So I just have to make sure that Tanya, who runs family-centered yoga, it's best for Tanya to sort of be at an end somewhere where there's some space because sometimes people want to do a little bit of movement. Federation for children with special needs. Friends of the Fells, Institute for Human Centered Design, the MBTA Public Engagement Team, Medford Family Network, Medford Fire Department, Cataldo. Cataldo can, they can table They can also bring an ambulance for folks to, you know, go through and stuff like that. Nick and I sent a correspondence today asking if they wanted to do one or the other or both. We welcome it. We welcome it all.

Spalding Adaptive Sports, Waypoint, Walnut Street Center, and a last addition, Visiting Angels. I don't know how, I believe it's Abby of Visiting Angels found out about this event, but came into work last week to an email that said, hi, my name is so-and-so, can we be a part of the event? And I said, yes, of course. So thank you to folks, whoever has started promoting this, because this is wonderful. now for none. Exactly.

[Kate Ryan]: It's a home care company, um, which I have thoughts about that you are free to contact me about, but Hey, I just remembered that this is perpetual Francis.

[Frances Nwajei]: So I'm, I'm, I'm, I got clipped. Nevermind. Okay. So the folks that aren't going to be tabling, so we have Inspire Cafe who will be on hand to sell their refreshments to attendees if attendees choose to purchase their refreshments. We also have Dance Latin Boston who will be doing a who will be helping a group of participants if they are interested in rehearsing some dance slash movement. That rehearsal will take place from 12.45 to about 1.10 for an inclusive movement performance at 1.15 on the stage in the auditorium.

The main performance group, Deaf Infinitely, will be performing somewhere between 11.20 and 11.30. It just depends on how long we take to get down to their performance team. Now, moving on. Oh, Spaulding Adaptive Rehab needs space for demos. They're bringing their courtside wheelchair. Oh, yeah. And something else. I can't remember. The hockey one, maybe?

[Kate Ryan]: Because they have a hockey. A bicycle. Something about a bicycle. Oh, yeah.

[Frances Nwajei]: They have bikes. Yeah. So they're bringing two pieces of equipment for folks to see, try out, stuff like that. Sorry. All right. So that's just sort of like who's going to be there where people are going to be stationed. Now, the big news that you've been waiting for. Yep. Go ahead, Nick.

[Nicholas Karinge]: One quick note, IHCD, as you all know, they're kind of combined with the New England ADA. And so they will be having two tables and two chairs to represent both sides of their organization.

[Frances Nwajei]: Thanks, Nick. I just updated that on my notes. That's right. Two tables and four chairs. All right, so the event will open with a welcome and will immediately bring up the mayor, who will be reading the proclamation, specifically written, that will declare Saturday, May 9th, 2026, Disability Pride and Culture Day in Medford. Nice. Proclamation is about, so Nick, would you say it's about six sentences?

[Frances Nwajei]: Proclamation is about six to eight sentences. I put it together quickly by just pulling some language from other proclamations that I thought was, but I can't think of a better way to open an event than to have that proclamation and that declaration. That's that. So Saturday, May 9th, 2026 will be proclaimed as Disability Day, celebrating disability pride and culture. So I think that that checks off and ask Anthony, I want to say, I think it was you who raised it about three meetings ago or two meetings ago. I can't remember. Yes, I did. Yeah. That's great. Thank you. You're welcome.

And then it will be, I don't know if you're aware, but the proclamations, they actually get written and it looks like somebody might be at my door. I'm not quite sure. That's a bit creepy. Give me one second, please, because all I can see are shadows. This happens all the time. Yep, somebody was at the door just pacing. Maybe they're waiting for somebody, but they're not waiting for me. The proclamations, they're sort of like written. It almost looks like a certificate.

Since this is, I don't know where the certificate should live other than Inside this office, because you don't have a completely different address rate and I can't say, oh, John, you get the certificate. Well, then what happens to all the other commissioners? I guarantee I can guarantee you and assure you just like with all the other proclamations that it will be kept. somewhere and, you know, maybe on that day would display the proclamation at the at the entrance table where John and Joe wanna, you know, wanna be at for, you know, to handle registration. I'm just, you know, just a thought. So there's that. Now. So now, I have a couple of asks, please.

So it can't be Nick. It can't be Susan. Is there anybody that would like to speak on behalf of the commission? And what that means is that you would, you know, you would prepare what you want to say. You would make sure I have a copy of that ahead of time because I have to get that to our ASL interpreter. And you would be on the program speaking on behalf of the commission. So that's one ask.

[MCM00001818_SPEAKER_06]: Joe? Yes, you brought that up at the meeting at the school also, and it's been in the back of my head. And I got time to work on it, and I'll try to get it to you as soon as I can for the interpreter. OK.

[Frances Nwajei]: So we are at April 22nd. I would need something a week from today. OK. You could send it via email. And then what I would do is I would send it to the commissioners and I would just ask the commissioners if they had any feedback to respond to me directly because you are representing the commission.

[Frances Nwajei]: Okay. And then if they had any feedback, I would send it off to you and then you would incorporate that. And then I would prep that for the ASL interpreter for the day. Okay. All right, thank you so much, Joe. Yay. Yay. All right, so now the other thing is the speaker, oh, anybody here really, anybody here want to be responsible for the technology piece? You know, Cam, I can't see you, right? But I'm just, I'm definitely looking at your name box because I know you bailed me out last year.

[Frances Nwajei]: Thank you so much, Cam. Thank you. And I have already started to send like email blurbs to different people about helping to volunteer for the day. And by volunteer, I mean, you know, designated greeters, right, to welcome people in, to show people if somebody needs to go to the restroom, that type of stuff.

[Frances Nwajei]: All right, and then the final ask, the inclusive dance slash movement group asked if there was a song that would be preferable, that would be preferred for them to, you know, come up with some dance slash movement that, you know, everybody could do together. I didn't respond yet. I said that I would ask during this meeting, but literally the first thing that came to my mind was YMCA. And I'm just like, oh my gosh, have I just, have I just dated myself?

[Kate Ryan]: The first thing that comes to my mind is a very old Natalie, like 90s old, Natalie Merchant song that was sort of the anthem of disabled women in like the 2000s, I want to say, called Wonder. Wonder. If anyone, no, of course nobody, Susan maybe.

[Andreottola]: I know this song, but I think that's a hard song to dance to. It's a great song. It's a wonderful song, but it's not really.

[Frances Nwajei]: I got a very clear that I like that this was like we would not like dancing to win like awards and stuff like that like this was more of a, like a unified group thing to be done together. So there will be, unless some, unless people insist, I mean, I will not be jumping up in the air and doing splits and twirls and things of that nature. You'll laugh, Susan? Oh, that's unfortunate.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah, I'm sure you would, Nick. You already know how much trouble sometimes I have. I'm just trying to balance standing upright some days.

[MCM00001818_SPEAKER_06]: I was thinking of maybe suggesting three songs and let the dancers pick whatever song is best for them.

[Frances Nwajei]: That would be great, Joe, but we don't know our audience and we don't have that much time.

[Frances Nwajei]: How about We Are The World? How about Respect from Aretha Franklin? Ooh, that's a good one. All right, hold on one second, because what I'm going to do is I'm going to put the ideas on a little piece of paper, and then I'm going to pick out a fact.

[qy5_Am-xQ_s_SPEAKER_04]: And actually, that song was Otis Redding's, but Aretha did a great version.

[Frances Nwajei]: OK, so hold on. Wonder, Natalie Merchant. Respect. We are the world.

[Frances Nwajei]: Oh, no, no, Anthony. So we were mulling around the idea of a spotlight, right? Having people like at the end showcase their talents. That was one of the suggestions. And as I was giving thoughts to it, I was like, okay, some people may understand the concept of time and some people may not. And then there was further conversation about, gee, what if somebody's talent ends up really not being appropriate, right? So I thought about it a little bit more and I was just like, well, this isn't just an open festival. There is a beginning time and there is an end time. Maybe see what attendees do. Maybe see who is interested in doing some sort of unified get together, right? And that can be another aspect of making this inclusive. Because I do sense that we are going to not only get people who identify as being disabled, but I do sense that we're going to get recipients of services who could function, whose cognitive level is different.

And the sort of, you know, I don't wanna say levels the playing field, but it also gives an opportunity for them if they are present to participate and engage, but in an even freer manner. Okay, great. But this is different from the actual performers. There's a whole nother group doing a performance here.

[Frances Nwajei]: You're not losing your mind, Anthony. I'm right there with you. No, you're not losing your mind. They are deaf.

[Andreottola]: Okay. Can I ask a question and shift completely to a different topic? But it's something I do want to ask about before I forget. Okay. And I don't know if Metro police are involved in doing it, but it's almost like a. I don't know if they're going to be there at all or if it's worth an ask. You know, there's a whole thing of how police interact with people with disabilities, say like deaf drivers or somebody who has, you know, how to interact with people who have different disabilities, who they may stop. and not have the, you know, the, the training or kind of the understanding that this person may be kind of have no mental health condition or actually all blind or, you know, actually Anthony studies have shown that those programs don't do any good.

[Kate Ryan]: It does not keep people more safe. And considering that 35 to 50% of people who are murdered by the police have disabilities, I think that having them there at the event is extraordinarily inappropriate and just terrible. It's a terrible idea. We don't want to involve people ever.

[Frances Nwajei]: I want to pause for a minute, because whilst you say that, I want to make sure that you know that the performers are being paid for by the police department. That is the sponsor. That is where the money's coming from. So just so you know, there is no money for this event. This office has no money. And whatever issues people may have, I ask that you think through whether that is your own thought process or whether that is fact for everybody involved, right? It's a disability fair. It is celebrating disability, pride, and culture. Kind of like in my role, there will always be those people that will refuse to shift. However, I cannot allow them to paralyze me from continuing to do the work and continuing to provide the education. Anthony, whether or not they will be there, I don't know. Last year, they were not able to make their table because as with first responders, there needs to be X number of people on shift supporting the city. Do you see what I'm saying? So when it's between that and the event, then the chances are they're not able to make the event.

But it is, as a matter of fact, if I'm not mistaken, I do think, Nick, was it not today that you sent the email? You're on mute.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah, yeah, so I do believe that an email went out to both Captain Clemente and Chief Buckley, but I think it's one of those things where, you know, until you get to day of, you don't know how many people you have on hand, you know, taking care of the primary function. Education is definitely important. I know that, you know, I'm not gonna get into, you know, all the detail about what trainings they or seminars they've been to, but they are present for an educational, for educational opportunities. So there is that.

[Andreottola]: The reason I ask is I know they're incorporating mental health and, you know, mental health crisis response teams.

[Andreottola]: And that would, you know, I think, you know, something like that would be great for, you know, disability fear to hear what they're doing, how they do it, and how, you know, to help Method residents know that, you know, there is, you know, compassionate response available, you know what I mean? So that's why I'm kind of bringing it up. I'm not bringing it up to, you know, to see like, you know, to have guys in blue with their guns sticking out at the event to kind of intimidate people. I'm thinking about it's like, you know, they're in our community and we interact with them and people with disabilities and people who are in mental health crisis. would benefit from knowing that, you know, the police have training or they have these non-police people that they work with that could, you know, help the community.

[Frances Nwajei]: I really do. I mean, I really do hope that, you know, they'll be able to come and at least table. I mean, not, you know, not only, you know, are they in the community. I mean, some of them have, you know, family members or, you know, are caretakers themselves of people with disabilities. So it is important. So again, we've made the ask and I can continue to make the ask, but if it is a situation like it was last year, then I think that we're going to fall to the secondary and they're going to make sure that they've got people at their at their positions. But FIRE will be there, and Cataldo will be there, and Cataldo can, if we want them to bring an ambulance for people to go through, they can do all that. And I'm missing something else. Sorry, I just lost my train of thought. There's something else that I wanted to add to that, that I've just, it's gone. Hopefully it will come back. All right. So as far as songs go, Nick put in the chat, we're all in this together. I'm not quite sure. Who is the artist for that one?

[Frances Nwajei]: Does anybody know the artists for that? We're all in this together.

[Kate Ryan]: Disney is Disney is Disney. So we would never have permission. Probably. Right? Because aren't they like weird about their copywriting?

[Frances Nwajei]: They're interesting about their copywriting and they're interesting about many other things.

[Kate Ryan]: Is interesting like a polite word for a worse word? Yes. No, I'm genuinely asking. I don't know why people are laughing. I really don't know.

[Frances Nwajei]: Okay, I thought it was me, but I was like, wait a second. No, my phone would not be ringing through the speaker. No, Kate, I can only say the word interesting because I can't say the real thing that I want to say. It can be challenging, let's put it this way, working with them, depending on who you are.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah. I mean, there was a time when it was, you know, it was great to work with Disney and, you know, that was in my, you know, younger days and, you know, things, you know, lots of accommodations were followed up and stuff like that. But I think those days are gone. All right. We are in this together, you said, Nick. I don't know if we're going to be able to do it. But who knows, maybe the dance company already. has, maybe they already have something. So right now, I have We Are the World, We Are the Champions by Queen, Respect by Aretha Franklin, Wonder by Natalie Merchants, and We Are In This Together.

[Frances Nwajei]: Get a cup. You all have to watch me on the Zoom. Unless somebody wants to come charging out and say, this is the one that we should request. I'll ask, I'll pick two out. I'll shake them up and pick two out just in case one's not available. John, I think this is what I said I was gonna do if nobody volunteered to speak. I think I said I was gonna have to end up putting names in hats. Okay, my eyes are closed.

This is one. Thanks for a song choice that came out. Respect. Nice. All right. I'm picking it back up just to be on the safe side. I think I have it. It's actually really interesting when I close my eyes just now to go through and to pay just a different sensation in my fingers. We are the world. So I will reach out to Valeria over at Dance Latin Boston, and I will tell her that respect is the first, and we are the world if they don't have respect. And then the rest of them, there.

So I think that that's pretty much the ramblings that I have. Around Friday, late afternoon, early evening, you will receive the final flyer. The final flyer, as per usual, will be our program on the front. I'm only going to put times in for the performances. OK. So that that way, you know, folks might because folks might want to bring their kids to come do just the inclusive dance. I don't know. But we will know that, you know, the event starts at 11 and, you know, we'll move through it fluidly.

[Frances Nwajei]: This is what I wanted to ask. I don't think that it's necessary to show up before 10. Yeah, I don't think so. Because you're not setting anything up. You know what I'm saying? 10.30? I think 1030 would be fine. But John and Joe, you both wanted to do the registration. So I think that you should be the 1010 15. Okay, get settled. Because if you're if you're at the front, people typically will come and ask you questions.

[Kate Ryan]: And is there anything that needs to be done like flyers put up or anything to be picked up like balloons or anything? I didn't order balloons, Kate. Good, good, because we're in a helium shortage and they're needed for MRIs. Thank you.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah, I, yeah, I didn't order balloons. Our, you know, our big sign, the lamp, all those things, those things can go in my car. Like, I can even, you know, if there's anything bulkier, I can ask DPW to help, you know, drop that stuff off for us and, you know, ask the principal, you know. The food aspect for the performers, that's going to be handled differently. I think I'm going to ask somebody from law enforcement to pick it up, to pick it up for them.

because since they're, you know, they're paying for it. But I'll bring, what did I bring last time? I brought like three cases of water and I ended up, I ended up donating one to the school and coming back with one. So I'll bring a case of water for us if we feel that we'll need it. But let's not forget that Inspire Cafe will be there. So I kind of don't want to like, give away free water, it sort of like takes away from their ability to sell their items and their snacks.

[Kate Ryan]: I was, is it possible to get a couple of flyers from you to put up places? Yeah, do you, if you want, I can send you some. Do you want me to? Well, Junk in the Trunk is that morning, and I was going to ask if I could come to Junk in the Trunk and put up some flyers for the fair there.

[Kate Ryan]: It's been at City Hall, at the big parking lot behind City Hall, the last one or two times. So I was going to ask you if I could ask them to, if I could put up some signs there.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah, I mean I could definitely. Do you want, do you want to pick them up from City Hall or do you want me to mail them to you?

[Kate Ryan]: Will they get here by next, in a week? Oh wait, yeah, they'll get here, yeah, if you could mail them that way.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah, I could mail them to you. Yeah, I could definitely mail them to you because I spoke with Emma. She's just waiting for some slight, you know, little bit of information tweaking from me, but we should be ready and good to go.

[Kate Ryan]: Yeah, and I could put one up. I'm just thinking at the Y that I go to. That's wonderful. Does the library have a place to put up fires?

[Frances Nwajei]: Yep. I usually send it over to Sam. And then they make sure that they, you know, that they get it up in their different programs as well.

[Kate Ryan]: And I could drop one off at, I'm trying to think, like the West Medford Community Center is near me.

[Frances Nwajei]: Okay. All right. Thank you. Susan, were you saying something? Because you were on mute. Okay. All right. So, I mean, I think we're rocking and rolling. The performance groups have already started sharing the save the date flyer, which I think is great. Nick, did we get the save the date flyer to Catherine? No, Caroline, Walnut Street Center.

[Nicholas Karinge]: I believe so. I've sent it to all of the yeses. Okay. Oh, right. Yeah.

[Nicholas Karinge]: I would agree. I think we are at a really good spot. We have about what? 21 organizations that will be there. So I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes and seeing all of you guys there with us.

[Frances Nwajei]: And through this process, Nick, who did we heard from somebody? Just through this process, we heard from a Medford resident, you want to talk about the Medford resident and the suggestion that we're tabling for next year?

[Nicholas Karinge]: Thank you. So basically, I don't know how they heard about this, must have been from one of our sites or from something, I don't know. But there is a Medford resident who is literally a world stage. I'm a blind athlete. And she was reaching out to see whether we have heard about various blind sports teams that she is actually a part of and whether... whether those organizations were reached out to be part of the fair. I told her that. Though we had not reached out to them, we would definitely look into them because when I looked them up, they sound amazing.

a baseball team in Boston, and the other, I believe, was a cricket team, a blind American cricket team. So that is who we heard from.

[Frances Nwajei]: And isn't that also right on the heels? I can't remember. For some reason, I'm thinking it was you, Kate, who had suggested that we look into some local Paralympians.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah, so I thought it was just so synchronistic that everything just sort of came together, and here was this email. from the SAAM past. And so I'm hoping like, you know, for the future that as we branch out and we think about more inclusive opportunities that, I can't, I don't even understand how that works, you know, but I'm excited to learn and be a part of it all.

[Andreottola]: There's a beat ball league. I think the closest team is, uh, uh, the lions club in Wolburn has a, has a team where, uh, you know, they play against other, uh, lions clubs and other organizations. It's, it's basically a kick ball with the, uh, the beeps. Do you know what I mean? Like the ball makes a sound so people can, can, uh, you know, It's pretty cool. A lot of people are into it. They just had it on TV this week at Fenway Park.

[Nicholas Karinge]: Yes. Yeah. This team that she's part of is actually a nation. It's a national level team from Boston that does stuff sometimes at Fenway.

[Frances Nwajei]: Wonderful, wonderful. So I think those are the updates that I have for you. And just quick mention that it's budget season over here. Support your local Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Um, so I think, uh, I think next week I go defense, uh, the, our preliminary budget. Um, so just keep, keep, keep that in mind as we move forward. Oh, the grant. So, sorry, I completely forgot. I didn't put anything on the schedule. Very quick update tomorrow is the final day for.

people who are interested in working with Medford on the grant to enter in their proposal. It's just a formality, like we have to go through an RFP process, so tomorrow's the final day. Um, so that's just the update, um, then not not now, but at some point in the near future. I will be asking for a couple of people from the commission. Who will come forward and represent the commission as far as, um, you know. Helping to make sure that what we need is what's being done and it will more than likely be.

Oh, goodness, Susan, I think you're the only one that has the CAM. OK, so maybe you and someone else.

[Kate Ryan]: I have it. It was years ago and I also have it. My master's is in a very similar field.

[Frances Nwajei]: OK, OK. So maybe it'll be like you two then. And then I'll interchange off and on with Nick. But one of the things that Nick and I were saying even just as recently as today is the value that you all bring to Our work, you know, I said, I said to Nick, I said, you know, I should be reaching out to say, hey, can somebody from the commission help with this, like maybe two or three times a year, not two or three times in one week. And I want to make sure that you all know and you understand. how meaningful that is. Because I don't think people really understand the extent of the work of the DEI office. You know, people hear DEI and they think it's one thing. Well, I'm sorry, I'm from the original generation where we had to do it all. And it is, you know, it's ongoing, right? Even when you have a major snowstorm, yes, you know, that may not be a a race-related or an age-related thing, but it has a severe impact for people with disabilities and mobility issues. And I have to think about, all right, well, that voicemail that that person just left needs to be addressed. So I just, I appreciate you going to meetings that Nick and I cannot get to, not because we don't want to, but for some reason, they're holding the meetings at the same time on the same day. And they're all important meetings. The big one, the big thing that has now happened, but we're not stopping. So WAG 2.0, I mean, WAG 2.2, digital accessibility, April 24th, if I'm not mistaken, Friday, was supposed to be the final date For compliance well, that as of Monday, even though Monday was a holiday. As a Monday has now been pushed back by a year. So, we will the city of Medford, because it has more than 50,000 residents does not have to come into full compliance with 2.2 until April 26, 2027.

I'm very happy about that. Why? Because I think it allows us to have a more robust but better guided plan as a result of the MOD grant, which is going to be looking at our web accessibility instead of rushing. Another thing that I'm excited about is that I hope that the grant will create better inter-department communication. Not one department saying that, oh, they're doing something for accessibility and it looks nice, but actually it's not accessible, right? So that's, you know, Nick is laughing. That's one of the things. I also learned something new. We were doing a site plan thing. and review and, you know, we were looking at the accessible spot and, you know, and everything was great, you know, but it was, it was the trees and my whole thing, I was just like, ugh. Gosh, I wish they wouldn't put trees here because sometimes when it's really dark, those trees create even more shade and then that can create issues. That was just my thought. And then I don't know where Nick went, but Nick ended up finding out that the type of tree that they were using is actually not considered accessible. I didn't even know that there was such a thing as accessible trees that should be planted. just so that became a whole like learning. So it's just, I share that because it's my hope that once we have a plan, then we have the door opener to help people figure out ways in which to educate themselves so that they can do the right thing. It can become organic, you know? But yeah, I didn't know, did anybody know that there were accessible trees?

[Andreottola]: Yes, the trees, the roots do not come up and they don't disturb the sidewalk as much and they don't need as big of a grate. around the tree that becomes slippery where people can slip and fall. They have accessible trees, accessible grates. I was involved in Huntington Ave in Boston where they planted trees that were not accessible with big grates that caused a lot of accidents that had to be cut down at the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was because they planted the wrong trees along Huntington Avenue, Boston, a few years back.

Well, thank you so much. And it was a wheelchair group that got them switched. They had a wheelchair protest up and down Huntington Ave for several weeks with news coverage because the trees were not allowing them to have access on the sidewalk because they planted big trees. But anyway, I do want, I just, first, I do want to be involved, especially with the, with the web access because Medford is very, you know, and I say this out of love, even our, you know, Commission for People with Disabilities, our materials are not, you know, accessible. You know, they, you know, we, People attach images rather than PDFs to emails. The whole city does it, and it's something that really needs to be addressed. It's a simple education.

kind of thing. The technology is there. People just are not aware of what they should be doing.

[Frances Nwajei]: Anthony, I'm glad that you brought it up. I would love for you to be involved. I just have to make sure that we don't have quorum each time because that means that we'll never get anything done because we'll have to post a public meeting notice each time. One of the other reasons that I'm very glad that the date has been pushed back is that it allows us to attend all the free trainings that Level Access, who works with EOTS on the state level, offers.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah, there are many. What you just mentioned, Anthony, We make a document, then we save it as a PDF, and we believe that we have created this PDF document. Now, it doesn't work that way. So, Nick's been to some, and members of our communications team have been to some. But then I found even more, I felt like there were a few notes, they go on for months. So I'm gonna share that again and say, please attend this, this, this, and that.

[Kate Ryan]: Frances, the reason that the stuff came out Monday, it was only holiday in Massachusetts and Maine.

[Kate Ryan]: And I wanted to ask that john and I had that idea like a couple months ago, where we would get like some bit, you know, those really, really big post-its that are like the size of like two posters.

[Kate Ryan]: Yeah, we were gonna get some of those and just like write random questions on the top. And then people can write in their answers just to like increase increase.

[Kate Ryan]: Nope. It's really weird looking because we see like bits of you from the side. Oh goodness gracious man. It looks wicked weird actually.

[Frances Nwajei]: So this is, this is the giant sticky postage. Is that what you were referring to?

[Kate Ryan]: Well, I don't know what you're referring to because I can't see it.

[Frances Nwajei]: So it's a, um, So it's a post it note, but it literally it's the size of like a billboards poster.

[Kate Ryan]: Yes. So john and I had the idea that somebody could, and I'm saying somebody because I can't write legibly enough. Right, yeah, and neither can John. We have the idea we need somebody with like decent handwriting to write questions like, what brings you to the fair? Or do you say disabled or do you say person with disability and why? And then we can just have a bunch of markers and people can just write their answers and see what other people have written. And just as a way to have an interactive activity.

[Frances Nwajei]: I think we can do it because if I recall correctly, the McGlynn has a lot of places that we can put the, that we can put the post-it note on.

[Kate Ryan]: Yeah. Right. Those big, those big, those big things on like the easel. I don't know. Can people write on the easel? We can do it on the easel or we can do it right on the wall. Yeah. So John and I can, talk to each other and we'll come up with like a half dozen questions maybe and somebody who is not either of us can just write it in big letters and if there's I don't have markers um no I have we have markers here okay yeah I have a lot and I and they're the um they're the big um they're the big ones too so you can actually like feel the grip they're not the small flimsy ones yeah and people can just write you know um

[Frances Nwajei]: What, you know, like what brings you to the fair today or. Yeah, if you and john want to send an email to Nick and I with a few of those questions. Yeah, like you said half a dozen questions. I can actually, I can actually, you know, type it up in large font. and then have it, you know, have it secured to the post-it note, right? So that that way, at least, you know, folks have the opportunity to see things, see something that's legible, right? Because I might write legibly, but the way I write my A might be confusing to someone else or the slant in someone's writing. So yeah, just send me the questions and then we'll type them up and we'll print them up for you.

[Andreottola]: Yeah. I just want to, ask it, you know, I appreciate, you know, the idea, but how is that accessible at a disability fair?

[Frances Nwajei]: So maybe what we can do is we can ask the questions, right? Can we ask the questions?

[Andreottola]: That would That would make it more accessible for somebody who's dyslexic or somebody who's blind or somebody who has a learning disability. who will be coming out, you know? So they just had an idea.

[Frances Nwajei]: Wait, wait, wait a minute, Nick, before it flows out of my mind, I'm sorry. So how about this, right? When we when we mentioned that we have the, you know, we have this opportunity, we also mentioned that it's not mandatory. We mentioned that folks will be going around asking, and if people want to share, they can. But then we also mentioned that the same questions are posted around, and if people want to write a response, they can. or if people want to tell somebody their response, they can. So we give different options. So we would assign like a couple of volunteers to do that piece.

[Kate Ryan]: Yeah, and a couple of the questions can be ones with like two answers. Like, do you prefer a person with disability or disabled person? Or do you live in Medford? Do you not live in Medford, you know? Yes or no. Yeah.

[Frances Nwajei]: Okay. Okay. Okay. So I, you know, I hear what you're saying, Anthony, like we have to be more cognizant of making sure I don't want to repeat of last year, which we don't have.

[Kate Ryan]: That was hilarious, Francis. And I will be telling that story for a very long time because it was hilarious.

[Frances Nwajei]: I know, but Kate, I was just coming back from medical leave just before that event. And I, Yeah. Yeah, I can laugh now. I was not laughing that day. I think I was doing a lot of crying. I was mourning that day, you know? All right, so let me, so yeah, we have to definitely make sure that we try to make things as accessible as possible. And I think that that would help having somebody go around asking, and especially if I have the ASL interpreters as well. I know I definitely have one, but I'm not worried yet.

[qy5_Am-xQ_s_SPEAKER_04]: Frances, want to say something? Yes, go ahead, John. As far as us being asked to be involved with things, I appreciate that. I don't want to be a part of a group that just meets online once a month and then doesn't- Hold on one second.

[Frances Nwajei]: I'm sorry, hold on one second, John. Sorry, that was HR. I tried calling and didn't know I was in a meeting. I'm sorry, John, would you mind repeating yourself?

[qy5_Am-xQ_s_SPEAKER_04]: I was saying, I appreciate being involved with things. And you said, you know, people don't usually get asked to do things, but I like that. Yeah, so do I. I don't want to just be a part of a group that has a once a month meeting and a once a year event. I like to attend other meetings and be asked to be helped when possible to help, you know.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah, no, I appreciate that. Well, Nick and I appreciate it. I said it today and I didn't say it because of the meeting. I said it because I was reviewing something and I was just like, we literally, there was one week I literally asked three times if somebody could go to something on our behalf because we were already stretched. There's definitely there's definitely value and I do believe that this is. The reason that this commission exists, I, I don't see it as a separate entity. I just see it as an extension, you know, like my super arm. It's not just my arm. It's like my super arm. It goes a little bit deeper.

And then if all goes well, I know that the office of prevention and outreach has. written a grant and is looking to get another 15-hour-a-week person, but this would be a grant-funded person, strictly as a disability liaison or a disability connector working with this office as well. So just think about how much more we could do. I'm still waiting to hear about the, I think it was like 30 something thousand dollar requests that I put in for the casino funds. When will like the IHCD stuff be starting? So now that we finished, I think it'll be starting maybe May. Yeah, Fiona has to guide me through the process. Fiona is our procurement department. I don't deal with bids and things of that nature. So, you know, she sort of has to walk me through the process. But yeah, quite possibly may.

[Frances Nwajei]: Oh, I don't know yet. I don't know yet. I'm sure I, it won't be Gabriella because Gabriella is based out of state, but you know, I'm sure Valerie Fletcher will be involved. She's, you know, she's been very, very supportive of the work and very, very encouraging as well.

[Kate Ryan]: And if we, if it starts this summer, we'll have a bunch of her random summer interns. from all over the world, which will be interesting too.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah, I mean, I don't think that it's the people, it's the products that I'm more interested in. I want a real actual product. Wait, product? Yeah, the actual plan I want, you know, I want stuff that has been identified stuff that's real stuff that makes sense. I don't want to look at a plan from 2014 that was updated in 2018 that says that we have 21 ADA people. Okay, but when you say product.

[Kate Ryan]: are you talking about a document? Yeah, they have to deliver a, they have to deliver the plan. Okay, I got, I got confused. Cause I thought like something that was like made, you know, like a thing, you know? Oh, okay. No, no. That's weird. Yeah. I don't know that language.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah. That's, that's English speak. You know, you do, what's the, you deliver your product. So the product that they're going to be delivering is the self evaluation plan. That's the final thing. Yeah.

[Andreottola]: I have a question about the casino signs. that I think John and Joe and I attended. The Wayfinding. Wayfinding.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah, the one that Planning, Development and Sustainability did.

[Andreottola]: Yeah, did they ever complete that or did they ever finalize what they're going to do? Because it was kind of just kind of voted on and like, I don't know, never heard.

[Frances Nwajei]: Nick, can you follow up on that next week? Can you add that to your list to follow up with Amanda and see if that study was completed?

[Nicholas Karinge]: Yeah, I would definitely follow up on that. Last I heard, which is probably the last you heard, I'm mentioning it as well, but last I heard, I think they were taking all our findings and all our suggestions and trying to process them, so. But I would definitely follow up on that.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah. Thank you for bringing that up, Anthony. Thanks. Does anybody have anything else that they would like to add, share?

[Kate Ryan]: Feel free to assign me any job, like, general gopher, whatever, at the fair, Francis, like, I drive, you know, I'm happy to pick whatever up the day before or whatever.

[Frances Nwajei]: Thank you. Thank you so much. John and Joe, for your registration forms, do you want name and email address?

[MCM00001818_SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, the whole thing, we will just tell people it's voluntarily and just, you know, maybe for next year we can send them an invite. You know, we're not going to sell them vacuum cleaners, you know. But one thing while I got you is, I want to say that the entrance to the school has been upgraded. And the other thing is, if you're inviting maybe a friend, neighbor, I even get mixed up, those two schools are on the same street. So if you're giving somebody directions, you have to tell them that there's two schools on that street, and it's the one closest to the football field, and just tell them it's the McGlynn School.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yes. Thank you. All right, so on the registration form, I will write name, and email address.

[Frances Nwajei]: I think phone numbers get really personal for people. Okay. And none of us should really be calling anybody.

[Kate Ryan]: Oh, I do remember one last thing. Do we want name tags? Because I will recognize Susan and John and Nicholas and Francis, the rest of you are all white men, you all look alike to me. Um, no, it's, it's like a medical, like it's face blindness. I forget the fancy word for it, but like, do we want to wear like name tags, identifying ourselves as so I can, I can grab some, um, I can grab the big, uh, the big ones with like the, uh, border around.

[Frances Nwajei]: And then you can, if you want to put your full name or just your first name, the sticker, the sticky ones.

[Nicholas Karinge]: All right. I just want to say thank you guys so much for your collaboration, for your cooperation, for your working alongside us and for your diligence towards this fair. It is a lot of work, a lot of emails and writing and talking and dealing with people and all of that. craziness, but you guys keep us going. I just want to say on my end, thank you guys so much. Keep it up. Because if y'all stop, we stop. We don't want to stop.

[Frances Nwajei]: I mean, when things get bad for me, you know, when I'm, you know, just in a place where it's just starting to feel so much, right, I remember, like, oh, wait, you actually have a commission that actually supports the work. And that's, you know, those are the moments that helped me refocus. Yeah. All right, upcoming events and activities. May 2nd, if you know any young people between the ages of 14 and 18, Medford Health Matters, which is an organization, it's a non-for-profit organization, but somehow I'm the president of that organization through the city. It's my inheritance. We're hosting our second annual youth summit, And what that means is that there will be a space for two hours dedicated to youth between that age group, 14 to 18. There will be vendors and the vendors are actually employers. Some will be conducting mock interviews. Some will actually be hiring. There'll be, you know, workshops that the attendees could choose to participate in. Financial literacy was a really big one I heard last year. I heard resume writing was a huge one.

So just a space for two hours for young folks to start getting themselves into the work field or getting themselves busied up for the upcoming summer. So send them, send them my way. If you would like me to share the flyer with you, Email me and I will send it to you. I don't think I shared it with you because I didn't think that it was like directly related to our stuff, but the first 20 used to register get like a or the first 50 used to register get like a $20 gift card. Then we have our event on May 16th.

And then I mean only 9th May 9th on. I know I'm just it's all May. Everything is happening in May and then on May 16th it's Haitian Flag Day. Another celebration over at the Andrews School. And I don't. I don't know if any of you are connected with the Medford Facebook page. I think it's a. It's the Medford Disability Group. I don't run the group. And so I don't have access to like know if you guys are on it or something, but I do share like the flyers there and stuff like that. I think that that's a good way. And just to, you know, continue to spread the word. I'm excited to see not so much who, but the variety of attendees that we're gonna get this year, I'm just curious, you know?

[Frances Nwajei]: Because it started, you know, remember the first one, Susan, it was over at the Brooks School. It started very small. We probably only had like 20 people the whole day.

[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah, and then we did it again. And then we did it again. Now here we are. So I think it is, it is growing and expanding. Oh, and Sam did confirm she has a whole bunch of things that I don't know how to pronounce for the crafting, everything from stickers to pipe cleaners. And I don't know, I thought it was called duct tape, but she's got another name for it. So.

[Frances Nwajei]: Oh, yes, that's right. Everybody knows Sam is now the director of the library. Oh, yay. Yes, yes, yes. So extend congratulations. All right, folks, I've stolen one minute, and I don't have it to give back to you. but we can't go anywhere unless somebody says something or does something.

[Frances Nwajei]: Second. Thank you, Anthony. Who seconded? Thank you, John. All right, everybody. Have a great rest of your evening, and I'll see you soon. Bye. Bye, guys.

[Frances Nwajei]: All right, Nick. You take care. Enjoy your time off. I'll see you Tuesday. Thank you.

[Nicholas Karinge]: I will see you tomorrow, though, for our Zoom meeting. Oh, wait. OK. Yeah, 1 o'clock.

[Frances Nwajei]: You know, since, yeah, I'll do it. I'm sure you can catch the May one. All right. OK? All right. All right. Yeah. Yeah. Because I think there's another session. I can do this one by myself. And then you can, you know, you can catch the May one. It's just like with, with these things, like sometimes the information is heard differently. So no biggie. All right. So I'm, I'm going to email Valeria about the, the two songs, Respect and We Are The World. and let her know that that's chosen. I gotta, yeah. Okay.

[Frances Nwajei]: All right, take care. Enjoy time with your mom and wish her a happy birthday from me.