<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;">SignWriting List,<div>November 3, 2023</div><div><br></div><div>
<div><br><blockquote type="cite"><div>Begin forwarded message:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);"><b>From: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Makoto Ikegami <makoto.ikegami@adara.org><br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);"><b>Subject: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Invitation to ADARA Conference in Atlanta in 2024</b><br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);"><b>Date: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;">September 27, 2023 at 7:38:13 PM PDT<br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);"><b>To: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Makoto Ikegami <makoto.ikegami@adara.org><br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><br></div><div><div dir="ltr"><div><font size="4"><span style="color:rgb(77,77,77);font-family:arial,sans-serif">Dear Esteemed Members of the DHH/ASL communities,</span><br></font></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4">I hope this message finds you well. My name is Makoto Ikegami. As the President of the American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association (ADARA), it is my honor to address you today. We bring together professionals from various fields, such as vocational rehabilitation, mental health, chemical health, education, interpreting, and related fields, with a primary focus on sharing best practices for working with individuals who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind. Our ultimate goal is to improve the lives of those we serve while growing professionally. If you would like to learn more about ADARA, please visit us at <a href="https://www.adara.org/">https://www.adara.org/</a>.</font></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4"><span style="color:rgb(22,23,25);font-family:Inter,sans-serif">As someone who has been working tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of DHH/ASL communities every day, like you, you would be interested in learning more about our meaningful mission. I conducted a Google search using relevant keywords such as "deaf," "professionals," "organizations," "vocational rehabilitation," "mental health," "interpreters," and more to find professionals and organizations like you who share our passion for creating positive changes.
</span></font><span style="color:rgb(77,77,77);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large">At ADARA, we are dedicated to achieving our mission through collaboration with like-minded individuals and organizations. I would be honored to share more about this with you and discuss how we can potentially work together to make a positive impact. There is no obligation to respond, and I completely understand if this does not align with your interests or priorities. Y</span><span style="color:rgb(77,77,77);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large">our time is valuable, and if this information isn't helpful, please accept my apologies and disregard this message. If you find this interesting, I would be grateful if you could spare a few moments to read further.</span></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4">I am delighted to extend a warm invitation to our upcoming Atlanta, GA, conference from May 29 to June 1, 2024. This event presents an excellent opportunity to showcase your professional work or your organization's exceptional work and advanced expertise to a community of professionals and scholars in mental health and vocational rehabilitation. We would be honored to feature your organization's work among our distinguished attendees, and I hope you consider presenting or exhibiting your valuable work. Also, I invite you to consider becoming a sponsor and exhibiting if you are interested.</font></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4">Our President-Elect, Dr. Kent Schafer, has created a video detailing the topics presented at the conference. You can access the video by clicking on the following link: <a href="https://fb.watch/n0npsZqmn8/">https://fb.watch/n0npsZqmn8/</a>. If you have any questions or concerns about presentations, please do not hesitate to contact him at <a href="mailto:kent.schafer@adara.org">kent.schafer@adara.org</a>. He is included in this email on the cc line.</font></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4"><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif">We are delighted to inform you that we will be hosting a book signing event (<a href="https://fb.watch/m-nevLMD2R/">https://fb.watch/m-nevLMD2R/</a>), an art showcase and sale (<a href="https://fb.watch/m-nlcCKV-d/">https://fb.watch/m-nlcCKV-d/</a>), sponsorship opportunities (<a href="https://fb.watch/m-nmSPaoQR/">https://fb.watch/m-nmSPaoQR/</a>), and a call for proposals (<a href="https://fb.watch/m-npQhHqoc/">https://fb.watch/m-npQhHqoc/</a>). We do not want you to miss out (<a href="https://fb.watch/m-ojSbSi-m/">https://fb.watch/m-ojSbSi-m/</a>) on this excellent opportunity. </font><span style="color:rgb(77,77,77);font-family:arial,sans-serif">For more information on how to participate, please visit our website: <a href="https://www.adara.org/2024_conference.html">https://www.adara.org/2024_conference.html</a>. Our esteemed board members have created videos discussing various opportunities the ADARA conference offers. </span><span style="color:rgb(77,77,77);font-family:arial,sans-serif">We kindly invite you to participate in any of these events and explore the opportunities we offer.</span><span style="color:rgb(77,77,77);font-family:arial,sans-serif"> It would be greatly appreciated if you could kindly share this critical information with your friends, colleagues, supervisors, schools, local mental and vocational agencies, other professionals, and community members.</span></font></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4">Your participation is essential to the conference's success, and we would be honored to have you join us. I have included Dr. Deb Guthmann, the conference planning chair, in this email. If you would like to arrange a meeting to discuss this opportunity further, please email </font><span style="color:rgb(77,77,77);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large">her at <a href="mailto:deb.guthmann@adara.org">deb.guthmann@adara.org</a> and me at <a href="mailto:makoto.ikegami@adara.org">makoto.ikegami@adara.org</a>.</span></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4">Thank you very much for considering our invitation. We look forward to hearing from you soon and welcoming you to beautiful Atlanta next year.</font></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4">Respectfully,</font></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font color="#4d4d4d" face="arial, sans-serif" size="4">Makoto Ikegami</font></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div></div></div></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Makoto Ikegami, DSW, LCSW</b> </span><font color="#0000ff">(</font><font style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">he/his/him)</font></div><div><div><font><font>Land Acknowledgment</font><font>: Muscogee (Creek)</font></font></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">President of the </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association (ADARA)</span></div><div><a href="https://www.adara.org/" target="_blank"><font color="#0000ff">https://www.adara.org/</font></a><br></div><div><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/makoto-ikegami-dsw-lcsw-9919518a/" target="_blank"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#0000ff">LinkedIn Profile</font></a><br></div><div><img width="86" height="96" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4wF0P6jk2k991wCCnifqpJA2HQCWEFXAx8Yn21tfswiCO0rKhyzMocyhx61ulOEzdT7a9slJa0" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"></div></div></div></div></div>
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