Koni Sims
2000 S. Grange Ave.
Sioux Falls, SD 57105
(605) 941-9512
Email: [email protected]
1. Hello ACB family my name is Koni Sims. I’m married to my wonderful husband Seth for thirty-five years. We live in Sioux Falls, SD. I am running for a position on the Board of Directors for the American Council of the Blind (ACB). Currently I am the President of the South Dakota Association of the Blind (SDAB). My parents taught me as a child how to be an advocate for myself and others. Applying the lessons my parents taught me I received the Governor’s award for Outstanding Citizen with a Disability in 2017. SDAB awarded me the Gus Zachte award for Outstanding Service in 2018. Both awards were presented to me in appreciation of the advocacy work I have done for the state of South Dakota. In 2020 ACB presented me with the JPMorgan Chase award.
I’m a retired Medical Massage Practitioner, and Certified Lymphedema Technician. I worked for several chiropractors and have been self-employed. I was hired by Sanford USD Medical Center and Hospital to develop and manage a massage program in their hospital. I have always loved the medical field. This made me want to keep learning how to help my clients and work with medical professionals.
In 2021 I was elected to serve on the Board of Directors to fill a 1-year term and this year I am asking for your vote to fill a position as one of ACB’s Board of Directors. I am currently serving on ACB’s Get Up and Get Moving Committee, Co-Chair for ACB’s Awards Committee, and serve on ACB’s PR, and Transportation committees. I also act as Communications and Outreach Specialist for the Voting Task Force 2.0. I am here to serve all of you and want to continue my service to you as a board member.
2. As a member of ACB since 1984 I have served on a lot of boards and committees on local, state, and national levels. Currently I am filling a 1-year term on ACB’s Board of Directors. I am grateful to be given the opportunity to serve on ACB’s Get Up and Get Moving Committee, Co-Chair ACB’s Awards Committee, ACB’s PR and Transportation Committees, and being Communication and Outreach Specialist for the Voting Task Force 2.0. As part of this Task Force, I am working to achieve universal voting for ACB members to participate in national elections for officers and board members, debate, and vote on ACB policy matters through our Resolution and Constitution and By-Law elections in 2022. I have also served 4 years as President of the South Dakota Association of the Blind (SDAB). While performing this duty I Serve as chair on SDAB’s Publicity and Legislative Committees. In an effort to communicate our accomplishments to our members and partners I agreed to be Co-Editor to our newsletter.
Before becoming President of SDAB I served five years on the SDAB board. I also have served as President and Vice President of the local Sioux Falls chapter of SDAB. While working at various positions in SDAB I also serve as a member of Sioux Falls Pedestrian Advisory Committee.
All of these aforementioned tasks have enabled me to work with local, state, and national leaders. Throughout my tenure in ACB I have been able to build bridges on local, state, and national levels to achieve greater accessibility and opportunity for blind individuals.
3. A key focus of the American Council of the Blind (ACB) is the integration of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the organization. In my capacity as a board member, I wish to promote inclusion and equity for rural areas, working to ensure the same access to services in transportation, information access, and ensure health/wellness programs are available to everyone but specially to blind individuals in rural areas.
There are currently few voices for the rural community on the board and I would like to be one of those voices. With the infusion of the new COVID and Transportation Infrastructure money in the economy there is a real opportunity to have some of these funds help people in rural communities achieve equity with their peers in urban centers. Enabling this population is critical, the challenges posed by rural accessibility are different then urban solutions, think broadband, telephone access, sidewalk, and intersection design,
As Community and outreach specialist for the Voting Task Force 2.0 (VTF), I worked with affiliate presidents, special interest affiliates, chapters, and state affiliates to help them achieve universal voting. I created and shared resource documents needed to answer their questions and promote the sense of equity and inclusion ensuring universal voting for ACB members. I would like to take lessons learned from this experience and use it to effect greater equity and inclusion to ACB’s programs and services.
A major initiative that ACB has introduced is its Health and Wellness campaign. Health and Wellness have always been close to my heart. I want to make sure the Health and Wellness programs established by ACB are relevant and integrated into rural areas. Understanding the benefits of long-term health and wellness habits and being able to educate others is something I have done my whole life.