President's Message for the first E-News

Hello!

Welcome to the first CISS' e-news.

We hope that you will find this new form of our Newsletter to be easier to read and more accessible.

The e-news is not just for CISS members, but also for any interested individuals in CISS and Deaf Sports.

Many of us have returned home from Rome last August, determined to make sure that future Deaflympic Games will have better plans to ensure that the athletes and officers will have less hassles and have more time to focus on their performances.

Since Rome's Deaflympic Games, I have travelled overseas again, at end of September, to Rome again, but to represent the CISS at the World Federation of the Deaf’ 50th anniversary conference.

While there, I met with Renzo Corti who handed me the final draft of the final results of the 19th Deaflympic Games. I took the draft with me to CISS Office in USA.

After Rome, I flew to Lausanne where I met with the new President of International Olympic Committee, Dr. Jacques Rogge. The meeting was very warm and positive. Dr. Rogge fully recognise the CISS and Deaf Sports and acknowledge them as integral part of the Olympic Movement. As well, I had a meeting with Mr. Gilbert Felli where we discussed several issues, particularly the final drafting of the Agreement between IOC and CISS.

I then travelled on to Washington DC where I visited the CISS Office in Silver Spring, Maryland for six days.  Ole Artmann, our Treasurer was there too and we took opportunity of our visit to have a series of meetings with representatives from WebbyNation Inc., and Merrill Lynch. As well Ole had a meeting with Mr. John Yeh to expand on the proposal for future fundraising activities of the CISS.

I gave the final draft of the 19th Deaflympic Games' final results to Donalda Ammons and Tiffany Granfors with an instruction that the results be carefully scrutinised to obtain accuracy of names and performances, etc. Once this task is completed, the disk with corrected details are to be sent to Renzo to be printed by his office and sent to all members of the CISS. We aim for that to happen in middle of November.  Also, we had a meeting with Dr. I. King Jordan who reaffirmed that the Gallaudet University will be the archives for CISS documents.

When I got back home after two weeks' round the world travel, there is a massive backlog of letters to catch up and I ask my colleagues please to be patient with me.

I hope you will enjoy reading the new CISS e-News!

Warm regards,
John M. Lovett, A.M.