<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style=""><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-a6963f5a-7fff-ccb3-be1b-0eda84d265c7" style=""><font size="4"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Dear Exiles Friends,</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The Exiles have</span><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> TWO important</span><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> events happening this month!</span></p><ul style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Our January Program</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Voting on proposed Articles changes</span></p></li></ul><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Our January program on Friday 21st, 8pm-10pm PST features Ferris Oxide (they/them) on the topic </span><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Revolting Gender: Kink and Playing with Gender.</span><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> Ferris is a nonbinary, queer, trans, autistic academic of kink and leather communities and the current Mx International Olympus Leather. We’ll have an interactive discussion on terms, language, and differentiating sex from gender. Ferris will also cover feminist history in the evolution of trans and genderfluid identities, how gender and sex are used playfully in vanilla and kink space, and how to provide safe and comfortable space for trans/fluid/gnc/non-binary partners to discuss their desires and limits. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(14,16,26);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Your Exiles' Business Group has also been working for the last six months on an extensive revision of our Articles of Association, the first complete revision in 15 years, and it's finally coming to you for your review and vote! <b>Member votes determine whether or not we approve any proposed changes to our Articles.</b> </span><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">P</span><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">lease review the current Articles, and the proposed changes that the Business Group has voted to put on the ballot, by following </span><a href="https://theexiles.org/proposed-articles-changes/" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">this link</span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Voting will start as soon as you receive your ballot, on Friday, January 21st. The Vote will close on February 1st. </span><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">We will email all current members with the links to the ballots.</span><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> Please let us know if you don't receive your emailed ballot that day, check your Spam folder, and contact us if you have any problems. It may also be that your membership has lapsed. </span><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">If your membership has lapsed</span><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">, you can renew online at our website, </span><a href="http://exiles.org/" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">exiles.org</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">, but you must do so </span><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">by January 28th.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Please let us know if you have any problems or questions, and we'll be glad to answer them.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Best wishes,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Rio & Kara</span></p></font></span></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div><div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px;width:1379px;font-family:Roboto,RobotoDraft,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><div><div style="margin:8px 0px 0px;padding:0px"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><font><div><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000">She/her pronouns</font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000">Co-Coordinator<span class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large">s,</span><span class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large"></span><span class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large"></span><span class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large"></span> The Exiles</font></div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"><font face="arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theexilessf" target="_blank">Facebook</a>  |  <a href="https://fetlife.com/users/2319325" target="_blank">FetLife</a>  |  <a href="https://www.patreon.com/theexilessf" target="_blank">Patreon</a>  |  <a href="http://theexiles.org/" target="_blank">Website</a></font><span style="color:rgb(32,33,36)"> </span></div></font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><font color="#000000"> </font><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">Ask yourself "What can I do to make a difference?" Then do it from your heart. - Mama Reinhardt</span></div></div></div></div></div>