[Cinci-nfb] February minutes.

[Deanna Lewis]

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF CINCINNATI
Meeting minutes for February 28th, 2015

1.     The February 28th meeting of the Cincinnati Chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind was called to order by President,
Deborah Kendrick at 1:06 PM at Washington Platform Restaurant. The
following were present: Deborah Kendrick, Walter Mitchell, Deanna
Lewis, Emily Pennington, Lisa Hall, Sheri Albers, Jessie McDaniel,
Bill Innis, Karren Innis, Paul Jordan, Chris Sabine, Chris Tolle, Elif
Emir, and our newest member, Rachel Kuntz. We had several guests this
month, Lisa Tolle, Martin Tolle, Mike Kuntz, Tonya Cooper (Walter's
cousin) and Angelica Williams (Elif's friend). Paul and Bernie
Dressell also participated via speaker-phone since they were snowed
in.
2.     The meeting started with our introductions and Mini-Blind,
where members shared their interesting snow stories.
3.     Walter Mitchell moved that the January meeting minutes be
approved as emailed. Emily Pennington seconded; the motion passed.
4.     Treasurer's Report: Deborah mentioned that the Chapter did
receive the $75 check for the Gavel Award, so that is reflected in the
report below. Emily reported the following balances.

Seniors: $40.68
Checking: $3,396.61
Income: $806.00

A.    $620 from City Access book sales

B.     $75 for the Gavel Award

C.     $50 for membership dues

D.    $30 from a donation from Chris Sabine's friend

E.     $25 for auction items

F.     $6 for members not being clad with NFB insignia
There were no expenses this month.
Sheri Albers made a motion that the Treasurer's report be approved,
and Karren Innis seconded; the motion passed.
5.     Deborah Kendrick briefly reported on some of the important
things that the NFB of Ohio is working on.

A.    The Scholarship application is on the NFB Ohio website
(www.nfbohio.org<http://www.nfbohio.org>). The deadline for
applications is May 15th.

B.      National Convention will be taking place from July 5th-10th,
2015 at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Florida. Convention
assistance forms are available on the NFBO website. First-time
convention attendees can apply for the Jernigan Scholarship Fund
through the National office (www.nfb.org<http://www.nfb.org>).

C.     The NFB of Ohio is working on a coalition consisting of
consumers, disability professionals, and parents of children with
disabilities to work with OOD (Opportunities for Ohioans with
Disabilities). This coalition will have a different structure than the
previous Consumer Advisory Council and will be a stronger voice for
the blind and people with other disabilities.   More information will
be announced soon.
6.      Deborah Kendrick, Sheri Albers, and Walter Mitchell reported
on Washington Seminar. Over 500 NFB members gathered in Washington,
D.C. to meet with congressional reps about important NFB issues. The
NFB had a very strong voice this year.
*        There were two main issues this year, the TEACH and TIME Acts.
*        Sheri and Deborah were a team, and Walter was paired with
Barbara Pierce. Sheri and Deborah had four appointments and they were
well received and productive.  Walter enjoyed his first seminar and
the feeling of empowerment, all while being independent and meeting
new people.
*        At the great gathering they celebrated the 75th Anniversary
of the NFB, with guest speakers and legislative representatives.
Aleeha Dudley, Vice President of the Ohio students and Guide Dog
divisions spoke briefly about her troubles with Miami University.
7.     Braille Monitor Article: Chris Sabine volunteered last month to
talk about an article or give a summary of the Braille Monitor's
February issue. Chris gave a great summary of the issue, highlighting
some of the stand out articles. Chris enjoyed David Cohen's article
(Seeing is believing), and the article from Wired magazine about
digital rights. Another standout was Jennifer Dunham's article
(Calibrate) which was similar to Freedom for the Blind. It was a
compelling article about how sighted people typically place blind
people on a pedestal, and how with the NFB we can calibrate our own
skills against the standard and live the lives we want.
Emily Pennington will report on the Braille Monitor article next month.
8.     Committees: President Kendrick will send out new committee
lists to the email list soon. Contact her is you would like to serve
on one or more committees.
A.    Fundraising: Sheri Albers will continue as Chair for this committee.

B.     Membership: Chris Sabine will become the Chair of this
committee, since Deanna Lewis is stepping down.

C.     Recreation: Deanna Lewis and Kim McEachirn will be Co-Chairs
for this committee.

D.    White cane walk committee: Sheri Albers will be Chair.

Please note that this is a newly formed committee. A discussion took
place in which Sheri Albers and other members expressed a need for
this committee as a way to organize an event after the White Cane
Walk. President Kendrick recommended that the event be done in
collaboration with CABVI and Clovernook.  She also reiterated that the
White Cane Walk is an awareness event and should not be done in
conjunction with a fundraiser.
9.     Committee Reports: The Fund Raising committee reported that we
raised $1,060 from selling the City Access books. The committee met
via conference call earlier this month. Paul Dressell moved that we
give $500 to the NFB of Ohio to support the Bell Program. Jessie
McDaniel seconded, after some discussion the motion passed.
Sheri mentioned that there will be another Dine to Donate Event at the
IHOP in Springdale/Tri-County on March 16th from 4:00-9:00 PM. The
address for IHOP is 1309 East Kemper Rd, the zip code is 45246.
10.                         Meeting date: For the past two months we
decided to try meeting on a Saturday afternoon, instead of Monday
evening. We now needed to discuss how things were going with Saturday
meetings.
Paul Dressell moved that the Chapter continue to meet on the fourth
Saturday of the month from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM at Washington Platform.
Bernie Dressell seconded and the motion passed.

11.                        Paul Dressell mentioned that the NFB
Independence Market has new catalogs out in Braille and Print. He did
not see any jewelry with the NFB insignia in the catalog, but will
call to see if it is still available. He will report his findings at
the next meeting.
12.                         Karren Innis brought in this month's
auction items, two ceramic animals made by a blind artist at
Clovernook Center for the Blind. The first one, a turtle was won by
Rachel Kuntz with a bid of $15. The second one, a lamb was won by
Deanna Lewis, with a bid of $9.
13.                         The meeting was adjourned at 2:41 PM, with
the next meeting scheduled for Saturday, March 28th, 2015 at 1:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
Deanna Lewis, Secretary