[Cinci-nfb] Minutes of January 2016 Chapter Meeting

Fri Feb 5 15:11:56 UTC 2016

1.      The January 2016 meeting of the Cincinnati Chapter of the National
Federation of the Blind was called to order by Deborah Kendrick at 2:30 P.M.
on January 23, 2016 at Washington Platform Restaurant in Downtown
Cincinnati. Members in attendance were: Deborah Kendrick, Elif Emir Oksuz,
Joy Thomas, Christopher Sabine, Emily Pennington, Lilly Pennington, Brent
Thane, Paul Jordan, Rachel Kuntz, Lisa Hall, Deanna Lewis, Walter Mitchell,
Diane Carmony, Mike Kuntz, Sheri Albers and Jessie McDaniel. Two guests also
attended: Carol Akers and Denver Jones. Carol Akers is a board member of
NFB's Capital City Chapter and Secretary of the Ohio Diabetes Action
Network. Denver Jones is President of the Ohio Diabetes Action Network and
member of the NFB of the Miami Valley. Deborah did not conduct a mini-blind
this month due to time constraints.

2.      Paul Jordan moved to accept the November 2015 minutes prepared and
emailed by Deanna Lewis; Emily Pennington seconded. The motion passed.

3.      Emily Pennington presented the monthly Treasurer's report, which the
chapter reviewed. Rachel Kuntz Moved to approve the Treasurer's Report;
Lillie Pennington seconded, and the motion past.

4.      Deanna presented an item for auction after the meeting, a
blind-friendly Pampered Chef measuring cup.

5.      Review of the January State Board Meeting:

Sheri Albers discussed the January State Board meeting which she, Rachel
Kuntz and others attended. Aleeha Dudley has reportedly reached a settlement
with Miami University regarding the inaccessibility of coursework and
various other public accommodations on campus to Blind college students.
While details of this settlement were not shared, it was expressed that the
agreement will set a national precedent for accessibility of course
materials and other accommodations to Blind college students.

Sheri Albers reported that Eric Duffy, president of the NFB of Ohio, is
asking all chapters to review and / or modify their constitutions and
present them to him by April 6-along with a report of any modifications.

Statewide fundraising efforts were also discussed; Sheri Albers reviewed
these later in the meeting as part of the Fundraising Committee Report.

6.      Committee Reports:

a.       Membership:

Christopher Sabine presented his report of the Membership Committee, which
was conducted by phone conference on Monday January 18. The meeting was
taken up mainly by a proposal to increase annual membership dues. Most of
the committee expressed the opinion that $5 is a national standard. The
committee ultimately agreed to research whether any chapters, affiliates or
divisions nationally have implemented similar increases. Christopher
expressed that he is posting the question to the Ohio-Talk Listserv. Walter
indicated that he believes most chapters in Texas have increased their
annual dues to $10. He also expressed that the Indianapolis Chapter has
implemented an increase. Carol Akers indicated that the Capital City Chapter
is now at $10; Denver reported that the Miami Valley Chapter is charging $8.
Lillie commented that the Crafters Division charges $60 annually [which is
also $5 a month], but this includes the cost of instructional materials and
other training. Walter agreed to present the committee's findings to the
chapter at a later meeting after reviewing national precedent on this topic.

Currently, The Cincinnati Chapter's Facebook page has 16 likes. Members were
encouraged to share the page with friends.

b.      Recreation:

Deanna presented the report of the Recreation Committee, which met by
telephone conference on Thursday January 7. The committee discussed two main
topics: the Laterza Coffee Tour and the chapter book club.

The committee is sponsoring a tour of the Laterza Coffee House on February
20 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The coffee house is located at 611 Shepherd
Drive in Lockland. The cost of the tour is $6 or $9 to receive a collectible
mug. An email regarding the tour was sent out to the Chapter listserv.

The Cincinnati Chapter Book Club will be meeting by phone conference on
February 11, 2016. The book we are reading is The Nightingale by Kristin
Hannah. Those interested in signing up can contact Annie McEachirn. The book
club is open to all, including non-NFB members.

c.       Fundraising:

Sheri Albers conducted the report of the fund raising committee. Sheri
announced that she is stepping down as Chair of the committee effective
immediately. She expressed that she will still be available to serve on the
committee and advise the new chair.

The Discover Books fund raising campaign is still being wrapped up. We have
two books out with Paul Jordan, two with David Perry and two books out with
Karren and Bill Innis. Three books are still outstanding. Elif and Paul have
reportedly sold their books. 

7.      Statewide Fundraising Activities:

a.       Flying Pig Marathon:

Denver Jones discussed the Piggest Raffle Ever, which the Flying Pig
Marathon has held for several years to benefit local charities. Those
interested in signing up can adopt a pig or purchase a hard raffle ticket.
Tickets are $5 apiece, $25 for 6, $50 for 12, etc. There is a grand prize of
$5,000, with the winning charity also receiving $5,000. Tickets are
available from several chapter members, including Walter Mitchell and Rachel
Kuntz. All proceeds go back to the charities.

Sheri reported NFB of Ohio is participating in the Flying Pig Marathon this
year in a volunteer capacity. The Flying Pig Marathon needs a total of 6,000
volunteers for the entire three day event to be successful. The purpose of
NFB's involvement is to raise funds and promote awareness of NFB in the
general public. We can earn up to $500 to volunteer at this event.

Sheri expressed that she is working on securing a location for a volunteer
post at this event, which we will be staffing either Saturday May 1 or
Sunday May 2.

b.      Marching for Independence:

Sheri discussed Marching for Independence, a statewide fundraising
initiative led by Richard Payne, President of the Miami Valley Chapter. The
purpose of Marching for Independence is to raise funds for members to attend
National Convention in Orlando. The idea behind Marching for Independence is
to raise funds for members to cover their own costs at Convention while
promoting NFB.

Walter indicated that he is in charge of soliciting corporate sponsorships
and donations for Marching for Independence and other statewide fundraising
initiatives. He also indicated that he is organizing Blind Inspiration, a
concert of Christian and inspirational music, which will be held on Saturday
April 9. A venue for this event has not been determined.

Denver reported that Richard Payne, President of the Miami Valley Chapter,
has initiated what he is calling his "ice bucket challenge" to encourage all
members of the Ohio affiliate to raise $250 by March 31 to be entered into a
drawing for an IPad donated by the Cincinnati law firm of O'Conner, Acciani
& Levy.

c.       5K Charity Day in Columbus:

Carol Akers discussed the 5K Charity Run in Columbus. This is a
collaborative event sponsored by many different charities and non-profits
that will take place on Sunday, June 26. Carol reported that NFB of Ohio has
paid the initial sponsorship fee, and a Website has been created for people
to participate in the race and have their friends sponsor them. There is
also a way to make donations on the website. IF we register 125 people under
our name, we will get a table.

Denver expressed that participating in a charity race would allow us to
branch out and network with other organizations; he mentioned the number of
blind veterans and reported that the Wounded Warrior Project is also
sponsoring this event. Deborah and Rachel discussed bringing a team of
people to this event as a means of increasing our visibility in the
community and intermingling with other charities.

8.      Other Business:

Elif discussed a study she is conducting at the University of Cincinnati
concerning people with disabilities and access to professional counseling
services other than rehabilitation counseling. This study focuses on access
to professional counseling by Blind people in particular. She indicated she
will be presenting a paper on this topic at a joint conference of the
American Counseling Association and the Canadian Counseling and
Psychotherapy Association in April in Montreal.  As part of this study, the
Cincinnati Chapter of ΧΣΙ, the international honors society for counselors,
will conduct a training for counselors in collaboration with NFB of
Cincinnati. This event is tentatively scheduled for March 11 from 3:00 P.M.
to 5:00 P.M. on the University of Cincinnati campus and consists of a panel
discussion between professional counselors and Blind Consumers. Anyone
interested in participating in this discussion can contact Elif by email

9.      The meeting adjourned at approximately 3:40 P.M.

Respectfully Submitted,

Christopher Sabine, Secretary

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