[Cinci-nfb] National Federation of the Blind of Cincinnati, Meeting Minutes for November 2017

[Elif Emir Öksüz]

Thanks to the dedicated officers for their service so far and congrats
to new ones.


On 12/23/17, Sheri Albers via Cinci-nfb <cinci-nfb at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Thank you Chris!
>
>
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Sheri Albers, Vice President
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
>
> 513.886.8697
>
>  <mailto:Sheri.albers87 at gmail.com> Sheri.albers87 at gmail.com
>
>
>
> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
> expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
> between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
> blindness is not what holds you back.
>
>
>
> From: Cinci-nfb [mailto:cinci-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> Christopher Sabine, ONH Consulting via Cinci-nfb
> Sent: Saturday, December 23, 2017 10:15 AM
> To: 'NFB of Ohio Cincinnati Chapter List'
> Cc: Christopher Sabine, ONH Consulting
> Subject: [Cinci-nfb] National Federation of the Blind of Cincinnati,
> Meeting
> Minutes for November 2017
>
>
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Cincinnati
>
> Meeting Minutes for November 2017
>
>
>
> 1.       The November 2017 meeting of the National Federation of the Blind
> of Cincinnati was convened at approximately 2:05 P.M. by President Deborah
> Kendrick at the Washington Platform Restaurant in Downtown Cincinnati. In
> attendance were: Deborah Kendrick, Judy Rudig, Paul Dressell, Bernie
> Dressell, Diane Carmony, Deanna Lewis, Joy Thomas, Lisa Hall, Christopher
> Sabine, Paul Jordan, Walter Mitchell, Jean Selvidge, Annie McEachirn
> Carson,
> Sheri Albers, Kim McEachirn and Parnell Diggs. Marianne Denning, President
> of the Ohio Association to promote the Use of Braille, attended today's
> meeting as a guest of the Chapter. There was a "mini-blind" this month: "In
> what year did you first attend an NFB event?"
>
>
>
> 2.       There was no Treasurer's Report; Emily Pennington indicated to
> Deborah in advance that she could not attend today's meeting, and no one
> else was available to present it.
>
>
>
> 3.       Walter Mitchell moved to approve the October minutes as emailed;
> Sheri Albers seconded. The motion passed.
>
>
>
> 4.       Annie McEachirn gave a report from the Recreation Committee, which
> consisted of an update concerning the annual Chapter Christmas Party
> scheduled for December 9 2017 at the Northgate Red Lobster (3564 Springdale
> Road). Annie expressed that donations from attendees will go to St. Vincent
> de Paul.
>
>
>
> 5.       Walter began the Fundraising Committee report, which revolved
> around the success of the "meet the Blind" T shirt campaign. Kim McEachirn
> concluded the report by announcing that the last remaining nine T shirts
> are
> being returned to the Chapter and are available for members to purchase.
>
>
>
> 6.       Christopher Sabine gave a report of the Membership Committee,
> which
> met by telephone conference on Monday November 27 2017 from 7:00  P.M. to
> approximately 7:30 P.M. Christopher Sabine, Dale Barta and Walter Mitchell
> attended. Christopher expressed that the meeting consisted of a status
> update on outreach efforts. He is supporting Dale Barta with his efforts to
> organize an event at the Vineyard Church in Springdale and is reaching out
> to the church's director of communications for this purpose. He reported
> that the committee agreed to hold at least one outreach event per quarter.
> He expressed that Walter Mitchell, Lisa Hall and Dave Perry also have
> outreach efforts in the works and encouraged all Chapter members to
> organize
> events in their communities.
>
>
>
> 7.       Deborah Kendrick gave a brief overview of the availability of ABLE
> accounts to Blind people. ABLE, established by the passage of the Achieving
> a Better Life Experience Act by the Obama Administration in 2014, allows
> people with disabilities to open tax-free investment accounts that can be
> used for disability related expenses. Funds placed in an ABLE Account are
> also not counted against income limits for people receiving SSI, SSDI or
> Medicaid benefits and can be used for a wide variety of expenses, including
> housing, health care, transportation and technology. ABLE is a
> federally-funded program administered by each state; Ohio's program is
> operated by the Ohio Secretary of State's office. Further information on
> ABLE accounts is available at http://www.able-now.com. Deborah expressed
> that a live Webinar is scheduled for Wednesday December 6 at 1:00 P.M.
> Deborah reported that she was able to apply for an ABLE account accessibly
> through the Ohio program's Web site and shared that this could be a
> valuable
> resource for Blind people as well as those with other disabilities.
>
>
>
> 8.       Marianne Denning conducted a guest presentation on a new $30,000
> grant funded by Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities to provide
> uncontracted Braille instruction to the Blind of Ohio-with emphasis on
> those
> in rural or remote areas. Marianne expressed that the program is
> spearheaded
> by Richard Payne, Sheri Albers and Debbie Baker from the Ohio Affiliate. It
> will serve 16 Blind clients ages 14 or older in all 88 Ohio counties.
> Participants do not need to be OOD Consumers. Each participant will be
> assigned a mentor who will provide individualized instruction remotely
> under
> the supervision of Marianne and Debbie Baker, who will serve as teachers.
> Each participant will be given a Perkins Brailler and slate and stylus, and
> the McDuffy Reader will be used for instruction-as it uses the Unified
> English Braille Code. Mentors will be matched to program participants as
> closely as possible. Marianne expressed that initial trainings for
> prospective mentors will be offered in Cleveland, Toledo, Dayton and
> Columbus. There will be no training in Cincinnati, as it was felt that the
> Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired was already
> providing high quality Braille instruction. However, this will not exclude
> prospective mentors from the Cincinnati area from participating. Mentors
> will receive $10 per hour for their participation, and a training for all
> mentors on program guidelines will be held in Columbus in February. Sheri
> Albers is reportedly working on a brochure to promote the Braille program
> which will be disseminated statewide. Marianne and Debbie are also meeting
> with all Ohio NFB Chapters, local chapters of the American Council of the
> Blind, John Mitchell from the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and
> Visually Impaired, representatives from the Clovernook Center and other
> interested parties in the state to recruit participants. The aim of this
> grant is to enhance the employability of Blind participants and demonstrate
> to OOD the crucial role of quality Braille instruction to increase the
> employment rate of the Blind of Ohio. Anyone interested in becoming a
> mentor
> or program participant or seeking further information about this program
> can
> contact Marianne by phone at (513) 607-6053 or email her at
> Marianne at denningweb.com.
>
>
>
> 9.       Today's meeting concluded with the Chapter's 2017 bi-annual
> elections. The Chapter voted on nominees for the offices of President, Vice
> President, Treasurer, Secretary and three at-large Board positions. Three
> incumbents, President Deborah Kendrick and Board members Kim McEachirn and
> David Perry, expressed a desire to withdraw from service and will not be
> considered for office at this time. The following Chapter members were
> elected to the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind
> of
> Cincinnati for the 2017-2019 term: Sheri Albers was elected President.
> Deanna Lewis was elected Vice President, Emily Pennington was elected
> Treasurer. Christopher Sabine was elected Secretary. Paul Jordan, Annie
> McEachirn Carson and Paul Dressell were each elected to at large Board
> positions.
>
>
>
> 10.    The November 2017 meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of
> Cincinnati was adjourned at approximately 3:40 P.M on Saturday December 2
> 2017.
>
>
>
> Respectfully Submitted,
>
>
>
> Christopher Sabine
>
> Secretary
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Cincinnati
>
>
>
>