[Cinci-nfb] National Federation of the Blind of Cincinnati, Meeting minutes for January 2017

[Annie McEachirn]

Chris,

 

It was not Judy who asked you to read the minutes on the  "We care
Benevolence," report, it was me (and I emailed you the minutes.  Please
correct.  Thank you.

 

Blessings,

 

Annie

 

 

From: Cinci-nfb [mailto:cinci-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Christopher Sabine, ONH Consulting via Cinci-nfb
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2017 9:56 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 January 2017

 

National Federation of the Blind of Cincinnati

Meeting Minutes for January 2017

 

1                     The January 2017 meeting of the Cincinnati Chapter of
the National Federation of the Blind of Cincinnati was convened by Vice
President Lisa Hall at approximately 2:15 P.M. on Saturday January 28 2016
at the Washington Platform Restaurant in downtown Cincinnati. In attendance
were: Lisa Hall, Emily Pennington, Lilly Pennington, Paul Jordan, Joy
Thomas, Christopher Sabine, Diane Carmony, Deanna Lewis, Sheri Albers, Paul
Dressell, Elif Emir Oksuz and Walter Mitchell. Lisa began the meeting by
playing the audio stream of the January 2017 Presidential Release issued by
President Mark Ricobono, which can be accessed from the NFB National website
at https://nfb.org/presidential-releases. Paul Dressell moved to accept the
November 2016 meeting minutes as emailed; Emily Pennington seconded, and the
motion passed. Lisa requested prayers for the following members: Deborah
Kendrick, Bill Innis and Jacque Perry.

 

2                     Lisa began the meeting with an update on the 2017 Ohio
Braille Challenge, which is currently scheduled for March 3 2017 at the
Clovernook Center for the blind. She indicated that two students are already
confirmed to participate in the event, with five more who have yet to submit
their registrations. According to guidelines for the event issued by the
Braille Institute of America, a minimum of ten students is required for a
state to hold a Braille Challenge, with some states having as many as forty
students. Lisa expressed that she believed testing would be handled by
individual teachers of the visually impaired if two few students register.
The Braille Challenge tests students in five areas: spelling, proofreading,
comprehension, writing speed / accuracy and charts / graphs. The event will
also include a tour of Clovernook's Braille printing facilities and a parent
seminar. The Planning Committee for this event includes a number of staff at
the Clovernook Center in various roles, including Lisa and Deanna Lewis. The
deadline for students to register for this event is February 20. Lisa
indicated that she, Deanna Lewis and other members of the Planning Committee
will travel to the American Printing house for the Blind in Louisville,
Kentucky on February 16 to observe Kentucky's event. Lisa encouraged any
members interested in volunteering for the Ohio Braille Challenge to contact
Deanna Lewis, who serves on the planning committee. A discussion of the
various services offered by the American Printing House for the Blind and
the Clovernook Center for the Blind ensued.

 

3                     Lisa indicated that Kim McEachirn has approached her
and requested to be removed as Chair of the Recreation Committee.
Christopher Sabine indicated that he could Chair the committee if no one
else comes forward to assist. The Chapter agreed to put a request for a new
Chair on the Cincinnati NFB Chapter list.

 

4                     Walter Mitchell expressed that he could take on the
Fundraising Committee on a temporary basis. 

5                     Lisa asked about State Fundraising efforts; Sheri
Albers indicated that the NFB of Ohio is now signed up for a station at this
year's Flying Pig Marathon, referred to as the BLT Station. The station will
be at the half-marathon, which is reportedly scheduled for Sunday Morning
May 5, 2017. Sheri expressed that she will be attending a meeting concerning
the station on March 1-representing NFB Ohio. More details are forthcoming.
Sheri also indicated that plans are in the works for a "Piggest Raffle Ever"
this year to coincide with the Flying Pig Marathon. As in last year's event,
tickets will be sold for $5 with all proceeds going to the Ohio Affiliate.
Further information regarding prizes and signup for the raffle is also
forthcoming.

 

6                     Emily Pennington presented this month's Treasurer's
report. Lilly Pennington moved to approve the Treasurer's Report as read;
Paul Jordan seconded. The motion passed.

 

7                     Sheri Albers expressed that she will be attending the
2017 Washington Seminar, scheduled to take place from Monday January 29 to
Thursday February 1, 2017. She will be the only Chapter member attending
this year. Lisa encouraged all members to visit
http://www.nfb.org/Washington-Seminar to access all of NFB's fact sheets and
the agenda for the event.

 

8                     Sheri Albers and other Chapter members summarized the
Ohio Affiliate Conference call, which took place on Monday January 23 2017
at 7:00 P.M. Sheri, indicated that plans have been announced to institute a
"Columbus Seminar" to advocate for several Ohio legislative proposals. These
include: a guide dog initiative, rights of blind natural and adoptive
parents and implementation of the NFB resolution past at the 2015 State
Convention regarding Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities / Ohio
Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired. Deanna Lewis indicated that
the Ohio affiliate has decided to use another candy company for its
Christmas and Easter Fundraising campaigns. Further information will be
forthcoming. Elif Emir Oksuz announced that the Ohio Association of Blind
Students is now up and running and has a Facebook Page which currently has
27 likes. Walter Mitchell reported that OOD is offering to send staff to
Chapters in the Affiliate to discuss its programs and services. Christopher
Sabine agreed to contact the Area Manager for the Southwest Ohio Office of
OOD, Mark Fay, to see if a counselor could speak at the February or March
Chapter meeting. Lisa expressed that a particular concern of hers (and
others in the state) is giving blind Ohioans access to quality Braille
instruction. Walter expressed that he believes one reason why OOD is
reaching out to the Federation in this way is to address a perception among
the NFB that the agency will not provide Braille instruction to adult
consumers. Lisa expressed that if OOD or another state agency refuses to
provide Braille instruction or training in other areas to someone who is
Blind, NFB will work to place that person into one of its three National
Training Centers: Blind, Inc. in Minneapolis, Minnesota, The Louisiana
Center for the Blind in Ruston, Louisiana or the Colorado Center for the
Blind in Littleton, Colorado. Lisa expressed that the Ohio Affiliate has
arranged this for several people in the state. Lisa expressed that the
agenda for the Washington Seminar covers four key areas: funding for Braille
displays from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled
(NLS), accessible technology, access to textbooks / instructional materials
and the ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty. Sheri Albers indicated that
eleven people from Ohio will attend Washington Seminar: three from the
Cleveland area Chapters, four from the Capital area Chapter, Richard Payne,
Barbara Pierce, Rachel Kuntz (current President of the newly formed Greater
Butler County Chapter) and Sheri Albers from the Cincinnati Chapter. The
Ohio delegation intends to meet with all sixteen of Ohio's Congressional
representatives regarding NFB's legislative agenda, according to Sheri
Albers.

 

9                     Paul Dressell asked members if they would be
interested in making another visit with him to long time Federationist
Marion King. Lisa Hall, Deanna Lewis and Sheri Albers agreed to make a visit
and come up with a date.

 

10                 Walter Mitchell gave a brief report from the Recreation
Committee. He began by complimenting the membership on their donations. He
reported that he received a letter of receipt from the recipient of the
donations (Camp Washington United Church) and emailed an electronic copy,
which he forwarded to Christopher Sabine. A discussion about a venue for
next year's Christmas party was tabled for a later date. Walter also
reported that the Chapter Book Club will be holding its next meeting at 7:00
P.M. on Thursday February 9. Membership is currently open, and anyone
interested in joining should contact Annie McEachirn Carson. Walter
concluded his report by discussion of his efforts to promote NFB Newsline in
Ohio. He expressed that the service currently has 347 subscribers in the 513
area code out of 3469 in the state. Walter expressed that his goal is to
have 5,000 subscribers by the end of this year in Ohio. He reminded the
membership that NFB Newsline is available via its web site,
http://www.nfb.org/audio-reading-service. Walter is in charge of
administering the service for the Ohio affiliate and reported that he is
visiting several other state chapters and some other technology related
events to generate new subscriptions. Lisa reminded the membership that
anyone needing technical support or having subscription related issues can
visit the NFB Newsline web site or call (800) 504-7300 for service.

 

11                 Christopher Sabine gave a report from the Membership
Committee. Christopher expressed that the Membership Committee met twice
since the November Chapter meeting. The first Membership Committee meeting
was held on November 28 2016 from 7:00 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. by phone
conference. In attendance were: Deborah Kendrick, Paul Dressell, Dale Barta,
Judy Rudick, Christopher Sabine and Jay Tolle. Christopher asked Jay Tolle
to attend the meeting as the sighted Administrator for the Chapter's
Facebook page. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss developing the page
and resolving some technical concerns regarding notifications to people who
have "liked" the page. The group also met on January 23 2016 from 6:00 P.M.
to 6:30 P.M. by telephone conference. This was a brief follow up meeting to
update the Committee on its activities since the November meeting.

 

12                 Christopher gave a report of the We Care / Benevolent
Program at the request of Judy Rudick. This program met on Thursday January
26 by phone conference from 7:00 PM to 7:45 PM. In attendance were Judy
Rudick and Annie McEachirn Carson. It was agreed that there needs to be a
system to allocate funds for program activities, such as sending get well
cards. The program sent get well cards to the following members in December:
Deborah Kendrick, Diane Carmony, Bill Innis and Paul Jordan. Finally, the
program agreed to meet formally once per quarter, with the next meeting
scheduled for some time in March.

 

13                 The January 2017 meeting of the National Federation of
the Blind of Cincinnati was adjourned at 3:58 PM on January 28 2017.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Christopher Sabine

 

Secretary

National Federation of the Blind of Cincinnati

 

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