[Cinci-nfb] National Federation of the blind of Ohio, Cincinnati Chapter, meeting Minutes for January 2019 (Revised

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National Federation of the Blind of Ohio

Cincinnati Chapter

Meeting Minutes for January 2019

 

1                    The January 2019 meeting of the Cincinnati Chapter of
the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio was convened by President Sheri
Albers at approximately 1:30 P.M. on Saturday, January 26 2019 in Room 3B of
the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library at 800 Vine Street in
Downtown Cincinnati. Members in attendance were: President Sheri Albers,
Chris Windham, Topeka Turner, Stacy Roles, Gloria Robinson, Aaron
Upthegrove, Cassandra Jones, Anthony King, Walter Mitchell, Joy Thomas,
Emily Pennington, Deanna Lewis, Diane Carmony, Christopher Sabine and Jean
Selvidge. Stacy Roles attended this meeting as a guest of the Chapter.
President Sheri Albers began the meeting with a recitation of the
"one-minute speech." At a later point in the meeting after the Treasurer's
report was approved, Emily Pennington collected dues from several current
members, renewing their membership for 2019. Two new members, Aaron
Upthegrove and Topeka Turner, also paid annual dues at today's meeting and
are now members of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio.

 

2                     Walter Mitchell moved to approve the November 2017
Chapter minutes as emailed. Gloria Robinson seconded, and the motion
carried.

 

3                    Emily Pennington presented this month's Treasurer's
report. Gloria Robinson moved to approve the Treasurer's report. Deanna
Lewis seconded, and the motion passed after discussion.

 

4                    Christopher Sabine gave the report from the Membership
Committee, which met by teleconference on Friday Jan. 25 2019 from 7:00 to
approximately 7:30 P.M. Christopher, Dale Barta and Sheri Albers attended
this meeting. Several items were discussed during his committee report:

 

a.       Christopher expressed that he would like to set up a schedule for
members to contact Marion King on a weekly basis. He also expressed that he
would like different members-representing diverse aspects of the Federation
and the local Chapter-to commit to scheduled quarterly visits to keep her
abreast of Chapter activities and determine if there is any support she
needs. Members expressed concerns that having a large group of members
visiting Marion at once -as the Chapter has done in the past--is
overwhelming. Gloria Robinson suggested that Sheri Albers--as Chapter
President-could make the initial call, which she agreed to do following
today's meeting. There was no further discussion on this topic at today's
meeting.

 

b.      Christopher expressed his thanks to Sheri and Brooke Albers for
producing the new Chapter membership flier which was disseminated at the
bake sale on December 1. he expressed that he plans to distribute the flier
at several community centers and the Veterans Administration in the near
future and emphasized that the Chapter needs new members, as several
long-time members might not be able to remain involved with the Chapter
regularly due to health issues. Walter Mitchell expressed that the Chapter
explore having certain members unable to attend meetings regularly be
patched through by teleconference. The Chapter agreed to explore making this
option available to the members in question as the date of the next meeting
approaches. There was no further discussion on this topic at this time.

 

c.       After discussion, Emily Pennington agreed to contact Sherry Ruth,
Treasurer of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, to re-establish
the Chapter's non-profit status.

 

d.      Christopher concluded his membership report with a summary of the
November 2019 meeting with the Director of the Respect for Life Ministry at
the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, concerning efforts to improve access to the
Mass and other church activities by Blind parishioners. President Sheri
Albers also took part in this meeting. Christopher indicated that a follow
up meeting has been scheduled for February 6 2019 to review a draft of a
document to distribute to parishes, and overall efforts are moving forward.

 

5                    Walter Mitchell began the presentation of the
Fundraising Committee report, which reportedly met by teleconference on
January 23 at 7:00 P.M. Walter Mitchell, President Sheri Albers, Gloria
Robinson, Chris Windham and Akheela Cade attended. Walter turned the floor
to Gloria Robinson, who moderated the Committee meeting and gave most of the
remainder of the Fundraising report. There were four main items discussed:

 

a.	Gloria began with a discussion of current and future fundraising
projects. She indicated that an Italian Dinner has been scheduled
tentatively for Saturday June 15 2019 at the Clovernook Procter Center.
However, this time has not yet been confirmed with Clovernook. Gloria
encouraged all chapter members to distribute fliers for this event as widely
as possible and participate fully. As in last year's event, the cost of the
dinner is $5, including dessert and a drink. Gloria expressed that she is
seeking donations of spaghetti noodles and other items and may reach out to
the Chapter for further donations at a later date. Gloria indicated that she
is also seeking raffle items and has, to this point, reached out to Best Buy
for a smart screen TV to be given away at the raffle.

 

b.	Gloria also discussed other fundraising projects potentially in the
works, expressing that the Committee intends to hold an event quarterly.
(She referred to this as a "Winter Spring Summer Fall fundraiser to keep
funds coming into the Chapter's treasury.) These projects include a
"Popcorn, Sweets and Woods" event, in which the Committee will take orders
for popcorn and related items with half the proceeds coming back to the
Chapter. Staffing a booth at a flea market or holding a yard sale was also
mentioned, but there are no concrete plans for such events at this point.

 

c.	Gloria indicated that she has received permission from Sheri Albers
to discuss a new policy from Ohio Affiliate President Richard Payne. All
members seeking financial assistance to attend a state or national
convention are now required to participate in at least one chapter or
affiliate fundraising event. The purpose of the new policy is to crack down
on members requesting financial assistance who do not contribute their share
to the organization.

 

d.	Sheri Albers expressed that the Ohio Affiliate will again be holding
a fundraising event at this year's Flying Pig Half Marathon, which is
currently scheduled for Sunday morning May 5 2019. As in year's past, The
Ohio Affiliate will hand out tissues at the "Best Little Tissue" Station
located at Mile 9 of the Half Marathon. This will be the fourth year of this
fundraising event. As a participant in the Half Marathon, the Ohio Affiliate
will also have access to the "Piggest Raffle Ever", in which participants
can adopt a pig and purchase a ticket for $5. Tickets will be sold in person
or online via the Flying Pig web site with all proceeds going to the
participating charities. Sheri expressed that she will also be selling paper
raffle tickets for $5 at next month's Chapter meeting-with $2 of every $5
ticket sold going directly to the Cincinnati Chapter. The grand prize is
$5,000---with the same amount going to the participating charity sponsoring
the winning ticket. The second and third prizes are a two-year lease on a
Toyota Prius and a $1,500 Cincinnati excursion, respectively. Sheri reported
that she will be posting further information on the Flying Pig event on the
Ohio-Talk Internet Listserv.

 

e.	Walter Mitchell concluded the Fundraising Committee report by
thanking all members who participated in fundraising events in 2018 and
reminding all Chapter members of their responsibility to raise funds for the
Federation.

 

6                    Walter Mitchell expressed that he is now the Ohio
Affiliate's point of contact for NFB Newsline, which provides nonvisual
access to newspapers, magazines and other publications of interest through a
national network of telephone call-in numbers, a web site, apps for smart
phone users, and now, a skill for Amazon Alexa. Walter will now handle all
requests for technical support and be responsible for signing up all new
members for the service. It is not necessary to be a member of the National
Federation of the Blind to sign up for NFB Newsline.

 

7                    Sheri began her legislative report with a summary of
plans for the upcoming Washington Seminar, the National Federation of the
Blind's premier annual legislative and policy making event, which is
scheduled for January 28 to 31 2019 at the Holiday Inn Capital in
Washington, D.C. Sheri expressed that ten members of the Ohio Affiliate are
attending this event. There will be three legislative priorities on which
the national organization plans to focus for the next two years. First, The
Access Technology Affordability Act, a continuation of a previous
legislative initiative, will provide refundable tax credits to blind
consumers purchasing access technologies. Unlike in previous years, this
legislation would limit this credit to $2,000 for every three-year period,
and the legislation would only be effective for 5 years. Second, The Greater
Accessibility and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology Act,
addresses the inaccessibility of in-home medical devices, exercise equipment
used in hotels, gyms and other public facilities, and personal appliances,
such as microwaves, stoves and washer dryers that incorporate inaccessible
technologies. This legislation would require the Access Board, the federal
agency charged with implementing all disability access legislation including
the Americans with Disabilities Act, to develop minimum standards for making
these devices nonvisually accessible within three years and issue
enforceable regulations for manufacturers of these devices. Third, The
Disability Employment Act will help modernize the Ability One Program, the
primary federal program providing contract work to people with disabilities.
Though this program currently guarantees employment to federal contract
workers with disabilities, this legislation would prohibit the payment of
subminimum wages, integrate the Ability One Program with the existing
Randolph Sheppard Programs for blind vendors and promote upward mobility for
people with disabilities through the Ability One Program.

 

8                    Sheri Albers expressed that the Ohio Affiliate is
holding a weekend leadership training and legislative event in Columbus from
April 5-9 2019. This event will take place at the Holiday Inn Doubletree
Hotel in Worthington Ohio and consist of two modules. Members can attend
either module or both. The first module, scheduled for April 5-6, is a
"train the trainer" event for prospective volunteers in this year's Braille
Enrichment, Leadership and Learning (BELL) program for elementary students.
The BELL Program is an annual residential program scheduled for July 21 to
26 2019 at the Ohio State School for the Blind providing instruction in
Braille and independent living skills training to Blind elementary school
students under the supervision of successful Blind adult role models. A
representative from the NFB National Office will conduct this training. The
second module will consist of leadership training and conclude with a day on
Capitol Square in which participants will visit with state legislators. This
event is being organized by Sheri Albers and Mike Leiterman, Co-Chairs of
the Ohio Affiliate's Legislative Committee, and will coincide with the
Affiliate's next scheduled board meeting on April 7. Sheri expressed that
she will be collecting names of members interested in participating in this
event in the next month.

 

9                    Sheri Albers gave an overview of the priorities for
this year's cycle of the Ohio Legislature. These include reintroduction of
existing parents' rights legislation, a bill to require all Ohio pharmacies
to make accessible prescription labels available to Blind consumers, and a
bill to bring Ohio's guide dog laws into compliance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act.

 

10                Sheri reminded Chapter members of a teleconference
scheduled by Affiliate President Richard Payne on Monday February 4 at 7:00
P.M. to discuss concerns of individual members of the Affiliate in an open
forum. Christopher Sabine agreed to re-post the email to the Ohio-Talk
Listserv.

 

11                Deanna Lewis and Sheri Albers reported on the "All
Accessible Vision Loss" event hosted at Newport Aquarium and sponsored by
the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired scheduled for
Thursday January 31 2019 from 6:00 to 10:00 P.M. The event will include
audio descriptions of exhibits, a "touch tank" and special lighting for
those with low vision. Newport Aquarium will be offering admission to this
event at a discounted rate of $19.99 with tickets available online. Tactile
graphics produced by Federationist Caroline Karbowski will also be
available.

 

12                Sheri Albers expressed that the Ohio Affiliate has
received another grant from Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities to
provide training in uncontracted Braille for Blind adults in Ohio. As in
last year's grant, the training will be provided by Marianne Denning and
Debbie Baker under the supervision of mentors. Those interested in
participating in the training can contact Sheri Albers. Information
concerning this training was posted to the Ohio-Talk list prior to today's
meeting. 

 

13                Deanna Lewis reported that the Clovernook Center -
Opportunities for the blind is holding an event at Cincinnati City Hall on
January 31 from 11:30 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. The event will be televised, and
those interested in participating can contact Deanna or Jackie Connor, event
organizer at the Clovernook Center. Clovernook Center -Opportunities for the
Blind is also hosting the Third Annual Braille Challenge on March 31 at the
Clovernook Center. NFB literature will be available in the Hospitality Room,
and President Sheri Albers will be giving a presentation on legislation.
Finally, Deanna indicated that the Ohio Association of Guide Dog Users will
be holding a raffle for a set of Pampered Chef Cookware, retail value $450.
Tickets are $5, and the drawing is February 14.

 

14                There were two auction items sold this month provided by
Deanna Lewis and Joy Thomas-won by Sheri Albers and Deanna Lewis,
respectively.

 

15                The February 2019 meeting of the National Federation of
the Blind of Ohio, Cincinnati Chapter was scheduled for Saturday February 23
2019 from 1:30 to 3:30 P.M. in Room 3B of the Public Library of Cincinnati
and Hamilton County Main Branch at 800 Vine Street in Downtown Cincinnati.

 

16                The January 2019 meeting of the National Federation of the
Blind of Ohio, Cincinnati Chapter was adjourned at approximately 3:25 P.M.
on Saturday January 26 2019.

 

Respectfully Submitted

 

Christopher Sabine

Secretary

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio

Cincinnati Chapter

 

 

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