[Cinci-nfb] National Federation of the Blind of Cincinnati, Meeting Minutes for February 2019

[info at onhconsulting.com]

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio

Cincinnati Chapter

Meeting Minutes for February 2019

 

1.	The February 2019 meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of
Ohio, Cincinnati Chapter was convened by President Sheri Albers at
approximately 1:55 P.M. on Saturday February 23 2019 in Room 3B of the
Cincinnati / Hamilton County Public Library Main Branch at 800 Vine Street,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Members in attendance were: President Sheri Albers,
Deanna Lewis, Christopher Sabine, Gloria Robinson, Topeka Turner, Emily
Pennington, Chris Windham, Lisa Hall, Karren Innis, Joy Thomas, Paul Jordan,
Diane Carmony, Anthony King and Kim McEachirn. Richard Roberts, Tammy McRae,
Candace Armstrong, Diane Gudaitis, Stacy Turner and Amy Barker attended
today's meeting as guests of the Chapter. Sheri played the Podcast of the
February Presidential Release and led the membership in a recitation of the
NFB Pledge and One Minute Speech prior to convening today's meeting.

 

2.	Gloria Robinson moved to approve the January minutes as emailed.
Emily Pennington seconded, and the motion passed.

 

3.	Emily Pennington presented this month's Treasurer's report. Gloria
Robinson moved to approve the Treasurer's report. Christopher Sabine
seconded, and the motion passed after discussion. Kim McEachirn gave an
update concerning revenues from sales of the "Meet the Blind" T shirts,
Braille Puzzle Books and candy at State Convention and presented a check to
the Chapter for these revenues. Kim agreed to provide a list of his current
inventory to President Sheri Albers following today's meeting. 

 

4.	There was no official report from the Fundraising Committee meeting
this month. However, the following items related to Chapter and Affiliate
fundraising activities were discussed.

 

a.	Gloria Robinson distributed brochures concerning Double Good
Popcorn, a Chicago-based manufacturer of gourmet popcorn for non-profit
fundraising campaigns. Gloria expressed that the Chapter is now partnering
with Double Good on a fundraising campaign, in which 50% of popcorn sales
will go to the Chapter. Gloria encouraged all Chapter members to participate
in this campaign and sell as much popcorn as possible. This campaign ends on
April 9 with Gloria responsible for submitting customer orders.

 

b.	Gloria indicated that she is still organizing the Italian Dinner
fundraiser. However, a date and location has not been confirmed. Gloria
expressed that she would like to hold this event at a venue with no cost,
and Sheri referred this item back to the Fundraising Committee for further
discussion.

 

c.	Gloria expressed that she would like to hold a fundraising event
sometime in late summer or early Fall involving a gathering of Blind people
in which T-shirts will be sold. A fundraiser at a flea market later in 2019
was also discussed. However, no action was taken at this time.

 

 

d.	Sheri discussed the Ohio Affiliate fundraiser at the Flying Pig Half
Marathon, which is currently scheduled for Sunday May 5 2019 at 6:30 A.M.
The Affiliate will be staffing a station located at Mile Nine of the Flying
Pig Half Marathon at 1501 Madison Road where volunteers will hand out
tissues to runners. This is the fourth year for this event, and all members
are asked to volunteer. Sheri expressed that the Ohio Affiliate will receive
$500 if 20-25 members staff the station. As a sponsor of the Flying Pig
Marathon, the Ohio Affiliate is also participating in the "Piggest Raffle
Ever." Tickets are available for $5 apiece-with all proceeds going to the
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio. Sheri distributed paper tickets
for members to sell-requesting that all stubs be returned to her by April
29. Tickets are also available online, and the link to the sign-up page was
posted to the Ohio-Talk Listserv. The grand prize is $5,000-with the
organization selling the ticket also receiving $5,000. The second and third
prize winners will receive a two-year lease on a Toyota Prius and a $1,500
weekend excursion in Cincinnati, respectively. 

 

e.	Deanna Lewis reported that the Ohio Affiliate is holding its annual
Easter Malley's Chocolate fundraiser. Information concerning this event was
posted to the Ohio-Talk listserv, and Deanna distributed print brochures to
Chapter members. 

 

f.	As part of Christopher Sabine's Membership Committee report, Emily
Pennington indicated that she believes she will hear from Affiliate
Treasurer Sherry Ruth concerning the reestablishment of the Cincinnati
Chapter's 501 (c) (3) status sometime next week.

 

g.	Earlier in today's meeting, Kim McEachirn reported that ninety
Braille puzzle books are still available for sale at $5 apiece.

 

 

5.	Christopher Sabine gave a report from the Membership Committee,
which did not meet officially this month. Christopher expressed that the
next scheduled meeting of the Committee is scheduled for Monday February 25
at 7:00 P.M.  by teleconference. He and President Sheri Albers reportedly
met with representatives of the Respect for Life Ministry of the Archdiocese
of Cincinnati on Friday February 15 2019 concerning an ongoing initiative to
improve the accessibility of the Mass and church activities to parishioners
in the Archdiocese. The Ministry has developed a one-page flier for priests,
deacons and other interested members of all parishes in the Archdiocese
which it will be distributing in the coming months. Christopher emphasized
that this is a membership related activity, as a goal of this initiative is
to promote collaboration between the National Federation of the Blind of
Cincinnati and the Archdiocese. Earlier in today's meeting, Sheri Albers
expressed that the National Office has begun a new initiative in which all
new members of the National Federation of the Blind will receive a
medallion. About the size of a half-dollar, this medallion will feature the
current logo of the National Federation of the Blind on one side and the
Braille letters "T" "G" and "R" on the other. This is the Braille
contraction for "together." Sheri expressed that she has compiled a
spreadsheet which will eventually be submitted to the National Office, who
will distribute the medallions through chapter presidents.

 

6.	Sheri Albers discussed a major upcoming training for all members of
the Ohio Affiliate scheduled for April 5 through April 9 2019 in Columbus,
Ohio. The training will consist of two modules. The first, set for Friday
and Saturday April 5 and 6, is a training for prospective volunteers of
Ohio's Braille Enrichment, Literacy and Learning (BELL) Academy. BELL is a
nationally sponsored program providing training in Braille and the skills of
Blindness to Blind children ages 4-12 from independent, competent Braille
mentors. Ohio's BELL Academy is one of the few residential programs in the
national organization. All prospective volunteers for Ohio's BELL Academy
must attend the April 5-6 training, and those interested must contact Eric
Duffey, who is this year's BELL coordinator. A background check is also
required for prospective volunteers. The second module, scheduled from
Sunday April 7 to Tuesday April 9, revolves around leadership and
legislation. It will begin with the quarterly affiliate board meeting at
10:00 AM on April 7 followed by training on the philosophy of the National
Federation of the Blind and how to become more active as a leader in the
organization. Training on the legislative process and a tour of the Ohio
Statehouse is scheduled for Monday, followed by an evening banquet and
further training and review of fact sheets concerning the Ohio Affiliate's
current legislative initiatives. The event will conclude on Tuesday April 9
with appointments with members of the Ohio House of Representatives and
Senate concerning the Affiliate's legislative initiatives. This event is
scheduled at the Holiday Inn Double Tree Hotel in Worthington, Ohio. Sheri
expressed that transportation, food and lodging expenses will be reimbursed
by the Affiliate within reason. Sheri concluded her discussion by
emphasizing that this event is open to everyone, not just Blind members of
the Ohio Affiliate.

 

7.	Chris Windham won this month's auction item, which was sold by
Deanna Lewis.

 

8.	The next meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio,
Cincinnati Chapter was scheduled for Saturday March 23 2019 at 1:30 P.M. in
Room 3B of the Cincinnati / Hamilton County Public Library Main Branch.

 

9.	The February 2019 meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of
Ohio, Cincinnati Chapter was adjourned at approximately 3:25 P.M. on
Saturday February 23 2019.

 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Christopher Sabine

Secretary

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio

Cincinnati Chapter

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/cinci-nfb_nfbnet.org/attachments/20190313/db50f152/attachment.html>