[Cinci-NFB] National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, Cincinnati Chapter, Meeting Minutes for July 2020

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National Federation of the Blind of Cincinnati

Meeting Minutes for July 2020

 

1.	The July 2020 meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of
Ohio, Cincinnati Chapter was convened at approximately 1:35 P.M. on Saturday
July 25 2020 by President Gloria Robinson.  In attendance were: President
Gloria Robinson, Lisa Hall, Christopher Sabine, Emily Pennington, Taslim
Dibba, Marianne Denning, Dave Perry, Walter Mitchell, Robert Harris, Gary
Warren, Akeelah Cade and Candice Armstrong. Richard Payne, President,
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, Dave Bertsch, President, National
Federation of the Blind of Ohio, Akron Chapter, Sheri Albers, Immediate Past
President, National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, Cincinnati Chapter,
Emily Kiehl, Vice President of the Ohio Association of Blind Students,
Dorothy Griffin, President, National Federation of the Blind of Georgia,
Augusta Chapter, and Georgio Vickers, President, National Federation of the
Blind of Georgia, Cobb County Empowerment Chapter, also attended today's
meeting. Chenelle Hancock, Bill Deatherage and Allison Meloy attended
today's meeting as guests of the Chapter. Chenelle Hancock expressed her
intent to join the Cincinnati Chapter at today's meeting and was added to
the Chapter's membership rolls following today's meeting. 

 

2.	Walter Mitchell moved to approve the June Chapter minutes as
presented. Marianne Denning seconded, and the motion passed.

 

3.	Emily Pennington presented this month's Treasurer's report. Marianne
Denning moved to approve the Treasurer's Report. Dave Perry seconded, and
the motion passed.

 

4.	There was no Legislative Report presented at this month's meeting. 

 

5.	Several members shared their experiences attending the 2020 Virtual
Convention of the National Federation of the Blind, which took place from
July 14 to 18 2020. President Gloria Robinson extended her congratulations
to Marianne Denning and Christopher Sabine for helping enable all Chapter
members to attend and participate in Convention activities. 

 

6.	Marianne Denning initiated an extensive discussion on diversity in
the Chapter. 

 

7.	Emily Kiehl, Vice President of the Ohio Association of Blind
Students, expressed that the student Division will be holding a virtual
walk-a-thon to raise funds for its members to attend Washington Seminar and
other Federation events as well as the Ohio Affiliate. First and Second
Prize Winners will receive a $10 gift card. Users can sign up individually
or as a team, and all chapters in the Affiliate can register as teams. The
event is scheduled to take place by the beginning of September, and anyone
with questions can contact Emily Kiehl directly or reach out to Kinchuk
Tella, President of the Ohio Association of Blind Students, at
<mailto:kinchuk.tella at gmail.com> kinchuk.tella at gmail.com. Marianne Denning
moved that the Chapter donate $50 to sponsor Emily Kiehl for the Ohio
Association of Blind Students Walk-a-thon. Christopher Sabine seconded, and
the motion passed.

 

8.	Former Chapter President Sheri Albers congratulated Emily Kiehl on
her receipt of a National Scholarship for the 2020 Academic Year. 

 

9.	President Richard Payne and Cobb County, Georgia Empowerment Chapter
President Georgio Vickers encouraged all members of the Ohio Association of
Blind Students to become members of their local Chapters. Georgio Vickers
indicated that this is expected of Student Division Members in Georgia, and
President Payne expressed that this is typical in Ohio as well.

 

10.	As part of his Transportation Committee Report, Chris Windham
indicated that regular service has resumed on Metro buses as of June 28. All
passengers are required to wear masks at all times. Regular fares have also
been resumed. Metro is the fixed route service operated by the Southwest
Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA), Greater Cincinnati's mass transit
agency. Robert Harris indicated that SORTA will be adding new service in the
coming weeks. It was agreed that either Chris Windham or Christopher Sabine
will attend the next SORTA Board meeting, which is scheduled for August 11
and will take place virtually on the Zoom Platform.

 

11.	President Gloria Robinson expressed that she is planning a major
fundraising event for either February 2021 or next Spring-depending on the
status of the Pandemic. The initial meeting to begin planning and organizing
the event will take place in September with members of the Membership and
Fundraising Committees. This event will be held in collaboration with the
Miami Valley Chapter, and tickets will be sold for entry into a raffle in
which an Amazon Oven and Echo Device will be one of the grand prizes. No
further details regarding this event have been finalized at this time.

12.	President Gloria Robinson indicated that she has spoken with
representatives from the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation
(3CDC), the developer that owns and manages Fountain Square, and expressed
that she believes the Meet the Blind Month event annual walk to commemorate
National White Cane Awareness Day will not take place as scheduled due to
the Covid-19 Pandemic. Christopher Sabine has agreed to contact Liz Bonis,
Health Reporter from WKRC TV Local 12, asking her to do a follow up story on
the National Federation of the Blind and activities of the Cincinnati
Chapter. 

 

13.	Lisa Hall and President Gloria Robinson reported that the Clovernook
Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired has discontinued all program
services. 

 

14.	Allison Meloy, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor at Opportunities
for Ohioans with Disabilities, presented an overview of services available
from the agency, including intake and the vocational rehabilitation process.
Ohio Affiliate Richard Payne expressed his thanks for partnering with the
Cincinnati Chapter and collaborating with President Gloria
Robinson-emphasizing the importance of her work with the Chapter in overall
statewide efforts to work more closely with OOD. Allison Meloy also took
questions from several members during today's meeting.

 

15.	Gary Warren expressed that he will be introducing a points system
for fundraising similar to the one implemented in the Delaware Affiliate,
where he serves as Vice President. He also indicated that he would like to
schedule a Fundraising Committee meeting in August to begin planning for the
2021 fundraising event discussed earlier. President Gloria Robinson agreed
to have Christopher Sabine forward notice of the meeting to the Cincinnati
Chapter listserv.

 

16.	Chenelle Hancock, who was added to the Cincinnati Chapter membership
rolls following today's meeting, gave a brief introduction and expressed her
intent to join the Fundraising Committee.

 

17.	Sheri Albers, Immediate Past President of the Cincinnati Chapter,
discussed the many virtual programs available through the San Francisco
Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, where she was hired as
Community Relations Coordinator following her tenure with the Cincinnati
Chapter. Sheri expressed that the agency is currently holding a variety of
virtual activities via its web site,  <https://www.lighthouse-sf.org>
https://www.lighthouse-sf.org. These include yoga, meditation, online games,
and a virtual museum tour. 
18.	The July 2020 meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of
Ohio, Cincinnati Chapter was adjourned at approximately 3:22 P.M. on
Saturday July 25 2020.

 

19.	The August 2020 meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of
Ohio, Cincinnati Chapter is scheduled for Saturday August 22 2020 from 1:30
P.M. to 3:30 P.M. by telephone conference.

 

 

Respectfully Submitted

 

 

Christopher Sabine

Secretary

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio

Cincinnati Chapter

 

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