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

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National Federation of the Blind of Ohio

Cincinnati Chapter

Meeting Minutes for February 2020

 

1.	The February 2020 meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of
Ohio, Cincinnati Chapter was convened at approximately 1:32 P.M. on Saturday
February 22 2020 in Room 3B of the Cincinnati / Hamilton County Library, 800
Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. In attendance were: President Gloria
Robinson, Marianne Denning, Emily Pennington, Christopher Sabine, Taslim
Dibba, Lisa Hall, Kim McEachirn, Tapeka Turner, Chris Windham, Tammy McRae,
Candice Armstrong, Karren Innis, and Terry Strader. James Mingo and Robert
Shuemak attended today's meeting as guests of the Chapter. The meeting began
with the streaming of the February Presidential Release.

 

2.	Tapeka Turner moved to approve the January Chapter Minutes. Emily
Pennington seconded, and the motion passed.

 

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

 

4.	Marianne Denning began today's meeting with a Legislative Committee
report. Two items were discussed as part of her report:

 

a.	Marianne indicated that she attended this year's Washington Seminar,
which took place from February 10 -12 at the Holiday Inn Washington -
Capitol. She gave a summary of this year's events, including the Great
Gathering and the Capitol Hill visit on Tuesday February 11. She reported
that Representative Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) has agreed to sponsor some of the
legislative priorities from National Office, but did not specify which bills
he has agreed to sponsor. She also expressed that Rep. Stivers has agreed to
attend this year's BELL Academy-discussed later in today's meeting. No local
representative and neither of Ohio's senators have sponsored any of the
Federation's three legislative priorities.

 

b.	Marianne expressed that the 2020 Columbus Seminar has been set for
April 12 2020. Like the Washington Seminar, the Ohio Seminar is an annual
event in which Affiliate members visit the Ohio House and Senate to discuss
legislative priorities. This year's priorities are H.B. 214, Ohio's
Accessible Prescription Reader legislation, and H.B. 309, Ohio's Parents'
Rights Bill. H.B. 214 was voted out of the Health Committee of the Ohio
House after a proponent hearing on January 13, but has not been called up
for a vote by the Full House. H.B. 309 is still in the Health Committee, but
the Committee has introduced and approved language extending coverage to all
parents with disabilities-not just Blindness. Details on this year's
Columbus Seminar have reportedly not been finalized.

 

5.	Christopher Sabine gave a report from the Membership Committee,
which met twice by teleconference on January 28 and February 11 2020.
Originally, the Committee discussed plans to have a "Movie Night" and other
events at the Urban Artifact Brewery in collaboration with the Fundraising
Committee. However, after a discussion between Christopher Sabine, Gloria
Robinson and the person currently in charge of public relations at Urban
Artifact, it was decided that the venue will not be a fit for the Chapter at
this time. Plans for a "Movie night" in collaboration with the Fundraising
Committee are still in the works. Christopher concluded his report by
emphasizing that three new members have joined the Chapter in January, and
at least two others have expressed joining at a later date.

 

6.	Chris Windham and Gloria Robinson gave a report from the newly
formed Transportation and Safety Committee. Gloria expressed that she, Chris
Windham and Robert Shuemak met with representatives of the Southwest Ohio
Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) and discussed several pressing issues for
Blind Metro and ACCESS riders, including removal of bus stops and overall
safety concerns. Chris Windham indicated that the Committee has a meeting
with Lisa Aulick, Coordinator of Disability for SORTA, to discuss concerns
of Chapter members and asked anyone with concerns to reach out to him or
Robert Shuemak, who have agreed to pass them along to officials at SORTA. In
her capacity, Lisa Aulick manages services to all riders with disabilities
on Metro, SORTA's fixed route bus system, and ACCESS, SORTA's paratransit
service. Robert indicated that the SORTA Board of Directors meets monthly,
alternating between the Cincinnati / Hamilton County Public Library Main
Branch and SORTA's Headquarters at 602 Main Street in Downtown Cincinnati.
He also reported that Lisa Aulick has expressed that she is willing to
attend a Chapter meeting to address members concerns. Gloria expressed that
Tony King has expressed interest in working with SORTA. 

 

7.	Gloria Robinson gave a report from the newly formed Community
Outreach Committee. Three items were discussed as part of her report:

 

a.	Gloria Robinson reported that she has been contacted by Robert
Harris, a long-time activist and advocate for people with disabilities and
prominent visual artist. She indicated that he has expressed interest in
doing a documentary on her advocacy and community involvement and conducting
a weekly broadcast on his television show on the efforts of the Chapter, in
which Marianne Denning has expressed interest in participating. Gloria also
expressed that Robert Harris has also nominated her for "Sister Sister" an
award sponsored by WBDZ radio to recognize community involvement. 

 

b.	Marianne Denning expressed that she would like all members who
represent the National Federation of the Blind at community events to wear a
shirt featuring the organization and the Cincinnati Chapter. Marianne
presented a potential design for such a shirt at today's meeting. Marianne
expressed that the company that produced the shirt can open up a "store"
where customers can by it in any number of styles (T, polo, etc.) for a
given period of two weeks. Gloria Robinson expressed support for the idea
and asked Kim McEachirn, who spearheaded the Chapter's previous "meet the
Blind" campaign, if the company that he worked with could produce something
similar at less cost to the Chapter. Kim agreed to reach out to his contacts
and report back to the Chapter at the March meeting.

 

c.	Marianne Denning moved that the next "Meet the Blind" event be held
from 10:00 A.M. to 2:30 P.M. on Tuesday October 13 2020 at Fountain Square.
Christopher Sabine seconded, and the motion passed. Gloria Robinson reported
that she has received the application for a permit from the City of
Cincinnati for a permit to hold the event and will be submitting it to a
representative there on Monday morning following today's meeting. Gloria
expressed that she is also in the process of reaching out to the office of
Mayor John Cranley. The remainder of Gloria's report revolved around ideas
to promote the "Meet the Blind" event and sharing ideas about partnering
with other local community organizations.

 

8.	Tapeka Turner gave a report from the Fundraising Committee. She
expressed that the Chapter Bake Sale has been scheduled for Saturday March
21 2020 from 11:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. at Traders World Market in Monroe,
Ohio. Tapeka asked all Chapter members interested in volunteering for this
event or providing baked goods or other items to reach out to her or
President Gloria Robinson. Tapeka indicated that she is making
transportation arrangements for Chapter members to attend, and all
interested in transportation need to reach out to her by March 15 2020. The
cost of admission is $3 per car, and it was agreed that children will not be
allowed to participate unless they are in a position to work the tables.

9.	Application forms for financial assistance to attend the National
Federation of the Blind annual convention were distributed to Chapter
members at today's meeting. Gloria Robinson expressed that President Richard
Payne has asked all chapters to encourage as many members as possible to
attend National Convention, and the amount of funds available from the
Affiliate to allocate for members seeking assistance this year is large.

 

10.	President Gloria Robinson expressed that she plans to host an
Italian dinner sometime in May or June of 2020. The event will also feature
a studio where members can have their pictures taken for $10. The dinner
will include spaghetti, chicken alfredo, garlic bread, salad, and dessert
for $5. Door prizes and a raffle are also in the works. A location has not
been finalized yet for this event. Gloria also reported that she will be
holding a raffle at the March Chapter meeting with an Easter basket with
candy and Bluetooth speakers as the prize. Finally, Gloria and Emily are
planning to mail out letters requesting donations to the Chapter to specific
individuals. 

 

11.	Christopher Sabine reported that Marcus Mitchell, who has provided
private transportation to Chapter members in the past, is now available to
offer rides after being unavailable for personal reasons. Christopher has
posted Marcus's contact information to the Cinci-Talk Listserv.

 

12.	Marianne Denning reported that the 2020 annual BELL Academy has been
scheduled for July 26 -31 in Columbus. Volunteers must attend from July 25-
August 1. 

 

 

13.	Tammy McRae requested information on how members can solicit
donations to the State Affiliate via Facebook and other Internet platforms
such as Amazon Smile. Christopher Sabine reported that the Affiliate is
listed on these platforms under its legal name, The Ohio Council of the
Blind DBA the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio. President Richard
Payne posted an email with this information to the Ohio-Talk Listserv prior
to today's meeting.

 

14.	President Gloria Robinson reported that she has 65 paper tickets to
the "Piggest Raffle Ever" available to Chapter members to purchase for $5
apiece. Held in conjunction with the Flying Pig Marathon on Sunday May 3
2020, the "Piggest Raffle Ever benefits local and regional nonprofit
organizations, including the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio.
Further information concerning the raffle-as well as the online registration
form-are available at http://www.piggestraffle.com/. The grand prize winner
will receive $5,000, with 5,000 going to the winner's sponsoring charity.
The second and third prizes are a two-year lease on a Toyota Prius and a
Cincinnati weekend getaway, respectively. The Ohio Affiliate is seeking 30
volunteers to staff a booth at the event, referred to as the Biggest Little
Tissue or "BLT" Station, during the Half Marathon on Sunday May 3. The
affiliate will receive a $500 donation from event organizers if it reaches
this goal. 

 

15.	The Ohio Affiliate is also holding its annual Honey Baked Ham and
Malley's Chocolate Fundraisers. Further information on both campaigns has
been posted to the Ohio-Talk list.

 

16.	President Gloria Robinson concluded today's meeting with formal
induction ceremonies for Candice Armstrong, Tapeka Turner, Taslim Dibba,
Tammy McCrae, and Terry Strader. All of these members have received their
introductory materials and membership medallions from the National Office
and are now members of the National Federation of the Blind.

 

17.	The February 2020 meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of
Ohio, Cincinnati Chapter, was adjourned at approximately 3:18 P.M. on
February 22 2020.

 

18.	The next meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio,
Cincinnati Chapter will be held on Saturday March 28 2020 on the Third Floor
of the Cincinnati / Hamilton County Main Branch Library at 800 Vine Street,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Christopher Sabine

Secretary

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio

Cincinnati Chapter

 

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