<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Chris, the menace look very good at the meeting for January and I moved it. They they are very very good. Good job.<br id="lineBreakAtBeginningOfSignature"><div dir="ltr">Sent from my iPhone</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Feb 20, 2025, at 3:50 PM, David Perry via Cinci-NFB <cinci-nfb@nfbnet.org> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">Good job!<br id="lineBreakAtBeginningOfSignature"><div dir="ltr"><br><div><br></div><div>Thanks.</div><div><br></div><div>David C. Perry,</div><div><br></div><div>Community Support Associate,</div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-size: 17pt;"> Phone: (513) 470-1122;</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17pt;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17pt;">Email: daveperry509@gmail.com;</span></div><div><br></div><div>Enjoy your life for the rest of your days, and enjoy your days, for the rest of your life.</div></div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Feb 20, 2025, at 4:14 PM, Christopher Sabine via Cinci-NFB <cinci-nfb@nfbnet.org> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr">
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<p class="MsoNormal">National Federation of the Blind of Ohio<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Cincinnati Chapter<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Meeting Minutes for January 25, 2025<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">The January 25, 2025, meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, Cincinnati Chapter was convened by President Gloria Robinson at approximately 4:00 P.M. on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at Christine’s
Casual Dining, 3360 Westbourne Dr., Cincinnati, Ohio 45248. This was a hybrid meeting. Attending in person were President Gloria Robinson, Vice President Dave Perry, Christopher Sabine, Secretary, Maureen Meacham, Human Resources Manager, Cincinnati Association
for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABVI), Khaled Shammout, Chief of Innovation and Strategic Planning, Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA), Lisa Hall, Ben Heard, Jacob Burton, Irene Burton, and Joan Sabine, Guest. Attending by telephone conference
were Emily Pennington, Treasurer, and At-Large Board Members Frank Bragassa and Gary Warren. Ben Heard and Jacob and Irene Burton were inducted into the Cincinnati Chapter and are now members of the National Federation of the Blind after completing the Chapter
onboarding process. Maureen Meacham and Khaled Shammout served as guest presenters at today’s meeting.<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="2" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Dave Perry moved to accept the November 2024 meeting minutes as presented. Frank Bragassa seconded. The motion passed.<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="3" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Emily Pennington presented this month’s Treasurer’s Report. Christopher Sabine moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Dave Perry seconded. The motion passed. President Gloria Robinson indicated that all
members must pay their dues by January 31, so that member information can be entered into the National membership portal.
<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="4" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Maureen Meacham was introduced to Chapter members as Human Resources Manager at CABVI. President Robinson stated that she is working with CABVI to recruit employees, so members can reach out to President
Robinson if interested in working for the agency. Gloria went on to thank Teri Shirk and Aaron Bley, the agency’s Executive Director and Director of Public Relations, for their support of the Chapter and Blind employee recruitment. Maureen Meacham indicated
that she is the human resources contact for the agency and encouraged anyone interested in employment with the agency to reach out to her.<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="5" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Khaled Shammout, Chief of Strategic Planning and Innovation at SORTA, was introduced to members present by Gloria Robinson.
<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="6" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">President Gloria Robinson introduced the three new members, Ben Heard and Jacob and Irene Burton, providing information regarding membership dues and encouraging all members to maintain their membership.
Annual dues are $5 and are paid to Emily Pennington, Treasurer. Information regarding how to pay dues was provided.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="7" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Gary Warren gave a report from the Fundraising Committee. He indicated that he is planning a spring ball in April, but a specific date has not been finalized. Other an. for events, such as a karaoke night,
are also being considered. The Chapter is also conducting ongoing fundraising campaigns involving Double Good Popcorn and candy sales. Dave Perry added that such fundraising activities are extremely beneficial to the Chapter and the organized blind movement
in general moving forward. He also stressed that partnership with agencies like CABVI is important. Ben Heard and his wife, Julie, as well as Jake and Irene Heard gave $20 donations to the Chapter. Later in today’s meeting, President Gloria Robinson indicated
that she plans to assign four Chapter members to sell candy at venues such as Kroger.
<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="8" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">President Gloria Robinson announced a new Committee, the Cincinnati Technology Committee, to provide monthly conferences on IOS and Android. Gary Warren and Dave Perry will co-chair this committee.<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="9" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">President Gloria Robinson also announced a new legislative committee chaired by Frank Bragassa and Dave Perry. Christopher Sabine, Jason Revalee, Dave Perry, and Irene Burton also agreed to serve on this
committee.<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="10" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Christopher Sabine agreed to chair the Chapter’s Community Service Committee this year. This will involve conducting presentations on blindness and the Federation to schools and other organizations.<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="11" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Dave Perry agreed to serve with President Gloria Robinson on the Chapter’s Community Outreach Committee, which will collaborate with schools and other community organizations to build the Federation’s presence
in Greater Cincinnati and seek donations for the Chapter. Dave Perry will chair this committee.<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="12" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Dave Perry will chair the Chapter’s Membership Committee.<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="13" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">President Gloria Robinson encouraged all members who are facing discrimination in access to accommodations, child custody, and other matters to reach out to Chapter leadership. The “all Around Cincinnati”
Committee will visit venues such as stores and restaurants and report to the Chapter regarding their accessibility and accommodations.
<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="14" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Christopher Sabine and Dave Perry gave a report concerning the upcoming Washington Seminar, which is set to take place from February 2-6 in Washington D.C. Washington Seminar is an annual event that the
National organization has conducted since 1979 to introduce the Federation’s legislative priorities to members of Congress. Christopher also expressed that the event is the means by which legislatures on Capitol Hill can understand the competencies of Blind
people. He continued with a summary of this year’s three legislative priorities. The Nonvisual Medical Device Accessibility Act would create standards for nonvisual access to medical devices such as C-Pap machines and continuous glucose monitors that are classified
as Class 2 and Class 3 medical devices by the Food and Drug Administration for at-home use. The Web site and Mobile Applications Accessibility Act would create and promulgate standards for nonvisual access to mobile applications and web sites and protect small
businesses from the risk of litigation from inaccessible web sites developed by third parties. Finally, the Blind Americans Return to Work Act would eliminate the earnings cliff faced by Blind Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) recipients returning
to work, leading to a disincentive for Blind Americans to work. Dave Perry continued that the “Great Gathering in” event is scheduled for Monday February 2 at 5:00 P.M. and will be streamed live on YouTube and Zoom. Visits with legislators in the House and
Senate will take place the following Tuesday and Wednesday on Capitol Hill. This is the third year that the organization has focused on these three legislative priorities.<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="15" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Khaled Shammout, Chief of Strategic Planning and Innovation at Sorta, gave a guest presentation regarding developments involving mass transit and paratransit services as part of the Chapter’s transportation
Committee Report. Mr. Shammout indicated that one of SORTA’s lead projects is the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service. Currently in its early planning stages, BRT will provide faster bus service along the Reading Road and Hamilton Avenue Corridors. Stations will
be spaced approximately 0.7 miles apart. Both routes would begin in Downtown Cincinnati and run concurrently to the University of Cincinnati, where they would split at Martin Luthur King Drive to serve their respective routes. Buses will run every ten minutes.
Plans are to have the design of the Reading Road BRT Service finalized in a year with service commencing in early 2028. The Hamilton Avenue service will follow in about 6-8 months. Mr. Shammout continued that SORTA is continuing to improve its fixed-route
bus service as part of its Reinventing Metro Plan, adding seven new routes in the past three-and-a-half years and converting six routes to 24-hour service. Three out of five planned phases of the Reinventing Metro plan have been completed. SORTA is also expanding
its Metro Now Service, which provides on-demand rides which can be summoned through an app and was rolled out in May 2023 in the Northgate- Mt. Healthy and Sharonville – Springdale areas. Mr. Shammout indicated that service will expand to four additional areas
by next year. Metro Now service is available for $2 per ride. However, service is only available within the areas it currently serves, and both starting and ending points must be in the same zone. SORTA is also reportedly undertaking thirteen separate projects
to coordinate paratransit services among the region’s three mass transit systems, Butler County Regional Transit Authority (BCRTA), SORTA, and the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK). Most important of these projects is regional certification, allowing
any rider deemed eligible for paratransit in one system to automatically receive services in the other two, and a one-seat ride program allowing passengers to receive services across system boundaries with one vehicle and reserve rides with a single reservation.
Regional certification has reportedly rolled out last year and is currently in place for all paratransit riders, while the one-seat program will be implemented by Summer 2025. Following MR. Shammout’s presentation, Dave Perry announced a brief question and
answer session. Jake Burton began this session by asking if customers should book rides between paratransit systems through their local call center. Mr. Shammout responded that, as part of the regional certification and one-seat projects, SORTA, BCRTA and
Tank have established a single call center for booking rides throughout the region. A “soft launch” of the call center was conducted on January 20. Christopher Sabine and President Gloria Robinson expressed that members are still reporting that automatic announcement
systems are being disabled on buses. Mr. Shammout responded that drivers cannot disable announcement systems, expressing that this could be a maintenance issue. Irene Burton and President Gloria Robinson both indicated that this is a particular problem with
the 33 Route (serving Western Hills), and Christopher Sabine expressed that this is a system-wide issue. Mr. Shammout indicated that SORTA conducted an investigation following similar complaints two-and-a-half years ago and ensured that the drivers cannot
disable the systems but expressed that maintenance issues still might exist with some buses that need to be fixed. Dave Perry asked if passengers on ACCESS, SORTA’s paratransit service, can request that drivers come to the passenger’s door upon request, even
though ACCESS is technically a curb-to-curb and not a door-to-door service. Mr. Shammout deferred David’s question to a person more qualified to answer questions concerning ACCESS. President Gloria Robinson concluded the discussion by asking Mr. Shammout about
Promised COVID relief checks for members riding Metro and ACCESS. Mr. Shammout promised to look into the matter.
<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="16" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">A representative of the University of Cincinnati visited President Gloria Robinson during the meeting to discuss a new product. The discussion with Mr. Shammout was led by Dave Perry.<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="17" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Jake Burton, Irene Burton, and Ben Heard were formally inducted into the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio through the national onboarding process.
<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="18" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">The January 2025 meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, Cincinnati Chapter was adjourned at approximately 5:29 P.M. on Saturday January 25, 2025.<o:p></o:p></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Respectfully Submitted,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Christopher Sabine<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Secretary<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">National Federation of the Blind of Ohio<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Cincinnati Chapter<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>Cinci-NFB mailing list</span><br><span>Cinci-NFB@nfbnet.org</span><br><span>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/cinci-nfb_nfbnet.org</span><br><span>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Cinci-NFB:</span><br><span>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/cinci-nfb_nfbnet.org/daveperry509%40gmail.com</span><br></div></blockquote><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>Cinci-NFB mailing list</span><br><span>Cinci-NFB@nfbnet.org</span><br><span>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/cinci-nfb_nfbnet.org</span><br><span>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Cinci-NFB:</span><br><span>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/cinci-nfb_nfbnet.org/grobinson513%40icloud.com</span><br></div></blockquote></body></html>